“Risk is what’s left when you think you’ve thought of everything.”

– Carl Richards

Announcements

Victoria Sienczewski joins Capital Allocators. Victoria joins us from Global Endowment Management as a Partner to help grow Capital Allocators and work on our investments. After a rockstar internship with Ted as an HBS student, we’re thrilled to have Victoria back!

Capital Allocators University Pre-Sale Ends This Week. Our 50% off pre-sale pricing ends on September 6th. Last chance to receive a healthy discount. Register here.

Hot Jobs to Share

We come across friends looking to hire talent from time to time. These three different opportunities from close relationships came across our desk this month.

CEO of an MFO. We heard from a friend who is quietly helping to find a CEO to lead a $10 billion multi-family office based in New York City. The ideal candidate has a strong operational and investment background, an entrepreneurial mindset, and experience growing a multi-family office.

Join Big League Advance. Past guest Michael Schwimer and Big League Advance are looking for a Player Relations Coordinator to join their team.

Alliance for Decision Education. Join a championship team dedicated to bringing decision education to all young people. Description for Strategic Engagement Manager here. Email Ted to learn more.

Premium Sample

Perks of a premium subscription include episode transcripts, connectivity to show guests, Ted’s investment thoughts, and a weekly email.

Transcript: Inside the Sausage Factory of the Caesar’s Restructuring. Ted sat down with financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap, co-authors of The Caesars Palace Coup, to dissect this private equity deal gone wrong. The stakeholders involved are a who’s who in private equity and distressed investing – Apollo, TPG, GSO, Elliot, Silver Point, Oaktree, and Appaloosa. We discuss the full chronicle and the applicable lessons for investors.

Read Episode Transcript Here.

A Word from Our Sponsors

Janus Henderson Investors. Thematic research from our newest anchor sponsor discussing the dynamics of protection portfolios for pension plans. Head of Institutional Client Strategy, Suny Park CFA, CPA discusses the role protection portfolios can play to capture substantial positive alpha in severe left-tail sell-offs. Full institutional blog library here.
Read Portfolio Protection: One Size Fits None

iConnections. Join the leading global community for alternative investments that makes a bigger impact on our world at Global Alts 2022 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach from January 24th to 27th.
Complimentary Registration for Qualified Allocators Here

Tegus. With over 20,000 interviews from the world’s best operators, experts, and investment managers, Tegus helps cut through the noise so allocators and investors can learn everything about any public or private company in seconds.
Sign Up for your Free Trial

Northern Trust Front Office Solutions. Our friends at Northern Trust FOS are growing – and hiring!
See Openings Here

Reading

Ordered by reading time: tweets first, books last, and blog posts and articles in between.

1. The Allocator, Leanna Orr. Leanna is back with a souped-up version of her insider perspective on industry scoops, job searches, and manager gossip. New media company, same outstanding journalism. Her most recent piece included a “worst ideas” contest of CIOs over the next year with a special prize for the winner.
Subscribe Here

2. Allocating to Emerging Managers. Emerging managers became a hot topic on FinTwit a few weeks ago (Ted’s thoughts on the subject here). John-Austin Saviano, former CIO of UC-Berkeley, provides a thoughtful perspective on the risk/reward of allocating to new GPs.
Read A Strategic Allocation to New GPs

3. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Updates. The CFA Institute released a draft of its DE&I Code, and past guest Shundrawn Thomas received a well-deserved DE&I Lifetime Achievement Award.
Read CFA Draft DE&I Code

4. First principles of valuation.Michael Mauboussin has a gift in curating research and articulating established investment truths. His latest, Everything is a DCF, offers a grounding at a time when frothy valuations pervade corners of the markets. Seth Klarman defined value investing as “the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.” Michael discusses the calculator.

When reading Michael’s piece, we remembered reading a thoughtful piece from subscriber Sajith Pai entitled Exhaust Fumes that describes a very non-DCF approach taken by venture capitalists.

The two are not mutually exclusive, but eventually must coincide.
Read Everything is a DCF Here

5. Richer, Wiser, Happier. William Green’s book draws on many years of interviewing managers as a journalist and gets inside the investing approach and personal psychology of some of the greats.
Purchase Here

BONUS. New York State of Mind. Ted got the ‘goosies’ watching this compilation of performers singing the Billy Joel classic for NYCNEXT to encourage the city’s recovery from the pandemic and drive civic engagement.
Watch Here

Listening

Past Capital Allocators Episodes

EP.206: Orlando Bravo – Private Equity Masters 7 – Thoma Bravo

EP.207: Chuck Davis – Private Equity Masters 8 – Stone Point Capital

EP.208: Wylie Fernyhough – Private Equity Stakes

EP.209: Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap – Inside the Sausage Factory of the Caesar’s Restructuring

EP.210: Matt Spielman – Executive Coaching in Asset Management

EP.211: Jenny Heller – Beginner’s Mind with Professional Wisdom at Brandywine

Past Manager Meetings Episodes

EP.5: Jonathan Lewinsohn, Diameter Capital Partners – Interviewed by Kristen VanGelder

EP.6: Greg Jensen, Bridgewater – Interviewed by Stephen Gilmore

EP.7: Bruce Martin, Still Lake Capital – Interviewed by Donna Snider

EP.8: Rick Rieder, Blackrock – Interviewed by Tim McCusker

Best of the Rest

Acquired: The Complete History & Strategy of a16z. Acquired is one of our new favorite listens, and this two-part series is an excellent pairing for those that have listened to our Private Equity Masters mini-series. Ben and David chronicle the deep, rich history of one of the most successful VC firms in our lifetime.