For many private business owners, the idea of investing in public companies feels like a step backward.
In their world, control equals safety. Decisions get made in-house. Risk can be seen, touched, and, if necessary, steered around. In contrast, the stock market looks chaotic. Prices swing wildly for reasons no owner would consider rational. One day it’s earnings. The next, it’s inflation fears or central bank policy or something someone tweeted.
The private business owner sees this volatility and thinks: This is riskier. But that perception masks a deeper truth: Public companies aren’t riskier, they’re simply more visible.
The Illusion of Control
Familiarity breeds comfort. And comfort is easily mistaken for safety.
Private business owners often believe that because they can control outcomes — hiring, pricing, timing — they’ve reduced risk. But in reality, their company’s value may be fluctuating wildly every month. They just don’t have an objective, profit-seeking third party telling them what it’s worth.
Public companies do. Every trading day.
This difference in visibility creates a psychological gap. But economically, the gap is often reversed: Public companies, on average, are larger, more diversified, better capitalized, and more resilient than the average private business. The only thing they lack is your sense of control.
Public Equity Is Capital Allocation at Scale
The job of any CEO, public or private, is the same: allocate capital intelligently.
The best public company CEOs are not just operators. They are investors. Satya Nadella didn’t just run Microsoft; he deployed billions of shareholder capital to make it the largest stakeholder in OpenAI. Jensen Huang didn’t just build GPUs; he anticipated the rise of AI and bet the company on being the infrastructure layer of the future. Doug McMillon of Walmart has delivered consistent growth despite Amazon’s assault on retail, investing in logistics, tech, and omnichannel before others even recognized the threat.
These aren’t passive moves. They are calculated capital allocations, executed at global scale, on behalf of shareholders.
When you own public equities, you are hiring the world’s best capital allocators, with none of the payroll, pressure, or politics.
More Tools Than Any Private Business
A CEO of a public company has access to a toolset few private owners could imagine:
- Deep capital markets for debt and equity
- Global labor pools and talent arbitrage
- Currency tools, hedging instruments, and strategic M&A
- Stock-based compensation to attract the best
- Real-time market signals for discipline and accountability
This isn’t less sophisticated than running a private company. It’s often more.
Which is why the largest, most sophisticated allocators of capital, pensions, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments own both private and public equities. Not because one is better, but because each offers unique levers for growth, diversification, and risk management.
Volatility Isn’t Risk. It’s Feedback.
One of the most damaging beliefs in investing is equating price volatility with risk.
Volatility is simply what happens when you get a price every second. The value of your private business may change just as much, but no one is telling you about it daily. It’s like assuming the ocean is calm just because you turned off the radar.
The volatility of public companies isn’t a bug. It’s a feature. It gives you clarity, discipline, and, if you understand the game, opportunity.
The Capital Allocation Olympics
Owning public companies is like hiring a team of Olympic athletes, except instead of competing in track or swimming, they’re competing in the global capital allocation games.
Who can reinvest profits more effectively? Who can acquire the most attractively? Who can adapt fastest to new technologies or consumer behaviors?
You don’t need to run the playbook. You just need to own the team.
The scoreboard? Shareholder returns.
The Equity Premium Doesn’t Care Who Earns It
Over the last 10 years, $1 million invested in the S&P 500 became roughly $3.6 million. The same amount invested in Walmart, a single public company, grew to over $5 million.
These numbers are not anomalies. They are expressions of the equity premium: the historical excess return that accrues to business owners over time. And here’s the kicker, it doesn’t care whether you’re private or public.
The key is ownership, not control.
From Operator to Owner
For private business owners who’ve spent decades building wealth through control, the public markets can feel distant, even risky.
But the truth is, when done thoughtfully, investing in public companies is not abdicating control, it’s upgrading from a single cockpit to a fleet of elite pilots. You’re allocating capital to proven, accountable, transparent teams that compete, daily, to compound your wealth.
You’ve earned the right to be an owner, not just an operator.
And public equity is one of the most powerful tools in the world for turning capital into compounders.
This blog is for informational purposes only. It should not be retransmitted in any form without the express written consent of Delap Wealth Advisory, LLC, an investment advisor registered with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. The contents of this communication should not be construed as investment advice intended for any particular individual or group of individuals. All information, statements, comments, and opinions contained in this blog regarding the securities markets or other financial matters is obtained (or based upon information obtained) from sources which we believe to be reliable and accurate. However, we do not warrant or guarantee the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information or opinions presented herein. Any historical price or value is as of the date indicated. Information is provided as of the date of this material only and is subject to change without notice.
Investing in securities involves the risk of loss, including the risk of loss of principal, which clients should be prepared to bear. No assurance is given that the investment objectives of any investment described in this communication will be achieved. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. The information contained in this blog is not intended as tax or legal advice, and Delap Wealth Advisory, LLC, does not provide any tax or legal advice to clients. You should consult with our firm or other independent financial, legal, and/or tax advisors before considering any investment or participation in any investment program.