Ep. 01 - Institutional and Niche Investing with Marcus Frampton

Feb 12, 2021

Guest Marcus Frampton, CIO of Alaska Perm. Fund Corp, shares insights on niche investing in Endowment Model, Real Estate, Hedge Funds, OTC Stocks. Talks about due diligence, asset classes, and unique investment opportunities. Highlights importance of backing smaller managers and engaging with management teams. Discusses challenges and opportunities in niche investing strategies.

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Introduction

00:00 • 4min

Investment Strategy and Manager Allocation

04:05 • 15min

Investing in Sub 100 Million Market Cap Companies: A Niche Approach

19:23 • 14min

Recollection of First Investment Experience in Biotech Stock

33:41 • 3min

Navigating Board Responsibilities and Shareholder Meetings

36:29 • 8min

Investment experience with a tile shop and retail industry challenges

44:41 • 2min

Exploring Post-Reorg Equities and Abnormal Returns in New Stock Releases

46:39 • 8min

Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Investing

54:11 • 8min

What do Endowment Investing, Real Estate, Hedge Funds, Alternatives, Over-the-Counter (OTC) Stock Investing, Stock Newsletters, Peter Kamin, SunLink Health, Libsyn and Shareholder Board Meetings all have in common you may ask? In this episode of Riches in the Niches, our guest is Marcus Frampton, CIO of Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, who manages the $71B in assets for the state of Alaska. Outside of his role as CIO, Marcus pursues niche investment opportunities.

To learn more about Marcus you can reach him on Twitter @MarcusFrampton. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com.

To subscribe to Marcus's newsletter please visit www.microcapletter.com. Show Notes:

(01:18) About Marcus, Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, Prudhoe Bay Oil Discovery, Oil Royalties, Private Equity

(04:16) Endowment Model at APFC, being CIO, January 2019, Retail Real Estate Ownership, Exposures over the last few years, Fund Rebalance

(09:58) Real Estate versus Private Equity versus Hedge Funds, LP versus GP Vehicles

(12:15) Backing established managers, don't write Private Equity checks less than $100 million, VC Commitments, Smaller Manager Selection

(14:20) Hedge Fund Due Diligence, Infrastructure Deals, Private Credit

(17:06) Quarterly Board Meetings at APFCO, Public Equities, Not being Micromanaged

(20:00) OTC Stocks, Inefficient Asset Class, No overlap with APFC, Covid, OTC Adventures, Dave Waters

(26:16) Speaking with OTC Management Teams, Finding undervalued stocks, why aren't insiders buying stock

(29:43) Reading 10Ks, MD&A Section, OTC Stock Letter and how it started

(33:48) Marcus's first personal stock investment growing up

(36:44) Endowment Board of Directors versus Public Company Board of Directors

(41:14) Stock Annual Meetings, Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, going Virtual for Covid

(42:40) Calloway's Nursery CLWY, Peter Kamin and the Kamin Heads, stock buybacks and dividends

(46:48) The Tile Shop TTSH, Ikan Associates, Tropicana Entertainment

(51:43) Lone Star Oil and Gas, Liberated Syndication LSYN, Pink Sheets, El Dorado Resorts