Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Tom Russo is the Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Gardner. Tom and I sat down in Episode 16 to discuss his background and investment strategy in what was one of the most popular episodes on the show. He oversees $13B in a global value strategy focused on family-operated public companies. Our second conversation is a two-part episode for this week and next. First, we talk solely about his holding in Berkshire Hathaway, a stock he first bought 38 years ago. The conversation covers Tom's initial purchase of Berkshire, company meetings, reaffirming his thesis and search for disconfirming information, the genius of Warren Buffett, research on Mitek, cross-fertilization of Berkshire's CEOs, the subdivisions of insurance, public market investments and regulated businesses, valuation, compensation, Berkshire after Warren, and Tom's sell discipline. We close with a teaser for next week's episode, as Tom reveals the name of the first significant stock he's bought for his clients in eight years. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Thomas Russo, Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Gardner, shares his investment strategy, focusing on long-term thinking and the capacity to reinvest. He discusses successful investments in consumer brands, the value of low turnover, and the impact of reputational damage on investment decisions. Also, the importance of listening in the research process and favorite books and career reflections are discussed. The podcast ends with reflections on the present and advice for the future.

Matt Botein is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gallatin Point Capital, a $1.5 billion private investment company he founded after departing from BlackRock, where he had served as the Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of the firm's $160 billion Alternatives business. Before sitting atop that lofty perch, Matt formed a bank after the financial crisis, was a Managing Director at hedge fund Highfields Capital and a private equity Principal at Blackstone. Our conversation starts with Matt's early career experience, touching on differences in public and private investing and forming new financial companies after periods of crisis. We then turn to his reconnection with Larry Fink, who in short order tapped Matt to run BlackRock's giant Alternatives business. We discuss his unusually graceful exit from BlackRock, flexible investment approach at Gallatin Point, and perspective from meeting a wide array of large pools of institutional capital globally. We finish with his take on the opportunities and challenges for private equity, headwinds for hedge funds, and real assets for his personal portfolio. Back when Matt and I were in school together, he was renowned for taking an occasional snooze in class, getting cold called by the professor, and waking up only to offer the most plugged in and articulate answer anyone could have imagined. I suspected tapping into his brilliant mind would provide lots of food for thought, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Rahul Moodgal has spent 20 years as a fund raiser across long only strategies, hedge funds, fund of funds, customized solutions, start-ups, and non-profits. Collectively, Rahul has raised and helped raise $60 billion for firms since 2005. He started his career in the industry at powerhouse TT International, and later joined The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) where he led the marketing effort that raised $20 billion in just 3½ years. Within TCI's affiliate model, Rahul also was responsible for the largest India fund raise in history ($1 billion for TCI New Horizon Fund), and the largest sector fund launch in history ($1.1 billion for Algebris Investments). Our conversation covers capital raising lessons learned from teaching, the value of transparency, the gold rush before 2008, the lean times afterwards, modern fee structures, the three key points to effective marketing, the three traits that will kill you, the two biggest issues start-up funds face, the best questions asked by leading allocators, and some of the worst horror stories in attempted capital raising. We close comparing by fund raising for charities and investment firms. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Chris Ailman is the chief investment officer of the $220 billion pool for California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). He joined CalSTRS back in 2000 after 4 years as CIO of the Washington State Investment Board and 11 years as CIO of the Sacramento Country Employees Retirement System. Chris is a legend in the business and the list of accolades for his work is longer that the list of my podcast episodes. Our conversation dives in with the flawed business model of government running a money management firm, looming retirement crisis, and challenges of governance and communication with a rotating Board. We then turn to the inner workings CalSTRS, including the use of internal and external managers, managing a long-term asset allocation cruise ship, inflation sensitive investments, risk mitigating strategies, private equity for a huge pool of capital, the innovation lab, ES and G, and building influence among large asset owners. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Steve Kuhn is a retired hedge fund manager. He spent two decades in the industry, specializing in mortgage-backed securities at Cargill, Citadel, Goldman Sachs, and Pine River. In his last stint in the business until his retirement in 2016, Steve was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at then $14 billion Pine River Capital Management and was one of the hedge fund industry's most widely known fixed income traders. Our conversation covers parlaying a passion for playing games into a two-decade Wall Street career, spending time productively when your investing specialty is out of favor, stepping away from the money game, presenting the evidence-based case for active manager alpha, talking the state of the hedge fund industry, managing his own money, engaging in philanthropy, and proposing the IDEAL immigration model. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Donna Snider is a Managing Director at the $4 billion Kresge Foundation, where she has worked for ten years as one of three senior team members under Chief Investment Officer Rob Manilla. Last summer, Institutional Investor named Donna the number one ranked Most Wanted CIO of the future. Our conversation starts with Donna sharing the cross fertilization of bringing her sell side trading experience to a Foundation and on the flip side learning manager selection from her very first data point. We then turn to the inner workings of the Foundation investment program from the perspective of a long-tenured senior team member, including the nitty gritty details of the internal investment process, the tricky decision process that goes into adding a manager or taking one out of the portfolio, the management of overlays and internal trades, the different roles of a CIO and senior investment team member, current challenges in venture capital, value investing, hedge funds, and emerging markets, and the politics of getting named a Most Wanted future CIO. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Ron Biscardi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Context Capital Partners and a Partner and Board Member of Context Summits. Ron sits at the intersection of buyers and sellers for small funds, and actively invests as a provider of acceleration capital. Our conversation covers Ron's path from an engineer to an asset management entrepreneur, the challenges and opportunities of investing in small hedge funds, the disconnect with the perception of hedge funds in the media and the reality that occurs at the Context Summit, the interests of single-family offices, and new investment opportunities on the horizon. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Jean Hynes, Managing Partner at Wellington Management, discusses the firm's humanistic culture, evolution to a global federation, talent recruitment, and successful partnership structure. She shares insights on healthcare team's investment philosophy, active vs. passive investing, public and private investments, and the future vision of Wellington Management.

Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles and Connecticut. Prosek Partners ranks among the top 10 independent public relations firms in the U.S., and among the top financial communications consultancies. The firm has been listed as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company for nine years running. Jen is also a two-time author. Our conversation covers the foibles of professional marketing in asset management, building a brand, measuring a successful branding effort, managing the story of weak performance, and describing the differences in hedge fund and private equity branding. We then turn to some of Jen's fascinating observations learned from her experience, including raising entrepreneurial children, working with millennials and Gen Z staffers, and implementing the principals of 'Just Ask', behave with humanity, and not thinking in black and white. Learn More Discuss show and Read the Transcript Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Join the Capital Allocators Forum Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast