Investment Management Operations

Ron Lanen is a Partner, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel at HighVista Strategies, an alternative asset manager with approximately $11 billion in assets.  Given the uptick in M&A activity, I was interested in getting Ron’s input following their acquisition of abrdn’s US private markets business.     Ron’s background makes him uniquely positioned to share best practices with acquiring another investment firm. He shares how the organization effectively doubled in headcount and assets and the implications on legal, IR and operations.    We also talk about the importance of culture, integration, hiring for range and the “knock on” effects of managing new service providers. Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn MoreFollow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedInSubscribe to the mailing listAccess transcript with Premium Membership

This Sponsored Insight features Troy Pospisil, CEO of Ontra, a legaltech firm created for the private markets industry.  It was great sitting down with Troy to talk about the evolution of how legal and compliance workflows are going digital. We cover his career from management consulting to the investment team at H.I.G. Capital where he saw a glaring need for better solutions with doing deals and raising funds. We discuss product development opportunities and challenges, multi-stakeholder engagements and how digital-native leaders are embracing software to speed up fund closings at a lower cost and compliance risk.Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn MoreFollow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedInSubscribe to the mailing listAccess transcript with Premium Membership

Richey Reneberg, Global Co-Head of Investor Relations and Marketing at Taconic Capital, is a former pro tennis player who ranked #20 in singles and #1 in doubles. He shares his unconventional journey from the tennis court to the investment world, illustrating how sports discipline impacts professional success. Richey discusses the importance of personal connections in building strong GP and LP relationships, along with key client service traits like transparency. He also addresses evolving investor communication strategies and the significance of operational due diligence in today's market.

Neal Pawar, COO of Enfusion, has a rich background in investment technology, with roles at major firms like UBS and D.E. Shaw. He discusses his journey from hedge funds to developing a unified SaaS platform, emphasizing the significance of a cohesive tech stack. Neal explores the evolution of trade order management systems and the critical role of data integration. He also examines innovative trends in finance, like LLMs and blockchain, and posits that data is becoming a new asset class, essential for decision-making and efficiency in investment management.

Kevin Moran, COO of AlTi Tiedemann Global, discusses the evolution of his firm into a leading multi-family office with over $72B in assets. He shares insights on serving ultra-high-net-worth clients, emphasizing personalized client service with a local touch across global operations. The conversation dives into the dynamics of M&A for sustainable growth, the importance of financial education for wealth transfer, and innovative investment strategies in an evolving landscape, including the rise of alternative investments.

Dan Ricci, Head of Information Systems at Prime Buchholz, dives into the world of fintech with insights on the innovative Prime Plus investment analytics tool. He discusses the move towards digital investment committee reporting and the importance of leveraging third-party SaaS solutions. Dan also reflects on the evolution of technology in finance, emphasizing the potential of data automation and the use of large language models to enhance data integration. His insights showcase the continuous transformation within investment management, driving efficiency and client satisfaction.

Hal Liebes, COO of Alger, shares his journey from law to investment management, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and self-awareness in finding career happiness. He discusses the daily challenges faced by a COO, including consensus-building and managing service providers. The conversation reveals the complexities of decision-making in investments, highlighting the significance of effective mergers and cultural integration. Continuous learning and building strong relationships are also stressed as keys to success in the ever-evolving industry.

Jim La Creta is the Chief Technology and Information Officer for Brandeis University.Jim shares a fascinating and different perspective on technology for an investment office and university broadly. We discuss his career path at Brandeis which started at the help desk 21 years ago to the CTO seat. He shares how he partners with the investment committee and the CIO to assess risk with new technology and information security for its investment office.  We also discussed common challenges and how to partner with technology teams for better outcomes when selecting technology.In addition to being a CTO, Jim is an adjunct professor in organizational leadership at Brandeis. I found this interesting because there is no playbook for leadership, but Jim shares his lessons learned about leading teams today, the impact of going hybrid and creating teams built for flexibility.Learn MoreFollow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedInSubscribe to the mailing listAccess transcript with Premium Membership

Adam Weinstein is a Managing Director, COO, and CFO of New Mountain Capital, a $50 billion private equity firm focused on middle market buyout, credit, and net lease strategies. I really enjoyed this conversation because we focused on two critical elements of building investment firms: people and process. Adam discusses their investment committee governance process that seeks to foster broad input from the team to mitigate errors and promote consistency. We also uncover some of the challenges in group decision making and why New Mountain is opposed to the term “back office.” We then dig into how inclusiveness drives performance reviews, compensation structures and how to develop a mentor program.  Learn MoreFollow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedInSubscribe to the mailing listAccess transcript with Premium Membership

Steven Schwab is the GC and CCO for Thoma Bravo, a $142 billion private equity firm that invests in growing software and technology companies. Prior to joining Thoma Bravo in 2015, Steven practiced law at Winston and Strawn and Katten Munchin. Steven shares how to make best use of your legal resources. He shares his thoughts on when to bring legal in-house, how to get the most out of your outside counsel, and why they opted to combine the GC and CCO roles.  We also discuss the current state of fundraising and how LPs are interacting with GPs. Learn MoreFollow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedInSubscribe to the mailing listAccess transcript with Premium Membership