Each Issue Brings You:

• What’s actually moving the markets—and why

• Wealth and tax strategies used by those who quietly get it right

• The latest in alternative assets, venture, private equity, and real estate

• Real stories from our deal rooms—both the wins and the wipeouts

🤑 ECONOMIC TUG OF WAR: Tariffs, Strategy, and the $3 Trillion Drop

New tariffs. A plunging stock market. A bold reshoring strategy.
Is this economic chaos—or long-game recalibration?

We break down:

• Why the April 2 tariff bombshell may be more strategic than it looks

• How manufacturing fits into the U.S.’s historic rise to power

• Whether the debt refinancing theory holds water

• And why this could either spark a new industrial boom—or backfire

🗺️ 30,000-FOOT VIEW: Public Markets vs. Alt Assets

Zooming out to focus on the basics most investors rush past. You can’t play the long game without a real foundation.

Most people are taught to “invest in the market.” That usually means buying stocks or ETFs through an app and tracking the S&P. It’s simple, accessible, and widely accepted.

But there’s a broader world of investing—one where capital moves more strategically, often with greater control, long-term planning, and built-in tax advantages.

Public Markets (The Default)

• Stocks, bonds, ETFs

• Liquid, regulated, easy to access

• But reactive, crowded, and often driven by institutional trades and short-term sentiment

Alternative Assets (The Private Side)

• Real estate, private equity, venture capital, private credit, hedge funds, and tangibles like art or crypto

• Usually less liquid and harder to access

• But often more customizable, tax-advantaged, and aligned with long-term wealth building

Alternative assets have long been shaped and supported by government incentives—from real estate depreciation to carried interest rules. These policies haven’t just benefited investors; they’ve played a vital role in fueling innovation, infrastructure, and economic expansion—all key ingredients in America’s rise as a global superpower.

Public markets are the highway. Alt assets are the backroads that built the country.

At The Alt Street Journal, we cover both—but we specialize in helping you navigate the private side with strategy, clarity, and confidence.

📡 THE PULSE: This Week’s Signals

Fed Holds Rates Steady

• Fed Funds Rate: 4.25%–4.50%

• Growth is slowing, but inflation remains persistent

• Recent tariff policies are adding to economic uncertainty

• Next move: Uncertain; markets are closely monitoring for any shifts

Bitcoin’s Volatile Dance

• Current Price: $84,288

• Fluctuating between $82K and $87K

• Optimists foresee a potential surge to $250K; skeptics warn of another speculative bubble

• Reality: Highly volatile, but firmly established in the financial landscape

• Stay tuned: We'll delve deeper into Bitcoin’s unique position as a store of value in an upcoming special feature

Onshoring and Data Center Demand

• Rising inflation in China and India is prompting the U.S. to bring manufacturing back home

• This shift is driving significant demand for industrial real estate

• Data centers are experiencing a boom, but the power grid is struggling to keep pace

• Emerging trend: carbon-neutral facilities aiming for sustainability

Corporate Crossroads

• Elon Musk, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is collaborating with the Trump administration on infrastructure initiatives

• Tesla is facing protests, with incidents of vehicle vandalism reported

  • Note: Regardless of your political views, please don’t key someone’s car. It’s not revolutionary—it’s illegal (and dumb). No one wants to end up doing time over scratching a Model Y.

• Bottom line: The intersections of politics, business, and technology are becoming increasingly complex. Staying informed is crucial.

🔓️ TAX TACTICS: The Quiet Superpower Called Depreciation

Here’s a tax trick most people never fully understand—but investors have used it for decades.

Depreciation lets you write off the wear and tear on a property—on paper—even if the property is actually going up in value. It’s like the IRS pretending your building is falling apart… while your net worth keeps climbing.

Why does this matter? Because it can dramatically reduce your taxable income, especially if you're earning from rental properties or private real estate funds.

Here’s how it works:

• Depreciation reduces your taxable income—even if your cash flow is strong

• Cost segregation breaks a building into faster-depreciating parts (think: lighting, HVAC), speeding up your deductions

• Bonus depreciation lets you deduct even more in the first year. It used to be 100%, thanks to a Trump-era policy that may return if his 2025 proposal passes

• You don’t need to buy an entire building to benefit—investing as a limited partner (LP) in a real estate private equity deal still gives you a piece of the depreciation pie

LPs sit back while the sponsor handles the heavy lifting—typical profit splits are 80/20 or 70/30, and the tax perks flow to all partners.

If you earn passive income from rentals or fund positions, depreciation—especially bonus depreciation—can be used to offset that income and lower your tax bill.

Heads up on recapture: You might owe taxes on that depreciation when the property is sold, but you’re still winning. Taking the deduction today and paying it back years later lets you keep and reinvest more cash now—which, thanks to the time value of money, can be far more valuable over time.

🧱 PRIVATE EQUITY: The Problem—and the Fix

Private equity isn’t the villain. But when it’s concentrated, it becomes one.

Inside:

• Why giants like BlackRock and Blackstone are buying up homes

• How this pushes regular investors out of the market

• What happens when capital shifts from builders to extractors

• And why the solution isn’t burning it down—it’s backing better players