Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

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 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

Ben Inker is the head of the Asset Allocation team at GMO, a $60 billion asset manager known for its value bias under founder Jeremy Grantham. Ben joined GMO right out of college nearly thirty years ago and has been there ever since. Our conversation starts with Ben's early investment lessons from renown economics professors at Yale and how that led him to GMO upon graduation. We discuss his framework for thinking about investing and the struggles of value investing over the last decade, including the impact of global dominators, technology, and interest rates. We then turn to the case for value today, the challenges of value going forward, and the characteristics Ben sees in allocators' successes and mistakes. Lastly, our conversation took place a few weeks ago, but the world's changed a lot since then. I reached back out to Ben late last week to get his current thoughts on the market. 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

Michael Mauboussin is the Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global and fortunately, a regular guest on the show. Michael is an astute researcher of behavior, decision-making and complex systems, and I reached out to him to get his reasoned temperature on the current climate. We discussed frameworks for making a good decision in turbulent markets, monitoring stress, assessing valuation, and determining where to look for opportunities. We then touch on Michael's current research and detour to our inevitable topic of sports. 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

Michael Mauboussin is the well-known investment strategist currently plying his wares at Blue Mountain Capital. He joined me for the second time to discuss his new research entitled "Who's on the Other Side?" Our conversation dives into the work, discussing how investors can focus on process over outcome, the four types of investment edges, behavioral traits of single and group portfolio managers, portfolio position weighting, informational edges available from paying attention and complexity, the principal-agent issues that create cycles and opportunities during dislocations, the growth of private markets, and implementing his research. We close with a discussion of data analytics in the game of lacrosse. 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

Michael Mauboussin currently is the Director of Research at BlueMountain Capital, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund and asset manager. He spent the majority of his professional career thinking and writing about decision making, behavior and complex systems, with long stints at Credit Suisse and nearly a decade alongside Bill Miller at Legg Mason. Michael has been an Adjust Professor at Columbia Business School for 24 years. Our conversation covers Michael's early career, the paradox of skill, academic research more favorable to active management, decision-making, optimal size and composition of teams, unsettling features in the market, data analysis in sports, career risk, the Santa Fe Institute, and Michael's new research on the horizon. Every time I speak to Michael I come away thinking better and feeling smarter, and this time was no exception. 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

In the midst of this unprecedented time, I thought it would be helpful to hear from James Aitken, the extraordinary macro strategist who specializes in understanding the functioning of the financial system. I reached out to James with one key question in mind – are we facing a systemic risk outside of what we see happening to the economy and markets. That conversation follows. Please stay safe and healthy. 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

Greg Fleming is the founding CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management, where he took the helm of a storied family office in 2018 to build and serve other families and institutions as well. Prior to taking on this challenge, Greg was the President of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Morgan Stanley Investment Management and before that spent seventeen years at Merrill Lynch, culminating in serving as President and Chief Operating Officer from 2007-2009. Our conversation walks through some of Greg's career path, including highlights from the financial crisis, and the Rockefeller Capital Management business and strategy. We hit on ESG investing, serving clients, and leadership. And I couldn't help asking Greg about his relationship with Yankee great Derek Jeter. 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

Christie Hamilton is the Head of Investments at the $2 billion Children's Health Medical Center of Dallas. She's perhaps the most well-followed institutional allocator on Twitter, under the handle @ROIChristie. Our conversation covers Christie's career path, experience with Twitter, and the investment process at Children's, covering the mission, strategy, manager selection, opportunities and risks. In our closing questions, you won't want to miss Christie's list of investment pet peeves and life lessons learned. 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

Mike Mauzé is the General Partner at VMG Partners, which is one of those little known, closed capacity private equity firms that a small number of top institutions have loyally invested with since its founding 15 years ago. VMG manages $2 billion focused solely on building iconic consumer brands and has an astonishing record of delivering a 45% IRR to its LPs since inception. Our conversation covers Mike's path from banking to private equity investing, VMG's thesis in the CPG space, its investment criteria, sourcing, work with portfolio companies, assessment of brands and exit strategy. We then discuss the firm's decision-making process, how it built a business with a core group of loyal LPs, and the globalization of brands and work in China. 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

Doug Phillips is the CIO of the University of Rochester, where he has overseen the school's $2.6 billion endowment for twenty years. Doug's two-decade tenure at Rochester constitutes only the back half of his work in the endowment world, as he previously managed Williams College's endowment for fourteen years and started his career in the early eighties at Princeton. Our conversation covers the history of Rochester's endowment, the University's broad stakeholders, asset allocation, manager sourcing, research process, investment committee, assessment of past decisions, and efforts to be a good partner to managers. We then dive into each asset class, touching on traditional equity, hedge funds, real assets, private equity and venture capital. 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

Dan Rasmussen is the Founder and portfolio manager at Verdad Advisers, which he launched in 2014 to replicate the historical success of private equity in the public markets. He's an outspoken critic of the market's enthusiasm for private equity, resulting from research he conducted in the business while working at Bain Capital. Our conversation covers Dan's early education in the Socratic method, research into why private equity works, current risk in the private equity and private credit markets, and the launch of Verdad to find private equity-like outcomes in the public markets. We then turn to Verdad, including key lessons upon shifting to public equity investing, stock screens, portfolio construction, position sizing and the competitive advantage of capacity constraints. Lastly, we touch on Verdad's written research and preparing a portfolio for a recession. If you like Dan's thought process, you can sign up to receive his team's weekly research at verdadcap.com/strategy. 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

I'm excited to announce Capital Allocators LIVE!, a live event that will take place in NYC on June 18th. I'll host a series of live podcasts with Michael Mauboussin, Morgan Housel, Andre Perold, Atomic Habits author James Clear, and Annie Duke. You can hear us live and sit alongside a bunch of other past guests on the show as well. Founder's Class Tickets and Golden Tickets are now available. Founder's Class Members will receive a discounted price for the event and the same price for all future LIVE! events. There are just 50 Founder's Class Memberships available for those early birds catching the worm. Golden Tickets are also available, and those include the event and a special dinner afterwards with Annie, James, Morgan and me for those 25 Golden Ticket holders. Hop onto capitalallocatorspodcast.com and buy your tickets today!

James Aitken is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic research boutique based in Wimbledon, England from where he pens his weekly "Notes from a Small Island" and consults approximately one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. After a wildly popular show two years ago, James came back for another doozy. Our conversation covers the ESG tsunami and the impact fund flows will create on business economics, politics, and investments, the dynamics of Brexit and incumbent Investment opportunities, China's evolving economic plan, and the tenuous plumbing of the US financial system. 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

Peter Kraus is the Chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors, a $5 billion asset manager he founded after a storied four-decade career on Wall Street, including heading the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs and serving as Chairman and CEO of AllianceBernstein. Throughout his career, Peter has been a vocal proponent of pay-for-performance compensation models and the need for trust between active managers and their clients. He ultimately decided that a successful culture of performance-linked fees that properly aligns the manager and client could only occur in a new firm built from scratch. He teamed up with Italian insurance company Generali to launch Aperture in 2018. Our conversation covers Peter's career at Goldman Sachs and AllianceBernstein, the structural problem of incentives in the asset management industry, and Peter's attempt to disrupt that structure. We then discuss his process for selecting managers on Aperture's platform, including screening, due diligence, and the nuances in idea generation, track record, value system, and managing teams. 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

Last year, I appeared on the Rational Reminder podcast, a show hosted by Cameron Passmore and Ben Felix of PWL Capital, a terrific Ottawa, Canada-based wealth manager that focuses on low cost, passive investing. We discussed the depth of the institutional investment research process, hedge funds, alternatives for individuals, index fund investing around the world, lessons from the big Bet, and a few other fun topics. Cameron and Ben are thoughtful investors and offer high-quality content through their podcast. I'd encourage you to have a listen. Please enjoy Cameron and Ben's interview with me. 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

Beezer Clarkson is Managing Director at Sapphire Ventures where she is responsible for the management of Sapphire's fund investments in early stage venture funds globally. Her career through direct and fund investing has left her with unusually deep knowledge and insights in the space. Our conversation starts with Beezer's meandering career and turns to her work at Sapphire, including its structure and unique relationship with SAP, Series A investing, winnowing through a massive funnel of fund opportunities, the due diligence process and re-underwriting process, implications of companies staying private longer, and #OpenLP, a public forum to hear the voice of VC LPs that Beezer created with past podcast guest Chris Douvos. 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

Gregory Zuckerman is a special writer at the Wall Street Journal and the author of five books, including his most recent, The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution. Greg joined the Journal in 1996 and writes about big financial trades, firms, and personalities. He's a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award, the highest honor in business journalism, and his work has included breaking the stories of the discord between Bill Gross and PIMCO, the London Whale trade, subprime mortgage collapse, and meltdown of hedge fund Amaranth in 2007. Our conversation starts with Greg's path to journalism, touches on the aftermath of his book The Greatest Trade Ever about John Paulson and the subprime meltdown. We then turn to his recent tome on Jim Simons and Renaissance, including the formation and evolution of the Medallion fund, precarious moments in its history, the human element of a quant shop, differences between Renaissance and other quant competitors, leadership, impacting the world with vast wealth, and why Renaissance has been so special. 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

Our annual rundown of the most downloaded shows of 2019. Wishing you a new year filled with wealth, health, and joy. 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

Dr. Sarel Vorster is a practicing neuro surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, where he performs procedures on the brain and spinal cord. Sarel has a cross-disciplinary interest in the effect of stress and risk on cognition and decision-making. He attended Yale to study for an MBA at the ripe age of 50 to pursue that interest. Our conversation covers the process of conducting surgery, offering an thorough example in a high stakes field. We discuss communicating with patients, making the decision to operate, preparing, using checklists, assessing outcomes, managing risk in a life or death situation, managing a team, improving skills, coping with stress, and seeing similarities between surgery and finance. 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

Neal Triplett is the CIO of DUMAC, the organization that oversees Duke University's $19 billion endowment, and Kim Lew is the CIO of the Carnegie Corporation, where she manages the $3.5 billion foundation created by Andrew Carnegie. A few weeks ago, Institutional Investor named Kim its CIO of the Year. She also appeared on the show last year in Episode 52, which is replayed after this one on the feed. I had the chance to interview Neal and Kim at the 2019 TIFF Annual Investment Forum. Neal and Kim are Board members of TIFF, a non-profit organization founded in 1991 as The Investment Fund for Foundations, that today manages $7.5 billion on behalf of only other non-profit pools of capital. Our conversation covers a number of topics relating to Neal and Kim's respective day jobs, including the evolving of their investment approach, integrating macroeconomic risk, defining their own competitive advantage, managing a team, countering behavioral biases, using data in manager evaluation, and tackling the most challenging part of their jobs. 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

Kip McDaniel is the Chief Content Officer and Editor-in-Chief at Institutional Investor. In the early days of Capital Allocators, Kip joined me to share his insights about the CIOs he covers as a journalist. You can find that show in the feed right after this one. This time, we got together to talk about II's business and the lessons he's learned in producing content for allocators. We cover the four key characteristics of a well-written story, the increasing use of PR firms by asset managers, and the essential importance and tricks of the trade of effectively packaging content. Kip stays true to his roots as a storyteller and offers a few great ones here again. On the intro, I recorded Please enjoy twice - use the second one (Please enjoy my second conversation with Kip McDaniel) 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

Kip McDaniel is the Chief Content Officer and Editorial Director at Institutional Investor. Prior to joining II a year ago, Kip spent seven years as the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of CIO Magazine, a media platform that led him to interview 2,000 Chief Investment Officers across every type of asset base around the world. Kip is a graduate of Harvard College, received a Master's at Cambridge University, and was an elite crew rower, culminating in bringing home bronze medals for Team Canada in two World Championships. Kip is inordinately well-liked in the community, and I had a hunch I would learn a lot from getting his perspective on the people who make capital allocation happen. Suffice it to say, I wasn't disappointed. Our conversation starts with an inside look at Chief Investment Officers – how Kip finds them, ranks them, and discovers what makes them tick. Over the back half of the discussion, we turn to the lessons he's learned about investment success, incentives, fads, and issues that permeate capital allocation. Kip's modus operandi is story-telling, and this conversation is chock full of good ones. 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

Anne Martin is the Chief Investment Officer for Wesleyan University, where she manages the school's $1 billion endowment. Anne's career started in the tech world and shifted to endowment management at Yale's famed investments office. She took over at Wesleyan a decade ago, as one of a handful of Yale Investment alumns serving other institutions. Our conversation covers Anne's path from competitive rowing to the tech world and a fortuitous connection with David Swensen. We cover the transferable skills from private equity to endowment management, key lessons learned at Yale, experience taking on a "start-up" at Wesleyan, application of knowledge to a smaller pool of capital, development of a team and a portfolio, perspectives on natural resources and venture capital, and Wesleyan's competitive advantage as an allocator. 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

Drew Dickson is the founder of Albert Bridge Capital, and CIO of the Alpha Europe funds, where he manages $350 million in European equities. Our conversation covers Drew's early career across the Chicago school, Fidelity and Och-Ziff, and his perch in Europe. We then go through Albert Bridge's investment process, portfolio construction, assessment of risk-reward, and client communication through blogging and tweeting. All told, Drew offers a deep dive on how to blend fundamental research and behavioral finance in taking on the stock market. 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

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 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

Jason Karp is the Founder and CEO of HumanCo, a mission-driven, disruptive holding company focused on investing in healthier living. Before diving into this endeavor, Jason had a very successful twenty-year career in the hedge fund industry, culminating in a six-year run as founder of Tourbillon Capital. Our conversation covers Jason's career in hedge funds across quant research, quantamental investing, and entrepreneurship. Along the way, we touch on lessons derived from checklists, poker, and chess, and discuss Jason's sobering take on the hedge fund industry today. We then turn to changes in his life, including moving from NYC to Austin and focusing on his lifelong passion for health and wellness. We discuss Jason's autoimmune disease, testing the limits of human performance, and the sickness that led to the creation of Hu Kitchen with his wife and brother-in-law. Lastly, we discuss the formation of HumanCo, a holding company investing in food and consumables that create clean solutions to common problems using only the highest quality ingredients. We cover the attractive attributes of consumable businesses, use of data and AI to source companies and improve inventory management, efficiency of a holding company structure, incubating companies, leveraging data science, and an example in the cannabis space to work on the controversy surrounding vaporization. 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

Dawn Fitzpatrick is the Chief Investment Officer at Soros Fund Management, where she manages $25 billion in Soros family and philanthropic assets. Dawn started her career as a trader at O'Connor and went on to serve as the global head and CIO of O'Connor. In 2016, UBS Asset Management promoted her to Global Head of Equities, Multi-Asset and O'Connor, where she oversaw more than $500 billion in assets. Dawn regularly appears on lists of the most powerful women in finance, most recently getting named to the 2018 Worth Power 100. Our conversation starts with Dawn's development in the industry from trading in option pits to navigating the Global Financial Crisis at O'Connor and leadership roles at UBS. We then turn to her taking the helm at Soros Fund Management, including creating a long-term strategy tied to the needs of the Foundation, building in short and medium-term targets to allow flexibility, blending internal and external management, connecting the dots across asset classes, sharing perspectives on public markets, private credit and private equity and measuring and managing risk. Dawn contends that Soros has a uniquely attractive platform for the right type of leading investors to apply their trade, and I would agree. If you're a manager interested in having a look, reach out to Brenda Formes at [email protected] 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

My guest on today's First Meeting is Ash Fontana, a Managing Director at Zetta Ventures, a venture capital firm that backs Artificial Intelligence companies with B2B business models. The firm invests in early-stage companies with unique data sets and models, and rolls up their sleeves to help founders by using a playbook Zetta created specifically for AI companies. Ash started his career as an entrepreneur and investor, and before joining Zetta started and built the money side of AngelList alongside Naval Ravikant. Our conversation covers Ash's background, Zetta's thesis, team, and strategy, and turns to Zetta's sourcing, due diligence, decision making, portfolio construction, working for portfolio companies, and investment examples. Along the way, we cover the evolution of AI, assessing data sets, misperceptions about AI, competing with the tech giants, and the future of investing in the space. 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

Ana Marshall is the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where she oversees a $10.5 billion pool of capital. Ana joined Hewlett in 2004 after spending eighteen years as a direct investor in high yield credit, emerging market debt, and international equities. Our conversation covers Ana's lifelong passion for investing, joining the "super buy side," conducting company meetings to inform the manager selection and allocation process, portfolio structure, manager selection, monitoring and measuring risk, perspectives on peers, internal dynamics, and working through a big mistake. 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

Jay Girotto is the President of Farmland Opportunity, a $400 million investment manager that provides direct ownership of high quality, consistently productive row crop farmland in the U.S. Like many managers in traditional asset classes, Farmland Opportunity searches for inefficient transactions, value-added improvements, and an aligned structure to maximize the benefits of farmland for the long-term. Our conversation covers Jay's path from software engineer to farmland investor and discusses the attractive features of the asset class, including macro characteristics of uncorrelated returns and inflation hedging, and micro features of supply-demand imbalances, labor-intensive sourcing, unprofessional operations, and land value appreciation. We then turn to Farmland Opportunity's strategy in the area incorporating a specific regional focus, operational partners, aligned incentives, risk assessment and exit strategies. 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

Jonathan Tepper is the founder of Variant Perception, an economic research group that works with institutional managers, hedge funds, and allocators to provide objective and comprehensive data to form actionable ideas from leading indicators and emerging trends. He is also the author of three books, the most recent of which, The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition, received widespread acclaim earlier this year. Our conversation covers Jonathan's unusual upbringing, learning about currencies from Big Macs, building economic and liquidity forecasting models, and catering Variant Perception's research to investors. We then turn to The Myth of Capitalism, discussing the history, causes, and ramifications of the absence of competition in U.S. industries, natural and unnatural monopolies, examples in the tech giants, funeral home operators, airports, and hospitals, and what can be done to counter this negative trend. 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

Joe Lonsdale is a founding partner at 8VC, a leading venture capital firm that partners with top founders and entrepreneurs to build lasting technology platforms. He began working at Peter Thiel's PayPal while Joe was an undergraduate at Stanford, and upon graduation became an early executive at Thiel's Clarium Capital, which became a multi-billion dollar global macro hedge fund. From within Clarium, Joe went on to become a co-founder of Palantir, and later founded Addepar and OpenGov. After operating this series of successful start-ups, he turned to early stage venture investing for himself and then as a founding partner of Formation 8, the precursor to 8VC. In 2016 and 2017, Joe was the youngest member of the Forbes 100 Midas List. Our conversation begins with Joe's dive into entrepreneurship out of school, the founding of Palantir and Addepar and his shift from operator to venture capitalist. We discuss the venture landscape, 8VC's competitive advantage, building new companies within 8VC, price competition for deals, the due diligence process, adding value to portfolio companies, and new ideas on the horizon in venture investing. Although we were pressed for time, Joe packs the conversation with great nuggets of wisdom from his incredible success. 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

Gary Klein is a noted cognitive psychologist with an innate ability to see what others don't. Over his 40-year career in the field, he's pioneered the field of naturalistic decision making, the Pre-Mortem method of risk assessment, and the ShadowBox training approach. Gary is the author of five books and editor of three more, and most recently, founded Shadow Box, LLC in 2005 to train decision makers on his technique. You can learn all about Gary at gary-klein.com. Paul and Paul, you may recall, were guests on the show discussing their book that I greatly enjoyed, Pitch the Perfect Investment. Both are former investors and professors of finance. Together Gary, Paul and Paul co-authored a paper entitled Rendering a Powerful Tool Flaccid: The Misuse of Premortems on Wall Street. The paper is a detailed look at how properly conduct Pre-Mortem analysis. Our conversation covers Gary's background studying expertise with fighter pilots, tools to improve decision-making, including the Shadow Box technique, Cognitive After-Action Reviews, and Pre-Mortems. We then do a deep dive on Pre-Aortem analysis, including its history in the Air Force, what it is, how it works, when it falls short, and the benefits of reducing overconfidence, time efficiency, increasing candor, making groups smarter. We discuss views on other risk mitigation techniques as well, including devil's advocates, red teams, risk assessment, and critiques. I found the conversation an incredible door opener to one of the most effective and time-efficient sources of value in improving investment decision-making processes. I'm privileged and excited to share this conversation with you. 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 Sonkin and Paul Johnson are investors, professors, and co-authors of Pitch the Perfect Investment. Paul Sonkin is an analyst and portfolio manager at GAMCO Investors and has researched small, micro, and nanocap companies for a quarter century. He taught for 16 years at Columbia Business School. Paul Johnson runs advisory firm Nicusa Investment Advisors, and previously was a top-ranked sell side analyst, hedge fund manager, and an investment banker across 35 years. He also taught 2,000 students across 40 classes at Columbia Business School and Fordham University, and has received a host of awards for his prowess in the classroom. Their recently released book is the first I've come across that reverse engineers a portfolio manager's thought process. It starts with crystal clear first principles of business analysis and covers everything an analyst needs to know to identify a great stock. Then, Paul and Paul describe how portfolio managers assess ideas. Their framework is targeted for analysts starting their careers in the field, but seasoned portfolio managers and allocators both will also learn a lot about communication with their teams from the clear descriptions and colorful examples in the book. Our conversation covers the concept of the book, the wisdom of crowds, getting an 'edge', the four questions every portfolio manager needs to answer, and the role of creativity in investing. These gifted professors offer clear terminology for investment first principals and along the way offer a renewed appreciation for how difficult it is to beat the markets. For more episodes, go to capitalallocatorspodcast.com/podcast Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides

Michael Schwimer is the CEO of Big League Advance (BLA) and JAMBOS. Last year, I sat down with Michael and discussed his playing career and the formation of BLA. That conversation, which you can listen to on the feed right after this one, has been the most downloaded episode of Capital Allocators. Our second conversation starts with an update on BLA, the private equity fund that takes stakes in the future earnings of minor league baseball players. We touch on the implementation of the strategy and the development of the BLA sports analytics team since last year. We then discuss other ideas Michael brainstormed with his team to deploy their unparalleled horsepower in sports analytics. That exercise led to the formation of a new sports betting service called JAMBOS. We walk through the business of predicting the outcome of sporting events, the disruption of tout subscription services for sports betting through transparency and accountability, and the potential impact of predicting game outcomes on the future of sports and sports entertainment. You can find out more about the service at www.jambospicks.com. 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

Michael Schwimer is the CEO of Big League Advance, a company that makes investments in Minor League baseball players in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of their future earnings. Before founding BLA, Michael was a professional baseball player, working his way through the minors and reaching the majors as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. A shoulder injury left him pondering what to do next, which led to the creation of BLA. Our conversation discusses Michael's career as a player, the difficult life of Minor Leaguers, and his mission to improve their fortunes. We discuss his passion for statistics, application of Sabremetrics, and development of a team of All-Stars in the game of sports analytics. We close with a look into the future of BLA and Michael's prediction for this year's World Series Champion. Whether his bet proves right or wrong, Michael's rationale exemplifies second order thinking through the lens of data analytics that is never far from his mind. 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

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 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

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z for the 16 letters between the A in Andreessen and the z in Horowitz. Scott is responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm. He joined Andreessen at its inception in 2009 and has overseen its rapid growth from three employees and $300 million under management to 150 employees managing in excess of $10 billion. Scott has served on a number of industry-related Boards, including as Chairman of the Board of the National Venture Capital Association, and he currently sits on four non-profit Investment Committees. A few months ago, Scott published the national bestselling book, Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It,https://amzn.to/2GX5O9M Our conversation is a full-blown overview of one of the leading venture capital firms and the dynamics at play in the venture industry. We cover Scott's shift from finance to an operating role, and from an individual producer to a manager, the formation of a16z, its founder-centric investment model, building services to increase their portfolio companies chance of success, sourcing investment ideas, conducting due diligence, making decisions, the competitive environment, Board seats, changes in the venture industry, the cardinal sins of venture investing, new frontiers for venture investment, how venture capitalists manage their own money, and the purpose of writing his book. 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

Eric Ries is the founder and CEO of LTSE, the company that is affiliated with the SEC-approved Long-Term Stock Exchange, which seeks to build a new relationship between companies that are built to last and the stakeholders who believe in them. Eric is an entrepreneur who created the Lean Startup methodology and wrote the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup. He was named by Fortune to its 2018 "40 Under 40." Our conversation covers Eric's early startup experience, the core principles of a Lean Startup, his path to creating LTSE, key components of its business philosophy, value proposition, and business model, and the application of Lean Startup principles to building this business. LTSE's mission is extraordinarily important to improve investment outcomes in public markets for all of our benefit. I encourage you to join the LTSE's Long-Term Investor Coalition on its website ltse.com or by emailing [email protected], and ask questions of companies and managers you meet with to keep this movement top of mind. 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

David Druley is the CEO of Cambridge Associates, a global investment firm that works with premier institutional investors and family offices to manage custom investment portfolios that aim to generate outperformance so they can maximize their impact on the world. David works with Cambridge's leaders to set and execute the firm's strategy, enhance its capabilities, and evolve its processes. David brings a quarter-century of investment experience to the role, including a 16-year tenure at Cambridge. Our conversation covers David's path from value investing to Cambridge Associates, including a key early career lesson in calibrating risk tolerance. We discuss the history of Cambridge Associates, key characteristics of generating great investment returns, the manager selection process, and David's take on co-investments, long-only managers, hedge funds, fixed income, innovation, and future opportunities and challenges for the business. The discussion offers a nice compliment to my earlier conversation with Margaret Chen, who oversees Cambridge Associates' OCIO business. You can find that conversation replayed right after this one on the feed. 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

Margaret Chen is the Head of CA Capital Management, Cambridge Associates' $20 billion Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) business. She has spent twenty years at Cambridge Associates, which was her first and only stop in the investment business after getting started in the working world as a management consultant at Coopers & Lybrand Consulting. Our conversation covers Margaret's career path, her evolution from a consultant to a principal, the value proposition of an OCIO, measuring performance, and the tension between being the same and being different for clients. Margaret has the ear of almost everyone in our field, and brings incredible perspective to addressing the key issues allocators face. 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

Mike Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, a merchant bank with a balance sheet to invest that seeks to serve as the bridge between the crypto and institutional investment worlds. Mike is well-known speculator who started his career at Goldman Sachs and later managed Fortress' multi-billion dollar hedge fund, the Drawbridge Global Macro Fund. He's notably made and lost a few fortunes in his career, most recently riding bitcoin up starting in 2013, almost all the way down in 2017, and back up again this year. Our conversation covers Mike's background as a wrestler and helicopter pilot, his development from salesman to trader, the art of speculation, his initial interest in Bitcoin, the business of Galaxy Digital, the development of the crypto ecosystem use cases in privacy, payments and video games, and obstacles to institutional adoption of crypto and blockchain assets. We close by discussing how Mike invests his family office assets and his engagement with criminal justice reform. 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

My guest on today's first meeting is Paul Black of WCM Investment Management. This show is a replay of our conversation on Capital Allocators last year, and has been one of the most listened to conversations with a manager on the show. At the time, WCM managed $26 billion and since then they've continued to perform and grow. Today, WCM oversees $40 billion and earlier this year announced the sale of a minority stake in their business to Natixis Investment Managers. Paul Black is portfolio manager and Co-CEO of WCM Investment Management, a $26 billion manager of global equities that he joined when it was a $200 million boutique in 1989. His early career included positions at Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America. 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 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

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

André Bourbonnais is a Managing Director at Blackrock and Global Head of its newly launched Long-Term Private Capital business, a multi-billion dollar permanent capital private equity fund. André brought thirty years of private market transaction and management experience to the role, most recently as CEO and Chief Investment Officer of PSP Investments, the $110 billion Montreal-based Canadian pension fund. He previously served as Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Private Investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), where he was responsible for over $65 billion in private market assets, the largest program of its kind globally. Our conversation talks about the creation of Blackrock's innovative private equity fund starting with a clean sheet of paper. We discuss the traditional private equity playbook, the changes in financial structure, business strategy, and return drivers that can occur with permanent capital, the structure of the fund, deal origination, a new ownership playbook, the re-underwriting process, sell decisions, portfolio construction, and managing a team whose careers will be shorter than the duration of the fund. 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

My guest on today's First Meeting is Richard Lawrence of Overlook Investments Group, one of the top managers of Asian equities. The conversation that follows is a replay of an early episode on Capital Allocators and one of the inspirations for the First Meeting concept. Richard Lawrence is the Chairman and Executive Director of The Overlook Group, a $5 billion investment organization focused on Asian equities that Richard founded in 1991. Over the past quarter-century, Overlook developed and implemented disciplined investment and business philosophies that interconnected to drive extraordinary results for its partners. Overlook has compounded capital at an annualized 14.5%, outperforming its benchmark by an insane 9% per annum. But that's not all, as Richard would proudly tell you himself, the capital weighted return of the average investor in Overlook is nearly identical to the time weighted return over any period of time – a rare feat in the money management industry. Indeed, today's asset base is the result of $4 billion of investment gains on top of $1 billion in contributed capital. Our conversation starts with a look at investing in Asia in Overlook's early days and walks through the particulars of the approach Richard takes to investing and running his business, including attractive investment attributes, management integrity, portfolio construction, selling discipline, and China Yangtze Power - the only stock the firm supersized in an SPV in its history. We discuss Overlook's long-held cap on subscriptions and periodic reductions in its management fee, two business philosophies that Richard believes have been key drivers of Overlook's success. 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

Ash Williams is the Executive Director and CIO of the Florida State Board of Administration, where he oversees $200 billion in assets for the State of Florida including one of the largest public pension funds in the U.S. He is as highly regarded as they come, and among other accolades, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from CIO Magazine in 2017. Ash began his career serving the State of Florida as a staff assistant to two House speakers, as Chief of Staff to a former Governor and Comptroller of the State, and as Executive Director of the SBA. He left for a decade on Wall Street and returned after the global financial crisis to help resurrect the state's assets. Our conversation covers Ash's early experience in Florida legislature, the SBA in the 1990s, moving from the public sector to Wall Street, and returning in the thick of the financial crisis. We discuss many aspects of managing a large pools of assets, including a six-year effort to modernize the compensation scheme, asset allocation, blending active and passive managers and internal and external fund management, managing around political interests, communicating expectations and transparency, character, proxy voting, private equity, hedge funds, and the process of selecting managers. 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

Sam Sicilia is the Chief Investment Officer of HostPlus, Australia's AUZ 37 billion ($25B USD) Superannuation Fund. Sam joined HostPlus in 2008 after a storied career in academia and the finance industry stretching back to the early 1990s. During that time, he held senior roles, both in Australia and internationally, consulting at Russell Investments, managing assets at Bank of Ireland, and consulting with Frontier Investment Consulting and Towers Perrin. Our conversation starts with Sam's mathematics training and turns to his work over the last decade at HostPlus, covering the Fund's long time horizon, his strategy to take advantage of that horizon, infrastructure investing for downside protection, private equity, venture capital in Australia, public equity focusing on people, hedge funds as a liquidity buffer, and working with a Board. 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

Martin Whittaker is the founding CEO of JUST Capital, a non-profit created by a group of concerned, influential leaders, including Deepak Chopra and Paul Tudor Jones. JUST Capital is an independent research organization thanks ranks companies on the issues Americans care about most, with a mission to build a more just marketplace that better reflects the true priorities of the American people. Last year, it launched the JUST ETF in partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Our conversation covers with Martin's history of following the money that ultimately led to his position at JUST, defining a "just company", engaging the public in the polling process, engaging companies in the results, applications of the research including the JUST ETF, common characteristics of companies that rank highly, the impact of the polls on companies, application to private companies, and new initiatives. 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

Jon Wertheim is a sports journalist and author who has a passion for psychology and economics. He is the Executive Editor at Sports Illustrated, where he has been a full-time staff member since 1996. Jon also is a contributing correspondent on 60 Minutes and an analyst for the Tennis Channel at the four Majors. He is the author of ten books including Stokes of Genius about the Federer-Nadal rivalry, the New York Times bestsellerScorecasting, and more recently, This Is Your Brain on Sports. Our conversation spans across sports, behavior and decision making, discussing Jon's path to a career in sports journalism, insider perspective on tennis, role of luck, cycles in basketball strategy, loss aversion, job preservation, omission bias, sports gambling, the business of sports, and lessons from interviewing. Jon moves with ease across sports, investing and psychology, and the parallels with his anecdotes and the world of investing are both entertaining and readily apparent. 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