Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Shannon O’Leary is the CIO of the St Paul & Minnesota Foundation, where she oversees $1.8 billion for the community foundation that aspires to create an equitable, just, and vibrant Minnesota. Shannon took the post six years ago after twenty years working with families. She describes herself as ‘blunt,’ comfortably speaking her mind, including in her LinkedIn newsletter entitled ‘Say It Out Loud’. Our conversation covers Shannon’s relationship-driven approach to investing across families, Boards, team members, and managers. We discuss the value of frank communication in every aspect of the investment process, from setting policy to manager access, research, selection, and partnership. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

David Zorub is the Founder and CIO of Parsifal Capital Management, a $1.5 billion hedge fund that invests in a concentrated portfolio of longs and shorts across geographies, sectors, and capital structures. David joined me on the show a few months before he launched Parsifal six years ago to discuss his plans. We got back together to talk about what’s happened since. Our conversation covers the headwinds facing fundamental investing, Parsifal’s approach to counter those challenges, and the investment and business processes that led the firm to reach this point. Along the way, David shares keen insights into research, portfolio construction, and partner relationships that have combined to take Parsifal from a start-up hedge fund to a thriving organization in a difficult environment to do so. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

David Zorub is the founder of Parsifal Capital, a new hedge fund he is launching later this year. Before founding Parsifal, Dave spent fifteen years in research and portfolio management at hedge funds and another few in investment banking and private equity. I interviewed David recently at Columbia University’s Student Investment Management Conference and that conversation follows. We cover his career path and his insights into the philosophy and structure of a hedge fund business and investment portfolio. It’s not easy starting a hedge fund these days, and those eager to try will get a sense of the challenges ahead by listening to an experienced investor who’s making a go of it. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Brett Barth and Evan Roth are co-founders and Co-CEOs of BBR Partners, a multi-family office that oversees $32 billion on behalf of 180 families and is celebrating its 25 anniversary this year. Brett appeared on episode 3 of Capital Allocators eight years ago and is a regular contributor in our Friends Reunion shows. I’ve observed BBR’s growth since first meeting Brett and Evan twenty-four years ago and was excited to hear more about their journey. Our conversation covers BBR’s successes, missteps, and key lessons over the years. We discuss their investment philosophy and cultural principles, the “turbulent regimes” that cemented their approach with clients, and their shift in mindset from scrappy entrepreneurs to managers of an enduring business. Evan and Brett describe the business and investment decisions that allowed BBR to sustain success, create peace of mind for clients, and prepare for the next long chapter in BBR’s story. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Brett Barth is a founder and the CIO of BBR Partners. BBR manages north of $12.5B on behalf of 125 families in its multi-family office. In this episode, we start talking about raising twins, a family issue close to both of our hearts. From there we learn about how Brett came to form BBR. We spend a lot of time going into depth on his firm’s asset allocation process and on the decision-making process of manager selection. Along the way we touch on inefficiencies in Asia in the early days and in music royalties today. Brett offers nuggets of practical substance for allocators of all types – from financial advisors to large institutional managers. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

What are the implications of consolidation in the private markets? The leading firms, which are mostly public companies, raised an insane amount of money last year, while the rest of the industry mostly struggled. What will this mean for private markets going forward? Have a listen to find out. Read Ted’s blog here.

Michael Choe is the CEO and Co-Head of Flagship private equity strategy at Charlesbank Capital Partners, a $22B manager of middle-market private equity, credit, and technology opportunities that spun out of the Harvard Management Company in 1998. Our conversation covers Mike’s path from science to finance, including an immigrant story and a draw to decision-making at a young age. We discuss Charlesbank’s history and aspiration to manufacture sound decision-making as a path to investment success, applying its “fan of outcomes” thinking to talent, research, diligence, sourcing, and company operations. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ian Charles is a founding partner at Arctos Partners, a $10 billion private equity firm that strives to create valuable solutions to complex problems. In just five years, Arctos has become the leading institutional investor across the five major North American sports leagues. It also serves as a strategic partner to leading private market sponsors with bespoke capital and liquidity solutions. As part of its effort to support both ecosystems, Arctos publishes data-driven research and content under the Arctos Insights umbrella. Ian is a repeat guest on the show. Our first conversation with co-founding partner Doc O’Connor describing the sports strategy is replayed in the feed. This time around we walk through the changing competitive landscape of private equity, covering the most important narratives for GPs and LPs and how both sides are navigating the environment. We discuss Arctos’ taxonomy of private equity firms and the implications of its different levels to a GP’s strategic positioning and right to win. Ian has a long history serving the private equity market and is unusually insightful and blunt in describing the complex and evolving marketplace. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ian Charles and Doc O’Connor are the Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to buying minority stakes in professional sports franchises. From its founding just two years ago, Arctos quickly has become the market leader in the space, raising a $2.1 billion first-time fund and a SPAC alongside Executive-in-Residence Theo Epstein, and buying stakes in MLB teams including the Boston Red Sox, the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings in the NBA, and a compliment of other sports assets. Our conversation covers their backgrounds and the formation of Arctos, the investment opportunity in sports franchises, and the underlying business and ownership structure. We then turn to the unique characteristics look of the asset, investment process, and growth strategy. Full disclosure, I am a personal investor in Arctos’ fund and am a fan of their strategy and team, pun intended. I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation with Doc O’Connor and Ian Charles as much as I did. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership[

Anthony Pompliano is an entrepreneur, media creator, and investor who has built one of the largest audiences of DIY investors. His following canvasses 1.6 million people on X, 560,000 on YouTube, and 260,000 on his daily The Pomp Letter. Anthony created Professional Capital Management, an investment company that builds and invests in early-stage companies by leveraging his audience. He’s not alone in his family in creating a following. Pomp’s wife Polina writes the popular blog, The Profile, and his brother Joe writes the sports business blog, Huddle Up. Pomp also recently published How to Live an Extraordinary Life, which shares life lessons through letters to his children. Our conversation covers Pomp’s passion for competing, leading, and problem-solving, formative business experience at Facebook, translating lessons to build a social media audience, and monetizing that audience through investing. We close touching on his wonderful book with a few anecdotes and lessons to share. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Mitchell Green is the founder and managing partner of Lead Edge Capital, a growth equity firm with $5 billion in assets that invests in software, internet, and tech-enabled businesses. Lead Edge leverages its LPs, comprised of over 700 seasoned executives, entrepreneurs, deal makers, and celebrities to connect its portfolio companies with customers, partners, and talent. Unlike any other firm I’ve seen, the impressive list of LPs is publicly available on the firm’s website. Our conversation covers Mitchell’s early exposure to business and finance, Lead Edge’s cold-calling strategies, investment criteria, and leverage of LPs to source, diligence, and add value to portfolio companies. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Could 2025 be the year private equity fund flows return to normal? No. Not yet. Ted explains why in his latest post. Read Ted’s blog here.

When you think of the greatest private equity deals of all time, names like Google, Facebook, Uber, Dell, and Hilton come to mind. After a recent episode of Private Equity Deals, you might also think about 3G’s acquisition of Burger King. But I’d bet you wouldn’t think about an oil and gas play called CrownRock. Lime Rock Capital created CrownRock alongside a management team with $96.5 million of cash and assets in 2007. Seventeen years later, sold the business to Occidental Petroleum for $12.5 billion. Lime Rock’s original investment made 79x its money, a net IRR of 18%, and $7.5 billion in gains, which ranks in the top ten fully exited private equity deals of all time. It also exited a continuation vehicle that generated 3x its cost over the last six years of the deal’s life. My guests to discuss the firm and its grand slam CrownRock deal are Lime Rock Managing Directors John Reynolds, Jonathan Farber, and J McLane. Our conversation covers Lime Rock’s investment approach and the example of CrownRock. We dive into the initial investment thesis around vertical drilling, the three extinction threats to the business, innovation of horizontal drilling, management excellence, exit options along the way, and the ‘forever hold’ mindset that allowed CrownRock to compound extraordinary amounts of capital. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Mark Sullivan and Roberto Isch are Partners at Wellington Management, the $1.3 trillion privately owned firm. Mark is the Head of the Hedge Fund Group and Roberto is a Risk and Portfolio Manager. Wellington began its hedge fund strategies in the mid-1990s. Their activities started with a series of long-biased sector specialist strategies, added a multi-asset fund-of-funds, and most recently, built a market-neutral platform overseen by Mark and Roberto. Our conversation covers the history and current state of hedge fund investing at Wellington, including the client-led development of product offerings and the manager selection, portfolio construction, and risk management of the group’s third-generation strategy. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Donald Miller is the CEO of StoryBrand and author of ten books that have collectively spent more than a year on New York Times Bestseller lists. Don helps businesses clarify their message so customers will listen. His latest book, Building a Storybrand 2.0, is a revised edition of one of the most succinct, impactful, and actionable books I’ve come across on storytelling. Our conversation covers Don’s most important lessons in telling a story that resonates with customers, including the seven elements of story structure and key components of each. Don wants to share his gift for taglines with you. He recently launched storybrand.ai, a free LLM trained on 120 pages of his insights. In just seven minutes, you can have Don write your tagline. Take Capital Allocators Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

The beginning of a new year brings with it time for reflection and the renewal of rituals. We reflect on our personal and professional lives, set goals for the coming year, and start sprinting towards those goals – hopefully with enough time to calibrate our personal GPS. One part of the ritualistic sprint is conference season. Industry leaders gather at Davos for the World Economic Forum and Miami for iConnections Global Alts in January, in Beverly Hills for Milken in May, in Sun Valley for Allen & Company in the summer, and at many locations throughout the year. We’ll be doing the same at our Capital Allocators CIO Summit in April, Senior Decision Makers Summit in June, Capital Allocators University in July, and Small and Emerging Manager Summit in September. So as you get ready to leave the starting blocks, it’s a good time to pause and think about how to optimize your time and budget at industry events. At Capital Allocators University in December, Hank hosted a panel with Ron Biscardi and Katie O’Reilly to discuss how to think about, plan, and maximize your time and value at conferences. Today’s show shares their panel discussion from Capital Allocators University. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. The top episode this year is perhaps the most timely of our 500 as well. It's Episode 415 with Scott Bessent, a brilliant macro thinker and the cabinet nominee for Secretary of Treasury. The position created by Alexander Hamilton. I was an investor in Scott's first hedge fund, a partner of his for four years, a friend for more than 20, and a huge fan. I'm excited for Scott and for our country about what his appointment might mean for our economic future. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Clocking in at number two is Mike Milken, Episode 3 71. Mike single-handedly developed the high yield market, which has fueled the growth of private equity ever since. When paired with the subsequent episode with his longtime attorney, Richard Sandler, the conversations offer a fresh perspective on Mike's legacy. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Coming in at number three is Episode 385 with the irrepressible Cliff Asness from AQR. Cliff is part brilliant quant and part standup comic. That combination always makes for an entertaining conversation, chockfull of research-backed insights. Head of Business Development Job Posting Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

We're counting down the top 5 episodes of 2024. Coming in at number four is Episode 414 with Ricky Sandler from Eminence Capital. Ricky discusses his 30 years in the business of investing long and short equities and the adjustments he's had to make to his investment and business strategies to continue to thrive in ever-changing conditions. Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership