Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Today's sponsor insight features Melanie Pickett, Executive Vice President at Northern Trust, who is responsible for leading the Asset Owner segment in the Americas. Melanie joined Northern Trust five years ago to create its Front Office Solutions business, which today works with $450 billion on the platform across more than forty asset owner clients. Prior to Northern Trust, she spent six years as Chief Operating Officer at Emory University's investment office and over a decade rising to Executive Director in investment operations at Morgan Stanley. Our conversation dives into Melanie's background, technology challenges in the investment office, and her passion for addressing those challenges at Northern Trust. We cover the evolution of Northern Trust's business for asset owners and Melanie's perspective on trends in asset allocation, technology, performance and risk management, data science, and the future of the business. We are incredibly grateful to Melanie and Northern Trust for being a longtime sponsor of the show and are eager to highlight their value to the institutional community. 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

Geoffrey Rubin is the Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist of Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPPIB, which oversees $520 billion Canadian ($400 billion USD) on behalf of tens of millions of its citizens. CPPIB is a prime example of the Canadian model, which features significant internal active management of assets and a thoughtful total fund management approach. Our conversation covers Geoffrey's background and path to CPPIB, the Canadian model, effective governance, and competitive advantage. We then turn to the implementation of the model across internal capabilities, resource and capital allocation in the portfolio, compensation, talent retention, collaboration, organic innovation, and putting the model to the test during this year's challenging market conditions. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

The fifth episode of Season One of Private Equity Deals released this morning. I'm joined by Arvindh Kumar, the Global Co-Head of Technology at EQT. We discuss Innovyze, a mid-market vertical software company that provides smart water infrastructure to utilities and engineers. It's a complex transaction created by merging two carve-outs from public companies and integrating the businesses alongside a management team change. Tune in to Private Equity Deals to hear the story. Before we get going, about a third of all CA listeners have already subscribed to Private Equity Deals. If you're an allocator, a private equity manager, a banker, or just someone interested in learning what all the private equity fuss is all about, this show is for you. Search of PE Deals on your favorite podcast player and subscribe. As soon as you do, you'll get a chance to listen to episode five featuring EQT in the most complex transaction we've discussed thus far. Listen to EQT on Private Equity Deals Subscribe to Private Equity Deals Subscribe on Apple Podcast Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on YouTube Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Colin Smith and Farouk Miah are the founders of All Africa Partners, a concentrated, public equity fund they launched last year with backing by three of the most successful investors in the region. Our conversation covers their backgrounds and the opportunity set on the continent, including Africa's market size, investable countries, liquidity, market performance, businesses, valuations, and currencies. We then turn to All Africa's investment process across sourcing, due diligence, decision making, trading, and portfolio construction. We close discussing risks in the region and lessons learned from Colin's winning a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

Michael Rees is the Founder and Head of Dyal Capital Partners and Co-President of public company Blue Owl (OWL) after Dyal's merger with Owl Rock last year. Dyal is the market leader in buying General Partner stakes from established private equity and alternative asset managers and oversees $45 billion in its strategy. Our conversation covers Michael's background, the early years of minority stakes, motivations of sellers, changing perceptions of the business, and return profile of investments. We then turn to Dyal's process across relationship-driven sourcing, best practices in fundraising and operations, conducting deals, and behavior of GPs after a sale. We close by touching on common critiques of Dyal's strategy and the outlook from here. Hopefully this is an example of this new process working effectively! Let us know if anything else is needed. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

Our fourth episode of Private Equity Deals released this morning. I'm joined by Kevin Callaghan and Larry Hamelsky, long-time team members at Berkshire Partners. We discuss their investment in Parts Town, one of those seemingly boring businesses that keeps on compounding. Tune in to the Private Equity Deals feed to learn why. Listen to Berkshire Partners on Private Equity Deals Subscribe to Private Equity Deals Subscribe on Apple Podcast Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on YouTube

Jon Ballis is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world's leading law firms and the market leader in private equity. Kirkland generated $6 billion in revenue last year, including work with 700 investment fund clients and $443 billion in M&A deals across 1,000 transactions. Jon has been recognized in every edition of the Best Lawyers in America since 2006 and one of the top private equity lawyers by Private Equity Magazine. Our conversation offers a different angle on what it takes to grow and manage a high-performance professional services firm. We cover Jon's background and path to Kirkland, growth alongside private equity, oversight of Kirkland's business model for attracting, compensating, and motivating talent, and management of a large professional services firm. We discuss his perspectives on changes in fund and deal terms in the private markets, private credit, retail interest, and the role of private capital on social issues and regulation. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

On today's Manager Meeting, Tim McCusker interviews Jack Sommers. Tim is the CIO at NEPC and a past guest on Capital Allocators. He oversees investment research and strategy for the $1.5 trillion consultant. Jack is the co-founder and Executive Chair at Income Research and Management, a $90B core fixed income investment firm. He was instrumental in developing IR+M's disciplined bottom-up investment approach and served as a Portfolio Manager for 20 years. Their conversation covers the early days of IR+M, when Jack and his father faced the challenges of establishing an investment management business, growth of the business over time, evolving landscape for active fixed income investing, and importance of culture. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Reade Griffith is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Tetragon and Polygon. Tetragon is a European-listed public holding company with $38 billion in assets, comprised of $3 billion in direct investments on its balance sheet and $35B at TFG Asset Management, a subsidiary that backs external funds in an array of alternative strategies. Polygon is a $1 billion European event-driven hedge fund within Tetragon that Reade co-founded in 2002 and still serves as its portfolio manager. Our conversation covers Reade's path to investing and experience at hedge funds dating back to the early 1990s. We discuss the founding of Polygon and Tetragon, managing volatility and macro risk, event-driven investing, and TFG Asset Management's partnerships with managers across sourcing, value add, and alignment. We close by discussing the benefits and drawbacks of being a public company. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

Our third episode of Private Equity Deals released this morning. I'm joined by Jarryd Levine, who helps lead Stone Point Capital's investments in Business Services and Human Capital Management. We discuss their purchase of Bullhorn, a leading global software provider for the staffing industry. Stone Point is the fifth private equity owner of the business, and I invite you to tune in to learn why. Search for Private Equity Deals on your favorite podcast player and subscribe. Listen to Stone Point on Private Equity Deals Subscribe to Private Equity Deals Subscribe on Apple Podcast Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on YouTube 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, a leading independent provider of macro research, and GaveKal Capital, manager of $2 billion in assets. Louis is one of my go-to sources for strategic research. He came on the show earlier this year to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, and that conversation is replayed on the feed. This time around, we cover Louis' perspective on the bear market and its transition of leadership from developed to emerging markets. We discuss emerging markets, the U.S. dollar, age of weaponization, deglobalization, China, and where to invest to weather the storm. Access Stream by AlphaSense Free Trial 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

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 show we'll discuss another empty room – an opportunity ignored by most investors because they either don't want to or can't participate. Andy Acker is a Portfolio Manager at our anchor sponsor, Janus Henderson Investors, where he manages the firm's healthcare strategies. Janus Henderson is a global asset manager with $300B in assets under management, and Andy oversees the firm's Global Life Sciences strategy and its Biotechnology strategy. Biotech stocks have been crushed despite significant advances in drug development, making it a proverbial empty room with only specialists and contrarians left standing. Our conversation starts with Andy's path to becoming a healthcare investor, scientific innovation over his time at Janus Henderson, translation of science into commercial success for businesses, and the 90/90 rule for how stocks behave. We then turn to his investment process across filtering ideas, research, assessment of management teams and commercial success, portfolio construction, trading around names, and private crossover investing. We close with Andy's perspective on opportunities and risks to the space from here, and green shoots he sees that might fill seats in the empty room. 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

Annie Duke is a former professional poker player, decision making expert, best-selling author, and fortunately, a repeat guest on the show. Our first conversation about Annie's background and best-seller Thinking in Bets is replayed on the feed. Her latest masterpiece releases tomorrow. It's called Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, and I'm going on record predicting it will be a best-seller in short order. Our conversation covers Annie's compulsion to write another book, our instinct for grit, the case for quitting, the emotional and cognitive biases that stand in our way, and some techniques to improve our ability to quit effectively. Along the way, Annie shares some terrific stories from the book about Everest, Sears, the NBA draft, and the California bullet train. 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

Annie Duke is a renown public speaker and decision strategist. For two decades, she was one of the top poker players in the world, including winning a World Series of Poker bracelet and the $2 million winner-take-all WSOP Tournament of Champions. Her study of the science of smart decision-making began with a National Science Foundation Fellowship, which she used study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Among her charity work and television appearances, Annie was a runner-up to Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice, during which she raised $700,000 for Refugees International. She is a natural teacher and storyteller with an active mind that constantly searches for accurate truth. I highly recommend Annie's new book, Thinking in Bets, which comes out this week. In her life after poker, she is a featured speaker, writes a newsletter and a blog, and advises companies on improving their decision-making process. Have a look at her website, annieduke.com, for more information. Our conversation discusses Annie's path from an Ivy League education to professional poker, the nature of a bet, how we form beliefs, why we make bad decisions, and what we can do to improve our decision-making process. Towards the end, we also talk about bankroll management, poker faces, and advice she would give the President on how to make better decisions. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Our second episode of Private Equity Deals released this morning. I'm joined by Scott Crabill, a long-time partner at Thoma Bravo, to discuss their take private purchase of RealPage. Search for Private Equity Deals on your favorite podcast platform and subscribe. Listen to Thoma Bravo on Private Equity Deals Subscribe to Private Equity Deals Subscribe on Apple Podcast Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on YouTube Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

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