Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Matt Brown is the CEO of CAIS, the leading investment platform that connects independent financial advisors with managers in alternative strategies. Matt was a guest on the show last year discussing his path and the business, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Since that time, CAIS and the broader movement of private wealth into alternatives have accelerated rapidly. I caught up with Matt to get his perspective on the tidal wave of capital coming into the space ahead of CAIS' inaugural Alternative Investment Summit, a three-day event bringing together senior leaders from the alternative asset management and independent financial advisor communities on October 17-19 in Los Angeles. Our conversation covers the size of the private wealth market, key drivers of the adoption of alternatives, the characteristics of managers and products that receive flows, advice for those who would like to participate, and where capital is flowing today. We then turn to CAIS' company strategy, including deploying a substantial capital raise, upgrading its technology, expanding the team, and building custom solutions for advisors. We close with Matt's views on the future of CAIS. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Matt Brown is the Founder CEO of CAIS, a leading alternative investment platform on which thousands of financial advisors have invested over $12 billion in alternatives across private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and real estate. Our conversation covers Matt's background as both a financial advisor and distributor of alternatives that collectively led to the idea behind CAIS. We discuss the development of a two-sided platform, structural features for both financial advisors and managers, and challenges along the way. We then turn to the wave of capital coming from this community and what it means for investors. Lastly, we discuss Matt's perspective on leadership and the future of CAIS. 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, Savneet Signh interviews Adam Wyden. Savneet is the President and CEO of PAR Technology Corp, a $1.5 billion market cap public technology company, the Chairman of CoVenture, and a past guest on Capital Allocators earlier this year, sharing his unique perspectives as a successful operator and investor. Adam is the founder and Managing Partner of ADW Capital, a $350 million concentrated, small cap, long-biased fund he launched with $0.5 million in 2011. ADW's largest position is PAR Technology. Their conversation covers the launch of ADW, the evolution of the fund's strategy from activism to quality, research process, lessons learned, and opportunities going forward. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Last year, four of my oldest friends in the business and I got together to banter about a range of investment topics. Now admittedly, I pretty much had to pull their teeth to make it happen that first time, but after having so much fun with it, our old gang didn't hesitate to do it again. Our dinner crew - Meredith Jenkins from Trinity Wall Street, Casey Whalen from Truvvo Partners, Brett Barth from BBR Partners, Jon Harris from Alternative Investment Management and I - gathered and riffed on long/short hedge funds, private markets, Africa and other empty rooms, potential canaries in the coal mine, continuation funds, co-investments, our favorite investment types, and blind spots. At the end, we had a chance to pay a tribute to Jon's father, the legendary Ira Harris, who graduated from his amazing life here on Earth earlier in the year. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

I'm excited to share the first episode of a new podcast called Private Equity Deals. Much like Capital Allocators, we'll share investment conversations that previously occurred only behind closed doors. In each episode, we discuss an individual private market deal with a manager to learn about the companies, deal dynamics, and ownership that make private equity a force in institutional portfolios and the global economy. The conversations also shed light on how each firm goes about their craft. The first season of Private Equity Deals consists of eight episodes with some of the top private equity managers, released every other week on Wednesdays. We've shared the first on this feed, a conversation with Pete Stavros, Co-Head of KKR's U.S. private equity business, about a recently exited portfolio company, C.H.I. Overhead Doors. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Private Equity Deals on your favorite podcast platform, and as always you can keep up to date and join our mailing list at capitalallocators.com. Subscribe to Private Equity Deals Subscribe on Apple Podcast Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on YouTube

Greg Lippmann is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of LibreMax, an $8 billion asset management firm specializing in structured products. Greg co-founded LibreMax in 2010 after a long tenure at Deutsche Bank focused on the space. He was one of the originators and the literal epicenter of the subprime mortgage short position during the financial crisis. Michael Lewis featured Greg in The Big Short and Ryan Gosling played him in the movie based on the book. Our conversation covers Greg's background, story of the subprime short, structured product market, and launching LibreMax. We discuss his investment strategy, research process, portfolio construction, trading, competitive landscape, and market outlook. We close with Greg's experience being portrayed by a Hollywood star on the big screen. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Every so often, I share my thoughts on investing on the other side of the mic. And occasionally, those ideas are different from what I've shared in the past. Recently, I appeared on the Opto Sessions Interviews with Extraordinary Investors podcast hosted by Haydn Brain. Opto identifies key themes and ideas to help investors get exposure to structural growth trends through a daily newsletter, magazine, and podcast. Hadyn asked me some great questions that cover the difference in retail and institutional investing, aspects of my professional experience, insights from my conversations with Sam Zell, Joel Greenblatt, Chamath Palihapitiya, Mike Novogratz, and Dan Rasmussen, investing for the long-term, and reflections on the Buffett Bet. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes (3:11) Capital Allocators Mission (5:53) Ted's background (10:16) Outperformance in the GFC (13:25) Insights in first book (16:40) Making Capital Allocators a success (19:41) Importance of contrarianism (23:26) Conviction for retail investors (29:54) Views on Buffett (35:02) Understanding digital assets (39:40) Themes for the next ten years (42:00) Thinking for the long-term (45:29) Summary of Ted's bet (54:20) Closing questions

On today's Manager Meeting, Andy Golden interviews Allan Jean-Baptiste and Marco DeMeireles of Ansa Capital. Andy is President of PRINCO where he has overseen the management of Princeton University's endowment since 1995. Alongside his long successful tenure, he is a master with wordplay and the use of the pun. Allan and Marco are the Co-Founders and General Partners of Ansa Capital, a thesis-driven growth equity fund launched earlier this year with backing from an impressive list of LPs. Their conversation covers Ansa's long-term perspective, approach to partnerships, risk management, team dynamics, and operating model. Allan and Marco also share their perspective on current market conditions, the opportunity set, and raising their first fund. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

On today's show we'll discuss a classic empty room – an opportunity ignored by most investors. In this case, we dive into the investment case for Venezuela, a non-starter for pretty much every institution because of the country's autocratic political regime, sanctions, and headline risk. But alongside those known risks are the potential for significant rewards. Rodrigo Bitar is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 3B1 Partners, the leading private equity fund making growth investments in Venezuela. 3B1 invests in high-quality companies with leading positions in basic industries, while looking to capture a change in macroeconomic conditions in the country. Our conversation covers Rodrigo's upbringing in Chile, professional background, and investment opportunity in Venezuela. We discuss Venezuela's sanctions, economic contraction, and dollarization of the economy. We then turn to investing in the country, including sourcing, due diligence, and an example of a recent transaction. We close with a discussion of the upside and risks to investing in Venezuela. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes (3:18) Rodrigo's background (6:50) Family dynamics (10:13) Investible assets in Venezuela (12:03) Impact of Russian oil restrictions (13:38) Surviving economic turmoil (17:27) Private vs. public markets in Venezuela (19:31) Identifying companies (21:51) Due diligence process (23:49) Assessing valuations (25:28) Risks unique to Venezuela (28:09) Conversations with potential investors (32:05) Closing questions

Carla Harris is a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, the most recent of many posts in her 35-year career at the firm that included serving as Vice Chairman of Wealth Management, heading the Emerging Manager platform, and running deals for decades as an investment banker and capital markets professional. She is the author of three books about navigating careers and leadership, Expect to Win, Strategize to Win, and the upcoming Lead to Win, each of which contains lessons she dubs "Carla's Pearls." In the last few years, Carla added Board seats to her professional portfolio and currently serves on a host of Boards including SEO, Harvard University, Walmart, and MetLife. She's also an accomplished gospel singer who has sold out shows in Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theatre. Our conversation offers Carla's pearls of wisdom in navigating a career from her earliest days on the Street. We cover her background, path to Wall Street, framing a personal narrative, learning what's important to an organization, being authentic, taking career risks, and evolving multicultural opportunities in asset management. We then turn to lessons from Carla's new book, from sitting in the Boardroom, and from a letter to her 25-year-old self. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes (3:38) Carla's background (10:56) Early career lessons (12:51) Expecting to win (15:16) Adjectives of success (19:11) Learning from relationships (22:21) Being yourself (27:41) Client dynamics in banking (30:28) Engaging with ESG trends (33:32) "Pearls" from Carla's book (35:21) Creating trust and leaders (38:47) Experiences from the boardroom (41:06) Growing communication abilities (41:55) Closing questions

On today's Manager Meeting, David Huang interviews Howard Smith. David is an Associate Director at UTIMCO, the $66 billion investment company that manages the largest public endowment fund in the country. Howard is a Partner and Portfolio Manager of the Japan strategies at Indus Capital, an Asia-focused investment firm that manages $3.5 billion, including $1 billion focused on Japan. Indus was founded in 2000 by its Non-Executive Chairs, Sheldon Kasowitz and David Kowitz, upon spinning out of Soros Fund Management. David and Howard's conversation covers Howard's upbringing in the rural United Kingdom, experience in Japan, and investment philosophy. They discuss Indus's investment approach, global team structure, corporate governance in Japan, and opportunities on the horizon. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Paul Enright is a private investor managing his own capital under single family office, Krainos Capital. Paul opened Krainos after a dozen years at Viking Global Investors, the multi-billion dollar long-short equity hedge fund that also has been one of the most successful breeding grounds for talent in the industry. He has a deep understanding of intricacies of long-short equity investing and a knack for explaining it well. Our conversation covers Paul's career path to Viking, training while there, and advice to early-career investors. We dive into the distinction between business analysis and stock picking, and the importance of portfolio management to investment success. In the process, we discuss liquidity, shorting, portfolio rebalancing, incentive compensation, and market structure. We close with Paul's approach to managing his own money and his answers to a terrific set of questions sourced from his Twitter feed before the show. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes (3:11) Paul's background (8:11) Training at Viking (10:02) Stock picking (12:18) Business analysis (19:54) Liquidity's impact on valuation (24:03) Dynamic portfolio management (28:46) Rebalancing (32:03) Long/Short Dynamics (40:50) Compensation structures (43:11) Current market structure (50:29) Investment model as a family office (53:05) Thoughts on Twitter (57:07) Growing skills as a young PM (58:57) Advice to PMs in tough times (1:01:48) Best questions to ask managers (1:03:11) Closing questions

Brent Montgomery is the CEO of Wheelhouse Group, a family office where he creates entertainment content and a venture capital fund that invests in businesses to amplify brands around talent. Brent is a media producer and operator whose first hit was Pawn Stars at his first production company, Leftfield Pictures. He later oversaw a host of reality television hits, including HGTV's Fixer Upper, Netflix's Queer Eye, A&E's Duck Dynasty, and Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey, while running ITV America after he sold Leftfield to ITV. Our conversation covers Brent's childhood entrepreneurial efforts, creation of Pawn Stars, vertically integrating and expanding Leftfield's business, and the sale to ITV. We turn to the flywheel behind Wheelhouse, monetizing talent and intellectual property across production, marketing, merchandising, and events, its partnering with leading investors, and a few investment examples along the way. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes (3:16) Brent's background (8:22) Reality TV (9:47) Starting and operating a business (18:13) Investing in content at Wheelhouse (24:23) Team structure (26:59) Favorite types of investments (32:27) Insider's perspective (34:30) Thoughts on TikTok and Snapchat (36:35) Identifying talent and monetizing brands (39:56) Importance of investment arm (42:47) Trends in the world of content (45:52) Biggest risks (46:30) Closing questions

On today's Manager Meeting, Maneesh Gandhi sits down with Avichal Garg. Maneesh is a Partner at Evanston Capital, a $4.5 billion hedge fund of funds, whose CIO Adam Blitz was a past guest on Capital Allocators. Avichal is the Co-Founder of Electric Capital, an early-stage venture firm focused on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, fintech, and marketplaces. He has been a successful serial entrepreneur with executive experience at Google and Facebook, which acquired his previous company in 2012. Their conversation covers Avichal's career as an operator, influence on his investment approach, conviction in crypto, and opportunities in today's markets. They cover Electric's investment strategy, differentiated team structure, investment examples, and the future of crypto. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Sarah Samuels is the Head of Investment Manager Research at NEPC where she oversees teams across public equities, credit, hedge funds, and private markets for the $1.5 trillion investment advisory juggernaut. Prior to joining NEPC three years ago, Sarah worked at the senior level of both a top notch endowment and a public pension fund. She sought to bring the best of both worlds to her role at NEPC. Our conversation covers Sarah's early career investing, time in the allocator seat at Mass PRIM and Wellesley College, and decision to join NEPC. We discuss her key investment themes, investment framework blending qualitative and quantitative analysis, second-level thinking, CIO mindset, alignment of interest, private equity allocations, and investment committees. We close discussing Sarah's work on DE&I and her involvement in Girls Who Invest. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Josh Friedman is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Canyon Partners, a $25 billion multi-strategy firm that specializes in credit-related analysis across distressed securities, securitizations, risk arbitrage, and real estate. Josh founded Canyon in 1990 with Mitch Julis, his roommate from their time at Harvard Law School and Business School. Our conversation covers Josh's background at Goldman Sachs and Drexel Burnham with Michael Milken, the founding of Canyon, its investment philosophy, key stages on its path, and structure of the organization. We then turn to Josh's thoughts on the evolution of credit markets, liquidity, competitive dynamics among creditors, opportunities, and risks. We close with Josh's advice for investment committees based on his experience as a Trustee at Harvard Management, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and CalTech, among others. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Mario Giannini is the CEO of Hamilton Lane, where he oversees nearly $1 trillion of assets under management and advisement in private capital, making it perhaps the largest investor in private equity in the world. Mario joined Hamilton Lane thirty years ago and has spent the last 21 as its CEO. His breadth of knowledge and experience, alongside at times unconventional views, offers an unparalleled bird's eye view into this powerful area of investing. Our conversation covers Mario's background and a brief history of the private equity industry over the last thirty years. We discuss three characteristics of private equity firms that struggle: decision-making, concentration, and greed, and views on private equity firms across turnover, GP/LP relationships, LP Advisory Boards, and the pricing environment. We then turn to Mario's perspective on constructing private equity portfolios, data analytics, the middle market, continuation funds, LP appetite, and opportunities across sub-categories and geographies. We close with aspects of Hamilton Lane's evolution across co-investing, customization, going public, ESG, democratization, and the future of the industry. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Rob Citrone is the Founder of Discovery Capital Management, a $2 billion global hedge fund investing across equities, fixed income, currencies, and rates with a focus on emerging markets. Rob is one of the longest standing managers in the space and the largest investor in his fund. He trained under Julian Robertson in the heyday of Tiger Management in the mid-90s before launching Discovery in 1999. Since then, the firm grew to a peak of $15 billion in assets and despite the subsequent reduction in AUM, he and his team of 42 are still going strong. Our conversation dives into Rob's background, lessons he learned from Fidelity, Julian Robertson, and George Soros, and the launch of Discovery. We discuss his investment strategy, research process, perspective on markets around the world, ups and downs in the business, and managing an organization through change. Rob doesn't often share his insights in the public forum, so it was a real treat to get inside the mind of one of the best in the business. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Regan Bozman is a General Partner at Lattice Capital, an early-stage crypto fund that helps founders build defensible moats and new growth playbooks. Regan previously was the first employee at CoinList, a token marketplace that spun out of AngelList, where he was involved in 30 token launches. Our conversation covers Regan's early years as an entrepreneur, lessons learned from CoinList, and the launching of Lattice. We discuss Lattice's investment philosophy, sourcing, research process, and subsectors of focus. We dive into specific examples in DeFi and NFTs and discuss a few winners in the portfolio to date. We close with Lattice's competitive advantage, measures of success, and definitions of defensible moats as the crypto industry continues to evolve. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Ashvin Chhabra is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Euclidean Capital, the family office for Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies. Ashvin joined Euclidean in 2015 after spending time as CIO of the Institute for Advanced Study and CIO of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He is the author of The Aspirational Investor and is recognized as one of the founders of goals-based wealth management. Our conversation covers into Ashvin's upbringing and his path from physics to investing. We discuss his "Beyond Markowitz" portfolio management framework, application of it to high net worth individuals, foundations, the Yale endowment, Warren Buffett, and a single family office. Along the way, Ashvin shares the story of interviewing with Jim Simons, his critique of endowment management, manager selection, and perspectives on interest rates and bitcoin. Ashvin is one of most creative and independent thinkers in the community and you'll soon hear why. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Today's final episode of Crypto for Institutions 2 is a special Sponsor Insight from Anchorage Digital. Diogo Monica is the Co-Founder and President of Anchorage, the first federally chartered digital bank. Our conversation covers Diogo's uniquely qualified background for his role, the importance and implementation of digital asset custody, and Anchorage's client-driven extensions from custody into brokerage, lending, staking, and governance. We close covering the creation of the bank, partnerships with Visa, and what's next for the company and its clients. Be sure to stick around for the closing questions to hear Diogo's perspective on exceptional hiring practices for startups. We are incredibly grateful to Anchorage Digital for sponsoring Crypto for Institutions 2, and are eager to highlight their value to the investment community. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

I'd like to invite you to attend a special bootcamp on Decision Making I'll be teaching on July 20th at 11am EST. I'll share actionable frameworks with special clips from Annie Duke, the legendary decision-making expert, bestselling author, and former professional poker player. The one-hour webinar is one of the most popular classes of Capital Allocators University and is chock full of insights to take back to your team in the investment office. The cost to attend is $250 and Capital Allocators premium members will receive a 50% discount. If you're interested in attending and are not yet a premium member, you may want to consider subscribing first and receiving our library of transcripts, weekly email, and a whole bunch more, for effectively half off the first year of membership. Log on to capitalallocators.com and click University to register for the bootcamp. And before you do that, click on Premium and sign up. Hope to see you on July 20th.

Chris Dixon is a General Partner at a16z where he leads Crypto investing, overseeing the largest pool in the space at $7 billion across four dedicated venture funds and a team of eighty professionals. Chris is one of the leading voices in the crypto ecosystem and topped the Forbes 'Midas List' as the most successful venture capitalist in the world in 2021. He was a guest on the show last year, and that replay is available in the feed. Our conversation covers Chris' framework for web3, network effects, venture economics, and institutional adoption. We turn to some of the areas he is most excited about deploying capital, including the creator economy, infrastructure, DeFi, gaming, and decentralized content creation. We close with how a16z supports portfolio companies in crypto, and Chris' thoughts on the current market downturn. A full list of a16z investments can be found here - https://a16z.com/investments/. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds. Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor. At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others. Our conversation covers Chris' early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing. We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception. Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds. Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor. At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others. Our conversation covers Chris' early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing. We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Olaf Carlson-Wee is the Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, a $5 billion investment firm that was one of the first institutional crypto funds upon its launch in 2016. Olaf is among the crypto OGs, he was the first hire at Coinbase and led risk management before founding Polychain with initial investments from Sequoia, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and Founders Fund. He was named to both the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40. Our conversation explores Olaf's vision for what is to come in the crypto ecosystem. We cover his early discovery of cryptocurrency, his experience at Coinbase, and his founding and strategy at Polychain. We then turn to Olaf's perspective on the present and future of incentive systems, social media, bear markets, layer 1 protocols, bridges across protocols, NFTs, DeFi, DAOs, and stablecoins. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ben Forman is the Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, a $1 billion investment and technology firm that focuses on decentralized finance across digital assets, venture equity, and quantitative strategies. Ben launched ParaFi in 2018 after a decade in traditional finance roles across investment banking, credit investing, and private equity at venerable institutions such as Rothschild, TPG, and KKR. Our conversation covers Ben's background, pivot to crypto, and launch of ParaFi into a bear market. We then discuss opportunities in the world of DeFi, including borrowing and lending, stablecoins, scaling, insurance, governance, and capital allocation. We close with ParaFi's research and valuation approach, engagement with DeFi protocols, and seeding crypto managers. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Stephen McKeon is a Partner at Collab+Currency and Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Oregon, where is teaches a course on crypto assets. As an investor, Stephen focuses on consumer facing applications of crypto. He was a past guest on the show back in 2018 discussing security tokens. That replay is available in the feed and sheds light on how far the crypto ecosystem has come over the last four years. Our conversation begins with a reflection on Steve's security token thesis, his shift to investing, and his strategy at Collab+Currency. We dive into NFTs, DAOs, the metaverse and gaming, including the latest state of play and his investment thesis around each. We then turn to important transitions to watch across interoperability, digital wallets, price volatility, and use cases for consumers. We close by discussing how interested folks can learn more by covering the syllabus of Steve's crypto course and the websites he encourages others to play around. (fewb3.xyz and rabbithole.gg) Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Professor Stephen McKeon spent six years out of college working in finance for venture-backed startups before returning to graduate school and earning his PhD in finance in 2011. Blending his interest and experience, Steve focuses his research on corporate finance, M&A, security issuance, and most recently, crypto assets, where he has become a leading academic authority in the nascent area. Our conversation starts with Steve's first job smack into the teeth of the tech meltdown in 2000 and his subsequent roles at a winery and a drone company. We then turn to his work as an academic in the world of crypto assets, walking through the thesis for security tokens. Steve presents a case for the future of security tokens that is tangible and achievable. Now that the noise from soaring crypto currency prices has died down, we can learn a lot from Steve about what blockchain technology may bring to investing in the years ahead. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

We kick off Crypto for Institutions 2 with Marcos Veremis. Marcos is a Partner at Accolade Partners, a $4.4 billion venture fund of funds whose founder Joelle Kayden appeared on the show earlier this year. Marcos manages $1 billion in blockchain fund of fund assets across liquid and venture strategies. He is one of the most well-regarded allocators in the space, having created and led the practice at Cambridge Associates before leaving to become a principal, first at Evanston Capital Management and then at Accolade. Our conversation covers Marcos' discovery of crypto while at Cambridge, building a formal research practice, and following institutional interest in the space. We then turn to his transition from consultant to the buy side (of the buy side) and his approach to manager selection, due diligence, portfolio construction, and oversight. We close with Marcos' perspective on the recent drawdown, valuation, and long-term outlook. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Legendary investor Sam Zell is the chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm he founded more than 50 years ago. Sam has a storied track record of turning around troubled companies and assets, leading industry consolidations, and bringing companies to the public markets. His current investments canvass logistics, health care, manufacturing, energy, and real estate. Sam was recognized five years ago by Forbes as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, and he's still going strong. Our conversation covers Sam's childhood background, early entrepreneurial efforts, formation of his investment strategy, and comfort being a contrarian. We then turn to Sam's thoughts on team development, evaluating people, real estate, generational businesses, emerging markets, and opportunities for the future. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Leigh Drogen is the General Partner and CIO of Starkiller Capital, a quantitative asset manager in the digital asset space. Leigh came to the crypto world after experience at a quantitative hedge fund, as an early employee at StockTwits, and as the founder of Estimize, a buyside-driven earning estimate platform that today is one of the largest in the world. Our conversation covers Leigh's background and lessons on markets from both a retail and institutional lens. We discuss Estimize, insights into hedge funds, and his shift to crypto. We then dig into the investment process at Starkiller, the nuances of fundamental modeling in crypto, and managing risk. We close with Leigh's perspective on what's to come for crypto and hedge funds. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Chris Voss is the founder of the Black Swan Group, where he works with individuals, teams, and companies in the art of negotiation. Chris is the author of best seller "Never Split the Difference" and learned his trade in his 24 years in the FBI, during which he served as the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator, the lead Crisis Negotiator for the NYC Division, and as a member of the NYC Joint Terrorist Task Force. Our conversation covers techniques in listening and conversation that evolve from Chris' deep understanding of human nature, including setting the stage, mirroring, labeling, decision fatigue, "no" oriented questions, and overcoming fear. We then turn to preparing for a negotiation, reconciling negatives, and positive demeanor. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

I'm excited to share that Matt Spielman, my friend of 25 years, a member of my personal Board of Directors, and my executive coach, released his first book earlier this week. It's entitled: Inflection Points, How to Work and Live with Purpose, and Matt gave me the honor of writing the foreward to the book. In an effort to help him spread the word, we've replayed my conversation with Matt from last year in the feed. Have a listen, and hop on Amazon to grab a copy. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Billy Libby is the co-founder of Upper90, a firm that invests in a hybrid of debt and equity in early stage technology companies to help founders scale efficiently. Billy partnered with Jason Finger, the founder of Seamless, to address a capital structure inefficiency in the venture world. Upper90 has deployed a $1 billion of capital for an LP base of more than 300 entrepreneurs. Our conversation covers Billy's background in electronic trading, formation of an investment club that brought together quantitative investors and tech founders, and the evolution of that club into Upper90. We discuss Upper90s approach to investing in tech start-ups, use of data to find lendable opportunities, sourcing and diligence of deals, and lots of examples along the way. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

John Barber is the Managing Partner of Cohesive Capital, a $1 billion private equity firm founded in 2010 to focus exclusively on private and growth equity co-investments. Cohesive executes its strategy without investing in funds and without paying a carry to sponsors. Our conversation covers John's early career in investment banking, the evolution of the industry, and the launch of Cohesive Capital. We dive into Cohesive's investment philosophy, deal structure, sourcing, and team. We then discuss his advice for other co-investors, and opportunities and risks in today's market. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Larry Kochard is the CIO at Makena Capital Management, a $20 billion OCIO formed by senior executives from the Stanford Management Company in 2005. Larry joined Makena in 2018, following a storied career serving as CEO and CIO of University of Virginia Investment Management Company, as the first CIO at Georgetown University, and as Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund Investments for the Virginia Retirement System. He was an early guest on Capital Allocators discussing his path, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. This time around we discuss Larry's transition to Makena, the differences between leading endowments and an OCIO, and his perspective on specialist versus generalist teams. We then dive into different investment opportunities across crossover funds, hedge funds, co-investments, REITs, venture capital, emerging markets, real assets, and crypto. We close with Larry's take on market risks, opportunities, and managing his team. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Larry Kochard is the CEO and CIO of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), where he provides leadership, connectivity to the University, and responsibility for the University's $8.5 billion long-term investment pool. Before joining UVIMCO in 2011, he served as Georgetown University's first in-house CIO. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund investments for the Virginia Retirement System. From 1997-2004, Larry was an adjunct, and later full-time, professor at Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. He spent his formative professional years in debt capital markets at Goldman Sachs, and corporate finance at Fannie Mae and DuPont. Larry received his B.A. in Economics from William & Mary, an MBA from the University of Rochester, and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia. Our conversation covers tricky issues involving the internal management of portfolios alongside external manager allocations, UVIMCO's five core principals, and the consideration of absolute and relative metrics in asset allocation and performance. Our deep dive on UVIMCO's core principals and asset allocation provides an inside look at the subtleties required to maintain seemingly simple tenants. I'm quite sure everyone that touches the University of Virginia will come away thrilled that Larry is the steward of their capital. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Sahil Bloom is one of most dynamic up and coming creators in the financial community. He spent a decade in investment banking and private equity before turning to writing prolific threads about finance and frameworks to have a more fulfilling life and career. He's amassed over a half a million followers on Twitter in just the last two years, writes a blog called The Curiosity Chronicle, started a podcast, and recently launched a seed stage venture fund called SRB Ventures. Our conversation covers Sahil's upbringing, his career in private equity, developing his own edge, and transitioning from the corporate world to life as a creator. We then discuss his favorite frameworks and how they apply to investing, including mentorship, goal setting, luck, and paradoxes of life. We close with the details of his recent fund launch, audience engagement, and how he manages his time. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

On today's Manager Meeting, Paula Volent interviews Steve Drobny. Paula is a legend in the endowment world and recent guest on Capital Allocators who is now serving as the CIO for Rockefeller University's $2.5 billion endowment after spending twenty years at the helm of Bowdoin College's endowment. Steve is the Founder and Managing Partner of Clocktower Group, an alternative asset management platform whose activities include seeding and investing in global macro hedge funds, fintech venture capital, China-focused seeding, climate change venture capital, and macro research. Their conversation covers the changing global landscape, geopolitics, China, fintech, Latin America, and ESG. Steve also shares his candid, contrarian opinion of the endowment model. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Greg Dowling is the CIO and Head of Research at Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) – a mid-market investment consultant with $80 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets under advisement. Greg oversees the day-to-day management of the research team and chairs the firm's investment policy committee that oversees all manager hire and fire decisions. Our conversation covers Greg's background and introduction to FEG, the evolution of institutional consultants, FEG's business today, and its unique advantages. We dive into how FEG supports its clients with portfolio management, manager selection and inventory management, due diligence including qualitative scoring and culture assessment, and working with Investment Committees. We then get Greg's opinion on different market dynamics including private equity, venture capital, crossover funds, hedge funds, and what he refers to as "weird ideas." We close with the evolution of the investment process post-COVID, Greg's involvement with his alma mater the University of Cincinnati, and the coveted FEG Hockey Classic. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Louis-Vincent Gave is the Founding Partner and CEO of GaveKal, one of the world's leading independent providers of macro research, and GaveKal Capital, a manager of $2.7 billion in assets. Louis launched GaveKal alongside his father in 2000 and has become a go-to source for creative research on global economics and asset allocation, particularly in China. He recently penned CYA as a Guiding Principle, dissecting the consequences of Western government responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He joined me to discuss the key takeaways. Our conversation starts with Louis' background and founding of GaveKal, and turns to the potential second order impacts of freezing reserves, seizing oligarch assets, end of Swiss neutrality, energy prices, and military spending. We close discussing how the situation may affect China. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

On today's manager meeting, I interview Andrew Milgram, a Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Marblegate Asset Management. Marblegate is a $2.3 billion alternative investment manager founded in 2008 that focuses on middle-market distressed credit opportunities and special situations. The firm takes a direct sourcing approach, and works closely with portfolio companies to create value and drive positive business transformations for sustainable results. Our conversation covers Andrew's very early beginnings in investing, his experience on the sell-side, transition to the buyside, and launching of Marblegate. We discuss the nuances of investing in the middle-market, valuation, sourcing, due diligence, liquidity, and portfolio construction. We then dive into two headline examples of Marblegate successes, Education Management Corporation and New York Taxi medallions. We close with Andrew's views on the state of distressed investing today and his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Tom Lenehan is the CIO at the Wallace Foundation, where he oversees $2 billion for the New York City-based Foundation whose mission is to foster equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people. Tom is only the second CIO in Wallace's history, having taken over the helm in January 2021. Before joining Wallace, he served as deputy CIO of Rockefeller University under longtime CIO Amy Falls and appeared as the 4th guest on Capital Allocators back in 2017. That replay is available in the feed and offers a fantastic comparison in Tom's perspectives on as a deputy compared to a CIO. Our conversation this time dives into his transition, managing a team and a portfolio during COVID, and how Tom has approached asset allocation of a new pool of capital. We discuss his key priorities for the portfolio, and his perspectives on China, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, inflation, cash, and crypto. We close with Tom's approach to building and working with his team, governance, and future risks. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Tom Lenehan is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of The Rockefeller University, where he helps lead the management of the University's $2B endowment. Rockefeller University is a unique duck – with a focused mission of improving the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity. Founded in 1901, it was the first institution in the country devoted exclusively to biomedical research. Learn More‍ Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn‍ Subscribe to the mailing list‍ Access Transcript with Premium Membership‍

Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and New York Times best selling author. His most recent book, The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, chronicles the history of the industry, and his key takeaways serve as the perfect conclusion to our mini-series. Our conversation starts with his career as a writer and how he approaches writing books. We then dive into the origins of the venture industry, foundations of early-stage investing, and critical success factors. We dissect different ownership structures, the importance of mentorship, competition, the current pace of capital deployment, and venture capital abroad. We close discussion the industry's gender gap, challenges to future success, and thoughts on Sebastian's next project. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Steve Papa has been part of reimagining the technology landscape for twenty years. He was the Founder and CEO of Endeca, an enterprise software company that Oracle acquired for $1.1 billion in 2011. After that, he invested in and became a founding Partner of six technology companies, including the lead investor in Toast. Our conversation covers Steve's path into technology and entrepreneurship, the story of Endeca, and his subsequent venture investments. Along the way, we touch on both lessons from his businesses and the intersection of those businesses with venture capital. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Kathy Xu is the Founding Partner of Capital Today, a $2.5 billion firm that is one of the top venture capitalists in China. Capital Today strives to help small and mid-sized companies become the leading brands in China. Over the years, some of their winners include JD.com, Mei Tuan, VIP Shop, and Ctrip. Our conversation covers Kathy's upbringing in China, early professional career in venture, and start as an entrepreneur. We discuss her vision for Capital Today, the three ways they help entrepreneurs, sourcing ideas, working with companies, attractive investments, benefits of the firm's evergreen fund structure, impact of government action on companies, and desirable characteristics in founders and industries. Lastly, we touch on competition in the venture landscape in China. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

On today's Manager Meeting, Greg Dowling interviews Chris Heller. Greg is the Co-CIO and Head of Research for Fund Evaluation Group, an institutional OCIO and investment consultant with $83 billion in assets under advisement. Chris is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Cordillera Investment Partners, a $1.2 billion alternative investment fund that invests in niche, non-correlated assets, or what Chris calls weird stuff, like whiskey aging, boat marinas, spectrum, and water rights. Their conversation covers Chris's background and the founding of Cordillera, the evolution of alternative assets and alternative alternatives, sourcing new opportunities, conducting due diligence, measuring risk, portfolio construction, and exit strategy. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek are the Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Renegade Partners, a venture capital firm they launched in 2019 after each experienced life inside top-notch venture firms – Renata at Felicis and Lux and Rosanne at Canaan Partners and IVP. They raised a first fund of $100 million to focus on the "Supercritical Stage" of a company's development. Our conversation discusses the dynamics of a venture capital spinout and the nuances of a stage-focused strategy. First, we dive into their backgrounds, lessons learned from their experience, forming a partnership and strategy together, and going to market. Then, we discuss Renegade's investment process across sourcing, filtering, winning deals, and working with companies. We close with perspectives on the competitive landscape, battle for talent, and areas of growth internally, including the application of our mutual friend Annie Duke's decision theories to the practice of venture investing. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Today's show is a special Sponsor Insight from Aumni, highlighting their growing business for venture capitalists, operators, and LPs. Aumni helps private capital investors track and analyze individual deal terms, while providing comprehensive financial and legal insights across portfolios and the broader venture market. I sat down with Kelsey Chase, the Founder and President at Aumni, to discuss his background as a lawyer and the creation of Aumni, how Aumni analyzes transaction data, and use-cases of this data for investors and operators. We also discuss Aumni's recent series B round, trends in venture arising from Aumni's database, and where Kelsey plans to take the company from here. We are incredibly grateful to Aumni for sponsoring our Venture is Eating the Investment World mini-series, and we are eager to highlight their value to the venture and investment community. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership