David Eichhorn is the CEO and Head of Investment Strategies at NISA, a $400 billion employee-owned asset manager of risk-controlled fixed income and derivative overlays that is widely respected for its highly collaborative client relationships. The firm is one of the largest derivative overlay managers in the world and the largest U.S. manager of LDI strategies.

Our conversation dives into Dave’s twenty-five years at NISA, its client-centric focus, approach across fixed income and derivative strategies, culture, and opportunities and risks in the markets.

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Today’s show is quite different from our typical show. It’s an edited replay of a conversation from six years ago with Michael Mervosh, the Executive Director of the Hero’s Journey Foundation. Michael created HJF to provide experiential opportunities for human development and transformation based on Joseph Campbell’s mythic hero’s journey.

A few weeks ago, I received a FaceTime call from Michael at the tail end of the annual HJF Men’s Journey in the mountains of West Virginia. He called alongside someone I didn’t know, who had listened to the podcast years ago and planted a seed that led to his participation this year. He recently retired after two decades as a partner at a very well-regarded, multi-billion-dollar equity manager. Seeing his ear-to-ear grin and expression of thanks from leading him on the journey had me wanting to share this again, in case you also find the call to the mountain at a future moment in your life.

My conversation with Michael took place in the mountains of West Virginia towards the end of a hero’s journey six years ago and discusses the program, how Michael came to creating it, and life lessons across perfectionism, uncertainty, and fear. You can learn more by visiting herosjourneyfoundation.org.

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Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles and Connecticut. Prosek Partners ranks among the top 10 independent public relations firms in the U.S., and among the top financial communications consultancies.  The firm has been listed as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company for nine years running.  Jen is also a two-time author. 

Our conversation covers the foibles of professional marketing in asset management, building a brand, measuring a successful branding effort, managing the story of weak performance, and describing the differences in hedge fund and private equity branding.  We then turn to some of Jen’s fascinating observations learned from her experience, including raising entrepreneurial children, working with millennials and Gen Z staffers, and implementing the principals of ‘Just Ask’, behave with humanity, and not thinking in black and white.

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Today’s Sponsored Insight features Michael Carmen, the Co-Head of Private Investments at Wellington Management. Wellington’s Private Investment platform has $8 billion in committed capital investing across technology, consumer, health care, and financial services. Michael helped launch the firm’s first private equity fund in 2014, bringing Wellington’s broad scope to late-stage venture-backed companies. He previously invested in diversified small- and mid-cap public equities.

Our conversation covers Michael’s early career, path to Wellington, and pivot after a decade at Wellington from public markets to privates. We discuss his investment process across sourcing, diligence alongside Wellington’s public equity analysts, value proposition for portfolio companies, portfolio construction, and exits. We close with opportunities and risks for those with capital to put to work.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Today’s show is a panel about the merits of private equity. On one side is Sachin Khajuria. a former partner at Apollo and twenty-five-year veteran of the industry, who recently authored “Two and Twenty.” Sachin was a past guest on the show discussing his book and that conversation is replayed in the feed.
On the other is Brendan Ballou, a federal prosecutor who serves on the special counsel for private equity in the Justice Department’s antitrust division and recently authored “Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America,” highlighting controversy and potential flaws in private market investing.
Our conversation begins with Sachin’s view on private markets as an essential value-additive element of the economy and Brendan’s thesis on the inadequacy of the legal structure surrounding the activity. We discuss incentives, investment duration, failed deals, fees, operational effectiveness, legal environment, risk, and broad education about the space. While the titles of their books might suggest a point-counterpoint discussion, the thoughtful nuance Sachin and Brendan bring to the table offer more commonality and food for thought than difference.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Sachin Khajuria is a former partner at Apollo and twenty-five-year veteran of private equity who recently authored “Two and Twenty,” a fantastic insider’s account of the private equity industry.

Our conversation covers Sachin’s rationale for writing Two and Twenty, the strengths of private equity, areas for improvement, and needs for change. We discuss the defining traits of the industry across the sourcing process, depth of research, use of operating executives, ability to pivot, and democratization of alternatives. We close by discussing opportunities and risks going forward, and Sachin’s application of his insights to investing at his family office.

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For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 

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This WTT: Active Management Today is a Single Decision comes from a few conversations I’ve had recently with CIOs about the underperformance of long only managers who are underweight the magnificent seven. I got me thinking about the ramifications of stock index concentration on active management.

Read Ted’s blog here.

After our recent podcast conversation, Matt Breitfelder, Partner and Global Head of Human Capital at Apollo, asked me if he could turn the tables and, in his words, interview the interviewer about interviewing. We did that and added a two-way conversation about public speaking.
Our conversation covers my path to the podcast, preparation for interviews, components of what makes it work, and tips for asking good questions. We then turn to public speaking, focusing on the challenges and techniques for moderating panels and presenting in public. And of course, at the end, Matt asks me my closing questions.
Please enjoy my distillation of lessons learned from having your ear for six years in this conversation guided by Matt Breitfelder.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Kipp deVeer is a Director and Partner of Ares Management, the $30 billon market cap public company (ARES) that manages $360 billion in assets, including $250 billion in credit. Kipp joined Ares twenty years ago and serves as the Head of Ares Credit Group, CEO of the public BDC Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC), and a member of the Executive Management Committee.

Our conversation covers Kipp’s path to Ares, the business and credit markets twenty years ago, and the exponential growth of Ares since. We turn to the firm’s research process across origination and sourcing, underwriting, investment targets, and portfolio construction. We then discuss Kipp’s perspective on the credit environment, opportunities, and risks and close with a look at the future of Ares.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Seth Klarman is a legendary value investor and CEO and Portfolio Manager of The Baupost Group, an investment firm founded in 1982 that manages $27 billion. Seth authored the very out-of-print Margin of Safety and edited the recently released 7th edition of Graham and Dodd’s value investing classic, Security Analysis.

Our conversation covers Seth’s early experience in business and investing, path to Baupost, timeless value investing principles and those that have changed over time. We discuss Baupost’s application of value investing across sourcing, diligence, portfolio construction, and risk management. We then turn to Seth’s thoughts illiquidity, international investing, the weird current environment, positioning portfolios for it, alignment with clients, succession at Baupost, and his updated perspectives on Securities Analysis and Margin of Safety. We close discussing Seth’s personal investments in the Boston Red Sox, horse racing, and philanthropy.
Seth generally stays away from the public eye, so I was particularly grateful to share this conversation some twenty-five years after we first met.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Today’s sponsored insight features Ravi Viswanathan, Founder and Managing Partner of NewView Capital (NVC), a venture firm that created a disruptive model for strategic secondary investing that blends portfolio acquisitions with direct investing.

Our conversation covers Ravi’s path to the venture industry, lessons from fifteen years at NEA, catalyst for creating NVC, and the rationale and opportunity set for venture secondaries. We discuss NewView’s investment process across the sweet spot for portfolio acquisitions, fallacy of discounts, work with portfolio companies, and exit strategy. We close with new opportunities on the horizon and the future of NewView Capital.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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James Aitken is the Founder of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon, England that works with one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. James has been a repeat guest on the show. Our very first conversation five years ago including his background and process, and the most recent one last year are replayed in the feed. If you search on the podcast page at capitalallocators.com, you can find the rest of his appearances.
Our conversation this time around covers the precarious set-up from fiscal and monetary policy. We turn to attractive opportunities arising from it in the U.S. industrial complex, Japan, and the UK, and risks on the horizon from volatility targeting, unprofitable businesses, illiquid exposures, and the absence of governments willing to embrace pain. We close with James’ thoughts on his home country of Australia and, for the first time, how he is making his research more broadly available.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Today’s show is the second in an ongoing mini-series discussing Training Grounds, organizations that have developed industry leaders. The first episode discussed Carnegie Corporation, where over a dozen years 8 of the 17 investment professionals that came through the doors became CIOs at Carnegie or other institutions.

Bain Capital is one of the world’s largest private alternative investment firms. The firm was founded 40 years ago with a half dozen team members managing a $37 million growth equity fund and has expanded to 1,750 people, 180 partners, and $200 billion in assets under management today. During that time, Bain Capital developed leaders across every category of alternative investing, many of whom started in the firm’s private equity business.

My guest to discuss this training ground is John Connaughton the Co-Managing Partner & Global Head of Bain Capital Private Equity. Our conversation covers Bain Capital’s founding idea, recruiting and training, governance model, inflection points of growth, compensation, case for staying private, culture, developing leaders, and succession.

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Australian James Aitken is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon, England that works with approximately one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. James started his career in 1992 as a foreign exchange trader, moved to London in May 1999, and in March 2002 joined the infamous AIG Financial Products team in London.

In August 2006 he joined UBS, where he deployed his knowledge of the inner workings of the financial system to help his institutional investor clients successfully navigate their portfolios through 2007 and 2008. At the urging of his clients, James established his own firm in June 2009.

Our conversation covers James' perspective on the Global Financial Crisis from his seat at its epicenter, the Eurozone crisis in 2011, subsequent process-driven opportunities in Greece, views on Central Banks in the US, China, & Europe, some brief observations on India, positioning for the current environment, and what makes a great macro manager.

Porter Collins and Vincent Daniel are the founders of Seawolf Capital, their family office managed as an old school hedge fund. Previously, they were two of the three members of Steve Eisman’s team at Frontpoint Capital and found themselves in print and on the silver screen as protagonists in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short. Regulations prevent us from disclosing investment returns almost all the time on the show, but Porter and Vinnie manage only their own money today and are an exception to that rule. In the three full years since they started managing their own capital, the pair is up an extraordinary 9x, coming off a 169% return in 2022.

Our conversation covers Porter and Vinnie’s background, the Big Short trade, launch of Seawolf 1.0, short stint at Citadel, and lessons learned along the way and put to work at Seawolf 2.0, their family office. We discuss their contrarian value investment approach, transition from financial sector specialists to generalists, investment themes, and the banking system. We close with their perspective on the hedge fund industry and the future of Seawolf.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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We’re excited to announce a new podcast set to air next week under the Capital Allocators umbrella – Investment Management Operations.

Subscribe to Investment Management Operations on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

This show explores the inner workings of the most sophisticated institutions in the industry. We’ll share conversations with key operating partners who don’t typically get in front of the microphone. In each episode, we’ll profile executives across operations, compliance, legal, finance, and other non-investment roles to better understand how the world’s most sophisticated investment institutions run their businesses.

Whether you’re a current operator, an investor looking to start your own fund, or new to the game, this show has nuggets of wisdom for you.

You’ll likely notice a new voice as the host of this show. We’ve tapped career operator, Scott MacDonald, to host the new series.

You can access Capital Allocators content and join our mailing list at https://capitalallocators.com/.

This Sponsored Insight features Don Mullen. Don is the Founder & CEO of Pretium Partners, a $51 billion specialized investment firm he started in 2012 to focus on the U.S. housing, residential, and corporate credit markets. In a little over a decade, Pretium has rapidly grown to become one of the largest owners of single-family rentals in the country. Prior to founding Pretium, Don spent thirty years on Wall Street, including long stints at First Boston, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs and shorter ones at Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Our conversation covers Don’s history on Wall Street, identification of the opportunity in single family rentals, and path to founding of Pretium to capitalize. We discuss the single-family rental market, sourcing and servicing properties, scaling through technology, critiques of single-family rental investments, growing into adjacencies, and aspirations for Pretium in the decade to come.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Matt Breitfelder is a Partner and Global Head of Human Capital at Apollo Global Management, where he focuses on attracting and developing extraordinary talent and creating an innovative, high-performance culture. Matt previously served as Chief Talent Officer and member of the Operating Committee at BlackRock and is the co-author of numerous Harvard Business School case studies on leadership.

Our conversation covers Matt’s upbring at the intersection of business and psychology, lessons from high stakes negotiations working for the US Department of Commerce, and path to a career focusing on the intersection of business performance and unlocking human potential. Along the way, we discuss techniques to optimize teams, individuals, and organizations that Matt has employed at Blackrock and Apollo and close discussing how to apply these tools to smaller organizations and to assess human capital in investment firms.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

Learn more about Creditor Coalition's 2023 Allocators Conference.

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"Nothing lasts forever" as the aphorism goes, and such is the case with permanent capital. The quirk in the theoretically sound concept cause some challenges for both managers and allocators.

Read Ted’s blog here.

Eric Resnick is the co-founder and CEO of KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm launched in 2005 that specializes in the travel and leisure industry. KSL seeks to create remarkable destinations and businesses that inspire joy and awe.  The firm manages $21 billion, including investments in Alterra Mountain Company, the second-largest ski company in the world and the creator of the Ikon Pass, Under Canvas, Baillie Lodges, and Outrigger Hotels & Resorts. The firm’s portfolio includes many other investments that touch nearly every segment of the travel and leisure industry globally.

Our conversation covers KSL’s beginning as a KKR portfolio company, formation of KSL Capital Partners after a successful exit, and the case for travel and leisure investments. We discuss sourcing targets, consumer experience, operations, competition, capital allocations, opportunities, and risks. We close discussing exit strategies and the future of KSL.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Season 2 of Private Equity Deals concludes with one last name you know – luxury watchmaker Breitling. Ever wonder what happens when only the fourth owner of a 140-year old brand steps into the driver’s seat – or in this case the pilot’s seat?  Hop on over to Private Equity Deals on your podcast player to find out.

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Chris Sacca is one of the most accomplished venture investors of the last half century. He founded Lowercase Capital in 2010 and made seed stage investments in Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Stripe. Lowercase’s first fund famously became one of the highest returning venture funds in history and landed Chris at #2 on the Midas List in 2017. After retiring together with his wife Crystal that year, they came back to the business to found Lowercarbon Capital to fund “kickass companies that make money slashing carbon emissions.” Lowercarbon manages in excess of $2 billion of outside capital, excluding its largest investor – Chris and Crystal.

Our conversation covers Chris’s humble upbringing, early entrepreneurial endeavors, and ups and downs in his early professional years. We cover his transition to Google, foundations of his investing philosophy at Lowercase, and work today at Lowercarbon. Along the way, Chris shares his sourcing of deals, evaluation of founders, and work with portfolio companies. He is a gifted storyteller and a walking case-study on grit.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Today’s Sponsored Insight features Jim Falbe. Jim is the founder of Saguaro Capital Management, a newly launched value-oriented investment firm spun out of Vulcan Value Partners that blends traditional value investing with modern AI and data science inputs.

Our conversation covers Jim’s path to value investing, experience at Vulcan, introduction of AI automation into the investment process, and founding Saguaro. We discuss sourcing the best businesses in the world, researching investments, making decisions, constructing portfolios, and applying technology tools to value investing. We close discussing the foundation for long-term investing at Saguaro and an investment example.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Charles Duhigg is a celebrated writer for The New Yorker and author of bestseller "The Power of Habit." His latest book, "Supercommunicators," describes how to effectively communicate in conversation.

Our conversation covers Charles’ path to writing business stories and personal books and turn to his latest tour du force. We discuss the science behind connection, three types of conversations, methods to become a better communicator, and tools to navigate challenging conversations. Charles’ book and words feel like unlocking a secret language that can help anyone connect better with others, and he embodies the archetype of the supercommunicator he describes.

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Adam Shapiro is the Managing Partner of East Rock Capital, where he oversees $3 billion on behalf of a handful of families investing primarily in hedge funds and private deals alongside early-stage sponsors. Adam has recently begun sharing his insights on a LinkedIn newsletter entitled “From Star to Founder.”
Our conversation covers Adam’s background, his investment objectives for families, and his process for achieving them. We discuss East Rock’s assessment of managers, portfolio construction, and risk management from their carefully selected set of ideas. We close with Adam’s thoughts on family offices and the future of East Rock.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Listen to Mavis Tire Express Services on Private Equity Deals.

On Private Equity Deals this week, our 7th and penultimate episode of season 2 features the purchase of longstanding independent tire dealer Mavis Tire Express Services by recently launched private equity firm BayPine. Mavis is a great business with steady cash flow, economic resilience, and a great management team that was a widely sought after asset in an auction process. You might imagine that it commanded a full price and the attention of some of the biggest players in private equity. So how did upstart BayPine win the deal and what does it plan to do to make the deal work?  Tune in to Private Equity Deals to find out.

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Today’s episode is a true hedge fund master class. We convened a panel of three longstanding investors in the space - Craig Bergstrom, CIO and a Managing Partner of Corbin Capital Partners, Adam Blitz, CEO and CIO of Evanston Capital Management and a past guest on the show, and Dan Fagan, portfolio manager at GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. All three have been in the space the better part of two decades and have both a wealth of experience and nuanced understanding to share.

Our conversation covers their respective investment approaches, impact of the higher rate environment, managing liquidity, and the potential for contagion. From there, we canvass perspectives on platform hedge funds, long-short equity, credit, and macro strategies. We close discussing fees, the most interesting opportunities, and places to avoid going forward.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Adam Blitz is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Evanston Capital Management, a $4.5 billion hedge fund of funds manager with a decade and a half of experience managing hedge fund portfolios. Adam joined Evanston at its inception in 2002 and leads investment research and portfolio management. Previously, he worked in the Prime Brokerage area and Asset Management Division of Goldman Sachs and served as head trader at AQR.  Adam earned a B.S. in Economics at the Wharton School.

Our conversation dives in the hedge fund category of investing, covering how a leading allocator in the space thinks about strategic asset allocation, portfolio construction, risk management, manager research, decision making, and monitoring managers. Adam’s perspective on the evolution in how allocators perceive hedge funds and the resulting unattractiveness of the “average hedge fund” today resonate strongly with how I’ve viewed this widely discussed and recently scrutinized corner of the markets.

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I share a bunch of questions on my mind for which my best answer is “I Don’t Know.”  These include issues around sovereign debt, asset allocation, an economic slowdown, the stock market, private credit, and life itself.

Today’s sponsored insight is another empty room, an opportunity ignored by most investors because they either don’t want to or can’t participate. This time around, we’ll discuss investing where capital is truly scarce - the frontier of the frontier markets.

Kiyan Zandiyeh is the CIO of Sturgeon Capital, a +$300 million private investment firm that backs bold founders building the leading technology companies in countries early into their digital transition, including Bangladesh, Central Asia, Egypt, and Pakistan.

Our conversation covers Kiyan’s early entrepreneurial and investing experience, venture and operating experience building two businesses in Iran through 80% currency devaluations, and Sturgeon’s venture strategy from there. We discuss Sturgeon’s investment process across country selection, targets, founders, valuation, risks, and investment examples. We close touching on Kiyan’s ambition in the coming years.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

Last Thursday, we lost Sam Zell, one of the true investment greats and one of the most popular past guests on the show. As a small tribute to the great man and investor, we are replaying my conversation with Sam from last year.
Please enjoy the incredible and entertaining story of Sam Zell, the true contrarian whose common sense generated uncommonly exceptional returns – in dollars and in a life well lived.

It’s executive search…for love. On Episode 6 of Season 2 of Private Equity Deals, Brent Beshore from Permanent Equity describes their purchase of the highest end matchmaking firm in the world. When you think of dating, Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Match.com come to mind. Or if you’re high profile enough or watch Billions, you might think of Raya. Well alongside the world of app dating, Selective Search has paired up the crème of the crop with an old school approach and 87% success rate for years. Learn about the business and deal by searching for Private Equity Deals on your podcast player.

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Marc is the Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder of Avenue Capital Group, a global investment firm focused on distressed debt that he founded in 1995 with his sister, Sonia Gardner. Almost thirty years later, Avenue manages $12 billion in assets.

Our conversation covers Marc’s background and path to investing, the early days in distressed, inflection points in Avenue’s history, including the decision to return half the capital in 2011 and to sell a minority stake to Morgan Stanley, and owning a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise over the last decade. We then turn to the investment environment, attractiveness across geographic regions, creating a competitive advantage, and opportunities in distressed lending, sports, and Asia. We close discussing Marc’s involvement in politics and lessons from chess and poker.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Ben Hunt is the creator of Epsilon Theory and co-founder of Second Foundation Partners, where he writes and invests through the lens of narratives, or in his words “If a price moves, it is because a human told themselves a story.” Before turning to investing twenty years ago, Ben was a tenured political science professor and founder of two technology companies. He has been studying trends using what we now call big data ever since his first book about predicting international conflict in 1997.


Our conversation covers Ben’s path to finance, the power of stories, tracking and measuring narratives in markets, and applying the lens of narrative to investing. Ben’s insights offer a careful consideration of what’s really going on in markets.


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Tony Yoseloff is the Managing Partner of Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a forty-year-old, $40 billion multi-strategy investment management firm that specializes in opportunistic credit and event-driven investing. Tony joined DK twenty-five years ago out of business school and became its third Managing Partner in 2019. He also sits on the investment committees of Princeton University, Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, and New York Public Library.
Our conversation covers the early days of Davidson Kempner, growth over the last quarter century, team, investment philosophy, investment strategy, risk management, and ownership. We discuss Tony’s experience on investment committees, the role of opportunistic credit in institutional portfolios, and the future of Davidson Kempner over the next forty years.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 

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Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive & Research Director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. Ashby has studied and advised the largest asset owners in the world for more than twenty years with a particular interest in how to improve outcomes for their beneficiaries and the world. Ash also serves as the Head of Research at Addepar, a fintech company that helps investors make smarter decisions. He has twice appeared on the show – as the 29th guest back in 2017 and again two years ago – and those conversations are replayed in the feed.

Our conversation starts with a recent paper Ashby published called Investor Identity: The Ultimate Driver of Returns. We discuss the descriptors of identity and enabling factors that determine each investor’s fingerprint. From there, we dive into technology as an enabler and how technological innovation can improve returns. We then turn to ESG investing and another of Ashby’s recent papers, Submergence = Drawdown + Recovery, that discusses the importance of considering the combined drawdown and recovery period in making investment decisions.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 

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Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford University Global Projects Center. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford, a Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California, and the co-founder of Long Game. Ashby advises sovereign wealth funds and large pension funds, and is involved with a bunch of fin tech companies, all of which attempt to create innovative solutions to fixing the financial future for individuals, pensions and countries in the years ahead.

Our conversation starts with Ashby’s early work experience and path through academia, and flows into an exploration of next generation, lower cost approaches to active management for large asset owners.  We touch on investing in public equity, private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds using examples from the Canadian and Australian pensions, New Zealand Super Fund, and University of California endowment. Lastly, we discuss Long Game, an innovative company seeking to improve personal savings in the U.S.  Ashby is a passion-driven, creative thinker who rightfully has the ear of some of the most important pools of capital in the world.  His ideas will change the way you think about allocating capital.

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My guest on today’s sponsored insight is Aaron Sack, the head of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s middle market private equity business.

Our conversation covers Aaron’s path to Morgan Stanly sixteen years ago, the strengths and weaknesses of investing under the umbrella of the bank, and his team’s investment principles and approach across sourcing, due diligence, deal making, and operational improvements. We close discussing the current market dynamics, competitive positioning, and Aaron’s favorite investment example.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 

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Listen to Yahoo on Private Equity Deals. 

The fifth episode of Season 2 of Private Equity Deals releases today. We discuss Apollo’s purchase of Yahoo a year and a half ago. You heard that right – Apollo bought Yahoo.

Yahoo is comprised of legacy Yahoo and AOL businesses, which peaked at a combined market cap of $350 billion in the dot.com heyday. It still hosts 900 million monthly active users and is the 3rd largest internet property.

So what did Apollo see as the potential in this longstanding, slowly declining business?  Search for Private Equity Deals on your podcast player to find out.

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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.

I’ve been thinking about what it takes for allocators to lower the fee burden charged by managers on the path to increasing net returns.

Read Ted’s blog here.

Coach Paul Assaiante is the winningest coach in college sports history. For 30 years until announcing his retirement at the end of this season, Coach led the Trinity College squash program to 17 national championships and 20 finals appearances in the last 25 years, including at one point winning 252 straight matches and 13 straight national titles.

In his final season, Trinity’s squash team entered the national championships with the #6 seed and rode an almost fairy tale bookend to Coach’s career to the finals and within a single point of an 18th national title. Paul also coached the USA National Team in squash for 17 years, Trinity’s men’s tennis squad for 24 years, and World Team Tennis with Billie Jean King in its heyday. In 2010, he authored Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear, one of my favorite books on sports and leadership.

Perhaps what is most fascinating about the soft-spoken Coach is he knew nothing about squash when he got his first coaching job. His true expertise is in managing, motivating, and inspiring a diverse group of players to be the best version of themselves.

Our conversation covers Coach Paul’s path and a career’s worth of wisdom about preparation, emotional regulation, managing high performing individuals on a team, diversity, facing fear, learning to win and lose, and applying the lessons to the business world and next generation.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 

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