Capital Allocators' Ted Seides - the capital allocator behind the mic

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

What happens when two podcasters walk into a room? 

They talk.

Today’s podcast turns the tables on one of the industry’s leading podcasters and content creators to have him share his story and experience as an allocator and content creator.
 

We sat down with Ted Seides, the Founder of industry-leading podcast Capital Allocators and former President and Co-CIO of Protégé Partners and an asset allocator at the Yale Endowment.

Ted has had a tremendous career at the intersection of asset allocation and content, so it was fascinating to hear his perspectives on the state of the industry and how it’s evolving from someone who talks with many of the industry’s leading minds through his podcast, Capital Allocators.

Ted and I had a fascinating conversation. We discussed:

• Stories and lessons learned from working with David Swensen at the Yale Endowment.
• What the wealth channel can learn from institutional investors.
• What Ted looked for in hedge funds and alternative asset managers when doing manager due diligence.
• Ted’s bet with Buffett on hedge funds and why he’s now doing a bet on PE versus public equities.
• How alternative asset managers are evolving and the pros and cons of evergreen structures.
• Why and how Ted started Capital Allocators and why content is so critical to learning asset management and understanding how firms operate.

Capital Allocators is one of my favorite podcast listens and Ted always delivers with high-quality and thoughtful content so it was an honor to have him on the show.

Thanks Ted for sharing your expertise and wisdom on asset allocation and content and for the service you provide to everyone in the industry through education and the creation of such high-quality content for us to consume.

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Show Notes
00:00 Introduction to our Sponsor, Juniper Square

00:38 Juniper Square's AI Capabilities

01:40 Guest Introduction: Ted Seides

04:03 Lessons from Yale Endowment

04:46 David Swensen's Investment Principles

05:51 Evolution of the Endowment Model

05:58 Wealth Channel vs. Institutional Investors

08:09 Access to Top Managers

11:16 Alpha in Private Markets

12:32 Ted's Bet with Buffett

13:10 Private Equity vs. Public Equities

17:16 Private Equity Diversification

18:45 Hedge Fund Industry Lessons

20:07 Private Equity Fee Structures

24:03 Talent Migration in Private Markets

26:47 Evaluating Investment Culture

27:15 Investment Philosophy and Strategy

28:26 Ted's Approach to Manager Evaluation

29:46 Impact of AI on Diligence Processes

30:20 Defining Investment Edge

30:33 Behavioral and Analytical Edge

31:01 Informational and Technical Edge

31:27 Evaluating Investment Managers

31:37 Impactful Investment Decisions

31:52 Mistakes and Learning

32:53 The Hardest Time to Invest

34:14 Behavioral Biases in Investing

34:51 Decision-Making Processes

36:28 The Role of AI in Investing

38:07 Content and Investment Decisions

39:25 Starting Capital Allocators

41:00 Learning from Podcasting

43:40 Building a Business from a Podcast

45:26 The Value of Relationships in Investing

47:06 Content Strategy for Managers

49:44 Effective Content Modalities

50:43 Direct Communication vs. Algorithms

51:13 Brand vs. Direct Sales

52:35 Insights from Podcast Conversations

54:23 Favorite Private Market Investments

56:05 AI and Investment Perspectives

57:37 Partnering with AI Experts

58:12 The Importance of People in Investing

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.