Avsnitt
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode with an internet legend provides an illuminating window into how the past can help inform us about the future.
Steve Case is a pioneer and a visionary. He built one of the foundational companies of the internet, AOL, that brought America and the world online. As one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs, Steve has spent the past 39 years building, investing in, and shaping business policy for many industry-defining companies.
His entrepreneurial career began in 1985 when he co-founded America Online. Under Steve’s leadership, AOL became the world’s largest and most valuable internet company. AOL was the first internet company to go public, and one of the best performing stocks of 1990s, delivering 11,616% return to shareholders. At its peak, nearly half of internet users in the U.S. used AOL.
Steve has since built another successful company, Revolution, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm that backs entrepreneurs at every stage of their development. Revolution Growth has invested nearly $1 billion in growth-stage companies including Sweetgreen, Tempus, Tala, DraftKings, and CLEAR. Revolution Ventures has invested in almost 30 companies, including Framebridge and SRS Acquiom. Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund has invested in over 200 startups in 100 US cities, building critical ecosystem development for entrepreneurship across the country.
Steve’s passion for helping entrepreneurs has extended to the policy world. He was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership, an effort launched at the White House in 2011 to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship around the country. He was also the founding co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and a member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, where he chaired the subcommittee on entrepreneurship. He was also instrumental in passing the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act and the Investing in Opportunities Act. He’s also the Chairman of the Case Foundation, which he established with his wife, Jean, in 1997 and together in 2010 they joined The Giving Pledge.
Steve is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future and The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the American Dream,” which has ended up serving as a fantastic blueprint for the next wave of the internet.
Steve and I had a fascinating and illuminating conversation, full of lessons learned from building the first wave of the internet that can be applied to building and investing in companies today.
We discussed:
How Steve and his team built AOL into the world’s largest and most valuable internet company at a time when 3% of people were using the internet for 1 hour a day.How revolutions happen in evolutionary ways.The three waves of the internet and why Steve believes that the third wave is much more complex and will require the ability to navigate policy and partnerships.Lessons he learned as a founder to build a successful and diversified investment firm in Revolution.How emerging technology ecosystems can build thriving startup communities, starting with “tentpole companies.”How the things that happen to you shape how you live your life and on “living a life that’s full with passion and urgency.”Thanks Steve for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom, lessons learned, and visionary views of the future. It was an honor and a pleasure to have you on the show.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode takes us into the world of technology with an expert in private markets tech.
Griff Norville is a Managing Director and Head of Technology Solutions at Hamilton Lane, the $903B AUM (*Inclusive of $120.2B in discretionary assets under management and $782.9B in non-discretionary assets under management, as of December 31, 2023) global alternative asset manager. Griff leads the firm’s tech-enabled analytics, forecasting, and investment diligence platform, Cobalt LPTM and related portfolio reporting services, and co-heads the firm’s Technology Committee.
Griff focuses on building proprietary tools and strategically partnering or investing into private markets fintech companies as part of the firm’s efforts to drive digital transformation within the industry. Griff also leverages his background on the investment side to help inform how he thinks about technology transformation within private markets. He previously co-led Hamilton Lane’s research team, where he was responsible for leveraging data to assess market trends and advice clients on investment and portfolio construction strategy.
Griff and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of private markets technology and why it’s an exciting time for innovation in the space. We discussed:
How private markets are moving from the Stone Age and Excel age to the digital age.Why most GPs are still underinvested in technology.How Griff approaches the build, buy, invest question.Why Cobalt was so foundational to Hamilton Lane’s work in private markets.How technology innovation has driven product innovation when working with the wealth channel.What comes next for technology in private markets.Thanks Griff for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom on how technology is impacting private markets and for the work you’re doing to invest in technology that’s transforming the space.
-
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today we have the operator’s view on the show. We bring in someone who rose up the ranks of a private equity-backed software company to be CEO of that company — ECi Software Solutions — that now generates over $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.
We welcome Ron Books, now an Operating Partner at Carlyle and the CEO at Net Health, a Carlyle portfolio company. He also sits on a number of boards for Carlyle.
He is now the Chairman and is the former CEO of ECi Software Solutions, a leading global provider of cloud-based software for SMEs, which he successful sold to Leonard Green & Partners for a multi-billion dollar exit. Ron started with ECi when it was a startup company and rose in the organization to serve as VP Sales, then COO, and then CEO, a position which he held from 2009 to 2021. While serving as CEO, Ron and his team developed and executed a strategic plan that included overseeing 46 M&A transactions and a successful software license to cloud migration across nearly a dozen platforms. They received investment from — and sold the business to — Insight Partners, Carlyle, Apax Partners, Goldman Sachs, and most recently, Leonard Green & Partners. Under his leadership as CEO, ECi grew from less than $50M in revenue to over $500M and a sale of the company in 2020 at a multi-billion dollar valuation.
Ron has all the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur — energetic yet thoughtful, a tireless work ethic, the ability to connect with customers and employees, and loyalty to both customers and employees.
Ron and I had a fascinating conversation about what it takes to build a great company and culture and how to work with private equity given that he’s been on both sides of the table. We discussed:
Lessons learned from growing a business to $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.How he built and grew ECi through acquisitions and globalizing the business.Why culture matters and how to vet for culture in the hiring process.Stories from the challenges and successes of integrating 41 companies via M&A.How founders should think about working with private equity firms.How founders can get the most out of their board members and operating partners.The transition from CEO to Operating Executive back to CEO.Thanks Ron for coming on the show to share your wisdom and experiences that are an invaluable source of learnings for both founders and investors.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode takes us inside the world of wealth from the perspective of one of the industry’s largest alternative asset managers.
We are joined by Sean Connor, President & CEO, Global Private Wealth at Blue Owl Capital, a firm with over $160B in AUM.
Sean highlighted a number of key insights for navigating and working with the wealth channel as he shared lessons learned from building a successful private wealth business at a large alternative asset manager.
Sean is responsible for bringing the breadth of the Blue Owl investment platform to the global private wealth market. He’s at the forefront of Blue Owl’s private wealth initiatives globally and oversees fund formation, product structure innovation, capital raising, and client servicing. He also oversees business development, marketing, and operations for Private Wealth at the firm. Prior to his current role, Sean was one of the first employees at Owl Rock (now the Direct Lending division of Blue Owl) and was responsible for building out the private wealth business.
Prior to joining Blue Owl and Owl Rock, Sean served as a Managing Director of CION Investment Management for over 10 years. Sean was a member of CION’s Investment Committee and was responsible for all aspects of CION’s business including originating, underwriting, negotiating, and corporate finance transactions globally. In 2020, Sean was recognized by Private Debt Investor as one of the industry’s Rising Stars.
Sean and I had a fascinating conversation about what it’s like to work with the wealth channel. We discussed:
How and why it’s so difficult to work with the wealth channel.Why the wealth channel is not a new phenomenon, yet why it’s still relatively untapped in terms of alternative asset managers understanding how to work with the wealth channel.How Blue Owl’s wealth business works across its three different investment platforms.Why scale matters in certain areas of private markets.Why the wealth channel is not one channel, but rather an agglomeration of different customer types and geographies.How the market is evolving where a one-stop-shop type firm may be how much of the wealth channel interacts with private markets.What it means for distribution professionals to understand their client and the daily demands of a wealth manager's business when educating the wealth channel on alternatives products.Why education of the wealth channel should focus more on holistic education and less on selling product.Why the wealth channel matters when it comes to alternative asset managers acquiring other alternative asset managers.Thanks Sean for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share such actionable and thoughtful insights on how firms can work with wealth.
-
Welcome to the 8th episode of a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream.
Here’s the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in private markets.
On this episode, Lawrence and I had a fascinating and lively discussion. We covered:
How is product innovation enabling the wealth channel to invest in private markets?How are GPs being thoughtful about the structures they are creating for their clients?What challenges do GPs face when thinking about how to build products for the wealth channel?What is driving the growth of evergreen and interval fund structures?Why is it important to focus on user experience when structuring products?Where are we in the evolution of private markets? Is it still “early innings?”Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode takes us inside the mind of a tech titan who is at the forefront of shaping the market structure evolution in private markets.
John Stecher is the Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone. He’s responsible for all aspects of technology across the firm and advises the firm’s investment teams as well as acts as a resource to portfolio companies on technology-related matters. John and the team at Blackstone have invested in iCapital, Canoe, 73 Strings, LemonEdge, amongst others.
It’s also his background in other areas of technology and consumer financial services that stands out – and provides insights and lessons learned for how to build technology within private markets. Prior to joining Blackstone, John was a Managing Director, the Chief Technology Officer, and the Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays. He was also a member of the Barclays Technology Management Committee. Prior to joining Barclays in 2017, he worked at Goldman Sachs, where he held a variety of senior management and engineering roles across the firm’s capital markets and technology divisions, and most recently built their Marcus-branded consumer finance division. He also worked at IBM, where he was appointed an IBM Master Inventor, where he delivered / created over 45 patents across several diverse problem spaces.
John and I had a fascinating conversation about how technology is core to both the business Blackstone is building and the businesses they invest into. We discussed:
How Blackstone leverages technology internally and externally to create value.Why alts are still sold, not bought.Why he sees the biggest evolution happening in the finance and accounting space within private markets — and what innovations are being built there.Why the front office of private markets will still require human intervention despite technology advancements.Why the alts space needs systematization.How product structure innovation (i.e. evergreen funds, etc.) is driving technology innovation.How private markets are becoming more consumer oriented.Thanks John for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and experience of building core technology for capital markets and private markets.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today we have an incredible discussion that spans the world of private credit and the growth of women’s sports - and how those two topics intersect in the guest’s daily life.
Chris Long founded Palmer Square Capital Management, an approximately $29B+ asset manager focused on corporate and structured credit with offices in Kansas City and London, in June 2009. Currently, he serves as Chairman, CEO, and Portfolio Manager.
Since inception, Chris has been successful in building one of the premier credit investment firms in the world that includes clients across institutions, family offices, RIAs, bank / trust, and broker dealers. Prior to starting Palmer Square, Chris built a deep investment background at some of the top financial firms in the world, including Morgan Stanley, TH Lee Putnam Ventures, and JP Morgan.
In December 2020, Chris added the title of Professional Sports Team Owner, as he joined Co-Founder and Owner Angie Long and Co-Owner Brittany Mahomes in bringing a National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Kansas City. The KC Current launched on an extraordinary timeline, playing its first professional match just 124 days after the franchise was announced. As owners, Chris, Angie, Brittany, and recent addition to ownership Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, have had a clear vision for not only establishing the best women’s soccer club in the world, but also having the KC Current serve as a model for all of women’s sports, which was no more apparent than with the recent completion of their new stadium, a $124M project that is the first soccer stadium specifically for a women’s professional soccer team.
Chris serves on the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Board of Governors and Expansion Committee as well as on the Executive Committee of the Kansas City 2026 World Cup Bid. Chris was recently recognized for winning the prestigious Kansas City Sports Commission’s 2022 Sports Executive of the Year and Sports Business Journal’s 2022 Power Players — Women’s Sports. He and his wife Angie were inducted into the 2023 Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame.
Chris and I had a fascinating conversation that spanned the world of credit and sports team ownership and investing — and how those two worlds are coming together. We discussed:
How Chris and his team built a $29B asset manager in the credit space.Why he believes that private credit’s growth does not represent a systemic risk despite a more lax lending environment due to increased capital inflows and increased competition for good deals.Why he believes the one-stop-shop will emerge in credit for both borrowers and LPs.Why a background in credit and investing has been invaluable in understanding how to navigate the business side of building and running a sports franchise.How Chris decided to buy a NWSL team with his wife and co-founder Angie.Why Chris believes investing in women’s soccer in the US is like “buying the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.”Why owning your own facilities as a sports team is a huge lever to increase revenues and drive enterprise value.How driving business initiatives for a sports team can help build the community and build the roster.Thanks Chris for coming on the show to share invaluable insights into building elite performers in both the world of finance and the world of women’s soccer. Good luck this season with the Current — I’ll be rooting for you, except when you play Angel City FC 😉.
This material is for informational purposes and is prepared by Palmer Square Capital Management LLC (“Palmer Square”), is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of date of publication and are subject to change. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by Palmer Square to be reliable and are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Past performance is not indicative of current or future results. This information provided is neither tax nor legal advice and investors should consult with their own advisors before making investment decisions. Investment involves risk including possible loss of principal.
-
“The room where it happens …
No one really knows how the game is played
The art of the trade
How the sausage gets made
We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in the room where it happens …
When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game
But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.”
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
These excerpts were in a song by Leslie Odom Jr. and Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton. But they could also be applied to the conversation Laurence Tosi of WestCap and I had today.
Today’s show is with someone who has been in the room where it happens. Stories and perspectives shared today were from someone who has helped turn bills into laws in private markets.
Laurence Tosi has been part of building foundational technology businesses and companies in capital markets and private markets – from investing in and building Ipreo, iLevel, TMC Bonds, and Tradeweb as an executive at Merrill Lynch where he served as COO of Global Investment Banking and Trading, building Blackstone from 2008-2015 as the CFO, Management & Risk Committee Member, Head of the Tech Innovations Fund, and Blackstone Treasury Solutions Fund, and building and scaling Airbnb as CFO and Head of Payments, Customer Experience, and Corporate Development.
At Merrill Lynch and Blackstone, L.T. deployed $500M of capital, returning over $1.6B without taking a loss.
He's now building WestCap, a $7.6B growth investing firm that L.T. characterizes as an “operating equity firm” that helps founders and companies scale their businesses at the inflection point in between traditional venture capital and private equity. L.T. and WestCap have leveraged their collective operating knowledge to invest in a number of industry leaders, including two industry defining companies in private markets, iCapital and Addepar. They’ve also invested in the likes of SIMON, which was acquired by iCapital, GoodLeap, Sharegain, Klarna, Paxos, AccessFintech, Treasury4, Hopper, Avenue One, StubHub, and more.
L.T. and I had a fascinating conversation that took us to a number of places. We discussed:
Stories from building Blackstone.The deeper meaning behind Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s comment “scale is our niche” and how “scale begets skill.”Insights L.T. and the Blackstone team had around working with the wealth channel that enabled them to transform how Blackstone and the industry worked with private wealth.Why the realization that at Blackstone, they weren’t selling to the end investor but that they were selling to the financial advisor was such a critical insight as they worked with the wealth channel.What it means to transform Blackstone from a firm into a business.Parallels and patterns L.T. took from building and investing in foundation market infrastructure businesses at Merrill Lynch and Blackstone to how they are investing in private markets at WestCap.L.T.’s learnings from a focus on customer experience and simplifying the product at Airbnb.What’s the unlock for alternatives that harmonizes the industry?Why consortium is a “bad word” but why standardization will be so critical to the next phase of private markets.Why private equity firms have the best business models in finance.The difference between being in the business of building their business between being in the business of building your business and what L.T. is trying to accomplish at WestCap.Why L.T. believes in the partnership model for alternative asset managers and why he believes that’s an enduring model.L.T., thanks so much for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom, experience, and deep industry knowledge from being a pioneer in private markets.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode dives deep into one of the fastest growing independent wealth platforms in the US — Sanctuary Wealth — and how alternatives is a major ingredient to the growth of their firm and the RIA space more broadly.
We have Sanctuary’s MD and Head of Alternative Investments, Patrick McGowan, and Director of Strategic Partnerships, Oksana Poznak, on the show to discuss why they believe alternative investments are a key driver of their growth and why they are so important to the development of advisor’s practices.
Patrick and Oksana both bring valuable perspectives on private markets to bear.
Patrick was previously a SVP and Head of Product Management at Azimut Alternative Capital Partners, the NY based GP stakes arm of Azimut Group, one of the largest independent wealth management companies in the world. This background gives him a great understanding of the GP stakes world, where he's spent a bunch of time thinking about this in terms of how it relates to the wealth channel. Prior to Azimut, Patrick was part of the Invesco Private Capital team, the $1B PE and VC arm of Invesco, where he focused on their efforts for CalSTRS SMA and a fund of funds that invested in a number of high-performing, generally smaller and emerging managers. He also worked at OC Private Capital, a JV between Carlyle and OppenheimerFunds, the advisor to a $1B close-ended interval fund focused on private credit. Prior to this role, he was a Senior Director at AI Insight, which was acquired by iCapital. He started his career at OppenheimerFunds and then worked at Altegris Investments, which was a pioneer in bringing alts to the wealth channel.
Oksana brings over 20 years of experience in business development, marketing, and relationship management to Sanctuary. She was most recently Segment Marketing Director at CAIS, where she promoted alternative investment fund managers. Prior to CAIS, she held senior positions at Atria Wealth Solutions, BNY Mellon Pershing, Ladenburg Thalman, and Advisor Group.
We had a fascinating discussion about the intersection of wealth and alts. We discussed:
What it will take to grow Sanctuary to a $100B Super RIA.Why the wealth channel is so interested in alternatives.Why alternative asset managers are interested in working with the wealth channel.How alternative asset managers can best approach working with and educating the wealth channel.The biggest mistake alternative asset managers make when trying to work with the wealth channel.How smaller funds can partner with wealth advisors.Thanks Patrick and Oksana for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom about the intersection of wealth and alts. We hope you enjoy.
-
Welcome to the 7th episode of a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream.
Here's the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his finger on the pulse of what's happening in private markets.
On this episode, Lawrence and I had a fascinating and lively discussion. We covered:
Why are chemistry and collaboration key for the next wave of private markets?How is solving distribution challenges like solving logistics challenges?What does the “Amazon-ification” of private markets mean?What does it mean to meet advisors at their point of need?What parallels can we draw from internet 1.0 to the growth in private markets today?How can the industry deliver tools to help advisors create holistic portfolios with alts at the start?What’s more important - the “fin” or the “tech” in “fintech?”Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!
-
A few weeks ago, the tables were turned and I sat down with David Weisburd of the 10X Capital Podcast to talk about the ongoing transformation of private markets.
The wealth channel is becoming a centerpiece of the LP universe. Every alternative asset manager either has — or has to have — a strategy for working with the wealth channel in today’s private markets.
We discussed:
Why the wealth channel will become a prominent LP for many funds over time.How infrastructure solutions like iCapital are enabling the wealth channel to efficiently access private markets.Why GP staking will become part of the LP solution set for their exposure to private markets.Thanks David for having me on your show to discuss how private markets are rapidly changing before our eyes.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
On today’s episode, we travel around the world of hospitality investing. We talk with Carlos Rodriguez Jr., the Founder, President, and COO of Driftwood Capital, one of the US’s leading hospitality sponsors with over $3B in hospitality assets under management. They’ve found a way to do both the traditional things in real estate investing and development well and compliment that with an innovative strategy to bring over 1,200 accredited investors on their platform as they find ways to improve how sponsors can access deals and capital.
Carlos and I had a fascinating discussion about real estate and private markets. We covered:
How hospitality investing was impacted by Covid and how Driftwood weathered the storm.Lessons learned from operating through Covid.Why location, location, location rings true in real estate investing.How the millennial traveler and work from home have impacted hospitality investing.The most surprising things in real estate investing over the past few years.How technology is impacting real estate investing.Thanks Carlos for coming on the show to share your insights and wisdom about hospitality investing. We hope you enjoy.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
On today’s show, we welcome a senior member of the team at the world’s 3rd largest alternatives manager. Tyler Jayroe is a MD and Portfolio Manager in the Private Equity Group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which manages over $2.4 trillion of assets on behalf of a diverse group of global institutions and individual investors. Tyler’s team, the Private Equity Group, has a 40 year history of investing across private markets, covering the alternative investment spectrum and investing over $42B of capital. Tyler helps spearhead a team that invests into funds, co-investments, and secondaries across private equity, growth equity, and venture fund strategies.
Tyler and I had a fascinating conversation about how an industry behemoth allocates capital across funds and strategies. We discussed:
What they look for when investing into funds.Why middle market private equity is an area they have focused on.The opportunity for secondaries in the current market.The differences between a first time investor and a first time fund manager.What a scalable and replicable process really means when it comes to evaluating fund managers.Thanks Tyler for coming on the podcast to share your deep experience in private markets. Hope you enjoy.
Contact JPMorgan Distribution Services, Inc. at 1-800-480-4111 for a fund prospectus. You can also visit us at www.jpmorganfunds.com. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives and risks as well as charges and expenses of the mutual fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the mutual fund. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
This document is a general communication being provided for informational purposes only. It is educational in nature and not designed to be a recommendation for any specific investment product, strategy, plan feature or other purpose. Any examples used are generic, hypothetical and for illustration purposes only. Prior to making any investment or financial decisions, an investor should seek individualized advice from personal financial, legal, tax and other professionals that take into account all of the particular facts and circumstances of an investor’s own situation.
Risk Summary
The following considerations, which summarize some, but not all, of the risks of an investment in the representative strategy, should be carefully evaluated.
General Investment Risks
There is no assurance that the investments held by the Fund will be profitable, that there will be proceeds from such investments available for distribution to Shareholders or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. Fund performance may be volatile and a Shareholder could incur a total or substantial loss of its investment. There can be no assurance that projected or targeted returns for the Fund will be achieved.
Financial Market Developments
Volatile conditions in the capital markets may cause limitations on the ability of companies in which the Portfolio Funds will invest to obtain capital, or subject such companies to higher costs of capital for financing. This lack of available credit could impede upon the ability of such companies to complete investments and higher costs of capital could reduce the returns of the Fund or Portfolio Funds. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect the investments held by the Fund. Changes in the general level of interest rates can affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental, monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations, fiscal deficits, trade surpluses or deficits, regulatory requirements and other factors beyond the control of the Fund and the companies in which the Portfolio Funds invest. Although it is expected that the Fund’s borrowings, if any, will be short-term in nature, the companies in which the Portfolio Funds invest may finance a significant portion of their activities with both fixed and floating rate debt. By financing the acquisition and development of an investment with floating rate debt, such companies and Portfolio Funds, and indirectly the Fund, will bear the risk that in the event of rising interest rates and a lack of concomitant growth in income, or any increase in underwriting standards that might limit the availability of credit, it could become difficult for such companies and Portfolio Funds to obtain refinancing. In such a case, a company or Portfolio Funds could be forced to take actions that might be disadvantageous at the time in question, such as refinancing on unfavorable terms or selling an asset. Any rise in interest rates may also significantly increase the interest expense of the companies in which the Fund and Portfolio Funds invest, causing losses and/or the inability to service debt levels. If a company in which a Portfolio Funds invests cannot generate adequate cash flow to meet debt obligations, the Fund may suffer a partial or total loss of capital invested in the Portfolio Funds. Given current market conditions following a historically low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened.
Closed-End Fund Structure; Liquidity Limited to Periodic Repurchases of Shares
The Fund is designed primarily for long-term investors. An investment in the Fund, unlike an investment in a traditional listed closed-end fund, should be considered illiquid. The Shares are appropriate only for investors who are comfortable with investment in less liquid or illiquid portfolio investments within an illiquid fund. An investment in the Shares is not suitable for investors who need access to the money they invest. Unlike open-end funds (commonly known as mutual funds), which generally permit redemptions on a daily basis, the Shares will not be redeemable at a Shareholder’s option. Unlike stocks of listed closed-end funds, the Shares are not listed, and are not expected to be listed, for trading on any securities exchange, and the Fund does not expect any secondary market to develop for the Shares in the foreseeable future. The Fund’s private market investments will be illiquid and typically cannot be transferred or redeemed for a substantial period of time. The Shares are designed for long-term investors, and the Fund should not be treated as a trading vehicle.
Repurchase of Shares Risk
Although the Board may, in its sole discretion, cause the Fund to offer to repurchase outstanding Shares at their net asset value and the Adviser intends to recommend that, in normal market circumstances, the Board conducts quarterly repurchase offers of no more than 5% of the Fund’s net assets. Shares are considerably less liquid than shares of funds that trade on a stock exchange or shares of open-end registered investment companies. It is possible that the Fund may be unable to repurchase all of the Shares that a Shareholder tenders due to the illiquidity of the Fund investments or if the Shareholders request the Fund to repurchase more Shares than the Fund is then offering to repurchase. In addition, substantial requests for the Fund to repurchase Shares could require the Fund to liquidate certain of its investments more rapidly than otherwise desirable in order to raise cash to fund the repurchases and achieve a market position appropriately reflecting a smaller asset base. This could have a material ad...
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
On today’s show, we welcome a long-time VC investor who brings the perspective from both sides of the pond. Fred Destin, the founder of Stride VC, a seed fund operating out of London and currently investing out of its second £123M fund, shares his views on the venture capital industry.
Prior to Stride, Fred was a General Partner at Accel and Accomplice (fka Atlas Venture). He’s invested in some of venture’s big winners, including Deliveroo, Pillpack, Cazoo, Zoopla, Secret Escapes, Integral Ad Science, and more, generating over $1.4B in value to investors and a blended multiple in excess of 7x. Fred has been featured on the Forbes European Midas List a number of times.
Fred and I had a fascinating conversation about the hows and the whys of early-stage venture. We discussed:
How VCs can navigate the difference between decision points and discovery zones.Why a positive bias towards people can be a driver of returns in venture.Why venture capital is often a poor experience for founders.Why trust, truth, and empathy make for a strong and enduring founder relationship.Why Fred thinks that the most product of a venture capital organization is decisions.Why. and how simplicity can be core to company-building.How to evaluate risk versus reward at early-stage.How younger investors can hone their craft.The future of early-stage venture.Thanks Fred for coming on the podcast to share your wisdom on early-stage investing.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
On today’s show, we welcome a veteran of venture, a champion of portfolio concentration, a master of micro VC.
Chris Douvos has taken a mosaic of experiences as an allocator at both endowments and funds that worked on behalf of institutional investors to found Ahoy Capital in 2018, an intentionally right-sized firm focused on working with smaller, emerging VC managers. A pioneering investor in the micro VC movement, Chris has been a mainstay in venture capital for decades. At Ahoy, he discovers and partners with smaller VC funds to help drive returns for his LPs, being seen as a “bird dog in the Valley” for many institutional investors who lack the access, network, and knowledge of the early-stage venture landscape to Chris’s degree.
Chris has been embedded in the venture world for years, dating back to the early 2000s. Prior to Ahoy Capital, Chris spearheaded investment efforts at Venture Investment Associates and The Investment Fund for Foundations. He initially learned the craft of private markets investing at Princeton’s University endowment, although he earned his BA and MBA from Yale.
Chris and I had such a fun discussion about venture and the emerging VC landscape. We discussed:
How the business of venture has changed.Why there’s always room for a Bugatti when the market has a lot of Fords and Toyotas.What he learned from Doug Leone at Sequoia in his early days as an allocator at Princeton and how it’s informed how he invests today.Why it’s tough to be a midsized fund in today’s venture market.Why he believes that concentration is key as a LP – and that diversification can lead to “diworseification.”Why he believes smaller fund sizes can lead to outperformance.Thanks Chris for coming on the podcast to share your wisdom and lessons learned from decades in venture.
-
Welcome to the 6th episode of a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream.
Here’s the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in private markets.
On this episode, Lawrence and I had a fun and lively discussion. We covered:
Will private equity save the day?Why the “educated consumer is the best customer.”Is liquidity the threshold issue of getting more investors to participate in private markets?How 80% of the flows into alts from the wealth channel are currently driven by 20% of the advisor population … and how the next wave of advisors can understand and allocate to alts.How the industry moves from education on alts to education of how alts fit into broader portfolio construction strategies.How do we go from “talk to action” in the allocation of alts.What’s the interplay of technology innovation and product innovation in alts?What is the “technology chassis” for alts?What’s the missing piece from a technology perspective to take alts to the next level?What’s the role that tokenization can play in helping alts go mainstream?Does private markets have its connective tissue?The current status of Michael’s Monthly Bracelet Pulse, featuring Eintracht Frankfurt and Angel City FC bracelets.Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!
-
Welcome to the 5th episode of a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream.
Here’s the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in private markets.
How interest in alts is growing around the world.What Lawrence learned on his trips to Europe, LatAm, and Asia meeting with advisors, private banks, and GPs across those respective regions.Why each region has its own unique challenges, in large part due to different regulatory structures and wealth management market structures.How to build a global alts business while simultaneously tailoring the culture and client experience to specific client demands.Why global, brand name fund managers may resonate in different parts of the world.Why advisors are very focused on products right now that have a “modicum of liquidity.”Stories and anecdotes from Lawrence’s conversations at an event they hosted with over 200 advisors in LatAm through iCapital’s partnership with Unicorn Strategic Partners.Why being on the ground to understand different cultures and ecosystems is so important to learning and building the right organic feedback loops to structure solutions in private markets.
On this episode, Lawrence and I had a fun and lively discussion. We covered:Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!
-
Today’s show brings us inside the mind of a top allocator and CIO in the private wealth world.
We talk with Shannon Saccocia, the CIO of Neuberger Berman Private Wealth, a division of NB that has almost $70B of assets under management. With over 24 years of experience, Shannon brings a wealth of knowledge on private markets to bear. At NB Wealth, she works closely with investment leadership to establish market views, asset allocation, and portfolio recommendations tailored specifically for NB Private Wealth clients.
Prior to joining NB, she was the CIO for 5 years at SVB Private and Boston Private Wealth, which SVB acquired in July 2021. In this capacity, she oversaw all investment management functions, including portfolio construction, asset allocation, third-party manager selection, equity and fixed income portfolio management, performance and trading.
Shannon and I had a fascinating conversation on the evolution of private markets and how both allocators and GPs can think about this changing landscape. We discussed:
The definition of alts and what “true alternatives” are.The changing nature of asset allocation and why alts are such a critical part of an investors’ portfolio.The evolution of fees and what investors should be paying for.Why specialized managers can win.The importance of geopolitics and macro in a world where deglobalization has an increasing impact on asset allocation.Why secondaries are an important onramp to private markets for the HNW channel.What it means to get comfortable with being uncomfortable as an investor.What the institutional investor world can learn from HNW investors.Thanks Shannon for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your thoughts and wisdom on private markets.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s show dives into the collision of culture, sports, and finance. We talk with Chase Griffin, a student-athlete and QB at UCLA, who has become a pioneer in the college athletics Name Image Likeness (NIL) movement and is the 2x winner of the NIL Male Athlete of the Year awards from the NIL Summit and Opendorse.
Chase has excelled on and off the field, so he’s no stranger to success. In high school, he was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, and he turned down Ivy League offers to commit to UCLA. At UCLA, he’s played behind NFL draft pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson and put up strong performances on the field. Off the field, he’s been a leader in the NIL movement and an exemplary scholar-athlete, to the point where his coach at UCLA, Chip Kelly, has said, “if you could buy stock in a human, buy stock in Chase Griffin.”
Chase has deftly navigated the rapidly changing landscape of the NIL to secure over 30 NIL brand deals and launched the community / charity giving platform #NILforGood. He recently joined Range Media Partners as Athlete/Creator in Residence and contributes to Range business operations across Sports, NIL, Film, TV, Music, and Social Impact.
Chase and I had a fascinating discussion about how the NIL could change college sports as we know it and how it will coincide with more investment into college athletics. At a time when private equity firms are investing into companies that are part of the developing NIL ecosystem and possibly even investing into collegiate athletics conferences, Chase shares his views on the impact that the NIL and financialization of sports has on athletes, colleges, pro sports, and broader student bodies.
Congrats on all the accomplishments in your young career thus far, Chase. Thanks for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your experiences and wisdom on the NIL.
-
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
On today’s show, we bring the institutional family office perspective to private markets. We talk with Jamie Rhode, a Principal at Verdis Investment Management. Verdis is a single family office based in Philadelphia that was built on the rich legacy of the family, a major business family, that has spanned over three centuries.
At Verdis, Jamie is focused on venture capital, private equity, and hedge fund investment sourcing and due diligence. She joined Verdis from Bloomberg, where she held roles in both equity research and credit analysis. Verdis is an active investor in the venture capital ecosystem, leveraging a data-driven investment approach that Jamie spearheads to allocate to mainly smaller and emerging managers. They’ve taken a very thoughtful approach to asset allocation, particularly venture, and have had a number of valuable insights on asset allocation come out of that process.
Jamie and I had a fascinating discussion about the allocator’s perspective on venture capital and smaller fund managers.
We discussed:
Why Jamie believes that 90% of investment returns come from asset allocation strategy.Why smaller funds often drive the best returns.Why illiquidity and duration are so critical to producing outsized returns, with Verdis finding that the last 20% of the hold period of a fund producing 46% of the returns.Why Verdis believes in the strength of the YC network.The perfect fund size and portfolio construction.Why former operators may not make the best fund managers in Jamie’s view.Thanks Jamie for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and data-driven perspectives.
- Visa fler
