Even with a lifetime of outdoor activity, I never imagined heat exhaustion would sneak up on me — until it did. On a sweltering Florida morning, after a routine walk and a few games of pickleball, I found myself unable to get off a bench, in need of emergency care, and facing the harsh reality of how quickly heat can overwhelm the body. This experience taught me a powerful lesson: hydration and vigilance aren’t optional in extreme conditions. I hope my story encourages others to take the ...| Chris Mercer
Regular readers of this blog know at least two things. First, I have not posted much in recent months, and second, I have written about walking off and on for years. In this post, we look at several aspects of walking programs including how the idea of 10,000 steps per day came to be.| Chris Mercer
On December 15, 2019, I made a decision that, with follow-through, has been life-changing. I decided that I would walk 10,000 steps per day and hoped to bring my body back into more reasonable condition and health. The program that has worked for me is more than a walking program, although that is what I have called it. The program is a combination of exercise (walking and other, including pickleball) and diet that, working together, have enabled me to get to more realistic weight and health...| Chris Mercer
Yesterday represented an important milestone for me. It marked the 5th anniversary of a walking program that I began on December 15, 2019. These "walking" posts have nothing to do with business appraisal, but writing them over the past five years has helped me maintain focus on my program and goals. Many people have told me that reading these posts has encouraged them to begin walking programs of their own. Here is my latest progress and hopefully it will be another encouragement to you to...| Chris Mercer
I began a regular walking program in 2019, just before the COVID-19 panic set in, or about 4 years and 10 months ago. I'm frequently asked the question: "Are you still walking?" The short answer is "Yes," but life has a way of interfering once in a while!| Chris MercerChris Mercer
Something triggered my thinking about my days as a bank stock analyst with Morgan Keegan & Company in Memphis (now part of Raymond James) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I was asked by Morgan Keegan's top equity salesman, G Walter Loewenbaum, II ("Wally"), to travel to London, Edinburg, and Paris, to call on some of Wally's institutional clients. I asked him a very important question, "What is the secret of your success?" and he shared two secrets of professional success that I have never...| Chris Mercer
My musings on the use of restricted stock discounts to estimate marketability discounts (or DLOMs) have led me to the conclusion: Restricted stock studies/discounts cannot be used to estimate DLOMs in any credible, standards-compliant manner. This fifth post in the musings series takes a look at the usefulness of pre-IPO discounts in estimating marketability discounts.| Chris Mercer
Following "Mercer's Musings" 1-3, Mercer's Musing #4 examines the guidance found in "Procedural Guideline -2 (PG - 2) Valuation of Partial Ownership Interests" in the ASA Business Valuation Standards. Procedural Guidelines (PG) are designed to provide more detailed guidance for consideration by business appraisers than found in the base standards themselves. There is a great deal more to valuing illiquid minority interests than "guessing" at a marketability discount based on vague referenc...| Chris MercerChris Mercer
In Mercer's Musings #3, I address this basic quantitative derivation of marketability discounts for Companies A and B. As valuation is a function of expected cash flows, growth, and risk, any methodology failing to account for these factors is inadequate. Through a hypothetical comparison of two identical corporations with differing minority interests, I emphasize the value of a nuanced approach to valuation, suggesting that reliance on outdated averages from restricted stock studies is insuf...| Chris MercerChris Mercer
In "Mercer's Musings #2," the focus shifts to the examination of restricted stock studies and their application in determining marketability discounts for gift and estate tax appraisals, offering valuable insights for appraisers across all credential spectrums. Highlighting the inherent challenges of such studies, I underscore the lack of economic relevance these studies hold in contemporary valuation scenarios, particularly emphasizing their disconnect with current private company valuations...| Chris MercerChris Mercer
Many years ago, I wrote a column for the Business Valuation Review that the editor, Jay Fishman, FASA, called "Mercer's Musings." In this blog and with this post, I reintroduce "Mercer's Musings" because I would like to reflect on a number of seemingly unsettled issues in the business valuation world. This first musing relates to the need (or not) to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice promulgated by The Appraisal Foundation in gift and estate tax appraisals p...| Chris Mercer
