How I Invest with David Weisburd

Latest Episodes:

E73: John Merrill on GroveStreet’s $10.5 Billion Investment Strategy Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

John Merrill, Partner at GroveStreet sits down with David Weisburd to discuss GroveStreet’s $10.5B SMA model. In addition, they talk about the keys to building long-term SMA relationships, a highly selective set of criteria for managers and reasons why GP’s should prefer rigorous, discerning LPs vs. fast-followers. (0:00) Introduction and background of John Merrill and Grove Street (1:34) Benefits of separately managed accounts (SMAs) for institutional investors (3:39) The problem Grove Street is solving for clients (5:03) Importance of alignment in asset management (6:30) Investment process and criteria for selecting funds (10:13) Client management and characteristics Grove Street looks for in clients (13:25) Benefits of a boutique client model (16:17) Studying under David Swenson and his impact (20:14) The give and take in LP-GP relationships (22:27) Importance of landing an anchor investor for new funds (24:25) Characteristics of a good partnership between LPs and GPs (29:43) Characteristics of a top limited partner (33:17) Global investment insights and local biases (35:09) Final thoughts and closing remarks

E72: Investing in Top Emerging Managers with Jamie Rhode Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Jamie Rhode sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Screendoor’s strategy of backing emerging managers. In addition, they discuss friction points between LPs and emerging managers, leveraging insights from GPs and LPs in manager selection, and how to diligence a first time fund. (0:00) Episode preview (0:43) Jamie joining Screendoor (2:35) Friction between LPs and emerging managers (4:38) Fragmentation at the seed stage (6:44) Importance of grit and endurance in founders (8:17) Underwriting first time funds (12:39) Expanding beyond first time funds (24:36) 10X Capital Podcast Newsletter (26:17) Portfolio construction as a venture LP (34:35) Final thoughts

E71: Interview with RAISE Global Summit & Akkadian Founder Ben Black Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

Ben Black, Co-Founder of Akkadian Ventures, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the RAISE Global Summit, the largest LP/GP conference. This is a masterclass on how venture capital GPs can raise venture capital funds and develop long-term relationships with LPs. David and Ben also delve into what differentiates the top venture funds, the importance of operational excellence in fund entrepreneurship, and prioritizing and managing relationships. (0:00) Episode preview (0:46) The origin and growth of the RAISE Conference (3:40) Fundraising as a continuous relationship-building process (6:28) Effective strategies for GPs to add value to LPs (12:38) What differentiates the top venture funds (14:14) Importance of ecosystem creation in VC (16:02) Common mistakes in fund presentations (28:36) Current state of the secondary market (29:16) 10X Capital Podcast Newsletter (39:31) Prioritizing and managing relationships (41:04) Surviving downturns as a VC (43:01) Closing thoughts from Ben Black

E70: How VC Fund of Funds Work with Alex Edelson Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Alex Edelson, Founder of Slipstream Investors, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the benefits and tradeoffs of investing in venture capital fund of funds. They also touch on Slipstream’s investment thesis, portfolio construction, and due diligence process. (0:00) Episode preview (2:16) Discussion on portfolio diversification (4:41) Benefits & trade-offs in fund to funds strategy versus single fund investing (7:13) Ideal number of funds for diversification in venture capital (8:46) Life cycle of a diligence process when vetting a manager (12:05) Assessing a fund manager (13:05) Importance of founder references (14:09) Essentials in a fund data room (16:17) Value of transparency with GPs (18:25) Gaining access to oversubscribed funds (19:22) Closing remarks

E69: How Texas Municipal Retirement System Deployed $1B into Venture Capital May 29, 2024

Show notes

Peter Teneriello, former Senior Portfolio Manager at Texas Municipal Retirement System, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how TMRS deployed $1B into venture capital. In addition, they discuss institutional allocation pacing models, the importance of aligned investment teams and why investors may allocate to median performing managers. (0:00) Introduction (0:55) Diversification strategies in venture capital investing (3:32) Co-investment practices and fee management (6:58) Importance and role of pacing models (9:39) Incentives for LP Consultants and their impact (12:25) Strategy for setting up a billion-dollar single family office (15:39) Building effective LP / GP relationships (16:22) Career insights and investment philosophy from Peter Teneriello

E68: The Smithsonian Institution’s Venture Capital Edge May 21, 2024

Show notes

Jeff Smith, Managing Director of Private Investments at the Smithsonian’s endowment, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the Smithsonian endowment’s advantage in accessing the best managers in venture capital. They also discuss the importance of continually allocating throughout cycles, knowing when to exit, and communicating effectively with LPs. They conclude by covering what Jeff looks for when evaluating new venture managers. (0:00) Episode preview (0:57) How Jeff’s startup experience influences his perspective as an LP in venture capital (1:54) Capital allocation, exit strategies, and market trends in VC (6:12) The Smithsonian endowment’s advantage in venture capital (11:17) Criteria for investing in venture managers (15:28) Smithsonian's venture strategy (19:55) Considerations for investing in first time funds (21:40) The mission of the Smithsonian and closing remarks

E67: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta CIO - Muthu Muthiah May 16, 2024

Show notes

Muthu Muthiah, CIO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how he developed the governance, systems, and team to deploy $2 billion dollars at Inatai Foundation. They also delve into the endowment style investment philosophy, the importance of asset allocation relative to manager selection, and the venture strategy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. (0:00) Episode preview (1:35) Muthu’s path to mission-driven investing (5:36) Building a team of generalist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (8:03) Deploying $2B at Inatai Foundation (11:37) Sponsor: Deel (13:44) Importance of asset allocation strategy (17:28) Navigating the Principal-Agent Problem in asset management (20:41) Investment approach at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (21:46) CHOA’s venture philosophy and portfolio (26:04) The mission and values of CHOA

E66: Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures on Investing in VC - Erin Harkless Moore May 14, 2024

Show notes

Erin Harkless Moore, Senior Director of Pivotal Ventures, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Pivotal Ventures’ $1B mission to drive equality and returns. In addition, they discuss how Pivotal works to close the gender gap, ways to manage teams more thoughtfully and the capability of venture dollars to drive exponential impact. (1:06) Erin Harkless Moore's Background and Pivotal Ventures' Strategy (5:26) Balancing Collaboration and Consensus in Decision-making (8:26) Common Mistakes made by Venture Asset Managers (10:28) How Mission-oriented Organizations View Performance (14:31) Sponsor: Deel (16:05) Refining the Investment Strategy at Pivotal Ventures (23:08) Discussion on VC Track Record (24:36) Value of Unexpected References in Due Diligence (32:48) Aligning Personal Values with Career Goals

E65: CEO of Bitwise on How Institutions Access Crypto May 09, 2024

Show notes

Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the institutional investment case for Bitcoin and digital assets. In addition, they discuss the diversification benefits of digital assets for portfolio construction, bull arguments for Bitcoin, and expanding the GDP of the internet through increasing use cases of public blockchains. (0:00) Episode Preview and Overview of Bitwise (5:29) Discussion on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (10:53) Exploration of Institutional Investment in Crypto (18:49) Sponsor: Deel (20:53) Use Cases of Public Blockchains (25:52) The Role and Impact of Developers in Crypto (30:40) 10X Capital Podcast Newsletter (31:06) Future of Bitwise and its Role in the Digital Asset Space

E64: How Startups Can Access $13 Trillion in Retirement Capital - Eric Satz May 07, 2024

Show notes

Eric Satz, CEO of Alto, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how startups can access $13 trillion in retirement capital. In addition, they discuss why to invest in alternative assets via retirement capital, strategies for personal venture portfolio construction and how cryptocurrency fits into alternative asset investing. (1:03) Guest introduction: Eric Satz and Alto (2:45) Role and user experience of Alto in self-directed investing (5:15) The problem with alternative IRA investments and Alto's solution (7:16) Alto's platform, integrations and partnerships (10:25) Discussion on investable assets in the US and the evolution of Alto's thesis (13:15) The need for democratization in investing (17:42) Discussion on Peter Thiel's Roth IRA story (20:17) Sponsor: Deel (21:00) Suggestions for portfolio diversification and investing in crypto (25:37) The psychological struggle of trading and advantages of alternative asset investments (30:06) The future of Alto (32:07) Importance of timing, luck and people in startup success and closing remarks

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

How I Invest with David Weisburd

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected