Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Latest Episodes:

Sahil Bloom – Creativity, Investing, and Engineered Serendipity (Capital Allocators, EP.249) May 09, 2022

Show notes

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

Steve Drobny – Where the World is Going at Clocktower Group (Manager Meeting, 30) May 05, 2022

Show notes

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

Greg Dowling – Mid-Market Institutional Consulting at FEG (Capital Allocators, EP.248) May 02, 2022

Show notes

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

Louis-Vincent Gave – Macro Consequences of Government Sanctions (Capital Allocators, EP.247) Apr 25, 2022

Show notes

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

Andrew Milgram – Mid-Market Distressed Investing at Marblegate (Manager Meetings EP.29) Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

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

Tom Lenehan – Taking the Helm at the Wallace Foundation (Capital Allocators, EP.246) Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

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

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[REPLAY] Tom Lenehan – Perpetual Thinking at Rockefeller University (Capital Allocators, EP.04) Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

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

Sebastian Mallaby – The Making of the New Future in Venture, Venture is Eating the Investment World 14 (Capital Allocators, EP.245) Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

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

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Steve Papa – Entrepreneur's Perspective on Venture, Venture is Eating the Investment World 13 (Capital Allocators, EP.244) Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

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

Kathy Xu – Venture in China at Capital Today, Venture is Eating the Investment World 12 (Capital Allocators, EP.243) Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

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

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