Why are companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI delaying going public, and can this phenomenon be traced back to regulatory changes of the nineties? Can private market funding essentially dry up, leaving no alternative? How do these firms approach regulatory thresholds and what is the impact to stratgeic allocations by today’s leading LPs? Michael Ewens, …
Institutional investors seeking strategic opportunities around the world today need to be aware of how extreme political shifts, government corruption, asset volatility, and other factors can affect their portfolios. Taking the center stage of this discussion is the play on critical minerals and mining, and what sort of innovations or alternative ecosystems can be developed …
What have been the main motivators in LP investors looking at secondary markets and co-investments? Can larger asset owners like sovereign wealth funds and major endowments play in this space, or is it better left to more nimble allocators? Back in April, Improving Alpha welcomed Simon Mayer from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss his thoughts …
As more institutional investors increasingly rely on massive amounts of data and consolidated software ecosystems, the term Platformocracy is finding its way into everyday usage. The term is defined as how major technology companies function as unelected governments, leveraging their networks to unilaterally dictate free speech, rules around online privacy, and more, all without impartial …
As the complexity in alternative financial markets grows, is the bridge between academia and institutional investing being stretched to a point of collapse? Both researchers and investors deal with similar problems in institutional investing. Solution approaches may differ, but could a value be found in combining points of view, so that investors benefit from greater …
When examining sole fiduciary states, such as North Carolina, the direction of pension plans and other asset pools typically consolidates under a single elected official, typically the State Treasurer. Combine that setup with disappointing investment performance, and the stage begins to get set to reform both governance and investment operations. This is what happened in …
Albert Einstein is often quoted as stating, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.” As a society today, in this unstable world, you need both to accelerate success while avoiding defensive decision-making. Instead of taking up that defensive position, have the courage to go with more robust …
There’s a famous sports adage on how great defenses win championships, but can defensive layers be efficiently applied to pension plans that have close to $128 billion in AUM and provide secure retirement benefits to 850,000 participants? In addition to positioning your defense, how can CIOs reduce drawdown risk while navigating investment board politics, innovation …
When running a pension plan for 150,000 active and retired members across the state of Hawaii, there are several factors that help achieve a 7% return. Governance, portfolio risk awareness, and culture all weigh on the minds of the investment team at the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii. In our last official …
Evaluating all the investment pieces in a modern-day endowment portfolio requires a keen eye. You might have capital demands pouring in from the university to improve campus buildings, student education opportunities and equipment, professor salaries, and more. Today, these demands are then multiplied by concerns over inflation, regulation, and, in the case of our next …