July 2026 – Improving Alpha:

Improving Alpha: The Public-Private Debate & Its Impact on Allocators

By Improving Alpha | July 28, 2026

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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, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance, Finance Division and Co-director Private Equity Program, Columbia Business School, joins our latest episode of the Improving Alpha podcast and breaks down his own observations from his research on the public-private market debate, early stage pitching biases, private capital and US economic inequality, and the impact of PE ownership.

Highlights from Michael Ewens and host Michael Oliver Weinberg follow below.

How can the lessons of the dot-com boom parallel the private capital market boom and influence what we see today in a huge pool of private capital across equity and debt markets?
Are dual share class structures surging as it relates to the announcements of SpaceX, Anthropic, and others going public? What does that mean for allocators?
From an alpha perspective, what is the impact of going public, and how do business owners navigate the crossing of regulatory public float thresholds?
Are early-stage investors biased against female founders even, and what were some of the ‘rational’ reasons for these biases?
What does Michael’s research reveal about private capital market expansion and the rise in US economic inequality? What are his thoughts on the democratization of alternatives?
How can investors quantify intangible capital in a world of increasing technology across things like automation, robotics, and a startup’s IP?
And more.

Resources:

Connect with Michael Ewens:

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About Our Guest:

Michael Ewens is the David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance at Columbia Business School and co-director of the Private Equity Program. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial Economics, Associate Editor at the Review of Financial Studies, Associate Editor at Management Science, Associate Editor at the Journal of Corporate Finance, and co-editor of the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, San Diego. Since 2006 he has been a quantitative advisor for Correlation Ventures, a quantitative-focused venture capital firm. His research has appeared in the Economist, Bloomberg, and the New York Times. Prof. Ewens has taught private equity and venture capital finance at Columbia Business School, California Institute of Technology, Wharton School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California San Diego. From 2010 to 2014, he was on the faculty at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, and from 2014 to 2022, he was on the faculty at the California Institute of Technology. He co-organizes the Columbia Private Equity Conference and the virtual Workshop on Entrepreneurial Finance and Innovation.

The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.

The release date may not correspond to the recording date.

Improving Alpha: Institutional Investors and the Critical Minerals Battle

By Improving Alpha | July 22, 2026

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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 to help improve investment strategies.

In this episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, host Michael Oliver Weinberg welcomes Nicolas Stavros Niarchos, Journalist and Author of The Elements of Power. In this discussion, Nicolas covers his observations on conventional sovereign risk models and what happens when you get on the wrong side of the wrong person in these macro-political crisis environments.

Additional points of investor interest in this discussion include:

What level of caution should institutional investors take when any rule of law is minimized in assessing investment targets?
How can investors balance gatekeeper risk in critical-mineral mining, and is it better to avoid gatekeepers entirely?
What does Nicolas see across the Congo and the treatment of their critical mineral operations? How can investors efficiently deploy capital into these supply chains, and what are some of the investment innovations that exist today?
For critical mining operations in general, is it better to keep costs low and give up control to Chinese miners, or take on a higher cost and have a higher control level for the future?
If institutional capital does continue to flee from these mining jurisdictions due to perceived risk, governance risk, ESG risks, and FCPA liability, will it then equate to lighter sets of legal constraints and more unscrupulous actors gaining ground in these areas?
What exactly is the “green paradox”?
Based on Nicolas’s research, will technology substitution and innovation change the way we look at battery chemistry, resulting in the destruction of demand for cobalt and nickel?
And more.

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Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg:

About Our Guest:

Nicolas Stavros Niarchos is a journalist and author whose work focuses on global supply chains, critical minerals, conflict, energy, and international affairs. He has reported from regions across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, bringing attention to the economic, political, and human impacts of resource extraction and global trade. A former fact-checker at The New Yorker, Nicolas has built a reputation for deeply researched reporting and on-the-ground investigations. He is the author of The Elements of Power, a book that examines the critical minerals driving modern technology, clean energy, and geopolitical competition, with a particular focus on cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The release date may not correspond to the recording date.