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Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert
Randall Stutman is the founder of Admired Leadership and one of the most sought-after executive coaches in the world. He's known across Wall Street, the hedge fund community, professional sports, the Olympics, and the White House entirely by word of mouth. Randall was a past guest on the show six years ago in a rare public appearance, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers the framework for uncovering the behaviors and best practices of admired leaders and then dives into examples around giving feedback. We also discuss how admired leaders both generate results and develop followership, and a few extra behavioral gems for investment leaders. Last year, Randall launched ALEX, an insane AI coaching tool trained solely on his insights. It's effectively an executive coach available 24/7 for only $300/year. We use it regularly, and always for situations with elevated stakes. Give it a try at leadwithalex.com. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: OWL. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Randall Stutman is founder and co-head of the Leadership Practice at CRA. and the Admired Leadership Institute. Randall is probably the top executive coach that you've never heard of before. He's spent 30 years coaching and learning about the behaviors and routines of extraordinary leaders. To give you a sense, he was worked in the White House and the Olympics, with something like 2,000 senior executives and 400 CEOs, and in our world, the most senior executives at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Blackstone. Randall is also well known among the titans in the hedge fund community, where he's worked with many of the industry's leading funds. And he's done all of this entirely by word of mouth referral. Randall was one of the first people I asked to come on the show three years ago, and he respectfully declined – at that point in time not wanting share the uncovered behaviors that drive his work. A few months ago, he and his partners launched Admired Leadership, an online course with short videos of 100 behaviors repeated by the most talented CEOs. The course is extraordinary. It's so ridiculously good that I started sharing a link to it in my email signature as a gift to those who don't know about it. Our conversation covers Randall's path to coaching and the coaching process. We cover behaviors common among hedge fund managers, the admired leadership course, and examples across inspiring others, decision making, time management, and elevating performance. We close with Randall's thoughts on behaviors that allocators can identify in their manager research. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
My guest on today's special episode is Joel Holsinger, Co-head of Ares' $50 billion Alternative Credit strategy. In addition to his long and stellar career in the credit markets, Joel spearheaded the launch of Promote Giving, a philanthropic initiative similar to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates' Giving Pledge, designed for alternative asset managers. Our conversation covers Joel's path to engaging in philanthropy, starting from humble beginnings to now making grants of $5 million in 2025 through Ares and launching Promote Giving in October. The proposition of Promote Giving is simple – GPs commit up to 5% of their promote on at least one fund to give to a charity of their choice. With ten signatories and more than $35 billion in AUM pledged to participate already, Promote Giving is quickly growing the movement to managers across asset classes. It's the Giving Pledge applied to investment firms, and I can't imagine a better use of this space than to spread the word. Learn more and pledge to give at promotegiving.org Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Bruce MacDonald is the CEO and CIO of the Virginia Commonwealth University Investment Management Company, which runs $2.5 billion for VCU's endowment and health system. Bruce joined the University in 2015 and shortly thereafter, had the opportunity to sell the portfolio and start fresh. Since being promoted to CIO in 2022, VCU has been a top decile performer with a team of just five investment professionals. Our conversation covers Bruce's unconventional path from a religion major at Wesleyan to fixed income investing at Putnam and endowment roles at Columbia and UVIMCO before arriving at VCU. We discuss the principles of VCU's approach, including building a portfolio around secular tailwinds like India, Vietnam, gold, and artificial intelligence while maintaining abundant liquidity to act countercyclically during market dislocations. We explore VCU's team-based underwriting process, lessons learned from mistakes, and personal influences that have shaped Bruce's investment philosophy. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Ascension. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Kieran Goodwin is a Partner at Saba Capital, a $6 billion hedge fund manager that seeks to identify dislocations in credit and equity markets to generate convex returns in volatile times. Kieran has been one of the top credit traders on the Street for the last three decades across roles at investment banks in the '90s and early 00's, King Street, his own hedge fund, Panning Capital, and most recently, Saba that he joined in 2024. Our conversation covers a tour of Kieran's background, including early experience with credit derivatives, growth at King Street, lifespan of Panning, downtime between stints, and re-engagement with Boaz Weinstein at Saba. We then turn to risks in the private credit market, including its rapid growth, asset-liability mismatches, pricing marks, leverage, liquidity, default risk, and the potential for reflexive problems. Kieran shares how managers should navigate the environment and how he is positioning Saba to benefit. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Thema. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jeremy Grantham is the Co-Founder of GMO, a $100 billion Boston-based asset management firm co-founded in 1977. Over six decades in markets, Jeremy has been one of the most respected and outspoken voices on value, market bubbles, and long-term investing. He recently published The Making of a Permabear with Edward Chancellor, an account of his career and investment lessons learned along the way. Our conversation begins with Jeremy's early lessons in frugality growing up in wartime Yorkshire and his interest in numbers and investing. We trace his career through the founding of Batterymarch and GMO, the golden period of value, painful lessons of the dot-com bubble, and the challenges since. We cover Jeremy's framework for identifying and navigating market bubbles, career risk, and the current AI investment boom, and close with his essential philanthropic work to change the trajectory of the environment alongside the investment strategy he deploys in his Foundation. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: OWL. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Throughout most of my career, the S&P 500 has been an appropriate bogey to assess manager performance. More than that, it's the most widely used benchmark in the capital markets. But today, it doesn't represent the broad-based, diversified exposure to the U.S. economy that most participants take for granted when investing passively or measuring manager skill. This WTT, When the Benchmark Becomes a Bet, considers the evidence, implications, and challenges posed by the current composition of the S&P 500. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Will Guidara is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality and the soon to release Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide. Unreasonable Hospitality has become a New York Times bestseller and a business bible for elevating customer experiences. Will was co-owner of Eleven Madison Park alongside Danny Meyer when the restaurant ascended to #1 in the world, the co-producer of Emmy Award-winning streaming series The Bear, host of the Welcome Conference, and advisor to business leaders ranging from professional sports to financial services on the delivery of hospitality as a primary business strategy. Our conversation explores the operating principles of "unreasonable hospitality" across the identification and enhancement of customer experiences. Will describes operationalizing exceptional service, finding magic in repeated touchpoints, building teams that embrace hospitality, and leading others through vulnerability. Once in a while, I share a conversation outside of managers or allocators designed to help you level-up your performance and business. From the day I met Will several years ago, I knew he could do just that from his valuable insights and colorful stories. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Ascension. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ryan Lovell is the Director of Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs, where he leads the development of blockchain-based solutions for tokenized finance across banking and capital markets. Chainlink has powered more than $28 trillion in transaction value and powers the majority of decentralized finance. Our conversation explores the hidden plumbing of modern finance and the upgrade blockchains provide. We discuss Chainlink's critical role in connecting traditional finance with blockchain technology, the rise of tokenization and stablecoins, institutional adoption, and the intersection of AI and blockchains around a single source of truth for financial transactions. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Katelin Holloway is a Founding Partner at Seven Seven Six, a technology-focused venture firm backing great early-stage entrepreneurs that she started with Alexis Ohanian in 2020. Alexis was a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Katelin and I explore the intersection of human capital and venture capital. We cover her upbringing, work alongside Steve Jobs at Pixar, and turnaround of Reddit with Alexis. We then turn to the application of her operational experience to venture investing. We discuss 776's sourcing and underwriting of founders, interviewing approach, investment selection, and scaling the highly personal approach it takes to add value to portfolio companies. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Old Well Labs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Alexis Ohanian is the General Partner and Founder of Seven Seven Six, an early-stage venture capital firm with $1 billion under management that he describes as a technology company that deploys venture capital. Alexis was the co-founder of Reddit, one of the most popular online forums in the world, which he sold 18 months after its 2005 launch for $10 million and returned as Executive Chair in 2014 to help lead the turnaround of the business. In between and since, he has invested in early-stage ventures as a partner at Y Combinator, a co-founder of Initialized Capital, and most recently founder of 776. Despite his success in entrepreneurship and investing, Alexis is most well known in the world at large as the husband of tennis star Serena Williams. Our conversation covers Alexis' initial ride at Reddit, taste of early-stage venture capital, and return to Reddit to scale the business alongside the challenges of managing a modern social media platform. We then turn to his investing as a technology company, including Cerebro – 776's transparent operating system, thematic ideas, traits of successful founders, social media engagement, investments in women's sports, and lessons learned from his wife Serena. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Gavin Baker is the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Atreides Management, which oversees $7 billion across public, private, and crossover strategies focused on technology and the consumer. Gavin's deep knowledge of semiconductors and AI may be second to none, but our conversation barely touches the space. We begin with Gavin's upbringing, intellectual curiosity, and path to investing, before turning to the beliefs that shape his approach. We explore his view that investing is a search for truth best pursued through debate, intellectual honesty, and a willingness to be wrong, and why people, culture, execution, and risk management matter more than investment process in driving long-term performance. We then turn to the application of those beliefs at Atreides, where Gavin emphasizes the importance of deep fundamental understanding, hypothesis-driven research, and culture that rewards constructive disagreement. We discuss how crossover investing can create informational and behavioral advantages - particularly in AI - and how portfolio construction in both hedge funds and venture capital can narrow the gap between insight and performance. As a disclaimer, I am both an LP and an advisor to Atreides, so I'm a little biased in my suspicion that you will really enjoy this conversation with Gavin Baker. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Thema. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com) All opinions expressed by Ted and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Capital Allocators or their firms. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. It should not be construed as investment advice or a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offering of any kind. Clients of Capital Allocators or podcast guests may maintain positions and securities discussed on this podcast. The statements and opinions contained herein may change at any time, based on market or other conditions.
Today's show dives into the state of the venture capital from the LP perspective. Sean Warrington is a Partner on the Private Investments team at Gresham Partners, a $13 billion multifamily office, and Ed Grefenstette is the CEO and CIO of The Dietrich Foundation, a $1.6 billion foundation with an unusually large allocation to private markets and venture capital. Ed was a past guest on the show and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers the changing landscape of venture capital, including pricing distortions, power law winners, liquidity issues, GP behavior, and scaled platforms. Throughout the insightful conversation, Ed and Sean share LP strategies to capture opportunities and navigate risks across stages, sectors –mostly AI – and geographies. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Old Well Labs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ed Grefenstette is the CIO of The Dietrich Foundation, which supports charitable organizations in Western Pennsylvania through a truly unique investment strategy that seeks to first, last, and always grow the assets. Bill Dietrich, a successful industrialist, published historian, international investor, and innovative philanthropist, formed the foundation after selling his business for $170 million in 1997. Since then, the pool has grown 11.5x to $1.5 billion after distributing $400 million to supported charities, including contributions that make it among the largest donors every year to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Over the last twenty years, the Dietrich Foundation's performance sits at the very top of all endowments and foundations. Our conversation covers Ed's journey to investing and mentorship by Bill Dietrich, which led to him taking the helm at the Foundation in 2007. We discuss the Foundation's bold approach to illiquid investments, with 90% of assets invested in venture capital and private equity, its governance structure, and its thematic focus on innovation and emerging markets. Along the way, Ed shares insights into managing liquidity, constructing the portfolio, selecting managers, and navigating geopolitical risk to maintain conviction in an uncomfortably different strategy. Ed's approach and results will open your aperture to what's possible in an institutional portfolio with the right goals, structure, and governance in place. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Bobby Jain is the CEO and CIO of Jain Global, a global multi-strategy hedge fund he launched last year that manages about $6 billion with over 350 employees. Bobby's storied Wall Street career includes spending seven years as the Co-CIO of Millenium and twenty at Credit Suisse in a range of leadership roles spanning proprietary trading, derivatives, and asset management. Our conversation traces Bobby's path from growing up as the son of immigrants in Queens to the trading floors of O'Connor and Credit Suisse, all of which shaped his thoughtful, framework-driven perspectives on markets. We explore the evolution of prop trading and the migration of risk taking from banks to hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, and private credit. We then discuss Bobby's ambitious launch, including the principles guiding its design, scale and diversification out of the gate, talent strategy, risk management, portfolio construction, and the many tradeoffs that create the different cultures and complexions of multi-manager hedge funds. We close with Bobby's application of financial innovation to helping others. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Ascension. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
In a world dominated by short-termism, does it seem odd that private equity holding periods are getting longer? Private equity professionals don't have different genes than other investors. They face a structural problem: too many portfolio companies cannot find a buyer. Private equity-owned businesses continue to grow in number and size, but demand from IPOs and strategics has not – and likely will not – keep up. This means that more companies will have to remain within the private equity ecosystem. The end of the private equity bottleneck is not in sight. Instead, the industry may be heading toward structural change. In this WTT – Can Private Markets Normalize, I pose the question of whether private equity will ever be able recycle capital fast enough to support successive fundraises without strain. The answer, I'm afraid, is no. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Stephen Gilmore is the Chief Investment Officer of CalPERS, which at $600 billion is the largest public pension fund in the U.S. and one of the largest institutional pools of capital in the world. Stephen joined CalPERS eighteen months ago from a career spanning Wall Street, the IMF, and two of the most innovative sovereign wealth funds, where he was Chief Investment Strategist at Australia Future Fund and CIO at New Zealand Super Fund. Our conversation dives into the theory and implementation of the Total Portfolio Approach, drawing on Stephen's experience at Australia and New Zealand, and his plans for CalPERS. We cover the TPA mindset, its fostering of sound governance and accountability, comparisons to Strategic Asset Allocation, challenges of implementation, and the adaptation of the model at CalPERS. Stephen is one of the most experienced practitioners of TPA in the world. Our discussion pairs well with my recent conversation with Ashby Monk, as more allocators learn and consider this approach to managing assets. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Thema. Our Valentine's Day gift to you: 50% off your first year of a Capital Allocators Premium subscription. Use code WELOVECA50 at checkout. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Matt Whineray is the CEO of New Zealand Superannuation Fund or Super Fund, one of the highest performing, most innovative and well-regarded large-scale investment allocators in the world. The New Zealand government created the Super Fund in 2001 to help defray the costs of retirees in the country in the decades to come. Matt joined the organization in 2008 and became the CEO in 2018 and oversees NZ$42 billion. Our conversation starts with Matt's background and the creation and objectives of the Super Fund. We then walk through the Super Fund's investment philosophy, which is guided by four competitive advantages or endowments and nine investment beliefs. From there, we dive into the implementation of the strategy, covering the risk allocation process, reference portfolio or benchmark of liquid assets, long-term risk budget and medium-term tactical targets across five risk baskets. We discuss the difference between these risk allocations and a traditional asset class structure, hybrid structure employing internal and external managers, internal strategic tilting program, structure of the team, current perspectives on asset classes, ESG, scaling activities to support upcoming inflows, and culture. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Raff Arndt is the Chief Investment Officer of Australia's AUZ$145 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Future Fund. He trained as an engineer and dove into infrastructure policy at the beginning of Australia's privatizations in the late 1990s. After investing in the space for six year, he joined the Future Fund in 2008 to head the infrastructure team. Six years later, Raff became CIO. Our conversation spans all aspects of the management of a next generation institutional portfolio, including a one team, one portfolio philosophy, disaggregating beta and factors from skill in public markets, separating the impact of leverage and timing from skill in private markets, venture capital and co-investment opportunities in a large pool of capital, the option value of flexibility, the team required to make decisions in this format, compensation, fees, views on China, and the current market environment. Australia created the Future Fund only eleven years ago with a mandate to compound capital for 20 years before even contemplating withdrawals. It has been described to me as a pool of capital with the size and transparency of CalPERS and the sophistication of Yale. I'm sure you'll soon understand why. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Brendan O'Connor is the CEO of Regal Partners, a premier alternatives manager in Australia with A$21B of funds under management across hedge funds, credit and royalties, real and natural assets, and growth equities. Brendan joined the firm in 2016 and has helped lead its expansion from a $1B long short specialist to a publicly listed, multi-strategy alternatives firm today. Our conversation traces Regal's evolution from its origins as a founder-led hedge fund into an integrated multi-strategy platform. We discuss the unique economic and structural dynamics of the Australian market, and how Regal leverages its deep sector and cross asset expertise to hunt for alpha. We cover Regal's 4 step investment analysis and risk process, the integration of investment teams, and perspectives on the exciting future of Australian markets. For more information, please visit https://www.regalpartners.com/ or [email protected] Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jonathan Lewinsohn is the co-Managing Partner of Diameter Capital Partners, a credit-focused investment firm he founded with Scott Goodwin in 2017 that manages $25 billion across hedge fund, dislocation, CLO, and direct lending strategies. Jonathan last appeared on the show five years ago interviewed by Kristen VanGelder from Evanston Capital, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation offers a comprehensive credit market update, including Jonathan's take on the business of credit investing, private credit, industry microcycles in AI, housing, telecom, chemicals, and healthcare, competition among creditors, the insurance-driven investment grade market, and the importance of macro awareness in credit investing. Jonathan's blend of investment insights and market opportunities is a real treat, and comes on the occasion of a likely public listing of a Diameter BDC. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Ascension Data. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
On today's manager meeting, Kristen VanGelder speaks with Jonathan Lewinsohn. Kristen is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Evanston Capital, a $4 billion hedge fund of funds whose CEO and CIO, Adam Blitz, was a past guest on the show. She's spent the last eighteen years at Evanston alongside Adam and the team. Jonathan co-founded Diameter Capital four years ago alongside Scott Goodwin and today manages a $6 billion credit-focused hedge fund alongside $1 billion in CDOs and a $1 billion drawdown fund. The two were colleagues at Anchorage Capital, and Jonathan spent some time at Centerbridge Capital as well before starting Diameter. Their conversation includes insights into the credit markets, Diameter's approach, and how it all comes together. Before we dive in, Kristen and I discuss how Evanston came to back Diameter on day one and how it fits into their portfolio. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Lane MacDonald is the Chief Investment Officer of SCS Financial, a registered investment adviser and OCIO platform with approximately $46 billion in assets under management. Lane was a U.S. Olympic hockey player and Hobey Baker award winner as the best player in college hockey in the late '80s, but his aspirations of following in his father's footsteps and playing in the NHL were derailed shortly thereafter by injuries. In the decades since, he spent a dozen years in private equity and the last eighteen as an allocator at institutions ranging from the Harvard endowment to the family office for the owners of Fidelity, and now SCS. Our conversation traces Lane's path from the rink to investing, and from dealmaker to allocator, examining what separates great investors from good ones. We discuss the importance of domain expertise, sector selection, alignment, and identification of a durable edge and structural alpha in increasingly efficient markets. We close with Lane's outlook on private markets and the lessons from hockey, endowments, and family offices that inform the team-oriented platform at SCS. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Old Well Labs. All opinions expressed by Ted and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Capital Allocators or their firms. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Capital Allocators or podcast guests may maintain positions and securities discussed on this podcast. All investments include various risks including loss of capital. This recording also contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the participants' current views with respect to certain current and future events. These forward-looking statements are, and will be, subject to many risks, which may cause future events to be materially different from these forward-looking statements, or anything implied therein. Forward-looking statements that reference past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will necessarily continue in the future. Any forward-looking statements in this transcript are based upon information available to the participants on the date of this recording and are not expected to be updated or revised even if experience or future changes. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Nick is the CEO of The Rohatyn Group, a global emerging markets and real assets investment firm he founded in 2002 that manages $7 billion across public and private markets. Nick previously spent two decades leading JP Morgan's emerging markets business across multiple cycles and served on the bank's Executive Committee. He also served as the founding chair of the Emerging Market Traders Association and later as chair of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association. Nick's worldview is also shaped by his international family history of doing well while doing good. His grandfather, Clarence Streit, was a longtime New York Times foreign correspondent, and his father, Felix Rohatyn, was one of the most influential financiers of his generation. Our conversation traces Nick's path from his international upbringing to capital markets innovation at JP Morgan and the founding of TRG. We discuss his multi-asset class, horizontal investment approach to emerging markets, problems of emerging market benchmarks, necessity of diversification in surviving volatile cycles, importance of currency management, and value of creating scale through acquisitions. We close with Nick's views on the opportunity ahead and his ambition to build a leading global, multi-asset class emerging markets firm. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Scott Kleinman is the Co-President of Apollo Asset Management. Scott joined Apollo in 1996 as its 13th employee and has spent nearly three decades helping build the firm into nearly a trillion-dollar alternative asset manager and retirement powerhouse. Our conversation traces Apollo's evolution from a value-oriented private equity boutique to an integrated platform investing across the capital structure at scale. We discuss the firm's core philosophy of excess return per unit of risk, its post-GFC expansion into private credit and retirement services, and why origination—not capital—has become the key constraint on its growth. We also explore Scott's transition from dealmaker to firm-wide leader, touching on culture, incentives, communication, and governance. We close with Scott's perspective on today's credit environment, the convergence of public and private markets, and the risks and opportunities shaping the next phase of alternative investing. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Thema. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. Over the last two decades, Ashby has worked closely with some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and pension funds on governance, organizational design, technology, and investment strategy. He is also a co-founder of KDX Management, a venture capital firm focused on investech, a co-founder of several startups in the space, and a repeat past guest on the show. His first and most recent appearances are replayed in the feed. Our conversation explores the increasingly popular Total Portfolio Approach, Ashby's perspective on the role of AI and data in the investment office of the future, including his work with Hoopit AI, a very cool relationship intelligence platform, and examples of innovation at Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the New Mexico State Investment Council. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Ascension Data. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive & Research Director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. Ashby has studied and advised the largest asset owners in the world for more than twenty years with a particular interest in how to improve outcomes for their beneficiaries and the world. Ash also serves as the Head of Research at Addepar, a fintech company that helps investors make smarter decisions. He has twice appeared on the show – as the 29th guest back in 2017 and again two years ago – and those conversations are replayed in the feed. Our conversation starts with a recent paper Ashby published called Investor Identity: The Ultimate Driver of Returns. We discuss the descriptors of identity and enabling factors that determine each investor's fingerprint. From there, we dive into technology as an enabler and how technological innovation can improve returns. We then turn to ESG investing and another of Ashby's recent papers, Submergence = Drawdown + Recovery, that discusses the importance of considering the combined drawdown and recovery period in making investment decisions. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford University Global Projects Center. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford, a Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California, and the co-founder of Long Game. Ashby advises sovereign wealth funds and large pension funds, and is involved with a bunch of fin tech companies, all of which attempt to create innovative solutions to fixing the financial future for individuals, pensions and countries in the years ahead. Our conversation starts with Ashby's early work experience and path through academia, and flows into an exploration of next generation, lower cost approaches to active management for large asset owners. We touch on investing in public equity, private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds using examples from the Canadian and Australian pensions, New Zealand Super Fund, and University of California endowment. Lastly, we discuss Long Game, an innovative company seeking to improve personal savings in the U.S. Ashby is a passion-driven, creative thinker who rightfully has the ear of some of the most important pools of capital in the world. His ideas will change the way you think about allocating capital. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Today's episode continues our ongoing mini-series covering organizations that have proven to be great training grounds of talent. There may be none larger and quieter than Capital Group, the $3.2 trillion global asset manager whose 650-person investment team and 9,400 associates have historically experienced a fraction of the turnover of industry norms. My guest is Mike Gitlin, the CEO of Capital Group, known for its long-term philosophy, private ownership, and multi-manager investment system. Founded in 1931 by Johnathan Bell Lovelace, Capital Group is one of the industry's largest and most enduring active managers. Mike joined the firm as a lateral hire in 2015, after more than two decades across the buy side, sell side, hedge funds, and global markets. Our exploration of Capital Group covers Mike's path through the investment industry, Capital's approach to recruiting and training talent, ownership model, client-centric focus, Capital System investment model, organization of a large, global team, and new product development. We close with Capital Group's five-year strategic plan as it approaches the firm's hundred-year anniversary in 2031. I've been fascinated by Capital for most of my life, as it was the professional home for my uncle, the late Jim Rothenberg, for his entire 45 year career. It is a privilege for me to share this conversation with memories of Uncle Jim in mind. Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Old Well Labs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2025. Coming in at #1 is the legend, Howard Marks from Oaktree. I waited a while to have Howard on the show to capture a moment where one of his Memos particularly caught my eye. That happened when he wrote 'Gimme Credit' earlier this year. We dive into his thoughts on the implications of the growth of private credit for investors. With that, I hope you sprint to the finish line of this year with all the gusto in your soul, and come out on the other side of the ball drop with renewed excitement, aspirations, and energy for the year ahead. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2025. At #2 is Ian Charles from Arctos Partners. Before founding Arctos alongside Doc O'Connor to dominate the sports investing sector, Ian spent his career creating liquidity solutions in private markets. Arctos' second strategy goes back to his roots, providing solutions for GPs. In all of his work, Ian is intensively research and data-driven, and he brings that to bear to describe the current state of private market businesses. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2025. Coming in at #3 is Tim Sullivan. Tim joined the Yale Investments Office in 1986, a year after David Swensen arrived, and retired this year. In his 39 years in the saddle, he led Yale's private equity investing, which was the biggest return driver in the biggest success story over the last four decades. He shares four decades worth of wisdom and insights in our conversation. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
For this year's annual review, our CEO Hank and I cover investment trends across private and public markets and top-of-mind issues for allocators. We then discuss highlights of the podcast and our efforts to improve discoverability of great episodes, outstanding asset management fintech products, and Capital Allocators University. With the Year in Review, we also kick off our countdown of the most popular episodes of 2025. We'll drop two this week and the top three next week. Wishing you a relaxing, enjoyable, and very happy holiday! Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2025. Coming in at #5, is Adrian Meli from Eagle Capital. It's a fun, nuanced exploration of applying the most sophisticated tools of hedge fund investing to long only public equities. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2025. At #4, it's Alex Sacerdote from Whale Rock Capital. Alex is a passionate TMT investor who describes how he finds companies ascending their S-curve of adoption. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Matthew Dicks is a bestselling author, award-winning storyteller, and consultant on storytelling to Fortune 500 companies, including four of the Mag 7, and nonprofits, including Yale, Harvard, and the FBI. His bestselling books, Storyworthy and its business companion, Stories Sell, are my favorite books on storytelling. Matt spent a decade as a manager at McDonalds, twenty years as a wedding DJ, and will retire this year after 27 years as a middle school teacher. He's written six fiction and three non-fiction books in total and won a record 62 MOTH StorySLAM competitions and nine GrandSLAM championships. Our conversation starts where it should – with Matt telling a story. We then go through his process of finding great stories, constructing the beginning, end, and path along the way, enhancing elements, and giving presentations. Matt has gifts for both storytelling and teaching, and that combination offers incredible lessons to apply storytelling in our work. After his retirement in June, Matt will be more available to help others tell impactful stories. You can find him at matthewdicks.com or storyworthy.com. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Josh Wolfe and Brett McGurk are Partners at Lux Capital, a $5 billion venture capital firm that specializes in emerging science and technology companies that turn sci-fi into sci-fact. Josh co-founded Lux and is a repeat past guest on the show. His first appearance from 2018 discusses his story, including phrases: 'chips in shoulders put chips in pockets,' 'failure comes from a failure to imagine failure,' and 'directional arrows of progress.' Brett joined Lux last year, following a 20-year career in public service where he advised four U.S. presidents and helped shape national security strategy across the Middle East. Our conversation kicks off with Josh's state of the venture industry and Lux's positioning within it. Brett then describes his background, sovereign ambitions, and geopolitical risks. We discuss directional arrows of progress across AI, cap-ex maintenance, biology, defense systems, and space. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Josh Wolfe is the co-founder of Lux Capital, a $1.5 billion venture capital firm formed to support scientists and entrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. Josh's innovative thought process across his activities offers frameworks and insights applicable across the spectrum of investing. Our conversation covers Josh's early passion for science and finance, building a competitive advantage in venture capital from scratch, sourcing ideas, conducting due diligence, making investment decisions, constructing portfolios, making exits, learning from mistakes, navigating a challenging private equity environment, posting on Twitter, active vs. passive management, dinner table conversation, and life lessons. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This Sponsored Insight features Robert Boucai and James Broyer. They are the Co-Founders of Newbrook Capital Properties, a multifamily real estate investment platform built to generate optimal long-duration, tax-efficient income. Robert is also the Founder of Newbrook Capital Advisors, a hedge fund he launched twenty years ago that today manages $1 billion across long-short and long-only strategies. He was born with sensorineural hearing loss and today serves on the Board of the Hearing Health Foundation, which is dedicated to preventing and finding cures for hearing loss. Our conversation covers Robert's path from real estate to hedge fund investing and back to real estate. We discuss the real estate strategy he designed with James, including alignment, market and asset selection, property improvement, and supply-demand drivers to create durable rental growth. We close with risks, synergies with Newbrook's public equity business, and plans to scale the real estate platform. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
John Khoury is the Founder and Managing Partner of Long Pond Capital, a hedge fund that specializes in publicly traded real estate securities. After 15 years in the business, Long Pond is one of the few remaining firms in the niche. Long Pond recently launched an active ETF, ticker: LPRE, which invests in the most attractively priced stocks from Long Pond's list of the highest-quality real estate businesses. Our conversation covers John's path into public real estate investing, changes in the investable universe, and the impact of passive flows and pod shops on the sector. We turn to Long Pond's investment process, focused on identifying and exploiting asymmetry, and cover John's perspectives on the major real estate sub-sectors. We close with a discussion of Long Pond's new actively managed ETF. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Our continuing exploration of the intersection of private wealth and alternatives takes us to Future Standard, one of the largest distribution platforms bringing the wealth channel exposure to the middle markets. Michael Kelly is Co-President and Chief Investment Officer of Future Standard, a $90 billion alternative asset manager focused on private middle-market strategies for the wealth channel. Michael has been in the alternatives industry for three decades, starting as an analyst under Lee Cooperman and Julian Robertson, helping build FrontPoint Partners, which began the institutionalization of hedge funds, serving as CEO of ORIX USA, where he led the acquisition of $250 billion global asset manager Robeco, and for the last decade turning to the democratization of alternatives. Our conversation covers Michael's path from working in hedge funds to building alternative asset businesses, including lessons about incentives, leadership, and culture. We then discuss his pivot from the institutional market to the wealth channel, and the growth from a single strategy at Franklin Square with $12 billion in assets to a full suite of strategies under the rebranded Future Standard with $90 billion across private credit, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing. Michael also shares his views on performance expectations and what the flood of new capital means for the institutional market. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This Sponsored Insight features Daniel Mahr, Head of MDT, the $26 billion quantitative equity investing group at Federated Hermes that oversees a suite of actively managed mutual funds, ETFs, collective investment trusts, and separately managed accounts. Dan joined the firm in 2002 as a junior analyst and took over leadership of the team six years later, guiding its evolution through vast changes in data, computing power, and investment methodology. Our conversation traces Dan's path from flipping IPOs as a college student to running machine learning models across global equity markets. We discuss the development of MDT's decision tree framework — a "glass box" approach to stock selection that blends transparency with sophistication — and how the team balances analytical rigor with human judgment. Dan explains lessons from two decades of modeling markets, including the challenges of overfitting and underfitting data, and MDT's steadfast focus on analytical edge, rather than informational edge. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
David Lyon is Managing Director and Head of Capital Solutions at Neuberger Berman, where he oversees $10 billion of AUM and deploys $2-3 billion each year originating large scale financing solutions to premier sponsor-backed companies. Over three decades, David was the first arbitrage analyst at Och-Ziff in the mid 1990s, an associate at one of the then largest private equity firms in the late 1990s, and a fundamental, distressed debt investor at quant hedge fund DE Shaw through the GFC. His experiences offer a deep understanding of both sides of the balance sheet, which he brought together in hybrid capital solutions over the last decade. Our conversation traces his journey, lessons learned along the way, and perspectives on today's private markets. We then discuss the need for flexible capital solutions to address private equity liquidity challenges, competitive differentiation in the space, and the process for making it happen across sourcing, creating solutions, and managing risk. Along the way, David shares his refreshingly honest views on investor expectations, leveraged capital structures, good and bad investments, and incentives that help navigate an increasingly crowded marketplace. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ted breaks down a recent viral video to highlight three important interviewing techniques shared at Capital Allocators University. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jay Ripley is the Head of Investments and Deputy Managing Partner at Global Endowment Management, or GEM, an endowment-style outsourced CIO overseeing $12 billion. Jay joined GEM in 2014, following six years in private equity where he developed an analytical rigor and mindset of an owner-operator. GEM's Co-CIO Matt Bank joined me on the show last year for a broader discussion of the firm, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation dives into manager selection, particularly with early-stage funds. We discuss Jay's entry into the business, transition from GP to LP, and GEM's approach to identifying and backing emerging managers across buyouts, venture capital, and hedge funds. Jay shares insights on the evolving landscape for independent sponsors, the challenge of manager selection amid dispersion, and the art of staying early without chasing scale. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Matt Bank is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at GEM, an OCIO that manages $12 billion for forty clients. GEM was founded in 2007 by investment leaders at The Duke Endowment and Duke University Investment Management Company. Our conversation covers Matt's path to investing under recent guest David Salem and lessons learned about risk and governance while under his tutelage. We then turn to Matt's move to GEM and its positioning in the OCIO industry. We cover GEM's approach to asset allocation and manager selection, and close with Matt's thoughts on active and passive investing, venture capital, hedge funds, and drivers of success going forward. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This Sponsored Insight features Dave Thornton, the Co-Founder and CEO of Vested, a venture secondaries platform that provides liquidity to the long tail of startup employees whose stock options often go abandoned or ignored and seeks to deliver diversified, attractively priced exposure to the top 20% of venture-backed startups. Our conversation covers Dave's background bridging entrepreneurship and finance, the dynamics of employee stock options, and the development of Vested's investment strategy. We discuss sourcing deals, predicting success of start-ups with a quantitative model, constructing portfolios, and avoiding risks. We close by touching on the future of liquidity and indexing in venture capital. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jeff Aronson is Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Centerbridge Partners, a $43 billion alternative investment firm he started in 2005 after two decades at Angelo Gordon. Jeff's career spans forty years of investing across credit and private equity through multiple market cycles, giving him a front-row seat to the evolution of the alternatives industry. Our conversation covers Jeff's path from law school to distressed investing, lessons learned under mentors John Angelo and Michael Gordon, and the founding of Centerbridge with Mark Gallogly to bridge the worlds of private equity and credit. We discuss the firm's distinctive model of investing on both sides of the balance sheet in sector teams, building culture and compensation systems to reinforce collaboration, and adapting strategy through changing credit environments. Jeff also shares his perspectives on late-cycle market behavior, the shifting dynamics of private credit, partnerships with insurers and banks, and the challenge of staying differentiated as alternatives become mainstream. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Mike Trigg and Sanjay Ayer are Portfolio Managers at WCM Investment Management, a $120 billion investor in growth stocks, where Mike also serves as Co-CEO. I've had the opportunity to chronicle the growth of WCM over the years in conversations with Paul Black, Mike, Sanjay, and other members of the team. Paul first joined the show in 2018 when WCM managed $25 billion, and Mike last appeared four years ago with Paul, describing a piece they had just written entitled How to Build a $100 billion Money Manager. That podcast marked a near-term peak in assets for the firm and subsequently offered a great case study in humility, adaptation, and evolution. In this conversation, we unpack how WCM navigated its most difficult stretch of performance in a long time – what they learned from it, and how they came out stronger on the other side. Mike and Sanjay discuss changes to their investment process, like putting the trajectory back in moat trajectory and searching for the cult in culture, retooling the research funnel, integrating AI as a research partner, and expanding into private markets. As always with WCM, a common thread throughout our discussion is doubling down on the firm's core values to think different, get better, and serve others. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Paul Black and Mike Trigg from WCM Investment Management are both past guests on the show who have taken an investment philosophy focused on culture and moat trajectory to turn a once struggling boutique into a $100 billion powerhouse. Paul came on the show a few years ago when WCM had quietly grown to $25 billion in assets, and Mike joined a year ago to dive into their research process. Their colleague Mike Tian shared another perspective earlier this year when he described applying WCM's moat trajectory discipline to investing in China. In this continued exploration of WCM, we start with the truly unique facts about the firm's rebirth a decade ago and turn to key features of its success, including embracing change, the importance of culture - alongside some characteristics of toxic cultures, hiring practices, telling the truth, integrating new team members, managing turnover, and transitioning leadership to the next generation. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Paul Black is Co-CEO and portfolio manager at WCM Investment Management, a $26 billion manager of global equities that he joined when it was a $200 million boutique in 1989. With so much of the institutional world, including my own training, focused on value investing, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about a large, high performing growth stock manager located in a non-descript building in Laguna Beach, California. Our conversation starts with Paul's trial-by-fire entry into the business and turns to growth stock investing, including defining a great growth company, searching for widening moats, assessing a culture tied to competitive advantage, creating a positive culture, learning from mistakes, identifying tailwinds, and protecting the downside. Paul embodies the principals he preaches and offers some tasty food for thought. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Morgan Housel is a bestselling author, partner at Collaborative Fund, and Board member of Markel. Morgan's work focuses on the intersection of human behavior and financial decision making. His first book, The Psychology of Money, has sold 10 million copies since releasing five years ago and is already one of the best-selling investment books of all time. His second, Same as Ever, explores human behaviors that never change, and is rapidly approaching 1 million copies sold. Our conversation discusses Morgan's latest work, The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life. I wanted to get him back on the show to share his thoughts on a subject that affects us all. But I wasn't expecting to have my mind turning on how Morgan's insights about envy, aspiration, and contentment also apply to the assessment of money managers and corporate executives. His recently released book is another tour de force, and I suspect, once again, will soon hit the best seller list. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund, blogger about behavior and money, and author of The Psychology of Money. The book has sold 4.5 million copies since its release three and a half years ago and already ranks in the top five best-selling books about finance. Morgan recently published his second book, Same As Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes. Our conversation starts with what happened since his last appearance on the show just before the release of The Psychology of Money. We then turn to his latest magnum opus and discuss some of its themes and stories across storytelling, expectations, compounding, risk, incentives, and people. Morgan's wisdom, humility, and passion for his work come out in spades. He also happens to be a wonderful person and dear friend. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund and one of my favorite writers about investing. Morgan recently released his first book, The Psychology of Money, and I'll go on record and predict it will be a best-seller in short order. Our conversation starts with Morgan's non-traditional education, his path to writing, and his process for writing each week. We then turn to the book and discuss some anecdotes about luck and risk, greed, compounding, patience, and tail events. We close with two of Morgan's personal stories – one about his own investing and the other, which seems inconceivable as you listen, about his lifelong challenge with stuttering. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
John Graham is the President and CEO of Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPPIB, which oversees $730 billion Canadian ($530 billion USD) making it the 7th largest pension fund in the world. Geoffrey Rubin, Chief Investment Strategist at CPPIB, was a past guest on the show describing the Canadian model and that conversation replayed a few weeks ago as part of our CIO Greatest Hits Summer Series. Our conversation picks up from my conversation with Geoffrey, discussing the evolution of the Canadian model, buzz about Total Portfolio Approach, onset of global competition, and its impact. We discuss John's leadership approach to leverage the benefits of CPPIB's size alongside the challenges of doing so across the internal team, external partnerships, global offices, and governance structure. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
The movement of private wealth allocations to alternatives is one of the biggest questions impacting the future of private markets. Our Private Wealth miniseries shared perspectives from allocators and managers on the space. Since then, an Executive Order opened the door for 401(k) plans to adopt alternatives. I wrote, in a recent Musings for our Premium members, that private market allocations in retirement plans may be a big deal down the road, but there's no need to worry about a flood of capital hitting the private markets any time soon. To understand why, I asked Eric Mogelof to come back on the podcast and explain how capital flows in the retirement markets. Eric is the head of Global Client Solutions at KKR and joined me on the Private Wealth miniseries. In this hot take, Eric breaks down the retirement market across defined benefit, defined contribution, and IRA plans, the importance of target date funds to 401(k)s, and the decision making process required for these various structures to adopt alternatives. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
My guest on today's show is Matt Spielman, Founder and CEO of Inflection Point Partners, an executive coaching firm that works with leaders primarily in investment organizations. Matt first joined me on the show four years ago, where we discussed his path into executive coaching, inflection points in his career, and his GPS system that aligns an individual's goals and helps execute. Our conversation this time builds on that foundation with what Matt has learned since. We explore the challenges of leadership at the top, the personality dynamics that shape investment organizations, and the essential role of feedback, empathy, and appreciation in managing people. We discuss the evolution of Inflection Point from one-on-one coaching to firmwide leadership systems, and the role artificial intelligence may play in scaling his work going forward. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Matt Spielman is the Founder and CEO of Inflection Point Partners an executive coaching practice he launched after a twenty-year career in the financial and corporate world. Matt partners with high-performing executives and their teams in asset management, media, professional sports, and other industries, and last year was named one of the leading coaches in asset management by Institutional Investor. Our conversation covers Matt's background and path to executive coaching, inflection points in his own career, and his coaching philosophy. We then turn to frameworks for setting goals, executing on them, aligning interests across an organization, and dealing with inevitable setbacks. We close with Matt's thoughts on turnover in an asset management firms and advice for senior leaders. I should note that Matt was a classmate of mine from business school and is also my executive coach. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript
Mason Morfit and Rob Hale are the co-CEOs of ValueAct Capital, which manages $11 billion in public equities focused on the US and Japan. Since its founding in 2000, ValueAct has charted a distinctive path in activist investing, eschewing confrontation and publicity in favor of quiet, meaningful partnerships with management teams. But they agreed to join me to reflect as they celebrate the firm's 25th anniversary this year. Mason helped launch the firm and has driven many of its successful investments, including the turnaround of Microsoft in 2013. Rob joined fifteen years ago and leads the firm's investing in Japan. He joined the Board of Olympus in 2019 and helped usher in a new era of engagement between global investors and Japanese companies. Our conversation covers their paths to ValueAct, the firm's history and evolution, and the challenges that great companies face. We cover their philosophy of working with management teams, investment process, governance, long-term value creation, lessons from mistakes, application of their approach to Japan, and the adoption of their principles internally at ValueAct. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jack Kokko is co-founder and CEO of AlphaSense, the market intelligence platform often described as "Google for finance." The company's 6,000 customers canvass 90% of the top asset management firms, all the world's leading investment banks, and over half of the Fortune 500 companies. Our conversation covers Jack's early frustration as an investment banking analyst that sparked the idea for AlphaSense, the evolution of the business from a simple semantic search tool to an AI-powered research platform, the promise and perils of LLMs in high-stakes decision-making, and Jack's vision of an always-on intelligence machine that will transform how business gets done. Jack offers a fascinating glimpse at the intersection of technology, data, and investment decision-making. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Herb Wagner is the Managing Partner of Finepoint Capital, a $4 billion opportunistic value hedge fund he founded eleven years ago after spending fourteen years at Baupost and two at Appaloosa under legendary investors Seth Klarman and David Tepper, respectively. Our conversation starts with Herb's hard work as a youth in small-town Ohio, his fortuitous early entry into distressed investing and hedge funds, and mentors who shaped his investing career. We then dive into the DNA that carried Herb forward to Finepoint, including the evolution of value investing, sourcing miles wide, conducting research and diligence miles deep, constructing portfolios, and current opportunities in Japan and reinsurance. From Morningstar: Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Adrian Meli is the co-CIO of Eagle Capital Management, a 36-year-old firm that manages $34 billion using a style-agnostic, long-only strategy. Adrian joined Eagle in 2008 from the hedge fund world and has helped build a team almost entirely comprised of analysts with similar DNA. Our conversation covers Adrian's early passion for finding value, path to investing, and transition from the hedge fund world to long-only at Eagle. We discuss Adrian's rationale for moving towards long-only, building a team of similar-minded analysts, finding a right to win, seeing around corners to identify outliers and research non-consensus ideas, and constructing a portfolio. Along the way, we discuss overcoming the challenges of active management, the growing inefficiencies in the public markets, and exciting current and potentially future opportunities. From our sponsor, Morningstar Embrace the global language of investment data Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Once in a while, I take a turn on the other side of the microphone and share it on our feed when I've said something different from what I have in the past. I recently appeared on Michael Sidgmore's Alt Goes Mainstream podcast, which focuses on the intersection of private markets and wealth management. Michael was the first guest on our Private Wealth mini-series and asked me to share my lessons from that mini-series on AGM when it concluded. Our conversation covers David Swensen's lasting legacy, perspectives on private market interest from the wealth channel, parallels of private equity and the hedge fund industry, behavioral biases in manager selection, and the power of content in asset management. Please enjoy my turn on the other side of the microphone, with Michael Sidgmore on the AGM podcast. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This week's final Summer Series is a mega two-fer, Raphael Arndt from Australia Future Fund and Geoffrey Rubin from CPPIB. We packaged these two leading sovereign wealth funds together to compare their application of the Total Portfolio Approach – with Australia focused on partnerships with external managers and CPPIB on a hybrid of internal and external management. Both have been thought leaders on modern portfolio management and have experienced great success with their innovative approaches. Please enjoy my conversations with Raphael Arndt from 2018 and Geoffrey Rubin from 2022. Geoffrey Rubin EP. 280 – November 14, 2022 Raphael Arndt EP. 70 – September 23, 2018 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's final Summer Series is a mega two-fer, Raphael Arndt from Australia Future Fund and Geoffrey Rubin from CPPIB. We packaged these two leading sovereign wealth funds together to compare their application of the Total Portfolio Approach – with Australia focused on partnerships with external managers and CPPIB on a hybrid of internal and external management. Both have been thought leaders on modern portfolio management and have experienced great success with their innovative approaches. Please enjoy my conversations with Raphael Arndt from 2018 and Geoffrey Rubin from 2022. Geoffrey Rubin EP. 280 – November 14, 2022 Raphael Arndt EP. 70 – September 23, 2018 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is a multi-family office twofer, with Stan Miranda, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Partners Capital and Jenny Heller from Brandywine. Both firms started as multi-family offices that have evolved in different ways. Partners Capital has grown and scaled as a leading OCIO, while Brandywine has remained a boutique with a fixed set of family clients. Please enjoy my conversations with Stan Miranda from 2023 and Jenny Heller from episode 7 back in 2017 and a follow-up in 2021. Jenny Heller EP. 7 – May 17, 2017 Jenny Heller EP. 211 – August 29, 2021 Stan Miranda EP. 334 – August 21, 2023 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is a multi-family office twofer, with Stan Miranda, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Partners Capital and Jenny Heller from Brandywine. Both firms started as multi-family offices that have evolved in different ways. Partners Capital has grown and scaled as a leading OCIO, while Brandywine has remained a boutique with a fixed set of family clients. Please enjoy my conversations with Stan Miranda from 2023 and Jenny Heller from episode 7 back in 2017 and a follow-up in 2021. Jenny Heller EP. 7 – May 17, 2017 Jenny Heller EP. 211 – August 29, 2021 Stan Miranda EP. 334 – August 21, 2023 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is a multi-family office twofer, with Stan Miranda, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Partners Capital and Jenny Heller from Brandywine. Both firms started as multi-family offices that have evolved in different ways. Partners Capital has grown and scaled as a leading OCIO, while Brandywine has remained a boutique with a fixed set of family clients. Please enjoy my conversations with Stan Miranda from 2023 and Jenny Heller from episode 7 back in 2017 and a follow-up in 2021. Jenny Heller EP. 7 – May 17, 2017 Jenny Heller EP. 211 – August 29, 2021 Stan Miranda EP. 334 – August 21, 2023 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is an asset class twofer covering hedge funds and private equity. The first is a hedge fund panel comprised of Dan Fagan from GIC of Singapore, Craig Bergstrom from Corbin Capital Partners, and Adam Blitz from Evanston Capital. The second is with Mario Giannini, Executive Co-Chairman of Hamilton Lane. Both offer deep dives into what it takes successfully invest as an asset class specialist. Please enjoy my panel with Dan, Craig, and Adam from 2023 and with Mario Giannini from 2022. Hedge Fund Master Class EP. 318 – May 29, 2023 Mario Giannini EP. 262 – July 18, 2022 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This week's Summer Series is an asset class twofer covering hedge funds and private equity. The first is a hedge fund panel comprised of Dan Fagan from GIC of Singapore, Craig Bergstrom from Corbin Capital Partners, and Adam Blitz from Evanston Capital. The second is with Mario Giannini, Executive Co-Chairman of Hamilton Lane. Both offer deep dives into what it takes successfully invest as an asset class specialist. Please enjoy my panel with Dan, Craig, and Adam from 2023 and with Mario Giannini from 2022. Hedge Fund Master Class EP. 318 – May 29, 2023 Mario Giannini EP. 262 – July 18, 2022 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This week's Summer Series is with Ash Williams, the former CIO of the Florida State Board of Administration, where he oversaw one of the largest state pension funds in the US. Ash was an innovator in the space, modernizing the compensation scheme, asset allocation, and governance in a public pension fund – a notoriously tricky political seat. Original Release Date: July 7, 2019 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is Nicolai Tangen, the leader of the largest sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management. Nicolai joined Norway's $1.5 trillion pool five years ago after a stellar career in the hedge fund world. He has done a remarkable job as a universal owner of assets, dramatically increasing transparency with his constituents, including on his terrific podcast – In Good Company. Original Release Date: December 4, 2023 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is another twofer, Dawn Fitzpatrick from Soros and Steve Rattner from Willett Advisors, Michael Bloomberg's family office. We packaged these two leading single-family offices together to hear their different approaches to a similar investment challenge, with Soros leaning heavily on internal teams and Willett primarily on external. Please enjoy my conversations with Dawn Fitzpatrick and Steve Rattner, both from 2019. Original Air Dates: Dawn Fitzpatrick EP. 111 – November 3, 2019 Steve Rattner EP. 153 – November 17, 2019 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
This week's Summer Series is another twofer, Dawn Fitzpatrick from Soros and Steve Rattner from Willett Advisors, Michael Bloomberg's family office. We packaged these two leading single-family offices together to hear their different approaches to a similar investment challenge, with Soros leaning heavily on internal teams and Willett primarily on external. Please enjoy my conversations with Dawn Fitzpatrick and Steve Rattner, both from 2019. Original Air Dates: Dawn Fitzpatrick EP. 111 – November 3, 2019 Steve Rattner EP. 153 – November 17, 2019 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
The movies from my teenage years foreshadowed the topsy-turvy world of today's private equity industry. Back then, we heard of strange things afoot at the Circle K (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) and dogs and cats living together (Ghostbusters). Today, a lack of distributions and secondary sales from longstanding leaders strange things in the industry and the convergence of public and private assets might feel like dogs and cats living together. I've been thinking about how this will play out over time and in particular, where future commitments from LPs will land. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Our Summer Series kickoff is a twofer, Andy Golden, now retired after thirty years at Princeton University Investment Management Company, and Scott Wilson from Washington University-St. Louis. We packaged these two leading endowments to compare their investment styles. Scott comes from a direct investing background and has adopted a position-focused approach to diligence and co-investing, leading to a very different portfolio construction. It's perhaps the leading example of a new approach in the endowment world. Original air date: October 4, 2020 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Our Summer Series kickoff is a twofer, Andy Golden, now retired after thirty years at Princeton University Investment Management Company, and Scott Wilson from Washington University-St. Louis. We packaged these two leading endowments to compare their investment styles. Andy started his career at Yale with me and became one of the leaders of the endowment model for decades. His discussion of Princo's decision-making process is among the most referenced descriptions of any podcast with a CIO. Original air date: June 26, 2017 Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ron Kantowitz is the Head of Private Debt for Invesco's Private Credit platform, where he leads a team that manages middle-market, senior secured, direct lending. The Invesco Private Credit Platform manages $46 billion across Direct Lending, Syndicated Loans, CLO's, and Distressed Credit/Special Situations. Our conversation traces Ron's path to lending and three decades of experience alongside the evolution of the lending markets. We discuss his direct lending strategy, investment process, and perspectives on competition, the role of banks, and opportunities ahead for private credit investors. NA4597908 Capital Allocators and Invesco are not in any way affiliated. This information is intended for Institutional Investors that are US residents. Click here to view the full Disclaimer. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Today's show features one of the biggest industry legends you may never have heard before. My guest is Tim Sullivan, who recently retired from overseeing Yale University's private market portfolios for 39 years. He joined the Yale Investments Office upon graduation from Yale College in 1986, just one year after David Swensen took the helm. He worked alongside David to build and manage the most successful institutional private equity and venture capital programs in history. Tim lived through the 1987 crash, the early years allocating to privates when no one else did, the dot.com boom and bust, the institutional adoption of alternatives after David published his book in 2000, the GFC, the ZIRP aftermath that created a bigger boom until the hiccup in 2021. We weave in and out of that history, as Tim shares lessons from how Yale managed its portfolios along the way. Tim carries a quiet conviction and sharp analytical mind developed from the front line of the greatest success in institutional investing for decades, and he weighs in on the increasing challenges of repeating that past success going forward. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Eighteen years ago, I made a bet with Warren Buffett that pitted hedge funds against the S&P 500. The bet took on a life of its own, and I benefited from it far differently than I imagined at its inception. Almost two decades later, I have an idea for another bet with similar intrigue. Read WTT: A New Twist on an Old Bet with Buffett Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Michael Ovitz is the legendary co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, where he transformed Hollywood's talent business and built the most powerful force in entertainment. In his time at CAA, Michael shaped the trajectories of artists, filmmakers, and companies, including actors Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, Bill Murray, Sylvester Stallone, and Barbra Streisand, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, author Michael Crichton, talk show host David Letterman, the Coca Cola Company, and many, many more. Michael transitioned from entertainment to investing thirty years ago, advising Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz on the creation of a16z, and most recently, partnering with Ali Hamed as Chairman of Treville Capital Group. Ali has twice been a past guest on the show, and those conversations are replayed in the feed. Our conversation begins with Michael's formative influences from his upbringing, early lessons that shaped his relentless drive, and origins of CAA. We cover his fascination with creativity, CAA's culture of empowerment, honesty, and momentum, and frameworks for building businesses, assessing talent, focusing on relationships, and learning from new industries. We then turn to Michael's recent work with Ali at Treville. We discuss the beginning of their partnership, the process of scaling, the building of momentum, and the systems that foster accountability, relentless follow-up, and refreshing of relationships. Michael closes with candid reflections on his mistakes and life lessons that continue to shape his remarkable path. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ali Hamed is the Founder of CoVenture a $2 billion investor across the capital stack of technology start-ups reinventing the economy of the future. Ali first appeared on the show three years ago when CoVenture's assets were around $100 million. That conversation is replayed in the feed. Our second conversation starts with an update on CoVenture's growth and dives into Crossbeam Venture Partners, CoVenture's venture business. We discuss Crossbeam's sweet spot, sourcing, due diligence, deal dynamics, ownership, and decision-making for follow-on rounds. We then turn to examples in fintech and platforms, and close with how CoVenture's taste for novel assets fits into the venture ecosystem. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ali Hamed is the co-founder of CoVenture and Managing Partner of the CoVenture VC Fund. CoVenture is an innovative company that identifies and invests in novel assets formed by the intersection of technology and finance. The firm manages an early stage venture capital fund, direct lending fund, and crypto asset index fund, with each taking a creative twist on its market. Our conversation starts with Ali's entrepreneurial path to the creation of CoVenture, and covers examples of previously unpriced investment opportunities, including produce receivables, employee payroll loans, AirBnB accounts, and loans against employee stock options. We walk through the world of crypto assets and the state of the venture capital industry. Ali's fresh lens on the world offers a fascinating perspective on every aspect of early stage investing. If I didn't say it in advance, you'll be astounded to hear that Ali is only 26 years old. He's one to watch for the long-term. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Today's episode brings together four of my oldest friends in the allocator business for the third time for an unscripted conversation on markets, portfolios, and life. My guests are Brett Barth of BBR Partners, Meredith Jenkins of Trinity Wall Street, Jon Harris of AIM, and Casey Whalen of Lazard Wealth. Over two decades, our dinner crew has shared investment ideas and perspectives through cycles, and this conversation continues the tradition two years after their last appearance on the show. We kick off with a lighthearted round of Final Jeopardy before diving into the current state of private markets and portfolio liquidity, tax considerations for different investor types, public equities, niche ideas, the role of AI in the investment process, and leadership and team building. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Hugh MacArthur is the Chairman of Bain & Company's Global Private Equity Practice, which he helped found more than thirty years ago. Hugh's consulting team works on around 5,000 investment opportunities every year and comprises the largest practice area at Bain. He also hosts the "Dry Powder" podcast, my favorite in the private equity space. Our conversation covers Bain's work in private equity across due diligence, sourcing, value added support, and strategy for both GP and LP organizations. We then discuss findings from Bain's latest Global Private Equity Report, including data on the slowdown in deal activity, liquidity bottleneck, private wealth inflows, carveouts, AI, and competitive positioning. We close with Hugh's perspective on the winners and losers of the next era, and the strategies GPs and LPs need to pursue to come out on the right side of a changing industry. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Bob Oros is the outgoing Chairman and CEO of Hightower Advisors, a leading RIA platform with over $165 billion in assets under management. Bob has spent three decades in the wealth management industry, including stints at Charles Schwab, LPL, and Fidelity before joining Hightower in 2019. During the last six years, he oversaw fifty acquisitions of RIAs that he integrated under Hightower's Well-th Rebalanced culture. Our conversation shares a perspective on how RIAs function and allocate capital at scale. We cover the evolution of private wealth from product sales to holistic planning, the founding and transformation of Hightower, and Bob's approach to building a scalable, advisor-focused platform. We discuss Hightower's acquisition strategy and process, advisor retention, and private equity ownership, and then turn to its investment approach that blends centralized oversight with advisor flexibility. We close with Bob's decision to step down as CEO in an exciting time for the business and some leadership lessons he's picked up along the way. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Josh Koplewicz is the Managing Partner of Thayer Street Partners, a boutique private equity firm he founded in 2012 that provides flexible growth capital to lower middle market companies in financial and business services. Our conversation traces Josh's journey from his early fascination with business and real estate to building Thayer Street into an institutional platform. We discuss the lessons he learned at Goldman Sachs and his transition from scrappy dealmaker to fund manager. We cover Thayer Street's thematic sourcing, deal structuring, and portfolio construction, the evolving landscape for non-bank growth capital, challenges of scaling a boutique firm, and Josh's vision for Thayer Street's future. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
David Breach is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Vista Equity Partners, a leading specialist in enterprise software investing with over $100 billion in assets. David joined Vista a decade ago when it managed $13 billion and has been instrumental in helping manage its rapid growth. Robert Smith, Vista's founder, was a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation centers on Vista's strategic expansion into the private wealth channel. David shares the firm's rationale for moving beyond its institutional roots, the lessons learned from other industry leaders, and the operational buildout required to serve private wealth investors. We discuss Vista's approach to product design and the pitch to offer differentiated exposure. David also addresses the challenges of balancing the needs of institutional and private wealth investors and maintaining discipline as more capital flows into alternatives. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners. Vista is a private investment firm that focuses entirely on enterprise software companies and manages $75 billion in assets across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public vehicles. Taken together, Vista's current portfolio companies are about 70 in number and house 70,000 employees, 700,000 customers across 175 countries, and 200 million global users. Its combined revenue would make the portfolio one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world. Our conversation covers Robert's background, the special characteristics of enterprise software, screening potential targets, adding value through industry expertise, assessing management teams, employing operational and financial leverage, and exiting investments. We then turn to managing Vista and the competitive landscape, and close with reflections on Robert's past mistakes and impact through philanthropy. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Kipp deVeer is the Co-President of Ares Management, a leading global public alternative investment firm that manages $500 billion across credit, private equity, real assets, and infrastructure. Kipp came on the show last year to share the Ares story, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers Ares' credit-centric approach to serving the wealth channel. We discuss Ares' dedicated focus and expansion in private wealth alongside a strategic acquisition five years ago, the resources and strategies Ares has developed since, the firm's approach to scaling distribution, servicing financial advisors, navigating procyclical capital flows in credit, and maintaining underwriting discipline amidst rapid growth. We discuss the challenges of building brand recognition in the channel and opportunities ahead in wealth for real assets and infrastructure investments, and in Europe and Asia. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Kipp deVeer is a Director and Partner of Ares Management, the $30 billon market cap public company (ARES) that manages $360 billion in assets, including $250 billion in credit. Kipp joined Ares twenty years ago and serves as the Head of Ares Credit Group, CEO of the public BDC Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC), and a member of the Executive Management Committee. Our conversation covers Kipp's path to Ares, the business and credit markets twenty years ago, and the exponential growth of Ares since. We turn to the firm's research process across origination and sourcing, underwriting, investment targets, and portfolio construction. We then discuss Kipp's perspective on the credit environment, opportunities, and risks and close with a look at the future of Ares. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Jon Madorsky is Managing Partner and Co-Portfolio manager of the secondaries strategy at RCP Advisors, one of the largest managers focused exclusively on North American lower middle market buyouts. Jon joined the firm 21 years ago and has participated in the growth of the secondaries business from its earliest stages. His partner, Alex Abell, joined me on the show last year and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers the history and maturation of the secondaries market from a red-headed stepchild to a modern portfolio tool. We discuss the use cases, transaction types, and capital sources in secondaries, RCP's investment strategy, levers of value creation, portfolio construction, and exit strategy. Jon also shares his perspective on secondary market pricing, growth, risks, and the future of the industry. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Jon directly at [email protected]. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Alex Abell is a Managing Partner at RCP Advisors, which at $14 billion of committed capital, is one of the largest firms focused exclusively on lower-middle market buyouts. Alex has spent twenty-three years in the business, starting on the LP side, building Atlas Diligence – a research and advisory platform focused on advanced analytics, and then merging Atlas with RCP a decade ago. Today, he helps manage RCP's research efforts, its customized solutions, and advisory services. Our conversation covers Alex's path and lessons learned investing in lower middle market buyout funds across assessing managers with data, benchmarking, blending quantitative and qualitative factors, and applying insights to primary and secondary investing. Alex and I just scratch the surface on what's possible with analytics in the private markets. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Alex directly at [email protected] Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Kristin Kallergis Rowland is the Global Head of Alternative Investments for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, where she oversees $180 billion of alternative investments within the $500 billion managed in J.P. Morgan's $3 trillion private bank. The Private Bank's investment approach resembles that of many institutions, with centralized research, manager selection, and portfolio construction that its financial advisors use in client portfolios. KK has spent her entire career in private wealth at J.P. Morgan, spanning investment functions and global geographies. Our conversation describes J.P. Morgan's centralized approach to alternative investing for its clients. We cover KK's journey through J.P. Morgan and the evolution of alternatives within the firm. We discuss the allocation strategies for private equity, private credit, real assets, venture capital, and hedge funds, insights from J.P. Morgan's Family Office Report, and the importance of portfolio construction tailored to diverse client needs. KK also shares her thoughts on the democratization of access to private markets, innovations in evergreen fund structures, and the challenges of scaling investment solutions across a global client base. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
In offering a rare take on the current market, I come back to one of my investment truths: the hardest day to invest is always today. Allocators can register for our next cohort of Capital Allocators University here, July 7th in New York City. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Eric Mogelof is the head of Global Client Solutions at KKR, one of the world's leading alternative asset firms with roots in private equity dating back to 1976. KKR currently manages $640 billion in assets, across approximately $250 billion in credit, $200 billion in private equity, and $160 billion in real assets. The firm's objective in private wealth is to deliver the same strategies, performance, and quality of experience to individuals as it does institutions. Our conversation shares how a longstanding brand in private equity has adapted to serve the wealth channel in the last five years. We trace Eric's path to KKR after a long run leading private wealth at PIMCO, the growing demand for alternatives among individual investors, innovation behind evergreen structures and interval funds, and importance of brand, customized products, and advisor education. Eric shares how KKR is investing in marketing, digital engagement, and on-the-ground sales to reach advisors globally, and the firm's partnership with Capital Group to expand access for non-accredited investors. We also cover the competitive landscape and the opportunities and challenges of making alternatives more accessible to a broader range of investors. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
James Clarke is the Global Head of Institutional Capital at Blue Owl, a leading public alternative asset manager with $270 billion in assets under management. James joined Doug Ostrover and Mark Lipschultz shortly after the firm's launch and has been instrumental in its explosive growth over the last eight years. Doug was a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers James' path to asset management, lessons he learned over a decade at PIMCO, equally powerful lessons from his subsequent, if less successful, stops, and the application of those lessons at Blue Owl. We discuss product knowledge, relationship development, balancing capital raising needs with long-term partnerships, the evolution of the institutional and wealth channels, the importance of transparency, and the benefits and challenges of scale. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Doug Ostrover is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blue Owl Capital, a public company borne out of a merger combining Owl Rock Capital and Dyal Capital. Doug is also the CEO and Co-CIO of Owl Rock Capital Partners, a direct lender to middle-market companies that he co-founded in 2016 and today manages $30 billion in permanent capital assets. The combined Blue Owl manages approximately $53 billion in assets, over 90% of which is in permanent capital vehicles. Previously, Doug was one of the founders, and the O, in GSO Capital Partners, which today is Blackstone's alternative credit platform. He has been involved in leveraged finance working with private equity sponsors for thirty years. Our conversation covers Doug's beginnings in leverage financed, the founding of GSO, and keys to his early success. We then turn to the importance of culture, sourcing investment opportunities, the underwriting process, and working with both GPs and LPs. We close with Doug's perspective on the recent formation of Blue Owl and what the future holds for direct lending. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
John Mathews is the Head of Private Wealth Management in the Americas for UBS. UBS is the world's largest global wealth manager with $6 trillion in assets, of which $2 trillion are in the Americas. Private Wealth Management is comprised of roughly 230 teams and 661 financial advisors. Our conversation explores how the largest wirehouse empowers its financial advisors to act as entrepreneurs to bring tailored investment solutions to their clients. We cover the scale and scope of the UBS private wealth platform, the need for personalization, specialization, and customization, the bank's centralized investment strategy and decentralized implementation, its curated alternatives platform, and the evolving landscape for financial advisors. Here's the Head of Content job posting. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Michael Sidgmore is the Co-Founder of Broadhaven Ventures and the creator of the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast, which explores the intersection of private markets, technology, and wealth management. His career spans early roles at Goldman Sachs and iCapital, experience building businesses in fintech and asset management, and investing across the private market ecosystem. Our conversation offers an in-depth introduction to the intersection of private markets and private wealth. We discuss the origins of Alt Goes Mainstream, the rapid evolution of private markets, the convergence of institutional and wealth channels, and the rise of evergreen structures and new distribution models. We close with Michael's perspective on how the wave of capital flowing into private markets from private wealth will impact investors, and on the importance of content, brand, and community in shaping the industry's future. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Two weeks ago, James Aitken suggested sharpening your pencil to find specific individual assets that have been beaten down, while Louis-Vincent Gave declared Latin America an attractive place to look. Combining these themes, I reached out to today's guest, Rodrigo Bitar, Co-founder of 3B1 Partners, to get his perspective on opportunities in the region. Rodrigo was a past guest on the show three years ago, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation this time around covers the investment case for Latin America, 3B1's experience in Venezuela, lessons learned from operating in high-risk, illiquid markets, the value of bringing capital to the region, the necessity of patience, and a specific individual asset 3B1 is pursuing in Central America. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Original Release Date: 08/29/2022 On today's show we'll discuss a classic empty room – an opportunity ignored by most investors. In this case, we dive into the investment case for Venezuela, a non-starter for pretty much every institution because of the country's autocratic political regime, sanctions, and headline risk. But alongside those known risks are the potential for significant rewards. Rodrigo Bitar is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 3B1 Partners, the leading private equity fund making growth investments in Venezuela. 3B1 invests in high-quality companies with leading positions in basic industries, while looking to capture a change in macroeconomic conditions in the country. Our conversation covers Rodrigo's upbringing in Chile, professional background, and investment opportunity in Venezuela. We discuss Venezuela's sanctions, economic contraction, and dollarization of the economy. We then turn to investing in the country, including sourcing, due diligence, and an example of a recent transaction. We close with a discussion of the upside and risks to investing in Venezuela. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com) Show Notes (3:18) Rodrigo's background (6:50) Family dynamics (10:13) Investible assets in Venezuela (12:03) Impact of Russian oil restrictions (13:38) Surviving economic turmoil (17:27) Private vs. public markets in Venezuela (19:31) Identifying companies (21:51) Due diligence process (23:49) Assessing valuations (25:28) Risks unique to Venezuela (28:09) Conversations with potential investors (32:05) Closing questions
No one wants to invest in a small manager. There, I said it. But everyone wants to invest in a great small manager. So how does a small manager try to prove that they're great? Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ben Forman is the Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, a $1.5 billion manager of financial applications of blockchain technology and digital assets across long, arbitrage, venture, and GP seeding strategies. Ben last came on the show in 2022 as part of our Crypto for Institutions mini-series, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation dives into the evolution of blockchain over the past few years, including the industry's "Lehman moment" and subsequent recovery. We discuss Bitcoin, memecoins, the rise of stablecoins as blockchain's killer app, tokenized assets, prediction markets, credit, and the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies. Ben also shares insights into ParaFi's approach to investing and his long-term vision for building a business in this dynamic industry. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ben Forman is the Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, a $1 billion investment and technology firm that focuses on decentralized finance across digital assets, venture equity, and quantitative strategies. Ben launched ParaFi in 2018 after a decade in traditional finance roles across investment banking, credit investing, and private equity at venerable institutions such as Rothschild, TPG, and KKR. Our conversation covers Ben's background, pivot to crypto, and launch of ParaFi into a bear market. We then discuss opportunities in the world of DeFi, including borrowing and lending, stablecoins, scaling, insurance, governance, and capital allocation. We close with ParaFi's research and valuation approach, engagement with DeFi protocols, and seeding crypto managers. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Last week was one of the most volatile in market history. In the last twenty-five years, it's likely matched only by the pandemic and Global Financial Crisis in the breadth of potential outcomes for the future. In a change from our typical market-insensitive conversations, I was fortunate to gather three of the most insightful thinkers on global macroeconomics and geopolitics on Friday to share their assessment of the changing landscape. My guests on today's show are James Aitken, Marko Papic, and Louis-Vincent Gave. James is the founder of Aitken Advisors, Marko is the Macro-Geopolitical Chief Strategist at BCA Research, and Louis is the Co-Founder of Gavekal Research. Each are past guests on the show, and their first appearances are replayed in the feed. Our conversation explores the shifting landscape of global markets and geopolitics, highlighting their shared belief in the end of U.S. exceptionalism. We dive into the conditions leading into Liberation Day, the motivations of the U.S. and China, and the likely outcome of the tariff wars. We then turn to the markets, covering the weakening U.S. dollar, rise of non-aligned nations, opportunities emerging in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, U.S. Treasuries and the yield curve, and private markets. We close with thoughts on potential winners and losers while unpacking how allocators can navigate this period of profound change. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Louis-Vincent Gave is the Founding Partner and CEO of GaveKal, one of the world's leading independent providers of macro research, and GaveKal Capital, a manager of $2.7 billion in assets. Louis launched GaveKal alongside his father in 2000 and has become a go-to source for creative research on global economics and asset allocation, particularly in China. He recently penned CYA as a Guiding Principle, dissecting the consequences of Western government responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He joined me to discuss the key takeaways. Our conversation starts with Louis' background and founding of GaveKal, and turns to the potential second order impacts of freezing reserves, seizing oligarch assets, end of Swiss neutrality, energy prices, and military spending. We close discussing how the situation may affect China. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Marko Papic is the Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, where he provides research on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and markets. Marko recently published Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future, an imminently readable book with colorful examples of political analysis. Marko's approach is akin to Moneyball for politics, challenging the orthodoxy of how others traditionally make investment decisions. Our conversation covers Marko's upbringing, the flaws of most political analysis, and his constraints-based framework. We then turn to the obvious political topic at hand – next week's U.S. Presidential election. We discuss his views of different possible outcomes on the U.S. equity market, rates, tech stocks, China, private equity, ESG, Europe, and emerging markets. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Australian James Aitken is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon, England that works with approximately one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. James started his career in 1992 as a foreign exchange trader, moved to London in May 1999, and in March 2002 joined the infamous AIG Financial Products team in London. In August 2006 he joined UBS, where he deployed his knowledge of the inner workings of the financial system to help his institutional investor clients successfully navigate their portfolios through 2007 and 2008. At the urging of his clients, James established his own firm in June 2009. Our conversation covers James' perspective on the Global Financial Crisis from his seat at its epicenter, the Eurozone crisis in 2011, subsequent process-driven opportunities in Greece, views on Central Banks in the US, China, & Europe, some brief observations on India, positioning for the current environment, and what makes a great macro manager. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Howard Marks is a renowned investment thinker and the co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a leading global investment firm overseeing $200 billion primarily in credit investments that is majority owned by Brookfield Asset Management. Our conversation covers Howard's journey from his early days in finance to his current insights on the evolving credit landscape. We dive into themes from his latest Memo, Gimme Credit, exploring the pendulum swings in investor sentiment, the rise of private credit, and implications for investors. We also discuss the changing dynamics of private equity, the trend of asset manager M&A, and life as a public company. Throughout our conversation, Howard shares his timeless wisdom on risk management, market cycles, and the enduring principles of successful investing. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
This WTT – PE Investing in 2030 - takes a look at the playbook for investing in private equity and how the current period of liquidity challenges might impact allocations going forward. Allocators will need to fine-tune their core investment beliefs to answer the many questions this environment has raised. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Meghan Reynolds is Partner and Head of Capital Formation & Talent at Altimeter Capital, a leading technology-focused investment firm founded by Brad Gerstner. Meghan joined Brad three years ago, after decade-long stints at Goldman Sachs and TPG. She's like the private equity version of my friend and partner Rahul Moodgal, bringing a keen understanding of LPs and a relationship-focused approach to her role. Our conversation covers Meghan's experience building and maintaining great LP relationships over twenty-five years at both large and smaller firms. She discusses the role of capital formation, approach to serving clients, process of seeking prospects, and parallels between venture capital today and private equity a decade ago. We close with a discussion of what Meghan is hearing from LPs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We are excited to launch our latest initiative - Capital Allocators Coaching. We've brought together a team of retired CIOs and asset management executives to coach managers on telling their story. Learn more and schedule a consultation here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ed Grefenstette is the CIO of The Dietrich Foundation, which supports charitable organizations in Western Pennsylvania through a truly unique investment strategy that seeks to first, last, and always grow the assets. Bill Dietrich, a successful industrialist, published historian, international investor, and innovative philanthropist, formed the foundation after selling his business for $170 million in 1997. Since then, the pool has grown 11.5x to $1.5 billion after distributing $400 million to supported charities, including contributions that make it among the largest donors every year to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Over the last twenty years, the Dietrich Foundation's performance sits at the very top of all endowments and foundations. Our conversation covers Ed's journey to investing and mentorship by Bill Dietrich, which led to him taking the helm at the Foundation in 2007. We discuss the Foundation's bold approach to illiquid investments, with 90% of assets invested in venture capital and private equity, its governance structure, and its thematic focus on innovation and emerging markets. Along the way, Ed shares insights into managing liquidity, constructing the portfolio, selecting managers, and navigating geopolitical risk to maintain conviction in an uncomfortably different strategy. Ed's approach and results will open your aperture to what's possible in an institutional portfolio with the right goals, structure, and governance in place. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Alex Sacerdote is the founder of Whale Rock Capital Management, a technology-focused investment firm that manages $8 billion across hedge fund, long only, and hybrid strategies. Our conversation covers Alex's path to running Whale Rock, shaped by early exposure to the markets through his father, a longtime partner at Goldman Sachs, and his formative years at Fidelity. We dive into the key lessons he learned at Fidelity, the development of his investment framework centered around S-curves, competitive advantages, and underappreciated earnings power, and the application of the framework to AI, Mag 7, cloud computing, electronic vehicles, and blockchain technologies. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Shannon O'Leary is the CIO of the St Paul & Minnesota Foundation, where she oversees $1.8 billion for the community foundation that aspires to create an equitable, just, and vibrant Minnesota. Shannon took the post six years ago after twenty years working with families. She describes herself as 'blunt,' comfortably speaking her mind, including in her LinkedIn newsletter entitled 'Say It Out Loud'. Our conversation covers Shannon's relationship-driven approach to investing across families, Boards, team members, and managers. We discuss the value of frank communication in every aspect of the investment process, from setting policy to manager access, research, selection, and partnership. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
David Zorub is the Founder and CIO of Parsifal Capital Management, a $1.5 billion hedge fund that invests in a concentrated portfolio of longs and shorts across geographies, sectors, and capital structures. David joined me on the show a few months before he launched Parsifal six years ago to discuss his plans. We got back together to talk about what's happened since. Our conversation covers the headwinds facing fundamental investing, Parsifal's approach to counter those challenges, and the investment and business processes that led the firm to reach this point. Along the way, David shares keen insights into research, portfolio construction, and partner relationships that have combined to take Parsifal from a start-up hedge fund to a thriving organization in a difficult environment to do so. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
David Zorub is the founder of Parsifal Capital, a new hedge fund he is launching later this year. Before founding Parsifal, Dave spent fifteen years in research and portfolio management at hedge funds and another few in investment banking and private equity. I interviewed David recently at Columbia University's Student Investment Management Conference and that conversation follows. We cover his career path and his insights into the philosophy and structure of a hedge fund business and investment portfolio. It's not easy starting a hedge fund these days, and those eager to try will get a sense of the challenges ahead by listening to an experienced investor who's making a go of it. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Brett Barth and Evan Roth are co-founders and Co-CEOs of BBR Partners, a multi-family office that oversees $32 billion on behalf of 180 families and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Brett appeared on episode 3 of Capital Allocators eight years ago and is a regular contributor in our Friends Reunion shows. I've observed BBR's growth since first meeting Brett and Evan twenty-four years ago and was excited to hear more about their journey. Our conversation covers BBR's successes, missteps, and key lessons over the years. We discuss their investment philosophy and cultural principles, the "turbulent regimes" that cemented their approach with clients, and their shift in mindset from scrappy entrepreneurs to managers of an enduring business. Evan and Brett describe the business and investment decisions that allowed BBR to sustain success, create peace of mind for clients, and prepare for the next long chapter in BBR's story. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Brett Barth is a founder and the CIO of BBR Partners. BBR manages north of $12.5B on behalf of 125 families in its multi-family office. In this episode, we start talking about raising twins, a family issue close to both of our hearts. From there we learn about how Brett came to form BBR. We spend a lot of time going into depth on his firm's asset allocation process and on the decision-making process of manager selection. Along the way we touch on inefficiencies in Asia in the early days and in music royalties today. Brett offers nuggets of practical substance for allocators of all types – from financial advisors to large institutional managers. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
What are the implications of consolidation in the private markets? The leading firms, which are mostly public companies, raised an insane amount of money last year, while the rest of the industry mostly struggled. What will this mean for private markets going forward? Have a listen to find out. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Michael Choe is the CEO and Co-Head of Flagship private equity strategy at Charlesbank Capital Partners, a $22B manager of middle-market private equity, credit, and technology opportunities that spun out of the Harvard Management Company in 1998. Our conversation covers Mike's path from science to finance, including an immigrant story and a draw to decision-making at a young age. We discuss Charlesbank's history and aspiration to manufacture sound decision-making as a path to investment success, applying its "fan of outcomes" thinking to talent, research, diligence, sourcing, and company operations. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ian Charles is a founding partner at Arctos Partners, a $10 billion private equity firm that strives to create valuable solutions to complex problems. In just five years, Arctos has become the leading institutional investor across the five major North American sports leagues. It also serves as a strategic partner to leading private market sponsors with bespoke capital and liquidity solutions. As part of its effort to support both ecosystems, Arctos publishes data-driven research and content under the Arctos Insights umbrella. Ian is a repeat guest on the show. Our first conversation with co-founding partner Doc O'Connor describing the sports strategy is replayed in the feed. This time around we walk through the changing competitive landscape of private equity, covering the most important narratives for GPs and LPs and how both sides are navigating the environment. We discuss Arctos' taxonomy of private equity firms and the implications of its different levels to a GP's strategic positioning and right to win. Ian has a long history serving the private equity market and is unusually insightful and blunt in describing the complex and evolving marketplace. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Ian Charles and Doc O'Connor are the Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to buying minority stakes in professional sports franchises. From its founding just two years ago, Arctos quickly has become the market leader in the space, raising a $2.1 billion first-time fund and a SPAC alongside Executive-in-Residence Theo Epstein, and buying stakes in MLB teams including the Boston Red Sox, the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings in the NBA, and a compliment of other sports assets. Our conversation covers their backgrounds and the formation of Arctos, the investment opportunity in sports franchises, and the underlying business and ownership structure. We then turn to the unique characteristics look of the asset, investment process, and growth strategy. Full disclosure, I am a personal investor in Arctos' fund and am a fan of their strategy and team, pun intended. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation with Doc O'Connor and Ian Charles as much as I did. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Anthony Pompliano is an entrepreneur, media creator, and investor who has built one of the largest audiences of DIY investors. His following canvasses 1.6 million people on X, 560,000 on YouTube, and 260,000 on his daily The Pomp Letter. Anthony created Professional Capital Management, an investment company that builds and invests in early-stage companies by leveraging his audience. He's not alone in his family in creating a following. Pomp's wife Polina writes the popular blog, The Profile, and his brother Joe writes the sports business blog, Huddle Up. Pomp also recently published How to Live an Extraordinary Life, which shares life lessons through letters to his children. Our conversation covers Pomp's passion for competing, leading, and problem-solving, formative business experience at Facebook, translating lessons to build a social media audience, and monetizing that audience through investing. We close touching on his wonderful book with a few anecdotes and lessons to share. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Mitchell Green is the founder and managing partner of Lead Edge Capital, a growth equity firm with $5 billion in assets that invests in software, internet, and tech-enabled businesses. Lead Edge leverages its LPs, comprised of over 700 seasoned executives, entrepreneurs, deal makers, and celebrities to connect its portfolio companies with customers, partners, and talent. Unlike any other firm I've seen, the impressive list of LPs is publicly available on the firm's website. Our conversation covers Mitchell's early exposure to business and finance, Lead Edge's cold-calling strategies, investment criteria, and leverage of LPs to source, diligence, and add value to portfolio companies. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Could 2025 be the year private equity fund flows return to normal? No. Not yet. Ted explains why in his latest post. Read Ted's blog here. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
When you think of the greatest private equity deals of all time, names like Google, Facebook, Uber, Dell, and Hilton come to mind. After a recent episode of Private Equity Deals, you might also think about 3G's acquisition of Burger King. But I'd bet you wouldn't think about an oil and gas play called CrownRock. Lime Rock Capital created CrownRock alongside a management team with $96.5 million of cash and assets in 2007. Seventeen years later, sold the business to Occidental Petroleum for $12.5 billion. Lime Rock's original investment made 79x its money, a net IRR of 18%, and $7.5 billion in gains, which ranks in the top ten fully exited private equity deals of all time. It also exited a continuation vehicle that generated 3x its cost over the last six years of the deal's life. My guests to discuss the firm and its grand slam CrownRock deal are Lime Rock Managing Directors John Reynolds, Jonathan Farber, and J McLane. Our conversation covers Lime Rock's investment approach and the example of CrownRock. We dive into the initial investment thesis around vertical drilling, the three extinction threats to the business, innovation of horizontal drilling, management excellence, exit options along the way, and the 'forever hold' mindset that allowed CrownRock to compound extraordinary amounts of capital. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Mark Sullivan and Roberto Isch are Partners at Wellington Management, the $1.3 trillion privately owned firm. Mark is the Head of the Hedge Fund Group and Roberto is a Risk and Portfolio Manager. Wellington began its hedge fund strategies in the mid-1990s. Their activities started with a series of long-biased sector specialist strategies, added a multi-asset fund-of-funds, and most recently, built a market-neutral platform overseen by Mark and Roberto. Our conversation covers the history and current state of hedge fund investing at Wellington, including the client-led development of product offerings and the manager selection, portfolio construction, and risk management of the group's third-generation strategy. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
Donald Miller is the CEO of StoryBrand and author of ten books that have collectively spent more than a year on New York Times Bestseller lists. Don helps businesses clarify their message so customers will listen. His latest book, Building a Storybrand 2.0, is a revised edition of one of the most succinct, impactful, and actionable books I've come across on storytelling. Our conversation covers Don's most important lessons in telling a story that resonates with customers, including the seven elements of story structure and key components of each. Don wants to share his gift for taglines with you. He recently launched storybrand.ai, a free LLM trained on 120 pages of his insights. In just seven minutes, you can have Don write your tagline. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
The beginning of a new year brings with it time for reflection and the renewal of rituals. We reflect on our personal and professional lives, set goals for the coming year, and start sprinting towards those goals – hopefully with enough time to calibrate our personal GPS. One part of the ritualistic sprint is conference season. Industry leaders gather at Davos for the World Economic Forum and Miami for iConnections Global Alts in January, in Beverly Hills for Milken in May, in Sun Valley for Allen & Company in the summer, and at many locations throughout the year. We'll be doing the same at our Capital Allocators CIO Summit in April, Senior Decision Makers Summit in June, Capital Allocators University in July, and Small and Emerging Manager Summit in September. So as you get ready to leave the starting blocks, it's a good time to pause and think about how to optimize your time and budget at industry events. At Capital Allocators University in December, Hank hosted a panel with Ron Biscardi and Katie O'Reilly to discuss how to think about, plan, and maximize your time and value at conferences. Today's show shares their panel discussion from Capital Allocators University. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. The top episode this year is perhaps the most timely of our 500 as well. It's Episode 415 with Scott Bessent, a brilliant macro thinker and the cabinet nominee for Secretary of Treasury. The position created by Alexander Hamilton. I was an investor in Scott's first hedge fund, a partner of his for four years, a friend for more than 20, and a huge fan. I'm excited for Scott and for our country about what his appointment might mean for our economic future. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Clocking in at number two is Mike Milken, Episode 3 71. Mike single-handedly developed the high yield market, which has fueled the growth of private equity ever since. When paired with the subsequent episode with his longtime attorney, Richard Sandler, the conversations offer a fresh perspective on Mike's legacy. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Coming in at number three is Episode 385 with the irrepressible Cliff Asness from AQR. Cliff is part brilliant quant and part standup comic. That combination always makes for an entertaining conversation, chockfull of research-backed insights. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Coming in at number four is Episode 414 with Ricky Sandler from Eminence Capital. Ricky discusses his 30 years in the business of investing long and short equities and the adjustments he's had to make to his investment and business strategies to continue to thrive in ever-changing conditions. Take Capital Allocator's Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
For this year's annual review, our CEO Hank Strmac and I sat down to discuss where we've been and where we're headed. Our conversation covers the best blogs and podcasts of the year, my investment activity, what's top of mind for allocators and managers, our upcoming podcasts, Summits, and CAU education courses in 2025, the team who makes it all happen, and a few closing questions. I hope you find the conversation engaging and informative. Wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Coming in at number five is Episode 384 with Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz of 3G Capital, discussing their unique private equity organization and their wildly successful purchase of Burger King. Take Capital Allocator's Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
Today's show is our third in the Training Grounds mini-series, following Carnegie Corporation and Bain Capital to better understand how certain organizations have developed industry leaders. Wellington Management is one of the world's largest, privately held asset managers, managing over $1.3 trillion in assets with 875 investment professionals across 19 offices and a nearly 100 year history with an unusually low level of turnover along the way. Wellington has developed, recruited, and retained leading global investment talent across public equities, fixed income, and recently private markets as well. My guest to discuss this training ground is Jean Hynes, CEO of Wellington, who has spent more than thirty years at the firm starting as an administrative assistant. Our conversation covers Wellington's cultural values and boutique investment team model, including apprenticeship for junior talent, recruiting at the mid-level, and promotion all the way to partner. We then discuss Wellington's evolution from a U.S. equity value shop to a global, multi-asset, multi-strategy powerhouse, and Jean's evolution from a portfolio manager to CEO. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Eric Peters leads both One River Asset Management and Coinbase Asset Management and writes a widely dispersed blog called Wknd Notes, in which he shares macro insights. He's twice been a guest on the show, discussing his bespoke macro investment strategy four years ago and the case for Bitcoin three years ago. Both conversations are replayed in the feed. Since then, many of One River's strategies played out well during Covid, and Coinbase acquired One River Digital Asset Management in March 2023. We got back together to discuss how Eric has adapted to the changing environment, including One River's shift from bespoke offerings to a total portfolio solution and the continued case for Bitcoin. Along the way, Eric shares his keen insights on portfolio construction, left-tail risks, and right-tail opportunities. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Eric Peters is the founder and CIO One River Asset Management, where he searches for high conviction strategies coming out of his team's expertise trading and investing in thematic macro, volatility, systematic, and inflation strategies – each as it turns out, turned his focus on study bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Eric made news in November when he executed a $600 million purchase of bitcoin, then the largest public transaction to date. He has called bitcoin the most interesting macro trade he's seen in thirty years in the business, and we kick off this mini series, Crypto for Institutions with his macro case for the digital asset. Our conversation discusses the intrigue of Bitcoin as a form of money, how digital currencies will somewhat ironically increase the power of governments and the likely co-existence of bitcoin with government digital currencies in the future. The then turn to the development of institutional infrastructure for digital assets, Eric's perspective on bitcoin as an investor and a trader, the reflexive nature of bitcoin supply, and the risks in the asset. Lastly, we discuss the story of Eric's big trade, the future of bitcoin, and institutional interest in the space. Please enjoy my conversation with Eric Peters in this first of four episodes in the mini-series Crypto for Institutions. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript
Eric Peters is the founder and CIO One River Asset Management, an investment manager dedicated to delivering high conviction absolute-return strategies, where each individual strategy comes out of the team's expertise in thematic macro, volatility, systematic, and inflation trading/investing. Eric has been a long-time trader and writes a widely dispersed email called Weekend Notes, in which he shares macro insights through colorful anecdotes. Our conversation starts with Eric's early exposure to trading, macro blow-ups, and the formation and activities of One River. We then turn to the current environment and get his sobering thoughts on what has transpired and what the turmoil will mean for private equity and asset allocation going forward. Learn More Read the Transcript Subscribe to the Capital Allocators Blog or Monthly Mailing List Don't Subscribe, but Let Us Know Who You Are Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides Review past episodes of the Podcast
Consolidation in asset management is one of the industry's most important trends. When any industry enters a mature phase, consolidation brings the benefits of economies of scale, product depth, and broader services to meet client demands. We've seen a rising tide of merger activity in recent years, effecting both asset managers and allocators alike. My guests on today's show are leaders of two organizations that announced mergers in October – Simon Krinsky, a Managing Partner at Hall Capital and Tim McCusker, CIO at NEPC. Hall announced a merger with Pathstone, adding its $45 billion in assets to Pathstone's $100 billion. NEPC announced a sale of a majority stake in its firm to Hightower Holdings, adding NEPC's $1.8 trillion of assets under advisement to Hightower's $130 billion of assets under management. Both Hall and NEPC have been longstanding independent organizations that are selling to a partner backed by private equity owners. Simon and Tim walk through their rationale for the transactions, deal process from idea to signing, and opportunities and challenges going forward. The organizations share similarities in their long independent history, broad equity ownership, and investment capability, while also having significant differences in their new partners, incentive structure, and plan to service clients. Together, Simon and Tim offer an inside look at dealmaking in asset management. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Chris Heller is the Co-Founder of Cordillera Investment Partners, a $1.6 billion manager of non-correlated, niche investments, or weird alternatives. Cordillera looks for investments ahead of the crowd that offer compelling returns and significant diversification. Chris came on the podcast two years ago in our Manager Meeting series interviewed by FEG's Greg Dowling, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our follow-up covers lessons learned over ten years of focusing on off-the-run investments. We reflect on Cordillera's strategy, sourcing funnel, research, operating partners, deal structures, and risk management. We then discuss the importance of people, humility, and struggle in investment success. Along the way, Chris colors his lessons with examples from specialty financing of whiskey, boat marinas, wireless spectrum, land for data centers, sports, and cheese. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
On today's Manager Meeting, Greg Dowling interviews Chris Heller. Greg is the Co-CIO and Head of Research for Fund Evaluation Group, an institutional OCIO and investment consultant with $83 billion in assets under advisement. Chris is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Cordillera Investment Partners, a $1.2 billion alternative investment fund that invests in niche, non-correlated assets, or what Chris calls weird stuff, like whiskey aging, boat marinas, spectrum, and water rights. Their conversation covers Chris's background and the founding of Cordillera, the evolution of alternative assets and alternative alternatives, sourcing new opportunities, conducting due diligence, measuring risk, portfolio construction, and exit strategy. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Matt Bank is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at GEM, an OCIO that manages $12 billion for forty clients. GEM was founded in 2007 by investment leaders at The Duke Endowment and Duke University Investment Management Company. Our conversation covers Matt's path to investing under recent guest David Salem and lessons learned about risk and governance while under his tutelage. We then turn to Matt's move to GEM and its positioning in the OCIO industry. We cover GEM's approach to asset allocation and manager selection, and close with Matt's thoughts on active and passive investing, venture capital, hedge funds, and drivers of success going forward. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jeff Glass is the Cofounder and CEO of Hometap Equity Partners, a novel platform with $1 billion of investments alongside a mission to allow homeowners to access their home equity without having to sell, stress, or borrow. Jeff started the business eight years ago after a series of successes as an entrepreneur followed by seven years investing at Bain Capital Ventures. Our conversation covers Jeff's early lessons in sales, entrepreneurship, and investing that led to the founding of Hometap. We then discuss Hometap's investment strategy, including the chicken-and-egg problem of starting the business, sourcing homeowners, sourcing capital, and developing the team, culture, and infrastructure that brings it all together. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jon Glidden is the CIO of Delta Air Lines, where he oversees the company's $16 billion pension fund. Jon joined Delta in 2011, when the plan had $7.5 billion in assets, a $13 billion underfunded liability, and the highest actuarial expected rate of return (9%) of any company in the S&P 500. Despite funded status that threatened the solvency of the company thirteen years ago, investment performance combined with corporate contributions that offset plan payouts have improved Delta's funding status from 42% to 102% today, creating the largest corporate pension turnaround in history. Our conversation discusses Jon's independent thinking and innovative approach that led to his incredible feat. We start with his Naval and investment background and then cover the four forces that drive his investment philosophy - portable alpha, private equity, portfolio construction, and governance - and the implementation of each. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Chris and Rob Michalik are twin brothers and co-founders of Kinderhook Industries, a middle-market private equity firm overseeing $8 billion focused on healthcare services, environmental services, and the automotive aftermarket. Chris and Rob joined me on Private Equity Deals to discuss one of their portfolio companies, Ironclad Environmental Services, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. This time around, we discuss their story attached at the hip. We cover their background and path to starting Kinderhook, including rooming together for the first 26 years of their lives. We discuss the firm's family-like culture, three pillars of its investment approach, unwarranted scrutiny of private equity in the healthcare sector, and the recent example of their purchase of Stewardship Medical Group out of the bankrupt Steward Healthcare. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
On episode eight of season three of Private Equity Deals, Chris and Rob Michalik discuss Kinderhook Industries' investment in Ironclad Environmental Services. Chris and Rob are twin brothers and co-founders of Kinderhook, a twenty-year-old private equity firm that manages $5 billion specializing in middle-market businesses across healthcare services, environmental services, and automotive/light manufacturing. Ironclad Environmental Services is a leading provider of logistics-based solutions focused on the containment of industrial waste. It has 50 branches and a fleet of 29,000 specialized rental assets that store, separate, and transport liquid and solid industrial waste. Our conversation covers Kinderhook's identification, due diligence, and negotiation of the deal. We discuss a significant early add-on acquisition, progress-to-date, and the future of Ironclad. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Scott Bessent is the CEO and CIO of Key Square Group and a renowned global macro investor. His 40-year investment career has included two stints at Soros Fund Management, the first for a decade under Stan Druckenmiller and the second for five as CIO. In between, Scott launched a hedge fund, retired, and joined me at Protégé Partners when he learned retirement wasn't for him. Following his second tour at Soros, Scott started Key Square with $4.5 billion, one of the largest hedge fund launches in history. Scott has been profiled in two best-selling investment books, Steve Drobny's Inside the House of Money and Sebastian Mallaby's More Money than God. Our conversation covers Scott's investment path learning research from Jim Rogers, short selling from Jim Chanos, global macro investing from George Soros and Stan Druckenmiller, and twice hanging his own shingle. We discuss high-conviction ideas, asymmetric asset selection, position sizing, risk management, a hub and spoke approach, and core challenges of the global macro hedge fund business. I once told Scott that he could read the newspaper six months ahead of time because I had never encountered someone with his ability to connect dots and imagine investments others had not considered. His interest in improving the country's economic picture has led him to shed his publicity-shy nature, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share his story. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Ricky Sandler is one of the OGs of fundamental long-short equity investing. Ricky started managing a hedge fund thirty years ago and founded Eminence Capital a few years later. Today, he is the CEO and CIO at Eminence, where he oversees $7 billion across long-short, long-only, and long-extension strategies. Our conversation covers Ricky's path to launching Eminence in his twenties and the evolution of long-short investing in the decades since. We dive into Eminence's culture, adaptation in the investment process, and creation of investment products to meet the needs of allocators, each of which has been an essential part of the firm's ability to survive and thrive amid changing market dynamics. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
The Yale Investments Office will soon select its first round of Prospect Fellowship recipients. I've been thinking about why Yale launched the Fellowship and what might happen as it rolls out. Yale, emerging managers, and other allocators have opportunities and risks arising from the program, including some potential unintended consequences. Read Ted's blog here.
Brad Briner is the leading candidate for the Treasurer of North Carolina in the upcoming November election, a role that includes managing the state's $115 billion pension fund. Brad put himself in the ring for the seat after twenty-five years of investment experience, serving most recently as Co-CIO of Willett Advisors, Michael Bloomberg's family office. For more background on Willett, my conversation from 2019 with Chairman Steve Rattner is replayed in the feed. I don't often get to talk about really poor investment performance on the podcast, but this time we do. North Carolina has finished dead last among peers over the last three and five years, that's 50th of 50 states. Its twenty-year returns are almost equally dismal. This significant underperformance resulted from an overlay conservative asset allocation that will leave you shaking your head. Unfortunately, it's what happens when unsophisticated professionals are tasked with serious investment jobs. Our conversation covers Brad's story, investment and leadership insights from his experience and time at Willett, the problems with North Carolina's investing and governance, and Brad's desire and plan to turn around the state's pension performance. I've known Brad for ten years and want to do everything I can to help him both win the important seat and succeed once there. So if you happen to live in North Carolina, please get out and vote – every vote truly counts in low turnout races like thisIf, like most of us, you don't live there, please tell any friends you have who do live in the state. Lastly, if Brad is successful at the polls, he'll need to build out a team with talented professionals who share his passion for investing and making a difference. Maybe you can help there too. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Steve Rattner is the Chairman and CEO of Willett Advisors, which invests former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's personal and philanthropic assets. Steve's career has ranged from a journalist for the New York Times to investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Lazard Freres, to founding private equity firm Quadrangle Group, and lastly to serving in the Obama Administration as head of the successful restructure of the automobile industry after the financial crisis. He returned to oversee Willett Advisors after his work in the government. Our conversations starts with a quick tour through each of Steve's careers, and then turns to his work investing the assets of Michael Bloomberg's family office, including selecting an investment model, building a team of specialists, using internal management to supplement external managers, and thinking through private equity, hedge funds, public equity, and the manager selection process. We close with Steve's perspectives on China and his ongoing engagement in politics. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Matt Miller is the Managing Director of Grey Rock Investment Partners. Matt co-founded Grey Rock as a traditional oil and gas manager in 2013. Today, the firm manages $1 billion across both natural resources and renewables by identifying attractive niches in each that do not tradeoff human interest for returns. Our conversation covers Matt's path to the energy sector and founding of Grey Rock, the ongoing need for natural resources, and the identification of dislocations that create niche opportunities. We turn to Grey Rock's own 'energy transition' intended to resolve ESG pressures while meeting client return objectives, including the overcapitalization of most renewable strategies, discovery of an attractive niche in carbon capture, and complexity in making it work. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Kristof Gleich is the President and CIO of Harbor Capital Advisors. Harbor is a forty-year old firm that manages $62 billion by partnering with boutique active managers to roll out active ETFs, collective investment trusts, and historically, mutual funds. Kristof joined Harbor in 2018 and watched as the actively managed mutual fund company had $22 billion of outflows, or a third of its assets, in his first year on the job. He led a turnaround of the business to transition from a traditional mutual fund company to an innovative leader in the active ETF space. Our conversation covers the lessons Kristof learned about culture from his time at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and his application of those lessons to turnaround Harbor. We discuss the challenges of making it happen, the rise of active ETFs, Harbor's approach to standing out in a crowded field, its manager selection process, distribution, and the future of alternative investments in the ETF space. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Dan Ariely is a leading behavioral economist, author, entrepreneur and the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. Dan is a founding partner of Irrational Capital, an investment research firm that quantifies the impact of corporate culture and employee motivation on financial performance. My initial conversation with Dan two years ago has been one of the most downloaded episodes of the show, and a recent research piece by JP Morgan entitled The Human Capital Factor that highlights his work got me excited to catch up with him again. Our conversation covers many aspects of his continuing research to identify positive human capital practices and performance in the workplace, including data collection and assessment, gender differences, goodwill, ESG, and changes during Covid. We then turn to the practical application of the research in the capital markets through two indexes and customized research. We close by talking about Dan's new research projects and some of his favorite recent answers to his Ask Ariely column in the WSJ. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript
Stephen Nesbitt is the CEO and CIO of Cliffwater, an investment consultant and asset management firm specializing in alternative that oversees a combined $110 billion, including $30 billion in private market interval funds that begin just five years ago. Steve founded Cliffwater in 2004 to serve the burgeoning institutional market for alternative investments and bet the farm with a pivot to managing private credit assets for RIAs in 2019. That shift has been one of the most successful initiatives in the industry in the last five years and catapulted Cliffwater to one of the market leaders and brands serving the RIA community. Our conversation covers Steve's journey as a consultant, formation of Cliffwater, and focus on alternatives. We then discuss his strategic shift to managing assets for RIAs, including the development of a private debt index fund, innovation in fund structures, management of liquidity, distribution in the RIA channel, and new initiatives on the come. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
David Salem has been a pioneer, practitioner and student of institutional investing for the last forty years. David was the founding president and CIO of The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), which he led for nearly two decades until 2010. Since then, he has managed a multi-family office, worked and wrote alongside Ben Hunt at Epsilon Theory, and now serves as the Managing Director of Capital Allocation at Hedgeye Risk Management. Along the way, David worked closely with and distilled lessons from David Swensen, Jack Meyer in his time at Harvard Management Company, Charley Ellis, Chuck Feeney from Atlantic Philanthropies, and many other leading CIOs and managers. Our conversation covers David's journey to investing, including sitting alongside Jeremy Grantham during GMO's early growth stage and founding TIFF. We dive into manager selection, decision-making, investment committees, and risk management. We then turn to David's views on China, Japan, private equity, and digital assets. Throughout our conversation, David shares his profound understanding of the unique pressures faced by institutional investors and the principles that guide successful investment strategies and leadership in complex environments. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Rahul Moodgal and I first met twenty years ago in his early days in the hedge fund business. We had been friends and professional acquaintances with mutual respect ever since, but an inflection in both our personal and professional relationships came after his appearance on the podcast five years ago. That conversation, sharing his incredible story from a teacher to a master fundraiser, is replayed in the feed. Rahul is a partner at Parvus Asset Management, a $10 billion European equity manager. He's also my co-founder and partner of Capital Allocators Summits and Capital Allocators University, and is one of the most beloved and respected investor relations professionals in the industry. I asked Rahul to come back on the show to update his thoughts on what it takes to succeed in a far more difficult capital-raising environment, what he's learned over the last five years, how he shares his wisdom to make the industry better through our partnership, and the world at large better through his extensive charitable work. Our newest creation – Capital Allocators University for IR/BD professionals – was Rahul and my partner Hank's shared creation. Our first cohort will take place in New York on December 3-4. CAU for allocators will take place the next day, on December 5th. You can sign up for either at capitalallocators.com/university Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Rahul Moodgal has spent 20 years as a fund raiser across long only strategies, hedge funds, fund of funds, customized solutions, start-ups, and non-profits. Collectively, Rahul has raised and helped raise $60 billion for firms since 2005. He started his career in the industry at powerhouse TT International, and later joined The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) where he led the marketing effort that raised $20 billion in just 3½ years. Within TCI's affiliate model, Rahul also was responsible for the largest India fund raise in history ($1 billion for TCI New Horizon Fund), and the largest sector fund launch in history ($1.1 billion for Algebris Investments). Our conversation covers capital raising lessons learned from teaching, the value of transparency, the gold rush before 2008, the lean times afterwards, modern fee structures, the three key points to effective marketing, the three traits that will kill you, the two biggest issues start-up funds face, the best questions asked by leading allocators, and some of the worst horror stories in attempted capital raising. We close comparing by fund raising for charities and investment firms. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast
Toby Rodes is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Kaname Capital, a value- and quality-oriented manager of small-cap Japanese equities. Our conversation covers the case for Japan and why this time is different. We discuss Toby's deep-rooted fascination with Japan, his education in Japanese culture, and his transition to investing on the sell side and at GMO. We turn to the past false starts of Japanese activism, recent changes in corporate governance, and Kaname's process to take advantage of the opportunity. Lastly, we touch on value traps, the carry trade, and the potential for private equity activity in a new era of Japanese corporate stewardship. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Mike Maples Jr. is a partner at Floodgate, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2006 with Anne Miuro-Ko. He has been on the Forbes Midas list eight times in the last decade and backed Twitter, Lyft, Twitch, Okta, and many others in their earliest stages. Attempting to understand if he had been lucky or skillful, Mike studied venture winners and created a framework to describe startup capitalism, which he writes about in his recently released book, Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future. Our conversation covers Mike's path to venture capital and the curiosity that led to writing this book. We dive into his discovery of inflection theory and discuss components of the framework, including the power of incumbents, inflections that change the future, insights to capitalize on inflections, pivots, founder-future fit, creating a movement from misfits to the mainstream, and points of failure along the way. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Dave Breazzano is the head of the Credit Team at Polen Capital, where he oversees $8 billion of the firm's $65 billion in assets. Dave is one of the OGs in high yield, having started in the early 1980s and invested continuously through more than forty years since. Our conversation covers some history of the high-yield market alongside Dave's involvement in it, the founding of his firm in 1996, Polen's strategy to take advantage of myths in the market, the implementation of the strategy, and Dave's thoughts on the changing interest rate environment, private credit, and opportunities and risks going forward. In our complex world of investing, I suspect you'll find elegance in the simplicity and clarity with which Dave approaches investing. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jase Auby is the Chief Investment Officer of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, where he oversees the $200 billion pension fund that's the fifth largest in the U.S. TRS manages assets that support the retirement security of over two million public education employees in Texas, and has long been known as a thought-leading steward of capital in the pension community, including engagement with emerging managers and innovation in fee structures. Our conversation covers Jase's background and path to TRS, including early working with computers on Wall Street and entrepreneurship. We discuss TRS' organizational structure, competitive advantages, and investment approach and close with Jase's role and accomplishments in his tenure as CIO. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
My latest book, Private Equity Deals: Lessons in investing, dealmaking, and operations from private equity professionals, arrives next week. This post shares how this book came to be, a glimpse at what's inside, and a rebuttal of common criticisms of private equity. Read Ted's blog here.
David Eichhorn is the CEO and Head of Investment Strategies at NISA, a $400 billion employee-owned asset manager of risk-controlled fixed income and derivative overlays that is widely respected for its highly collaborative client relationships. The firm is one of the largest derivative overlay managers in the world and the largest U.S. manager of LDI strategies. Our conversation dives into Dave's twenty-five years at NISA, its client-centric focus, approach across fixed income and derivative strategies, culture, and opportunities and risks in the markets. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Today's show is quite different from our typical show. It's an edited replay of a conversation from six years ago with Michael Mervosh, the Executive Director of the Hero's Journey Foundation. Michael created HJF to provide experiential opportunities for human development and transformation based on Joseph Campbell's mythic hero's journey. A few weeks ago, I received a FaceTime call from Michael at the tail end of the annual HJF Men's Journey in the mountains of West Virginia. He called alongside someone I didn't know, who had listened to the podcast years ago and planted a seed that led to his participation this year. He recently retired after two decades as a partner at a very well-regarded, multi-billion-dollar equity manager. Seeing his ear-to-ear grin and expression of thanks from leading him on the journey had me wanting to share this again, in case you also find the call to the mountain at a future moment in your life. My conversation with Michael took place in the mountains of West Virginia towards the end of a hero's journey six years ago and discusses the program, how Michael came to creating it, and life lessons across perfectionism, uncertainty, and fear. You can learn more by visiting herosjourneyfoundation.org. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Josh Fenton is the CIO of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, an $8 billion pool he began leading earlier this year upon the retirement of Roz Hewsenian, who served as CIO for the prior twelve years. Roz was a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation follows last week's about succession, using the live example of a successful CIO transition. We discuss Roz's plan for her retirement, steps to evaluate and train her successor, and actions upon her retirement announcement eighteen months beforehand. We also cover the transition from Josh's perspective, including what happened along the way, conversations that took place, and changes when he took over as CIO. Lastly, Josh and Roz share lessons others can apply for transitions in both allocator and manager organizations. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Roz Hewsenian is the Chief Investment Officer of the $6 billion Helmsley Charitable Trust. Prior to joining Helmsley in 2010, Roz had a storied career in the industry, highlighted by her two decades of work as the consultant to CalPERS while at Wilshire Associates. Our conversation tracks Roz's career, including lessons from teaching children, the most important rule of management, successful investment consulting, taking time off, and joining Helmsley. We then turn to her current role and cover opportunistic-based allocation, theme identification, benefits of concentrating in managers, oversight of a team and due diligence, stories from the front lines, exciting investment opportunities, co-investments, and governance. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
As the first generation of investment firm founders approaches retirement age, the issue of succession to the next generation is increasingly at hand. We've seen several successful transitions of firms, many that haven't survived their founders, and an entire sub-industry arise to help facilitate generational transfers across GP stakes, public offerings, and structured transactions. With both managers and allocators thinking more about the inevitability of succession, I thought it would be helpful to share what a leading allocator who reviews thousands of managers has learned about the issue. My guest on today's show is Sarah Samuels, Partner and Head of Investment Management Research at NEPC, which advises on $1.7 trillion in assets. As part of her work assessing managers, Sarah has created a framework to analyze succession as an investment risk. She was a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Our conversation covers that framework across its three key metrics: performance, age, and economics. We discuss the challenges of transitioning both economics and portfolio management, using stories and analogies to other businesses along the way. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Sarah Samuels is the Head of Investment Manager Research at NEPC where she oversees teams across public equities, credit, hedge funds, and private markets for the $1.5 trillion investment advisory juggernaut. Prior to joining NEPC three years ago, Sarah worked at the senior level of both a top notch endowment and a public pension fund. She sought to bring the best of both worlds to her role at NEPC. Our conversation covers Sarah's early career investing, time in the allocator seat at Mass PRIM and Wellesley College, and decision to join NEPC. We discuss her key investment themes, investment framework blending qualitative and quantitative analysis, second-level thinking, CIO mindset, alignment of interest, private equity allocations, and investment committees. We close discussing Sarah's work on DE&I and her involvement in Girls Who Invest. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Todd Simkin is an Associate Director at Susquehanna International Group, a global quantitative trading firm comprised solely of internal capital that is known for its rigorous analytical approach to decision-making. Todd is also the CEO of Susquehanna Re, his latest role in a 27-year tenure at SIG that has spanned trading, strategic initiatives, and trader education. Our conversation covers the history of SIG alongside Todd's roles, trader development, the art and science of trading, risk management, recruiting talent, competitive advantages, luck, and strategic initiatives in venture capital, prediction markets, sports gambling, and reinsurance. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jeff Assaf is the founder and CIO of ICG Advisors, which oversees $7B in assets for a highly curated group of 80 client families. While Jeff keeps his client names confidential, ICG manages money for a roster of successful athletes, entertainers, and business professionals with a combination of tailored investment solutions and white-glove service, many of whom he has served for decades. Our conversation covers Jeff's path to investment allocation through Oppenheimer, Bear Stearns, and eventually ICG. We discuss defining client objectives, selecting managers, building low-volatility portfolios, assessing re-ups in private equity, and serving as a good partner to managers and clients. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Rob Small and Anil Seetharam are Managing Directors and founding members of the Stockbridge team at Berkshire Partners, a $5B concentrated public equity manager that sits inside the $20B private equity firm. Unlike many public equity strategies at private equity firms, Stockbridge works closely and collaboratively with Berkshire's private equity team on its investment research and has attracted an enviable client roster of some of the most respected allocators in the world. Our conversation covers Rob and Anil's history at Berkshire and the steps they took to launch Stockbridge in 2007. We discuss their collaboration with Berkshire's private equity team, investment criteria, deep dive research, decision-making process, portfolio management, board involvement, management of stock volatility, sell decisions, mistakes, and lessons learned over the last 17 years. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, a leading marketing and communications firm that for 30 years has helped the world's top brands navigate what comes next. In asset management, Prosek's clients oversee $60 trillion and comprise a who's who in private and public markets. Jen is a popular past guest on this show from her first appearance five years ago and second when she shared her thoughts on navigating the pandemic. Our conversation updates Jen's thoughts on the emerging market of branding in the private markets, the importance of nailing the narrative, power of convening, maximizing value at conferences, and identifying talent. We discuss her thoughts on the trends driving capital flows and some great Jen-isms from her LinkedIn newsletter called Leading in Volatile Times. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles and Connecticut. Prosek Partners ranks among the top 10 independent public relations firms in the U.S., and among the top financial communications consultancies. The firm has been listed as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company for nine years running. Jen is also a two-time author. Our conversation covers the foibles of professional marketing in asset management, building a brand, measuring a successful branding effort, managing the story of weak performance, and describing the differences in hedge fund and private equity branding. We then turn to some of Jen's fascinating observations learned from her experience, including raising entrepreneurial children, working with millennials and Gen Z staffers, and implementing the principals of 'Just Ask', behave with humanity, and not thinking in black and white. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Today's show is the second in an ongoing mini-series discussing Training Grounds, organizations that have developed industry leaders. The first episode discussed Carnegie Corporation, where over a dozen years 8 of the 17 investment professionals that came through the doors became CIOs at Carnegie or other institutions. Bain Capital is one of the world's largest private alternative investment firms. The firm was founded 40 years ago with a half dozen team members managing a $37 million growth equity fund and has expanded to 1,750 people, 180 partners, and $200 billion in assets under management today. During that time, Bain Capital developed leaders across every category of alternative investing, many of whom started in the firm's private equity business. My guest to discuss this training ground is John Connaughton the Co-Managing Partner & Global Head of Bain Capital Private Equity. Our conversation covers Bain Capital's founding idea, recruiting and training, governance model, inflection points of growth, compensation, case for staying private, culture, developing leaders, and succession. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Charles Duhigg is a celebrated writer for The New Yorker and author of bestseller "The Power of Habit." His latest book, "Supercommunicators," describes how to effectively communicate in conversation. Our conversation covers Charles' path to writing business stories and personal books and turn to his latest tour du force. We discuss the science behind connection, three types of conversations, methods to become a better communicator, and tools to navigate challenging conversations. Charles' book and words feel like unlocking a secret language that can help anyone connect better with others, and he embodies the archetype of the supercommunicator he describes. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Ben Hunt is the creator of Epsilon Theory and co-founder of Second Foundation Partners, where he writes and invests through the lens of narratives, or in his words "If a price moves, it is because a human told themselves a story." Before turning to investing twenty years ago, Ben was a tenured political science professor and founder of two technology companies. He has been studying trends using what we now call big data ever since his first book about predicting international conflict in 1997. Our conversation covers Ben's path to finance, the power of stories, tracking and measuring narratives in markets, and applying the lens of narrative to investing. Ben's insights offer a careful consideration of what's really going on in markets. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
I've been thinking about what it takes for allocators to lower the fee burden charged by managers on the path to increasing net returns. Read Ted's blog here.
Yann Robard is the founder of Dawson Partners, a leading global alternative asset manager overseeing $20 billion that provides innovative structured solutions to the private markets. Formed initially as Whitehorse Liquidity Partners and rebranded as Dawson, both names are inspired by Yann's 1,000 km bicycle journey in the Canadian Arctic that led to his becoming a trailblazer in the market. Our conversation covers Yann's entrepreneurial career path, including fourteen years in the formative stages of Canadian Pension CPPIB. We discuss the success of the private equity industry, valuations, liquidity, the necessity of scale, and creating solutions that balance the needs of GPs and LPs. We turn to the process and culture at Dawson and the exciting future of the secondaries market. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Please join us for our first Capital Allocators University for Investor Relations and Business Development Professionals. Learn more and sign up here.
Graham Weaver is the managing partner of Alpine Investors, a $17 billion people-driven private equity firm that invests in software and services businesses. Graham founded Alpine on the belief that exceptional people create exceptional businesses. Alpine's PeopleFirst approach includes hiring, training, and placing an army of CEOs in its portfolio companies. The strategy has led Alpine to be recognized by Prequin as the most consistent top-performing private equity fund manager. Our conversation covers Graham's early interest in self-help, his path to private equity, and launch of Alpine in 2001. We discuss his early mistakes, discovery of Alpine's PeopleFirst approach, and the firm's playbook focused on CEOs and M&A at portfolio companies. We close with Graham's thoughts on teaching and enlightenment. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Mo Haghbin is the Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at Invesco, where he develops and manages asset allocation strategies and portfolio solutions for $88 billion of client assets within the $1.7 trillion juggernaut. Our conversation covers Mo's journey to finance and his path to a leadership role at Invesco. We discuss Invesco's solutions-based approach that canvasses every type of asset pool and structure and focuses first on top-down strategic asset allocation and tactical positioning, and only later on manager selection. We cover the research that drives asset allocation and factor decisions, importance of scaling customized solutions, and impact of technology in the process. All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. This should not be considered a recommendation to purchase any investment product. This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions if they are uncertain whether an investment is suitable for them. Please obtain and review all financial material carefully before investing. Asset allocation and diversification do not guarantee a profit or eliminate the risk of loss. This material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on, for tax advice. The opinions expressed are those of the presenter(s), are based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals. All information as of April 29, 2024, in USD, unless stated otherwise. Invesco and FTSE Russell are not affiliated entities. Capital Allocators and Invesco are not in any way affiliated. The Invesco Solutions (IS) team is part of Invesco Advisers, Inc. (IAI), an investment adviser that provides investment advisory services and does not sell securities. Invesco Advisers, Inc. is an investment adviser; it provides investment advisory services to individual and institutional clients and does not sell securities. Invesco Advisers, Inc. is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd. ©2024 Invesco All rights reserved. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Anne-Marie Fink is the Head of Private Markets and Funds Alpha at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board or SWIB, which manages $140 billion of pension funds in the state. SWIB is not your typical U.S. pension fund manager. It invests with outstanding governance, alignment with beneficiaries, delegated authority, a competitively compensated team, and cutting-edge strategies, all of which have contributed to a fully funded plan. Anne-Marie joined SWIB to lead its external manager efforts four years ago following a career that spans both direct and fund investing. Our conversation highlights Anne-Marie's path, applying the skills of picking stocks to assessing stock picking managers, the history and governance of SWIB, its unique payout structure that creates alignment, and their investment approach across portfolio construction, internal and external investing, asset classes, and risk management. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
My last post, The Investment Office Playbook: What Managers Don't See, discussed part of what happens inside an investment office that managers don't see but that significantly influences the cadence of capital deployed to managers. Of course, there are two sides to every coin. This post discusses what allocators don't see when a manager chooses to grow. Read Ted's blog here.
Alexis Ohanian is the General Partner and Founder of Seven Seven Six, an early-stage venture capital firm with $1 billion under management that he describes as a technology company that deploys venture capital. Alexis was the co-founder of Reddit, one of the most popular online forums in the world, which he sold 18 months after its 2005 launch for $10 million and returned as Executive Chair in 2014 to help lead the turnaround of the business. In between and since, he has invested in early-stage ventures as a partner at Y Combinator, a co-founder of Initialized Capital, and most recently founder of 776. Despite his success in entrepreneurship and investing, Alexis is most well known in the world at large as the husband of tennis star Serena Williams. Our conversation covers Alexis' initial ride at Reddit, taste of early-stage venture capital, and return to Reddit to scale the business alongside the challenges of managing a modern social media platform. We then turn to his investing as a technology company, including Cerebro – 776's transparent operating system, thematic ideas, traits of successful founders, social media engagement, investments in women's sports, and lessons learned from his wife Serena. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Dan Tennebaum is the Managing Director at India Capital, a thirty-year-old investment firm focusing on public equities in India. Dan moved to the country twenty-five years ago and spent time in the start-up world and venture capital before pivoting to the public markets in 2007. Our conversation covers Dan's path from a U.S. Midwesterner to India, the challenges of venture capital investing in the country, and the case for public equities. We turn to India Capital's perspective on sourcing, research, management, regulation, valuation, portfolio construction, risk, and misperceptions, colored with some examples along the way. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Brett Barakett is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Tremblant Capital, a 23-year-old long-short equity and long-only firm focused on deep fundamental stock research with a senior team that has been together for at least sixteen years. Brett has invested through rising and falling tides in the industry, ups and downs in fund flows, and alongside friends and peers who have since retired. Yet he keeps skating to where the puck is going. Our conversation covers Brett's path to launching Tremblant, including lessons from hockey, operational experience, and the early days in a terrible market for the strategy. We discuss the long-short and long-only models, primary research, portfolio construction, sell decisions, risk management, compensation structure, and Tremblant's launch of TOGA, one of the first active ETFs run by a longstanding hedge fund manager. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Cliff Asness is the Founder and CIO at AQR, an investment management firm at the intersection of financial theory and practice that oversees $100 billion in assets. He is famously intelligent, comical, and irreverent, all wrapped into one. Our conversation covers Cliff's journey from studying market efficiency under Eugene Fama to capitalizing on market inefficiencies at AQR. We discuss regime changes in factors, difficult periods for performance and AQR's business, research innovation, machine learning, index funds, pod shops, areas of cognitive dissonance, private equity, and serving on investment committees. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
3G Capital's buyout of Burger King may be the most successful private equity deal you've never heard about. Over the last fourteen years, or the length of a typical private equity fund, 3G turned a $1 billion investment into $28 billion in value. The annual dividends from the investment accruing to 3G today are around 70% of its invested capital. The deal is one of the highest earning buyouts ever. 3G is an organization with a storied history. Founded by Jorge Paolo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, and Marcel Herrmann Telles, the group created an owner-operator model of investing. They rose to prominence through building the largest beer company in the world, initially buying local brewer Brahma in 1989, expanding it and merging with a competitor to become AmBev in 1999, merging with Interbrew to become ImBev in 2004, and taking over Anheuser Busch in 2008 to become AB InBev. Twenty years ago, Alex Behring, a young star on their team, moved to the US to form 3G Capital and take the approach abroad. Burger King was the second largest hamburger fast food chain after McDonalds in 2010 when 3G took it private. What it accomplished since then has been extraordinary. My guests to discuss 3G and the deal are Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz. Co-Managing Partners of 3G Capital. Our conversation covers the history of 3G, Alex's journey to form 3G Capital, and the 3G playbook. We then dive into the deal, covering the sourcing and deal dynamics, improving operations, growing the business, taking the company public unexpectedly, and reloading to buy Tim Horton's, Popeye's, and Firehouse Subs. Today's Burger King is part of Restaurant Brands International (QSR), a public company with a $32 billion market cap and $50 billion enterprise value. This classic deal will widen your aperture on what's possible with a long-term, compounding holding period and operational excellence. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Alex Abell is a Managing Partner at RCP Advisors, which at $14 billion of committed capital, is one of the largest firms focused exclusively on lower-middle market buyouts. Alex has spent twenty-three years in the business, starting on the LP side, building Atlas Diligence – a research and advisory platform focused on advanced analytics, and then merging Atlas with RCP a decade ago. Today, he helps manage RCP's research efforts, its customized solutions, and advisory services. Our conversation covers Alex's path and lessons learned investing in lower middle market buyout funds across assessing managers with data, benchmarking, blending quantitative and qualitative factors, and applying insights to primary and secondary investing. Alex and I just scratch the surface on what's possible with analytics in the private markets. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Alex directly at [email protected] Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Letitia Johnson is the CIO of Amherst College, where she manages the school's $4 billion endowment. After thirteen years working with twenty-five clients and attending over 1,000 Investment Committee meetings at Cambridge Associates, Letitia developed a view about investing that differs from many similar pools of capital and has applied that view over the last five years. Our conversation covers the subtleties of managing an endowment with a concentrated, bottom-up manager-selected approach for the long-term, including portfolio construction, risk and liquidity management, long-term investing, and competition for capital. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
David Morehead is the CIO at Baylor University, where he oversees the $2.2 billion endowment. David came to Baylor thirteen years ago after an eighteen-year investment career that spanned every aspect of public markets investing. He created an approach to investing at Baylor that is quite different from others in the seat. David recently started sharing his insightful perspectives on the craft on Twitter/X under the handle @CIO_Baylor. Our conversation covers David's background and path to Baylor, the three styles of endowment management pursued in the industry, and the thematic top down approach he employs. We discuss his implementation of that approach across risk management, portfolio construction, private markets, manager selection, and turnover. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
On today's show, we'll discuss another empty room – an opportunity ignored by most investors because they either don't want to or can't participate. We've shared conversations under this theme about a range of forgotten opportunities from specific emerging markets to biotech. Previous episodes are available under the mini-series or topic search at capitalallocators.com. This time around, we discuss a room that was overflowing two years ago, has been abandoned since, and might be coming back once again - crypto and blockchain technologies. My guest is Chris Dixon, a general partner at a16z and one of the leading voices and investors in the space. Chris recently published a book entitled Read Write Own, which explains the history, thesis, features, and importance of blockchain technology in his classic framework-driven, non-technical style. Our conversation covers aspects of the book, including the history of the internet, rationale for blockchains, and tokenomics. We then turn to what's happened in the ignored space since the fall of FTX across stablecoins, NFTs, DeFi, Bitcoin ETFs, regulation, and the devotees still involved in the space. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Chris Dixon is a General Partner at a16z where he leads Crypto investing, overseeing the largest pool in the space at $7 billion across four dedicated venture funds and a team of eighty professionals. Chris is one of the leading voices in the crypto ecosystem and topped the Forbes 'Midas List' as the most successful venture capitalist in the world in 2021. He was a guest on the show last year, and that replay is available in the feed. Our conversation covers Chris' framework for web3, network effects, venture economics, and institutional adoption. We turn to some of the areas he is most excited about deploying capital, including the creator economy, infrastructure, DeFi, gaming, and decentralized content creation. We close with how a16z supports portfolio companies in crypto, and Chris' thoughts on the current market downturn. A full list of a16z investments can be found here - https://a16z.com/investments/. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds. Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor. At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others. Our conversation covers Chris' early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing. We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception. Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds. Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor. At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others. Our conversation covers Chris' early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing. We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Shiloh Bates is the Chief Investment Officer at Flat Rock Global, an alternative credit manager specializing in the junior tranches of CLOs. Last year, Shiloh published CLO Investing, a comprehensive review of the structure, payoff rules, and historical performance of CLOs. Our conversation covers Shiloh's twenty-five years spent in and around the space, an overview of the market, the characteristics of CLOs, the attractiveness of CLO equity relative to other credit opportunities, and Flat Rock's approach to investing in CLO equity and BBs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership
Nigel Dawn is the global head of Private Capital Advisory at Evercore, where he leads the secondaries business he started a decade ago. Under Nigel's leadership, Evercore had become the market leader in transaction volume and is involved in approximately 30-40% of all secondaries market activity . Our conversation covers Nigel's observations on the growing secondaries market, including its history, rationale for LPs and GPs, incentives, critiques, other liquidity options, and advice for both sellers and buyers of GP interests. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership