Capital Allocators' Ted Seides - the capital allocator behind the mic

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

What happens when two podcasters walk into a room? 

They talk.

Today’s podcast turns the tables on one of the industry’s leading podcasters and content creators to have him share his story and experience as an allocator and content creator.
 
We sat down with Ted Seides, the Founder of industry-leading podcast Capital Allocators and former President and Co-CIO of Protégé Partners and an asset allocator at the Yale Endowment.

Ted has had a tremendous career at the intersection of asset allocation and content, so it was fascinating to hear his perspectives on the state of the industry and how it’s evolving from someone who talks with many of the industry’s leading minds through his podcast, Capital Allocators.

Ted and I had a fascinating conversation. We discussed:
  • Stories and lessons learned from working with David Swensen at the Yale Endowment.
  • What the wealth channel can learn from institutional investors.
  • What Ted looked for in hedge funds and alternative asset managers when doing manager due diligence.
  • Ted’s bet with Buffett on hedge funds and why he’s now doing a bet on PE versus public equities.
  • How alternative asset managers are evolving and the pros and cons of evergreen structures.
  • Why and how Ted started Capital Allocators and why content is so critical to learning asset management and understanding how firms operate.
Capital Allocators is one of my favorite podcast listens and Ted always delivers with high-quality and thoughtful content so it was an honor to have him on the show.

Thanks Ted for sharing your expertise and wisdom on asset allocation and content and for the service you provide to everyone in the industry through education and the creation of such high-quality content for us to consume.

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Show Notes
00:00 Introduction to our Sponsor, Juniper Square
00:38 Juniper Square's AI Capabilities
01:40 Guest Introduction: Ted Seides
04:03 Lessons from Yale Endowment
04:46 David Swensen's Investment Principles
05:51 Evolution of the Endowment Model
05:58 Wealth Channel vs. Institutional Investors
08:09 Access to Top Managers
11:16 Alpha in Private Markets
12:32 Ted's Bet with Buffett
13:10 Private Equity vs. Public Equities
17:16 Private Equity Diversification
18:45 Hedge Fund Industry Lessons
20:07 Private Equity Fee Structures
24:03 Talent Migration in Private Markets
26:47 Evaluating Investment Culture
27:15 Investment Philosophy and Strategy
28:26 Ted's Approach to Manager Evaluation
29:46 Impact of AI on Diligence Processes
30:20 Defining Investment Edge
30:33 Behavioral and Analytical Edge
31:01 Informational and Technical Edge
31:27 Evaluating Investment Managers
31:37 Impactful Investment Decisions
31:52 Mistakes and Learning
32:53 The Hardest Time to Invest
34:14 Behavioral Biases in Investing
34:51 Decision-Making Processes
36:28 The Role of AI in Investing
38:07 Content and Investment Decisions
39:25 Starting Capital Allocators
41:00 Learning from Podcasting
43:40 Building a Business from a Podcast
45:26 The Value of Relationships in Investing
47:06 Content Strategy for Managers
49:44 Effective Content Modalities
50:43 Direct Communication vs. Algorithms
51:13 Brand vs. Direct Sales
52:35 Insights from Podcast Conversations
54:23 Favorite Private Market Investments
56:05 AI and Investment Perspectives
57:37 Partnering with AI Experts
58:12 The Importance of People in Investing
 
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.
2021