The Rational Reminder Podcast

Episode 386: Is anyone doing dd? with Aravind Sithamparapillai

Dec 4, 2025
Guest
Aravind Sithamparapillai
Aravind Sithamparapillai, a financial planner and researcher known for his critical analysis of alternative investments, shares insights that challenge conventional wisdom in finance. He discusses how alternative investments are becoming mainstream, driven by client pressure and advisor competitiveness. Aravind highlights the importance of rigorous due diligence, revealing issues like misleading performance marketing, liquidity risks, and the pitfalls of relying on audited financials. He emphasizes the need for advisors to focus on deep financial planning rather than just alternative premiums.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Extend-and-Pretend Revealed On Stage

  • Aravind recounted a 2023 conference where a mortgage fund's answers contradicted each other on duration and rate resets.
  • The presenter later admitted the fund had been 'extending and pretending' to avoid marking down NAVs, a red flag that later preceded gating.
ADVICE

Decompose IRRs Before You Invest

  • Avoid trusting headline IRRs or since-inception returns without checking vintage stacking and aggregation methods.
  • Instead, decompose returns by vintage and timing to reveal true performance and anchoring biases.
INSIGHT

Gross Private Returns Mislead Without Fees

  • Comparing gross private-credit returns to cheap public-equity or index returns is misleading without net-of-fee adjustments.
  • Fees and performance fees can erase apparent outperformance when you align risk-appropriate public benchmarks.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app