Billion Dollar Backstory

Fund managers, it’s time to ditch the pitch deck of doom. It’s not helping you differentiate. It’s putting allocators to sleep. Take it from Lucy Walker, Founder of data platform AM Insights, who spent the bulk of her career as a manager of managers allocating over $1B at specialist firm Sarasin Partners in the UK.She knows this business inside and out, and today she’s sharing her wisdom on up-leveling your meeting game so you can land more investments. Listen in as she and Stacy discuss: ·       Her backstory – from corporate allocation to launching her company ·       Inside the mind of a fund-buyer: what makes a fund manager stand out to her·       Why you should dig into data but not use it as a crutch in meetings ·       The competitor bashing Achilles heel – how to show your differences to the peer group tastefully  About Lucy Walker:Lucy Walker is founder, chair, board director and advisor in investment management, technology and not-for-profit.In 2020 she founded AM Insights, a fast and intuitive tool for the fund industry. She is Chair of the Aurora Investment Trust, and Senior Independent Director of Henderson International Income Trust. She is a former head of fund research and fund manager at Sarasin & Partners, advising on over £1.2 billion of assets for charities and high net worth individuals, and before that was at HSBC Global Asset Management. Lucy has been regularly featured in publications including the FT and The Telegraph, and was shortlisted for Fund Manager of the Year at the Women in Investment awards. She holds BSc Economics and is a CFA charterholder.Want More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Alfonso Peccatiello built a following of 500,000 on LinkedIn by doing something radical – by being a real, authentic human in the fund world.  And that authentic social presence helped him close investment deals for his new hedge fund, Palinuro Capital.  Alfonso’s story is proof that it pays to challenge the status quo and to put people (and connections) first – even in a numbers-obsessed industry.  Want the full story? Join Alfonso and Stacy as they discuss: Alfonso’s backstory: How a car accident sparked his obsession with creating success on his own terms Why he’s never afraid to repel the wrong investor How his willingness to repel, both on social media and in meetings, has helped him attract more of the right investors The lesson he learned as a $20B bond manager that has served him most as an entrepreneur (spoiler alert, it wasn’t an investing technique) More About Alfonso PeccatielloAlfonso (Alf) Peccatiello is the CIO of the global macro hedge fund Palinuro Capital. Alf was born in Southern Italy, roughly 1,000 km away from the closest financial center, yet his dream was to run his own hedge fund. To get there, he had an idea: share macro analysis and frameworks with the world through his research firm, The Macro Compass, first, establish relationships, and only after spinning out his macro hedge fund. After scoring the largest asset managers in the world as clients of his research, here we are: his global macro hedge fund, Palinuro Capital, is ready to launch in January 2025. As a proper Southern Italian, Alf stands by three culinary rules: no cappuccino unless it's breakfast, no pineapple on pizza, and never break pasta in pieces!Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator Want More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Success as a founder is about more than impressive AUM. It’s about maintaining autonomy and connnection. It’s about taking pride in what you do, the team you’ve built, and most importantly having fun along the way. Take it from today’s guest, Greg Dean, founder of global small-cap specialist firm Langdon Partners.In this episode, he and Stacy discuss: Greg's backstory: From Fidelity Investments to co-founding a $27B investment firmHow his passion for connecting people and numbers drove him into small-cap investingHis big leap from the shallow end of co-foundership to founding his own firm Why AUM isn't the only measure of success in small-cap investingStrategies for maximizing return on time in small-cap investingThe challenges of climbing the ranks in the fund worldKey advice for fund managers considering leaping into entrepreneurship About Greg Dean:  Greg founded Langdon Equity Partners in 2021 and is the firm’s Chief Executive. He is the lead investor for Global and Canadian smaller companies portfolios. Greg has over 15 years’ experience in investment management.  Before founding Langdon he was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Cambridge Global Asset Management (a boutique within CI Investments), responsible for the Canadian and Global smaller companies portfolios, having joined there in 2011 as an analyst. While at Cambridge Greg was the joint recipient of the prestigious Morningstar Breakout Fund Manager of the Year in 2015 and his funds have won numerous industry awards over the years.Previously he spent 3 years as a Canadian analyst covering consumer and infrastructure at Fidelity Investments.  Greg has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a CFA charterholder. Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator Want More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Song: 22 Two's – JAY-Z  Books: Same as Ever by Morgan Housel, Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

What do a chimney sweep empire, a top hat obsession, and a $500M home services company have in common?Dock Street.This Newport-based multifamily office is redefining wealth management for Main Street entrepreneurs, and it’s run by a sibling duo, Spencer Ogden and Liz Curtin. who swore they’d never work together.In this episode, Spencer and Liz join Stacy to talk about:Growing up in a business... then choosing to join it at 40What second-gen operators really need to carry on the family legacy successfully How they help families turn work ethic into generational wealthWhy bonds don’t cut it for entrepreneurs (and what does)Their hacks to making their family biz actually work without sabotaging their relationships (because that would make holiday dinners quite awkward)Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/acceleratorAbout Spencer & Liz:Spencer Ogden Spencer brings over two decades of experience in the investment industry, with a career that began at Citigroup and Legg Mason, followed by 13 years at K2 Advisors, a hedge fund affiliate of Franklin Templeton. At K2, he managed quantitative strategies overseeing more than $700 million in assets.With a long-standing interest in microeconomics, Spencer is particularly focused on how individuals and families make financial decisions. His background in portfolio construction and asset allocation informs his current work in retirement income, tax strategy, and inheritance planning.He holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations, and earned his degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Spencer is also an experienced offshore sailor and navigator, having competed in numerous regattas and sailed more than 15,000 nautical miles—including an Atlantic crossing.Liz Curtin Liz leads Dock Street’s marketing efforts and also supports clients directly. Before joining the team, she worked as an independent consultant, partnering with a range of organizations on everything from marketing and hiring to organizational strategy and special projects. Along the way, she helped launch several new ventures, always with a focus on creative problem-solving and building strong relationships.She holds a master’s degree in Education Policy from King’s College London and a bachelor’s in Secondary Education–Social Studies from Indiana University. Earlier in her career, Liz served in the Peace Corps in Romania, where she taught high school English and supported a local orphanage. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons.Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Playboy’s Book of Games Beat the DealerBeat the MarketThe Go Giver Want More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

What do you do when the market tells you there’s no room for another fund? You tell a better story and carve your niche anyway.In this episode, Stacy sits down with Bob Lind, Co-Founder of Lind Capital Partners, a boutique manager specializing in one of the most overlooked corners of the credit market: non-rated municipal bonds.They dive into how Bob went from selling himself into his first research job to building a firm around a misunderstood asset class and why ditching the pitch helped him find the right investors. They also cover: Why non-rated doesn’t mean “junk” (and how Bob spots value where others won’t look)The inflection point that sparked the launch of Lind Capital (hint: it involves a friend, a Fidelity broker, and a missed opportunity)How Bob went from BlackRock-comparison pitches to founder-forward storytellingThe power of showing up as yourself and why authenticity wins with allocatorsPlus: how to listen better in meetings, the magic of behavioral discovery questions, and the one Bruce Springsteen song that got Bob through everything.About Bob Lind: Bob is a co-founder of Lind Capital Partners. He has built the firm around his passion for finding opportunities in inefficient markets and providing innovative ways to deliver access to individual investors. With nearly 40 years of experience in the municipal bond market, there is little Bob has not done. Today, he leads the portfolio management team and strategic initiatives for LCP.Prior to founding Lind Capital Partners, Bob managed a $500 million high yield municipal bond portfolio for Deutsche Bank, where he leveraged his prior sell-side experience and institutional relationships. Bob began his career as a municipal analyst at Nuveen before moving into institutional sales and trading at Kemper Securities and Raymond James, where he underwrote, traded and sold municipal bonds.Bob received a BA in History from Kenyon College and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago. He is a passionate bread baker/pizza maker, feeding and nourishing his 25+ year-old home-grown starter. Outside of the office and the kitchen, he enjoys paddle tennis, golf and telemark skiing.Want More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

Headed to a new city and thinking, “Should I try to book lunch with that allocator?” Not so fast.If your first email is a wall of text with your bio, your strategy, and your lunch plans all crammed in… it’s probably going straight to the trash.The good news is that there’s a better way to warm up new prospects, and in this episode, Stacy is breaking down exactly how she extends invitations to brand new contacts without coming across as pushy. She’s covering: Why your outreach isn’t landing and how to fix itStacy’s “give, give, give, ask” framework for landing meetings (even with complete strangers) Smart, simple ways to show up before sending your invitation (so it doesn’t feel like a pitch slap) This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.Want More Help With Storytelling?  +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Picture this: You’ve got a big job in finance, two tiny humans at home, and a brutal 90-minute commute. Then one day, you trade it all in to start a business with your husband.That’s exactly what Liz Fritz did.In this Episode, she joins Stacy Havener to chat about: Taking the leap from corporate to co-founder (with two babies in tow)What it’s actually like building a company with your spouse Why staying in your lane is the secret to growing fast without burning outHow story and authenticity help you stand out in the wealth management worldThe future of AI in finance Owning her voice in a male-dominated industry (and the resource that helped her do it)More about Liz:Liz Fritz is the Co-Founder and legacy CMO of F2 Strategy, the largest pure-play wealthtech consultancy in the U.S. With nearly 20 years of experience leading marketing for HNW and UHNW brands like Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and BNP Paribas, Liz knows how to turn strategy into real business growth—especially in the entrepreneurial and M&A space. She's a frequent industry speaker, a fierce advocate for women in wealthtech, and a champion of workplace well-being. Liz lives just outside Chicago with her husband (and F2 co-founder) Doug, their two boys, and one very lovable Labradoodle.Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Hard Thing About Hard Things The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance---What Women Should Know Blue MindWant More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

Simon Evan-Cook, an award-winning multi-asset fund manager at Downing, dives into the intriguing interplay of luck and skill in fund management. He shares candid insights from his years of vetting fund managers, emphasizing that while skill is vital, luck and timing can significantly influence success. Evan-Cook discusses 13 actionable ways for emerging managers to create their own luck and underscores the importance of building personal relationships over just focusing on data. He also contrasts the mindsets of risk-taking between cultures, offering valuable lessons on learning from failure.

Forget what you think you know about finance careers. Eric Flynn didn’t come up through Wall Street. He grew up on a ranch in Montana. An actual 20,000-acre ranch, wrangling cattle before most of us were out of bed. Today, he’s the EVP and Head of Wealth Management at Compound Planning, a $3 billion digital family office built by tech founders who believe wealth management should feel a lot less clunky and a lot more human.Eric’s story is part Yellowstone, part Wall Street, and all about finding the courage to own your different.  In this Episode, Eric and Stacy dig into: Why he ditched computer science for accounting (and why neither felt like a forever fit)How growing up on a ranch shaped his work ethic, mindset, and ability to fix just about anythingWhat it’s really like building your chops at a boutique family office where you do everythingWhy Compound’s approach to tech, AI, and client experience is changing the game for advisorsThe power of owning your story, especially in an industry that’s slow to celebrate what makes you differentAbout Eric Flynn:Eric is a tenured financial professional with over 23 years of experience in the wealth management space. At Compound Planning, Eric leads the Wealth Management business and is responsible for executing the strategic vision, leading the advisory team, and harmonizing the service offerings for an exceptional client experience. Eric’s background is in advising higher net worth clients and providing family office services as well as consulting to firms in the wealth management industry. Eric received a Masters in Professional Accountancy from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana and is a CPA and CFA Charterholder. Prior to joining Compound, Eric was a Principal of multiple registered investment firms, and also helped build a national consulting team catering to the wealth management industry. He has a passion for helping people and leading/growing teams. Outside of work, Eric enjoys most anything outside after having grown up on a large family ranch in Montana. He also has a passion for giving back to the community and serves on multiple boards including the Montana State University College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, Bozeman Health Foundation Board, and is the President’s Council Representative for the Western Region CFA Societies to the CFAInstitute Board of GovernorsWant More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

When you think about European credit investing, most people assume it’s only for the big shops with billions under management. Agata Dornan, Founder & CIO of Chepstow Lane, is here to challenge that, and she’s doing it with smarts, grit, and real talk about what it really takes to succeed.Agata’s path to launching her own boutique wasn’t a straight line. As a first-generation American who started out on the pre-med track at Middlebury, she discovered her passion for finance by accident (thanks to one random economics class) and never looked back. In this Episode, Agata sits down with Stacy to discuss: How a single economics class flipped the script on her entire careerWhy her liberal arts background is a secret weapon (and how it helped her land Chepstow Lane’s first big allocation)Lessons from her time at Soros (including what it was like working on Wall Street after 9/11)The hard truths every boutique founder needs to know about building a team and finding the right investorsHow Chepstow Lane is winning by focusing on the white spaces most firms overlookWhat she’s seeing in European credit today and why it might be time to pay attention About Agata Dornan:Agata led Soros Fund Management’s European credit investments from 2012 to 2020, managing corporate credit and financials, and became a partner and portfolio manager in 2016. Before that, she was a distressed research analyst at BlueMountain Capital in London, and she started her buy-side career at Soros in 2005 on the Distressed team, which later spun out to form Camulos Capital. She moved to London with them in 2006.She began her career at Deutsche Bank in NYC as an investment banking analyst in Energy and Chemicals. Agata has been investing in the US since 2005 and in Europe since 2006, with deep experience in restructurings across sectors and credit cycles.Agata graduated from Middlebury College in 2002 with a degree in International Politics and Economics, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and completed programs at LSE and Tuck Business School. She lives in London with her husband and two children and is a dual US and Polish nationalWant More Help With Storytelling? +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership - - -Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap- - -Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator