AI, Blockchain & the Bold New World of Financial Services

Welcome to the Allocate Podcast, an interview and educational series designed to help investors better understand and navigate alternative investments. Join us for conversations with leading founders, fund managers, and institutional allocators as we explore key trends and insights shaping the private markets.

In this episode, Allocate Co-Founder, President, and CEO Samir Kaji speaks with Matthew Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. Their conversation traces Matthew’s journey through decades of FinTech innovation, from digitizing analog processes to the rise of embedded finance, decentralization, and blockchain technology. They discuss the growing importance of alternative assets, tokenization in wealth management, the rapid adoption of AI across financial services, and the dynamic challenges facing private markets and venture investors. Matthew also shares lessons from his extensive investing career, emphasizing the critical role of founders and team quality in creating enduring success.

About Matthew Harris

Matthew Harris is a Partner on the Ventures team at Bain Capital, where he focuses on investments in financial technology across payments, lending, capital markets, real estate, and insurance. He first joined Bain in 1995 and re-joined the firm in 2012 after founding Village Ventures, an early-stage fintech fund, and working previously at Bain & Company. He began his investing career in Bain’s North America Private Equity team. Outside of venture investing, Matt serves on the boards of his alma mater Williams College (as a Trustee and co-head of its Non-Marketable Assets Committee) as well as Endeavor and the Partnership Fund for New York City.

Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) is a multi-stage venture firm with offices in the Bay Area, New York, and Boston, managing over $9 billion in assets. BCV invests from seed through growth in domains like AI infrastructure, fintech, application software, commerce-tech and security. With the backing of parent Bain Capital, the firm offers founders not only capital but also deep domain expertise, customer-introduction networks and operational support. Founded around 2001, BCV has invested in hundreds of companies including notable names like LinkedIn, DocuSign, SendGrid and Redis Labs, and in recent years has raised large funds (such as nearly $1.9 billion in 2023) to continue backing technology disruptors.

Timestamps:

Topics in this conversation include:

* Matthew’s Background and Journey into FinTech (1:07)

* Digitization and Embedded Finance Eras (4:59)

* FinTech Market Overheating and Correction (7:56)

* Post-2022 Themes: Decentralization, Blockchain, AI (8:48)

* Decentralization and Stable Coins in Financial Services (11:59)

* Real-World Applications of Blockchain in Wealth Management (13:21)

* Steps Needed for On-Chain Wealth Adoption (17:49)

* The Future of Private Alternatives and On-Chain Limitations (21:31)

* Fund Liquidity, Evergreen Models, and Bain’s Institutional Approach (25:48)

* Institutional vs. Retail Focus and Venture Market Trends (28:39)

* Pattern Recognition: Importance of Founders and Audacious Ideas (33:37)

* Bain Capital: Advantages, Brand, and Closing Go-to-Market Thoughts (36:42)

* Pace of AI Adoption Compared to Prior Tech Waves (42:24)

* Lessons from 30 Years in Investing (43:32)

* Final Thoughts and Takeaways (44:28)

Disclosure

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Any opinions, assumptions, assessments, statements or the like (collectively, “Statements”) regarding market condition, future events or which are forward-looking, including Statements about investment processes, investment objectives, goals, risk management techniques, views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, constitute only market commentary based on the subjective views, beliefs, outlooks, forecasts, projections, estimations or intentions of Allocate, should not be relied on, are subject to change. Although Allocate believes that the expectations reflected in the Statements are reasonable, no representation is made or assurance given that such Statements are correct or that the objectives of an investment product or service will be achieved or that investors will receive a return of their capital or will not sustain losses. All investments involve risks and uncertainties, as disclosed in the applicable offering documents. Allocate undertakes no responsibility or obligation to revise or update any Statements. Statements expressed herein may not be shared by all personnel of Allocate. This page and the Statements are not intended as investment advice or recommendations by Allocate. It is Allocate’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client.

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