• Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets

  • By: Michael Sidgmore
  • Podcast
Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets By cover art

Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets

By: Michael Sidgmore
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  • Summary

  • Alt Goes Mainstream podcast is the place to turn to for interviews with some of the brightest and most experienced minds in the world of alternative investing, private equity (PE), venture capital (VC), real estate, crypto, collectibles and more. For anyone looking to invest into alternative assets (from experienced wealth managers to family offices to the individual investor looking for a more diversified investment portfolio), you’ll hear inside stories from executives and founders at some of the world’s largest financial institutions, alternative investment firms, and FinTech startups. More than a personal finance podcast, Alt Goes Mainstream dives deep into trends, investment strategies, firm building lessons, and innovative technologies that are enabling investors to access private markets and invest into alternative assets.
    2021
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Episodes
  • Ritholtz Wealth Management's Michael Batnick - real talk on private markets

    Ritholtz Wealth Management's Michael Batnick - real talk on private markets
    Jun 12 2024
    Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.On today’s show, we turned the tables. We welcomed famed podcast co-host of Animal Spirits and The Compound and Friends and writer at The Irrelevant Investor, and Managing Partner and Director of Research at $4B AUM Ritholtz Wealth Management Michael Batnick to come on the show to share a wealth manager’s perspective on private markets.Michael’s career has taken a number of fascinating turns. He started selling insurance, before a chance meeting on the platform of the subway station with Josh Brown of Ritholtz Wealth Management after a New York Knicks loss led to a job offer to work with Josh at RWM. At Ritholtz, Michael has been an integral part of the team that has helped to drive the firm’s growth, leading with content and education. Each of the firm’s Partners have built impressive content platforms across blogs, books, and podcasts. Their thoughtful approaches to investing come through in their work — and it’s translated to how they think about private markets. Michael provided interesting viewpoints on why alternatives have yet to be adopted by many advisors and the challenges with adopting alternatives products.Michael and I had a fascinating discussion at the intersection of wealth and alts. Michael and I covered:His journey into wealth management and the lessons he has learned along the way.The importance of education and networking in the wealth management industry.How he thinks about risk in public and private markets.The evolution of wealth management as a business.Why alternatives products are still sold and not bought.The importance of staying focused on fundamentals and long-term investing.The workflow challenges that alternative investments have for a wealth management firm.How and why content can develop views, educate, and build brand in wealth management and private markets.Thanks Michael for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom on investing.Show Notes02:03 Introduction to Alt Goes Mainstream 02:43 Guest Introduction: Michael Batnick 03:00 Michael's Early Career and Challenges 07:26 Meeting Josh Brown and Career Breakthrough 08:35 Lessons from the Insurance World 09:20 Creating Content and Building a Brand 10:58 Investing Philosophy and Market Insights 14:27 Young Investors and Market Psychology 19:13 Public vs. Private Markets 29:25 Advisors and Private Investments 34:21 Customization and Differentiation in Private Markets 34:50 Challenges in Pitching Investments to Clients 35:09 Operational Hurdles in Alternative Investments 35:34 The Role of Relationship Managers 36:16 Building and Managing Alts Portfolios 43:04 Market Dynamics and Investment Strategies 53:43 Content Creation in Wealth Management 58:53 The Future of Wealth Management with AI 01:01:46 Quick Fire Round: Market Predictions and Insights 01:05:19 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsA word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency. To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products. Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at gharris@ultimusfundsolutions.com.We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • HgCapital Trust's Chairman of the Board Jim Strang - a masterclass in private markets

    HgCapital Trust's Chairman of the Board Jim Strang - a masterclass in private markets
    Jun 6 2024
    Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s episode features a masterclass in private markets from a guest who has seen it all.Jim Strang is a deeply experienced private equity professional who has been part of the industry as a GP, LP, investor, consultant, and now a teacher, board member, and advisor to a number of firms.I’d probably have to spend a good few pages going through everything that Jim has done and is currently doing in private markets. He’s a practitioner and a teacher, an expert and an operator. After an illustrious career that was punctuated as Chairman EMEA of Hamilton Lane, one of the largest LPs in private markets globally, he now serves in a number of board and advisor roles, which include Chairman of the Board at HgCapital Trust plc, Senior Advisor to CVC Capital Partners, Advisor at Bain & Company, and Director at Pictet Alternative Advisors.Jim and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of private markets and what the future holds for large and small funds alike, as well as LPs. We discussed:The step function changes that take private markets from $15T to $30T of AUM.Why traditional asset managers may struggle to replicate the capabilities of alternative asset managers in private markets.The importance of partnerships having a clear ambition and alignment if they want to build a scaled platform.The challenges that managers in the middle face as large platforms and specialist managers are the differentiated firms in the eyes of LPs.Why GPs need to find innovative solutions to address the needs of different types of investors.Why building a strong brand is crucial to success in the wealth channel.Thanks Jim for coming on the show to share your wisdom and experience on private markets.This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency. To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products. Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at gharris@ultimusfundsolutions.com.We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message02:06 Podcast Theme Song02:44 Guest Introduction: Jim Strang02:52 Jim Strang's Career Overview05:35 State of Private Markets: Challenges and Opportunities08:04 Fundraising Dynamics in Private Equity11:25 European Private Equity: Evolution and Insights15:01 Scaling Challenges and Ambitions in Private Equity25:41 Technology and Innovation in Private Equity32:47 Challenges in Organizational Analysis33:56 Psychological Assessments in Investment Decisions35:48 Effective Questioning Techniques for LPs36:29 Transparency and Culture in Investment Firms37:34 Evolution of Asset Management38:41 Public vs. Private Asset Managers40:27 Generational Shifts in Private Equity Firms44:12 Growth and Democratization of Private Markets48:40 Liquidity Challenges in Private Markets54:45 Quick Fire Round: Insights on Private Markets01:00:10 Entertainment Investments: Music Royalties and Sports01:04:02 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Monthly Alts Pulse Ep. 10: Taking the pulse of private markets with Lawrence Calcano, Chairman & CEO of iCapital, and Robert Picard, Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments at Hightower Advisors

    Monthly Alts Pulse Ep. 10: Taking the pulse of private markets with Lawrence Calcano, Chairman & CEO of iCapital, and Robert Picard, Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments at Hightower Advisors
    May 28 2024

    Welcome to the 10th episode of a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream.

    Here’s the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in private markets.

    In today’s episode, Lawrence and I welcome a special guest. Hightower Advisors Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments Robert Picard joins us to discuss the operational challenges and solutions in private markets.

    Robert has spearheaded the creation of the Alternative Investment Platform offering at Hightower, where he and the team curates investment opportunities in private markets for their advisor teams through research and due diligence. Hightower has 140 advisor teams that collectively manage over $150B AUM. Robert has a wealth of experience in private markets. He was instrumental in building four multi-billion dollar alternative investment platforms at The Carlyle Group / Rock Creek, Optima Fund Management, RBC Capital markets, and State Street / InfraHedge. Most recently, Robert served as Head of Alternative Investments at First Republic Wealth Management.

    On this episode, Lawrence, Robert, and I had a fascinating and lively discussion. We covered a number of topics, including:

    • How wealth platforms like Hightower and infrastructure operating systems like iCapital are creating straight-through-processing solutions across the lifecycle of a private markets investment for the wealth channel.
    • The importance of bringing alts directly to the advisor’s desktop.
    • Why improving the experience for advisors in private markets is critical to increasing adoption.
    • Why it’s important to build across the continuum of needs for different types of high-net-worth investors.
    • The importance of customization and differentiation with private markets solutions for advisors.
    • What is the biggest unlock to enabling greater flows of capital into private markets?
    • What are the implications of opening up the alts superhighway?

    Thanks Lawrence and Robert for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!
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    22 mins
Economics Personal Finance Social Sciences
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