Discover how investment organizations are run from the industry’s top operating partners. We dive into the business of investment management by exploring functional areas across operations, investor relations, legal, finance, and technology. Key stakeholders provide insight on the business today and look to what the future may hold for capital allocators and their investment partners. Longtime operator, Scott MacDonald, hosts in-depth interviews with key non-investment principals across public and private markets. Learn more and join our community from www.capitalallocators.com.
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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 asset...
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 engagem...
Richey Reneberg is the Global Co-Head of Investor Relations and Marketing at Taconic Capital, a global event driven alternatives manager founded in 1999 by former Goldman Sachs Partners, Frank Brosens and Ken Brody. Richey’s career path into the industry is atypical so I was excited to share his story. Prior to joining Taconic in 2000, Richey spent thirteen years competing on the professional tennis circuit reaching a career high of #20 in the world in singles and #1 in the world in doubles. He ...
This Sponsored Insight features Neal Pawar, the COO of Enfusion, a SaaS platform that combines front, middle and back office in a unified trading system. We cover Neal’s time at some of the world’s top hedge funds and how it informed his decision to build technology for the industry. We talk about the tradeoffs of working for both big and small firms and how decisions on your tech stack changes as your firm grows. We then discuss the evolution of trade order management systems and how the golden...
Kevin Moran is the COO of AlTi Tiedemann Global, a publicly traded multi-family office and alternatives firm with over $72B in assets. Kevin shares his insights on how AlTi has grown over time creating a UHNW service offering to meet the growing and evolving needs of its clients. He shares his thoughts on M&A as a function of organic growth, unique investment strategies, and strategic succession planning. We also cover the sales process for the UHNW space and how to apply client service on a...
Dan Ricci is the Head of Information Systems at Prime Buchholz, an independent investment consultant and OCIO founded in 1988. If you are building or buying software, this is the episode. Dan shares how they built Prime Plus, an investment analytics tool that is used by their investment consultants and their clients. Dan shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics with regard to fintech. We cover going digital with investment committee reporting and when to leverage channel partners to bolt on...
Hal Liebes is the COO of Alger, an investment firm known for its bottom-up fundamental research process that was founded in 1964. Hal joined Alger in 2005 as they were rebuilding the firm after losing 35 of its 55 employees on 9/11. Hal shares how curiosity and knowing how you work is crucial for finding the right type of role for career happiness. We talk about the role of the COO and the myriad of issues he faces on a daily basis: how to build consensus, selecting new service providers, and be...
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 t...
Adam Weinstein, COO & CFO of New Mountain Capital, delves into the firm's distinctive operational philosophy, emphasizing a deeply inclusive investment committee process where all team members, regardless of seniority, contribute. He highlights how New Mountain fosters a culture that rejects the "back office" concept, valuing every role through economic alignment, robust mentorship, and 360-degree performance reviews. The discussion also covers strategies for managing growth, talent development, and the firm's global footprint, underpinned by a commitment to intellectual honesty and continuous improvement.
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 fu...
Nicole Adrien is the Chief Product Officer and Global Head of Client Relations at Oaktree Capital. If you work directly with clients and prospects, this is the conversation for you. Nicole discusses her career path beginnings at Goldman Sachs, and how she turned a summer internship during business school into a career at Oaktree. Working with clients today is all about transparency, speed, and accuracy. We discuss how exogenous factors from the GFC have shaped client demands and how Oaktree tran...
Taimur Hyat is the Chief Operating Officer for PGIM. PGIM manages over 1.3 trillion in equity, fixed income, real estate, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions. Being a “strategic COO” is the wave of the future, and Taimur provides some great insight on how he does it. He shares his evolution from doing development economic research to consulting at McKinsey before landing in asset management with stints at Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse Asset Management. Taimur shares his thoughts on under...
This Sponsored Insight features Hank Boughner, the CEO of Dynamo Software – an end-to-end platform for the alternative investment industry. Hank has been the CEO of Dynamo Software since 2017. His unique career path as an engineer, investment banker, and private equity investor gives him a unique perspective on what the future holds for investment technology. Hank shares his insights on why software verticals are consolidating, single point versus platform solutions, and why he believes that pla...
Darshan Desai is the COO and Head of Risk at Beach Point Capital, a $15 billion credit shop based in Santa Monica, CA. Darshan and I discuss his career path, which began at York Capital, his move to Kansas City to works for BATS, and then finding his way to Beach Point in 2010. Darshan shares his experience and learnings from seeing two firms ramp up assets and people. I was curious to speak to Darshan as he is also the Head of Risk, making for a unique opportunity to talk about data/analytics, ...
Amy Knapp is the COO of Corsair Capital, a private equity firm that is focused on buyouts and infrastructure. When we started the podcast, the goal was to share best practices among investment operations professionals, and my conversation with Amy fires on all cylinders. Amy discusses her career path from public accounting to an unexpected opportunity to be a CFO early in her career, eventually becoming the COO. We then cover an array of topics from the operational challenges with having multipl...
This Sponsored Insight highlights Nasdaq’s Solovis , a multi-asset class portfolio, data, and risk management system for asset owners. We spoke with Jeff Manning of Verger Capital Management, a $2.8 billion OCIO that was created out of the Wake Forest University Office of Investments. Verger’s CIO, Jim Dunn, was an early guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Jeff oversees all financial operations at Verger including the team, reporting, and strategic decisio...
Jim Dunn is the CEO and CIO of Verger Capital Management, an Outsourced CIO business whose anchor client is Wake Forest University. Prior to forming Verger, he served as CIO of Wake Forest for five years. That transition from a sole client to an OCIO business, is a fascinating part of our conversation. Before joining Wake, Jim traveled the world as CIO of Wilshire Associates, where among other things he experienced the best story of a manager getting their foot in the door that I’ve ever heard. ...
Karl Sprules is the COO at Alliance Bernstein, a global asset manager with $725 billion in assets and over 4,700 employees. I really enjoyed speaking with Karl as he shows how you can be nimble at scale. We cover a lot of territory from his beginnings at Alliance Capital in the technology group, navigating the merger that created AB, and his evolution into the COO seat. Karl shares how AB has evolved over time and the rationale behind the bold decision to move their headquarters from Manhattan t...
Mike Lukasek is a Managing Director and the COO for the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments. Mike has been the COO of Penn’s Endowment for over 14 years. Prior to that, he was a VP at Goldman Sachs for their private equity fund of funds business and a VP of Finance at Summit Partners. Given his tenure at Penn, Mike brings perspective on the evolution of an endowment office. He talks about how Penn’s operations and technology has evolved overtime and shares his insights on what is ...
Lawrence Miller is the CTO of Wilshire, an independent investment management firm that offers consulting services, analytical products, and manages funds for a global client base. For many of us owning and understanding technology is critical for our business. However, many of us have come up through the ranks without hands-on training. This is where Lawrence lends a hand. We cover Lawrence’s start as a quant at JP Morgan, lessons learned launching a startup, and how his time as a technology con...
Ken Onorio is the Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Point Credit, a $9 billion credit-oriented investment firm. At some level, this is an interview about the softer skills in our space. Having spent time in hedge funds and a tour in fund administration, Ken shares his unique perspective with some key takeaways. Ken then discusses his career path and lessons learned while at JP Morgan, Amaranth Advisors and Sailfish Capital to create a firm and culture built for the long haul. ...
Terry Thompson is the Chief Operating Officer of Berkshire Partners, Boston-based private equity firm started in the 1980s before adding public equity capabilities in 2007. Terry shares how his background across 8 different industries helped him land the role at Berkshire. We talk about how to quickly transition into a new industry, how to assess a career opportunity with limited information, and building rapport with long-tenured team members. We cover Berkshire’s unique governance structure th...
Jason Ment is the president and Co-COO of StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions, advisory and data services on behalf of clients representing $659B. I really enjoyed this wide-ranging discussion on what is just around the corner in private markets. We cover his career path from law school to his time at Citigroup, which eventually becomes part of StepStone during the great financial crisis. We then cover the growth of StepS...
Today Sponsored Insight highlights Intelligo , a risk intelligence and background check platform that blends human analysis with cutting-edge AI to uncover facts in a fraction of the time. I sat down with Brian Gaffney of Stonehaven Partners to discuss the common challenges with background checks and how Intelligo helps his team streamline and scale their due diligence process. We then turn to the unique screens Brian uses for assessing risk, dealing with yellow and red “flags” and how the netwo...
Steve Baranowski is a Partner and Head of Client Operations at Adams Street Partners, a private investment manager with $58B in assets. Steve discusses his early career in public accounting and the nuances of transitioning to a client. He then shares what makes Adams Street unique and how their operations has evolved over time while striving to keep the culture intact. He shares his perspective on what it takes to be self-administered, as well as knowing when to outsource as the business evolves...
Stephanie Withers is the Head of Investment Operations at the WK Kellogg Foundation Investment Office, an $8 billion private foundation. I really enjoyed Stephanie’s authenticity to make the world and her investment office a better place. We cover their initiatives on DEI in what they call their Expanding Equity Program. This program is unique in that others can access it at no cost. We then to turn to their tech stack, the importance of business process mapping, and how their annual operations ...
Today’s Sponsored Insight features Beth Gilje, the founder of Union Park Consulting, a leading investment operations consulting firm that provides operational and technical consulting to some of the world’s leading institutions and family offices. Prior to founding Union Park, Beth worked at the investment office of the University of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2020. Prior to Penn, Beth spent time at Partners Capital before beginning her career at Lehman Brothers. As we all know upgrading your inv...
Shaun Ng is the Managing Director of Risk, Analytics, and Investment Operations at the Cleveland Clinic Investment Office. Shaun joined Cleveland Clinic in 2016 after working over 10 years at the World Bank. He shares how they created their investment office from scratch after the board opted to insource their investments from an OCIO. We later turn to how they partner with the hospital’s data and analytics team to build more than 200 dashboards of dynamic data sets for the investment team. Shau...
Frank Perez is a Managing Director and Head of Operational Due Diligence at Makena Capital, an OCIO whose roots emanate from Stanford’s Endowment. Prior to joining Makena in 2015, Frank was engaged in ODD efforts at Saguenay Strathmore Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBP where he focused on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund investments. Frank’s background is unique given his risk management experience within several investment banks where he was responsible for conducting due diligence on ...
Today’s Sponsored Insight features Dan Houlihan, the CEO of STP Investment Services, a global investment operations firm that provides complete front, middle, and back office services for investment managers. Dan joined STP in August 2022 after spending 11 years at Northern Trust as the EVP and Head of Asset Servicing. Prior to Northern Trust he was President of Citisoft, a management consulting group to the investment industry. If you are currently outsourcing operations or exploring the subjec...
