Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

On today's manager meeting, Ellen Ellison speaks with Jon Brolin. Ellen is the former Chief Investment Officer of the University of Illinois Foundation, which she joined in 2013 as the first leader of the now $2.4 billion Foundation. Jon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Edenbrook Capital, a $400 million manager of a concentrated portfolio of micro and small cap U.S. equities. Edenbrook applies a private markets approach to public markets, intending to own and add value to its portfolio companies over a multi-year time horizon. First, Ellen and I discuss how she came to find an off-the-run manager and some of her process in getting over the hurdle to allocate to what became a very successful partnership. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Starwood Capital Group, a $95 billion real estate investment firm with 4,000 employees and 16 offices worldwide. Barry has invested nearly $200 billion across every major real estate asset class around the world. The list of related real estate companies he's created, results, and associated accolades are extensive and truly impressive. Our conversation covers Barry's beginnings as an entrepreneur and real estate investor with some great stories along the way. We then turn to the current opportunity set across real estate asset classes and geographies and close with his approach to managing his own capital through his family office, SPACS, and experience during the pandemic. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Today's episode of Manager Meetings is our first sponsored show, with our friends at Janus Henderson Investors. I had the chance to speak with Daniel Graña, who is responsible for Janus Henderson's emerging markets equity strategy. Janus Henderson is a leading global asset manager with $400 billion under management. Our conversation covers some stories of the wild west early days in emerging markets, Daniel's strategy focusing on the intersection of good companies with good governance and good countries, portfolio construction, application of the process to China, benefits of aligning with a large organization when tackling emerging markets, and the case for emerging markets today. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Today's show is a little different from previous ones. Our Chief of Staff, Hank Strmac, had an idea to blend investing with some fun. It turned out I had just the crew. For the last twenty years, four friends and I have met for dinner regularly to talk investing. Three of them - Brett Barth from BBR Partners, Jon Harris from Alternative Investment Management, and Meredith Jenkins from Trinity Wall Street, are past guests on the show. The fourth, Casey Whalen from Truvvo Partners, was a colleague of mine at Yale back in the mid-90s. We recently got together in Brett's offices and riffed on a range of topics, including Covid, crypto, nuances in private equity and hedge funds, non-institutional investing, China, diversity, and ESG. We closed with a round on the two people who most influenced our careers. If you enjoy this as much as I do this crew, reach out to Hank or me and let us know. I suspect I can cajole them into doing it again. Until then, please enjoy my most recent gathering with Brett, Jon, Meredith, and Casey. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Jon Harris is the CEO of Alternative Investment Management, a twenty-year-old investment firm that started as a family office and has evolved into managing $1 billion in hedge fund and private equity strategies on behalf of a range of fascinating business and investment executives. Our conversation starts with the formation of AIM and its people-based investment approach. We discuss building a network to source and diligence managers, filtering the universe of prospects, understanding the motivations of managers, conducting reference checks, and using the information they gather. We then turn to AIM's private equity strategy, including selecting managers, the misalignment of interests in co-investments, and the death by a thousand cuts of hidden fees. We close talking about the continued purpose of hedgeD funds, due diligence tricks, preparing for unexpected risk, managing time, and philanthropy. 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

Meredith Jenkins is the Chief Investment Officer of Trinity Wall Street, where she oversees $5.5 billion of the church's endowment and real estate assets. Before taking the helm as Trinity's first CIO, she was the co-CIO of Carnegie Corporation of New York, Andrew Carnegie's foundation, from 2011 to 2016. She joined Carnegie in 1999 as its first investment associate and was an integral part of the build-out of the Corporation's investment capability under its first CIO. During the period, Meredith spent four years in Asia as the Corporation's special representative focusing on opportunities in China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Meredith started her career at Goldman Sachs in investment banking, Sanford Bernstein in research, and Cambridge Associates in consulting before attending Harvard Business School. She currently sits on the Investment Committee of the Wenner Gren Foundation and the Board of Directors of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company. Our conversation starts with Meredith's early career lessons and discusses alignment of interest, standing by managers in difficult times, markers of success, manager research in Asia, the co-CIO structure at Carnegie, and governance in her new challenge of starting an investment office from scratch. Fun loving and smart as a tack, Meredith offers pearls of wisdom through our conversation. For more episodes, go to capitalallocatorspodcast.com/podcast Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides

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. For more episodes, go to capitalallocatorspodcast.com/podcast Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides

On today's Manager Meetings, Beezer Clarkson speaks with Mike Smith and Nikhil Basu Trivedi. Beezer is a past guest on Capital Allocators and is a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, where she is responsible for the management of Sapphire's fund investments in early stage venture funds globally. Mike and Nikhil are co-founders of Footwork Ventures, an early-stage venture firm that closed on its first fund earlier this year, which was significantly oversubscribed. Footwork plans to invest in Seed stage and Series A companies with early signs of product market fit and the potential for decades of customer love. The partners discuss their blend of investing and operating skills, and their fundraising process. Before they kick it off, Beezer and I discuss how she discovered Footwork, her due diligence process, decision to invest, and gaining capacity. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Luke Ellis is the CEO of Man Group, the largest publicly traded hedge fund company at $135 billion in assets across five distinct investment engines. Luke is also the Deputy Chairman of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI), and previously joined the show to discuss the organization alongside Mario Therrien from CDPQ. That episode is replayed in the feed. This time around, our conversation is focused on Luke and his wide-ranging wisdom about markets and asset management businesses. We talk about his start in the business, his decade in the heyday of hedge fund of funds, and his last decade at the helm of Man Group. In the process, we touch on the role of CEO, Luke's perspectives on recruiting, growth, incentives, technology, private equity, and risks going forward. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Luke Ellis and Mario Therrien are long-time veterans of the hedge fund industry who hold the Chairman and Deputy Chairman seats of the SBAI, or Standards Board of Alternative Investments. The SBAI is an industry consortium that brings together managers and investors to set best practices for the alternative investment industry. In their day jobs, Luke is the CEO of Man Group, the largest publicly traded hedge fund company with $120 billion in assets, and Mario is the Head of Investment Funds and External Management at Canadian pension and insurance fund manager CDPQ, where he oversees $45 billion of funds managed externally. Our conversation focuses on the activities of the SBAI, including its purpose, origin, members, and evolution. We cover how members of an industry driven by different interests came to agree on anything and what has transpired since its founding after the financial crisis. We then turn to the state of the hedge fund industry and discuss its structure, fees, and future. 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

On today's Manager Meeting, Paul Black speaks to Ryan Batchelor. Paul is a popular past guest on the show and the Co-CEO of WCM Investment Management. Ryan is the Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager at Clifford Capital Partners, a $320 million value manager based in Alpine, Utah. Clifford employs a blend of core and deep value holdings selected through bottom-up research into sustainable wide moat businesses for core holdings and out of favor stocks for deep value holdings. The overlap of interest in moats led WCM to take an equity stake in Clifford three years ago. We'll start with my chat with Paul about what led him to Ryan. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Katie Hall is the Founder and Co-Chair of Hall Capital Partners, a $40 billion OCIO for high-net-worth families, endowments and foundations. She launched Hall Capital with the backing of Don Fisher, Warren Hellman and recent Presidential candidate Tom Steyer back in 1994 and has grown that base to serve 130+ clients today. Our conversation covers Katie's background, her path to starting Hall Capital, and her approach to the business. We then turn to her investment philosophy, customized asset allocation, and thoughts on alternatives, crypto, and ESG. We close with Katie's perspectives on governance and the future of Hall Capital. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

On today's manager meeting, Mario Therrien speaks with Leda Braga. Mario is a two-time past guest on the show and is the Head of Investment Funds and External Management at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). CDPQ oversees $300 billion for pension funds in the province of Quebec. Leda Braga is the founder and CEO of Systematica Investments, a $10 billion hedge fund with a quantitative and systematic approach. Leda founded Systematica in 2015 after a decade of experience managing assets with her team in the same strategy at BlueCrest Capital. Before they get going, Mario and I discuss the key factors in selecting a systematic manager and the role of Systematica in CDPQ's portfolio. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Three years ago, Paul Black from WCM Investment Management joined me on the show for a very popular conversation. At the time, WCM managed $25 billion in global growth equities out of the limelight in Laguna Beach, CA. Last year, I had a second conversation with WCM with Mike Trigg, the Portfolio Manager of its Focused Growth International strategy. Mike discussed the colorful history of the firm and its research to identify businesses with widening moats and cultures aligned with their competitive advantage. Both shows are available on the feed. Well, in the last three years, WCM has continued to excel and defy the headwinds of active management. Their $25 billion in assets under management three years ago has grown to around $100 billion today. Today's show is, in effect, the third meeting with WCM. My guest is Mike Tian, Portfolio Manager and Analyst at WCM, where he oversees the firm's emerging markets strategy and thinks deeply about moat trajectories. Our conversation begins with Mike's definition of moats and assessment of moat trajectories, using Visa as an example. We then turn to his application of moat trajectory analysis in China, including the value of heavy industries, analysis of culture, consumer preferences, risk, and some investment examples along the way. We close with Mike's thoughts on the moat trajectory of WCM itself. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Tian from WCM. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

You may remember my popular first meeting from a few years ago with Paul Black of WCM, then a $25 billion asset manager in Laguna Beach, CA. Since then, WCM has gone up and to the right in every way, they sold a minority piece of the business to Natixis, continue to put big numbers on the board, and have grown to north of $66 billion, defying the fade of active management outflows. My guest on today's show is Mike Trigg, a partner and portfolio manager of WCM's Focused International Growth strategy that comprises the majority of the firm's assets. We discuss Mike's background, arrival at WCM in 2005, near implosion of the firm shortly thereafter, and the rising of the international strategy from those ashes. We then dive in deeper to the core tenants of WCM's approach, discussing how the firm analyzes widening moats and cultures tied to competitive advantage. Lastly, we talk about how WCM's growth has impacted the firm. 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

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 Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast Show Notes 2:54 – How Paul got started in the business 4:52 – Lessons learned in the early years of his career 5:56 – Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings 6:01 – Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor 6:05 – The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel 7:49 – What works about growth stock investing 9:01 – What constitutes a great growth company 13:47 – Defining and measuring a company's competitive advantage 17:50 – How does he assess a company's culture 19:41 – The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance 20:26 – Questions that help assess company culture 21:57 – Any data to back up claims that companies with good cultures perform better over time 22:46 – Culture aligning with competitive advantage 24:30 – Looking at WCM's moat and culture 31:23 – The landscape for active management 33:53 – Weathering tough periods for the firm 37:02 – How do they think about culture in other countries 39:01 – Why does growth stock investing work when the data shows otherwise 40:47 – What is he excited about in growth stocks 43:45 – Tailwinds at the sector level 45:10 – Downside protection in the portfolio 46:38 – Patterns of positive and negative allocator behavior 48:35 – How do they manage the change in the portfolio going from 200 million to 26 billion 49:53 – Closing questions

On today's show, Roz Hewsenian interviews Jan Garfinkle. Roz serves as the Chief Investment Officer of the Helmsley Charitable Trust, an $8 billion foundation dedicated to increasing access to health care. Jan is the founder of Arboretum Ventures, a $700 million health care-focused venture capital firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Arboretum focuses on investments "off the coast" targeting companies that seek to reduce healthcare costs in devices, diagnostics, services and IT. Before they begin, Roz and I discuss her discovery of Arboretum, attractive qualities of the firm, and positioning in Helmsley's portfolio. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Jennifer Heller is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Brandywine Group Advisors, Inc., a subsidiary of Brandywine Trust Group. Jenny manages $12 billion of 'family endowments' that are effectively permanent capital if well invested and managed. She is nothing short of a superstar CIO. Jenny was the 7th guest on the show back in 2017, and that recording is replayed in the feed. Our second conversation gets a bit more in the weeds on Jenny's superb thought processes. We discuss a beginner's mind, the deep dive aspect of Brandywine's research process using examples from affordable housing, crypto, and insurance, KPIs for managers, position sizing, lessons learned in the manager evaluation process, and how her thinking about teams and culture has evolved. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

Jenny Heller is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Brandywine Trust Group. Brandywine formed 25 years ago to manage the capital for a small group of families that all share a long-term, multi-generational time horizon. Today, it oversees almost $9B for those same families, much of it from compounding over a quarter century. The Group invests flexibly across asset classes, with a focus on partnering with people who they believe have sustainable competitive advantages, share their long-term vision, and have highly aligned interests. These elite managers often start with great ideas, but limited capital. Before taking the helm at Brandywine five years ago, Jenny worked at the Sloan Foundation, Stanford University Management Company, and Merrill Lynch in its investment banking program. She is a graduate of Williams College, where she serves on its Investment Advisory Committee, and Stanford Business School. Our conversation starts with Jenny's frustrating experiences with a non-profit micro finance in India and South Africa and turns to her career allocating money on behalf of non-profits and families. We touch on subtleties in picking managers for taxable investors, challenges in executing a long-term strategy, learning from mistakes, and mentorship. Jenny's clear and deep thought process provides pearls of wisdom throughout our conversation. Learn MoreSubscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Read the transcripts

On today's manager meeting, Tim McCusker speaks with Rick Rieder. Tim is the Chief Investment Officer at NEPC, one of the industry's largest independent investment consultants with over $1.3 trillion assets under advisement. Rick is BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, a group that manages approximately $2 trillion in assets. BlackRock's fixed income platform covers both active and index mandates across a breadth of vehicles and strategies around the globe. Before we dive in, Tim and I discuss how NEPC works with BlackRock in client portfolios and positions the Strategic Opportunities Fund in fixed income allocations. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

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

On today's manager meeting, Donna Snider speaks with Bruce Martin. Donna was a past guest on the show when named Institutional Investor's top CIO of the future. Sure enough, today she serves as the Chief Investment Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health. Bruce founded Still Lake Capital to invest in a concentrated portfolio of equities after spending twenty-five years in the credit markets, including seventeen at Angelo, Gordon. Five years later, he's still at it, managing his capital alongside that of some friends. Donna was a long-time investor with Bruce at Angelo, Gordon and has watched his progress carefully in his new venture. Before she dives in with Bruce, we chat about why she's stayed connected to him through his transition and when she might be ready to take the leap to back Still Lake. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

My guests on today's show are financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap, co-authors of "The Caesars Palace Coup," a book detailing the bankruptcy of Caesars Entertainment. Coming off the heels of our Private Equity Masters mini-series, this conversation dives into a private equity deal gone wrong, including some technical aspects of what it takes to emerge from a bankruptcy. We walk through the intricacies, tensions and dynamics of the Caesars bankruptcy, whose stakeholders included Apollo, TPG, GSO, Elliot, Silver Point, Oaktree, and Appaloosa – a literal who's who of giants in private equity and distressed investing. We then turn to applicable lessons for investors, including power dynamics, the unwritten rules of distressed investing, and the role of skill and luck. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Today's show is a special sponsor insight highlighting an example of the terrific research that comes out of Pitchbook. My guest is Wylie Fernyhough, PitchBook's lead private equity analyst, where he produces industry research and dives deep on thematic areas of interest. Our conversation covers his research on the business of buying stakes in asset managers. We discuss its history, rationale, and perspectives from each side of the table involved in these transactions - the stake buyer, the manager who sells a stake in their business, and investors in the manager's funds. We also touch on the seeding business, private equity investments in sports franchises, and publicly listed alternative managers. We are grateful to PitchBook for their sponsorship of Private Equity Masters, and eager to highlight the great work they do. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

On today's show, Stephen Gilmore interviews Greg Jensen. Stephen is the Chief Investment Officer at New Zealand Super Fund, the NZD $59 billion (USD $41 billion) innovative sovereign wealth fund whose CEO Matt Whineray was a former guest on Capital Allocators. Greg is the Co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, where he works alongside fellow Co-CIOs Ray Dailo and Bob Prince at the $150 billion systematic global macro manager that he joined twenty-five years ago. Bridgewater's investment process is underpinned by their desire to understand how global markets and economies work, use of technology, and principles-based firm culture focused on radical truth and transparency. We kick if off with my chatting with Stephen about his relationship with Bridgewater, uniqueness of the firm, and fit in New Zealand Super's portfolio. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Our Private Equity Masters mini-series concludes with Chuck Davis, the CEO and Chairman of the Investment Committee at Stone Point Capital. Stone Point has invested $21 billion across 135 businesses, all in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Stone Point's predecessor entity at Marsh McLellan twenty-three years ago, he was a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he spent the prior twenty-three years, culminating in serving as Head of Investment Banking Services Worldwide. Our conversation covers Chuck's time at Goldman Sachs, his transition to private equity, and the formation of Stone Point Capital. We then turn to the firm's multi-year, outbound, targeted search for the best executives in financial services, work with portfolio companies, activity in the asset management sector, and management of Stone Point. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

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 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Orlando Bravo is a Founder and Managing Partner of Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused on software and technology companies with over $78 billion in assets under management. Among his many accolades, Forbes named Orlando "Wall Street's best dealmaker" in 2019. Our conversation covers Orlando's background, early investment lessons, and approach around management, analytics, and collaborative culture. We then turn to the Thoma Bravo's investment philosophy, team structure, work with portfolio companies, exit strategy, and future. We close with Orlando's thoughts on SPACs, valuations, and philanthropy. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

On today's manager meeting, Jim Dunn speaks with Julia Bonafede. Jim is a past guest on the show and the CEO and CIO of Verger Capital, an OCIO whose anchor client is Wake Forest University. Jim previously served as CIO of Wake Forest and before that, was CIO of investment consultant Wilshire Associates, where he worked with Julia. Julia was at Wilshire for 24-years, capped by serving as President of Wilshire Consulting and as a member of Wilshire's Board of Directors and Wilshire Consulting's Investment Committee. In 2016, she co-founded Rosetta Analytics, an investment manager reinventing active management by creating advanced artificial intelligence strategies. Their conversation includes a discussion of the past, present and future of investment consulting, the application of neutral networks and reinforced learning to investing, and the challenges for allocators in adopting an AI approach. Before we dive in, Jim and I discuss why he chose to invest in Rosetta and how the strategy fits into Verger's portfolios. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

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 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

On today's show, Tom Lenehan interviews Bill Ford. Tom was a very early guest on the show while at Rockefeller University and earlier this year took over as CIO of the $1.6 billion Wallace Foundation. Bill is Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic, a pioneer in growth equity investing that was founded by Duty Free Shoppers entrepreneur Chuck Feeney in 1980. Today, General Atlanticmanages $53 billion in assets with a globally-integrated team operating under a single investment platform. Had the timing worked out differently, Bill quite easily would have slotted right into the roster of Private Equity Masters on Capital Allocators. Their conversation covers Bill's path to General Atlantic, the key aspects of the firm's global, growth equity strategy, and a host of rapid fire personal and investing questions including lessons Bill shares from his experience on investment committees. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Virginie Morgon is the CEO of Eurazeo, a publicly listed asset manager that's one of Europe's leading private equity investors with more than $26 billion in assets, including $8 billion in permanent capital, across private equity, private debt, and real asset strategies. Our conversation covers Virginie's background, transition to private equity, and Eurazeo's rich history. We discuss the business strategy under her leadership, longstanding emphasis on ESG, European focus, investment strategy, and outlook for Eurazeo going forward. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

On today's manager meeting, Joel Wittenberg speaks with Eli Casdin. Joel is the former Chief Investment Officer of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the U.S. Eli is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Casdin Capital, a $3.5 billion dollar investment firm focused on investments in life sciences. Their conversation starts with Eli's thematic case for biotech and role of big pharma. They turn to the firm's assessment of company management teams, private market strategy, internal management of research and decision-making processes, and the future of Casdin Capital. First, I chat with Joel about he came to invest with Casdin the fit of the strategy in Kellogg's portfolio. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

David Rubenstein is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group. Founded back in 1987, Carlyle is one of the world's largest and most diversified global investment firms with $260 billion in asset under management across three business segments and twenty-nine offices around the world. Our conversation covers David's start in private equity, growing Carlyle from the early days, raising capital skillfully, recruiting talent globally, and managing a public company. We then turn to David's outlook for the industry, advice for CIOs, and his recent activity across his family office, writing, philanthropy, and interviewing. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Alex Shahidi speaks with Jeremy Grantham. Alex is a past guest on the show and Co-CIO of Evoke Wealth and ARIS Consulting, a $19 billion registered investment advisor he co-founded in 2014. Jeremy is the famed leader of money manager GMO, overseeing $60 billion in assets. Their conversation discusses the current market bubble unlike any other in history, some thoughts on climate change, value investing, and where to invest today. Alex and I kick it off with his thoughts on GMO and the fit inside his portfolios. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Manager Meetings with Capital Allocators will feature an interview with a money manager, conducted by one of the manager's institutional clients. We'll share the stories and strategies that attracted the attention of the investor, bringing to light investment opportunities for allocators, both from well-known and less well-known managers, each time introduced by someone who believes in the manager's ability to add value. You can find episodes of Manager Meetings at capitalallocators.com/podcast. I hope you enjoy these conversations on Thursday, right on the same Capital Allocators podcast feed.

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 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

John Connaughton is a Co-Managing Partner at Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm that oversees approximately $130 billion in assets. Founded in 1984 as the pioneer of a consulting-based approach to private equity investing, Bain Capital today invests across private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital and real estate. Our conversation covers the early years of private equity at Bain Capital, its growth in products and assets, investment process, competitive environment, culture, and succession planning. We close with JC's insights for allocators and his outlook on private equity. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

My guest on the first episode of Private Equity Masters is John Toomey, one of two members of the Executive Management Committee at HarbourVest Partners. For more than thirty years, HarbourVest has invested across all parts of the private equity spectrum - in funds, secondaries, and direct co-invests. Today, it oversees over $75 billion of assets and canvasses the world. Our conversation discusses the early days of private equity investing, evolution of strategies across primaries, co-invests, and secondaries, international expansion, best practices of managers, the next wave of growth opportunities, and risks in the space. John has a unique perch at the top of the industry and offers a wonderful perspective to kick off the mini-series. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, host of Choiceology, Charles Schwab's popular podcast on behavioral economics, the co-founder and co-director alongside Angela Duckworth of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, and most recently, the author of How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You are to Where You Want to Be. Our conversation covers Katy's path to studying change and her new book, which is framed around identifying obstacles to change and using scientific principles to get past those obstacles. We outline the eight obstacles in the book and dive in on the challenges of getting started, confidence, conformity, procrastination, laziness, and making changes last. Along the way, we touch on some applications of her research to investing and to her own life. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Alex Rodriguez had a 25-year professional baseball career, highlighted by appearing in 14 MLB All-Star Games, winning the 2009 World Series Championship as a member of the New York Yankees, and hitting 696 home runs including more grand slams than any other player in history. He is also is the Chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp, an investment holding company he started at age 20 in 1995 that today spans investments in real estate, venture capital, a SPAC, and recently announced, the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team. Our conversation covers Alex's early interest in business, lessons he learned from Warren Buffett, Magic Johnson, and Greg Norman, the strategy of A-Rod Corp, time management, leadership, and identification of partners. We then turn to his investment activities in real estate, the Slam Corp SPAC, venture capital, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and we close discussing Alex's reflections on his year-long suspension from baseball in 2014 and the future of A-Rod Corp. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Charley Ellis is the founder of Greenwich Associates, author of sixteen investment books, and now a three-time guest on the show. The bookends of his published library - his seminal book, Investment Policy, and most recent work, The Index Revolution, discuss the case for indexing for most investors. Yet one of Charley's most longstanding and passionate engagements proved the exception to the rule – his decade and a half of service on Yale University's Investment Committee, including nine years as Chair. Charley and I first met about twenty-five years ago in that capacity, and he's occupied a front row seat to Yale's success ever since. With the recent passing of David Swensen, we decided to sit down and reminisce about David in a conversational tribute to the investor, man, and leader we both so greatly admired. We discuss Yale's Investment Committee, roster of managers, investment team, and the unique aspects that made David great. We also touch on Charley's latest book, the 8th edition of his seminal classic. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Investment luminary Charley Ellis is the founder of Greenwich Associates, author of 16 books, and one of the most sought-after industry advisors worldwide. He also believes deeply in the paradox of skill and his latest book, The Index Revolution: Why Investors Should Join It Now, presents a compelling case for indexing for most investors.. Charley was an early guest on the show and we reconvened to talk through the full case of indexing for individuals and some of its constraints for institutions. Our conversation covers the case for indexing, smart beta, the retirement problem, investing in alternatives, private equity, and indexing challenges in emerging markets. After we turned off the recording, Charley proffered that we offer a prize for anyone who can find valid fault with the case against active management for most investors. Any takers can drop me an email, and I'll be happy to put them toe-to-toe with Charley to debate the issue. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Charley Ellis is one of the most highly regarded experts in the investment business. After spending nearly a decade as an equity research analyst in the 1960s, Charley founded financial services consulting firm Greenwich Associates in 1972 to help institutions understand what their clients think of them. Over 50 years, Charley has worked hand in hand with nearly every major financial institution in the world and has published sixteen books on investing, including his most recent "The Index Revolution: Why Investors Should Join It Now." Charley is not just another preacher for index fund investing. He extols the virtues of indexing after having looked both broadly and deeply under the covers of some of the most successful active managers in the world. Our conversation begins with a glimpse at what equity research and the structure of the markets looked like in the 1960s and the monumentally different way research is conducted and markets function today. Charley describes elegantly why indexing is a winner's game for many, and then walks through very special and rare qualities of three of the most successful active managers over the last few decades – Vanguard, Capital Group, and Yale University. Charley is a brilliant communicator and masterful storyteller. I hope you enjoy the show as much as I enjoyed the conversation. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford University Global Projects Center. Ashby was named by CIO Magazine as one of the most influential academics in the institutional investing world. His current research focuses on the design and governance of institutional investors, with specialization on pension and sovereign wealth funds. Ashby's most recent book, The Technologized Investor, is a practical guide showing how institutional Investors can gain the capabilities for deep innovation by reorienting their strategies and organizations around advanced technology. He also recently released a significant white paper on transparency and innovation for institutional investors for the Biden Administration. Our conversation follows-up an early podcast, Episode 29, which is replayed in the feed. This time around, we discuss the power of asset owners, issue of transparency, need for innovation and obstacles to achieving it, how and when to create change, examples of climate work at New Zealand Super, the Australian Super Funds, and Canadian Pension funds, and Ashby's handful of technology start-ups focusing on these challenges. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

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 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

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

Dan Ariely is a renowned behavioral economist, author, entrepreneur, and investor. He is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Dan is the author of six books, most of which have the word "Irrationality" in the title and has a weekly column in the The Wall Street Journal called "Ask Ariely." Dan's TED Talks have been downloaded more than 10 million times. Dan also is a Founding Partner of Irrational Capital, an investment firm that identifies and quantifies the nuanced relationship between companies and their employees, and invests in human capital factors that are linked to long-term stock price performance. Last month, Irrational Capital announced a strategic partnership with Jeff Ubben's ValueAct Capital, a firm that shares their belief in the importance of the impact of corporate culture on long-term enterprise value. Our conversation starts with Dan's journey studying pain and intuition and turns to applications of his research in the corporate setting. We discuss his research process, measurement of human capital, applying experiments to an investment strategy, employee motivation and compensation schemes as investment factors, and constructing a portfolio of factors based purely on human capital. We close by touching on Dan's projects in government and with start-ups. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Sulaiman Alderbas, the Head of Alternative Investments at Kuwait's $130 billion Public Institution of Social Security, or PIFSS. Sulaiman arrived at PIFSS from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Development in 2016, shortly before a scandal erupted when the former head of PIFSS was convicted of corruption and embezzling public funds for thirty years amounting to billions of dollars. Alongside Meshal Al-Othman, who joined to lead PIFSS from the Kuwait Fund, Sulaiman took part in a massive restructuring of the organization and portfolio. Our conversation covers Sulaiman's early experience as an allocator, lessons from investing in thirty hedge fund of funds at the Kuwait Fund, and transition to PIFSS at the inception of the discovery of the scandal. We discuss the restructuring that took place over the last four years that canvassed the people, process and portfolio. Along the way, we touch on competitive advantages of size, knowledge transfer from managers, strategic stakes, and allocator innovation. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Mark Johnson is the Managing Partner of Astra Capital Management, a mid-market growth buyout firm specializing in the communications and technology services sectors. Mark co-founded Astra after twenty years of experience investing at JH Whitney, Blackstone, and Carlyle. He partnered with seasoned deal and operating executives and brought the best practices from large shops to Astra with an entrepreneurial lens to address a focused strategy in a new way. Our conversation covers Mark's unusually planned life path, lessons from industry giants, and the formation of Astra with a utopian ideal in mind. We discuss the Astra team, thematic sourcing, financial creativity, deal dynamics, value creation within portfolio companies, factors of long-term success, co-investments, and club deals. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript