Historically, many investors have tried hard to be apolitical. But US political dysfunction has forced many investors to become active in domestic politics, and the Hamas War forces many of us to fight Hamas. You might think I condemn Hamas because I am both Jewish and Israeli. But that is not the reason. First, deliberately...
[Continue Reading]Interview: VC and Disruption of the Investment Management Industry
Angelo Robles, Founder of the Family Office Association, just posted a video interview with me. We cover Versatile VC’s strategy and many other topics relevant to family offices. The Family Office Association also just published our full white paper on “Who Is Disrupting Investment Management, And How?” For the slide deck and video presentation version...
[Continue Reading]The 7 options for family offices to invest in technology companies
An ever-growing number of family offices want to invest into private tech companies. They’re usually motivated by a combination of financial returns, a search for strategic benefits with their core operating business, and passion about tech. But how should they go about it? Dr. Joel Palathinkal, CEO of Sutton Capital, observes that high-quality founding teams...
[Continue Reading]How to Find a Job as a VC Scout: Compensation and Which Firms Are Recruiting
The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time “scout”, getting paid for sourcing investments, as well as for other work of value to the fund. But how do you do that? This is part of a series on building your career in venture capital: Reading list for working...
[Continue Reading]How to Win Consulting, Board, and Deal Roles with Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds
I’m presenting on May 3, 2022, to the Harvard Alumni Global Financial Markets Forum on “How to Win Consulting, Board, and Deal Roles with Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds“. I’ve embedded below the slide deck. I discuss all the ways you can work with and earn money from the private equity/VC industry: as a...
[Continue Reading]What Are the “Jobs To Be Done” of an Investment Manager?
Most money managers think their main job is generating alpha, but they are wrong. We discuss the real “job to be done” of an investment manager. If you ever studied disruptive innovation formally, you know the pattern. In many industries, low-end disruptors take hold at the bottom of the market and then work up to...
[Continue Reading]The Macro Trends Forcing Change on the Investment Management Industry
Power in the investment management industry is shifting to Money Holders from Money Managers, driven by several major economic, social, and political trends. Collectively, these are an irresistible force meeting a moveable object: the traditional asset management industry structure. We highlight below five key trends impacting our industry: 1. As women and millennials become key allocators,...
[Continue Reading]Asset Management Is a Peculiar Industry Ripe for Disruption
“One summer day, probably in the 1870s, friends of a major short-seller got together on the shores of Newport, Rhode Island, where they admired the enormous yachts of New York’s richest brokers. After gazing long and thoughtfully at the beautiful boats, the short seller asked wryly, ‘Where are the customers’ yachts?’” Jason Zweig, in his...
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