Peter Kraus, Chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors, boasts a four-decade career in finance, including leadership roles at Goldman Sachs and AllianceBernstein. He discusses the importance of performance-linked compensation models to build trust with clients. Peter shares insights from his storied career, emphasizing the need for cultural transformation in asset management. He elaborates on his intricate process for selecting portfolio managers, balancing analytical skills with real-time decision-making. The conversation also touches on his passion for contemporary art, drawing parallels with investment strategies.
01:11:18
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Interest in Investing
Peter Kraus's early interest in investing stemmed from his father, a broker, and a high school project.
He charted stock prices, exploring technical analysis and mean reversion to predict market behavior.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Joining Goldman Sachs
Peter Kraus joined Goldman Sachs because they allowed for specialization and compensated specialties equally.
This fostered an environment where individuals could focus on their strengths.
insights INSIGHT
Building Blocks of Finance
Peter Kraus's experience in mortgage securities at Goldman Sachs provided him with foundational financial knowledge.
He witnessed the impact of technology and deregulation on Wall Street.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
Peter Kraus is the Chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors, a $5 billion asset manager he founded after a storied four-decade career on Wall Street, including heading the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs and serving as Chairman and CEO of AllianceBernstein. Throughout his career, Peter has been a vocal proponent of pay-for-performance compensation models and the need for trust between active managers and their clients.
He ultimately decided that a successful culture of performance-linked fees that properly aligns the manager and client could only occur in a new firm built from scratch. He teamed up with Italian insurance company Generali to launch Aperture in 2018.
Our conversation covers Peter’s career at Goldman Sachs and AllianceBernstein, the structural problem of incentives in the asset management industry, and Peter’s attempt to disrupt that structure. We then discuss his process for selecting managers on Aperture’s platform, including screening, due diligence, and the nuances in idea generation, track record, value system, and managing teams.
Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry 