Navigating Private Equity: Risks and Returns

How can the Rational Reminder Podcast get even better? By bringing back one of its most beloved voices, Dan Bortolotti, also known as "The Spud." In this exciting episode, hosts Ben Felix, Cameron Passmore, and Mark McGrath announce that Dan, the mind behind the Canadian Couch Potato Podcast, will now be a regular guest, contributing segments like "Bad Investment Advice" or "Ask the Spud.” Before Dan joins the conversation, we have an insightful discussion with Håkon Kavli, CIO of Reitan Kapital. Håkon shares how his team manages the wealth of one of Norway’s most prominent families, comparable to Canada’s Weston family. We discuss Reitan Kapital’s evidence-based investing approach, their robust methods for overcoming portfolio optimization challenges, and much more. Håkon also sheds light on their upcoming investing conference in Norway, featuring speakers like our very own, Cameron Passmore, and Marcos López de Prado. Following this, Dan kicks off his return by dissecting an article that advocates going all-in on the QQQ ETF in an RRSP, exposing the dangers of such a concentrated and risky strategy. He contrasts this approach with the wisdom of diversifying across global markets, using examples like Vanguard’s VEQT ETF, which offers exposure to over 13,000 stocks worldwide. Additionally, if you’re a financial advisor interested in joining a planning-focused, fiduciary firm like PWL Capital, we encourage you to reach out. Our team is growing, and we’re looking for like-minded individuals to join our mission. Tune in for a rich mix of expert advice, thoughtful discussions, and exciting announcements!

Key Points From This Episode:

(0:00:28) Announcements: a new regular guest, PWL’s call for like-minded advisors, and more.

(0:04:15) Introducing Håkon Kavli, the Reitan family, and the origins of Reitan Kapital.

(0:08:06) Reitan Kapital’s investment philosophy and asset allocation strategy.

(0:10:29) The biggest differences between a Reitan Kapital portfolio and a market portfolio.

(0:13:19) Capital market assumptions; how they influence Reitan Kapital's investment process.

(0:20:38) Portfolio optimization challenges and Reitan’s robust methods for addressing these.

(0:35:06) The role of private equity in a diversified portfolio and how it differs from public equity.

(0:38:40) Fee structure significance in private equity investments and their impact on returns.

(0:40:38) Risks associated with private equity and how they compare to public markets.

(0:43:36) Reitan Kapital’s view on how private equity fits into a diversified portfolio.

(0:49:08) Challenges of investing in private equity for retail investors. 

(0:50:26) Why so many institutions and firms have substantial allocations to private markets.

(0:53:58) An overview of the research Håkon is most excited about.

(0:56:20) Details for the upcoming conference in Norway, featuring Cameron Passmore.

(0:59:16) Dan’s Bad Investment Advice segment; going all-in on the QQQ ETF in an RRSP.

(01:13:12) Our aftershow segment: listener feedback, our next meetup in Ottawa, a shoutout to Jason Pereira, and more.

Links From Today’s Episode:

Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p

Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/ 

Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/

Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemindRational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder

Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/

Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.caBenjamin Felix — https://www.pwlcapital.com/author/benjamin-felix/ 

Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix

Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/

Cameron Passmore — https://www.pwlcapital.com/profile/cameron-passmore/

Cameron on X — https://x.com/CameronPassmore

Cameron on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronpassmore/

Mark McGrath on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgrathcfp/ Mark McGrath on X — https://x.com/MarkMcGrathCFP

Dan Bortolotti — https://www.canadianmoneysaver.ca/authors/dan-bortolotti

Dan Bortolotti on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-bortolotti-8a482310/

Canadian Couch Potato Blog — https://canadiancouchpotato.com/

Canadian Couch Potato Podcast — https://canadiancouchpotato.com/podcast/

Episode 308: Dan Bortolotti — https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/308 Håkon Kavli on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/haakonkavli/ Reitan — https://reitan.no/no

Reitan Kapital — http://www.reitankapital.no/

Weston — https://www.weston.ca/en/Home.aspx Marcos Lopez de Prado — https://www.orie.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/marcos-lopez-de-prado Antti Ilmanen — https://www.aqr.com/About-Us/OurFirm/Antti-Ilmanen Episode 224: Prof. Scott Cederburg — https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/224 Sharpe ratio — https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sharperatio.asp

Episode 210: Prof. Ludovic Phalippou — https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/210 Reitan Kapital Conference — ‘An interesting RRSP idea – all in on QQQ?’ — https://www.tawcan.com/all-in-on-qqq/

VEQT Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio — https://www.vanguard.ca/en/investor/products/products-group/etfs/VEQT Mark Mid Graph on X — Jason Pereira — https://jasonpereira.ca/

Papers From Today’s Episode: 

‘Estimating Private Equity Returns from Limited Partner Cash Flows’ — https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2356553 ‘Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets’ — https://www.nber.org/papers/w9275 ‘What are Stock Investors' Actual Historical Returns? Evidence from Dollar-Weighted Returns’ — https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=544142