Institutional Investors – Improving Alpha:

Improving Alpha: Decoding the Research in Secondaries, Co-investing, and Impact Funds

By Improving Alpha | June 30, 2026

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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 on academia’s influence on institutional investing (definitely worth a listen here). In this brand new episode, we build on that discussion, welcoming Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, Harvard Business School, to discuss his research and perspectives on secondaries, co-investments, impact funds, and his future research on how geopolitics could impact and transform venture capital.

Additional highlights that Josh and Michael covered are below:

How is the growth of private equity and venture capital pacing in relation to secondaries?
Can endowments leverage secondaries effectively? Does their organizational size impact their approach to these financial vehicles?
What are the benefits of LPs investing in co-investments vs. traditional private equity structures? Based on the research, do these structures end up at the same place in terms of performance?
Does Josh believe that we’re in an overvaluation period as it relates to AI investments? When could we see a correction, and what organizations will most likely capture the value from AI innovations?
Are impact funds making a real contribution to society and pioneering technologies that more traditional funds avoid? What does their performance look like for allocators looking to get involved?
In the last 30 years, up until 2022, we have seen venture capital moving away from “tough technologies”. How is the game evolving today?
What is Josh’s perspective on why large corporations fail at internalizing disruptive tech in favor of buying venture-backed start-ups instead?
and more.

Resources:

The Infinite Alphabet: And the Laws of Knowledge by Cesar Hidalgo

Connect with Josh Lerner:

Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg:

About Our Guest:

Josh Lerner is the Jacob H. Schiff Professor at Harvard Business School and Co-Director of the HBS Private Capital Project. Much of his research focuses on venture capital and private equity organizations and innovation policy. He has been recently recognized as among the forty most influential economists worldwide by ScholarGPS and research.com.

He has co-directed the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program since 2010 and serves as co-editor of their publication, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy. He founded and runs the Private Capital Research Institute, a nonprofit devoted to encouraging access to data and research and has been a frequent leader of and participant in the World Economic Forum projects and events.

In the 1993-1994 academic year, he introduced an elective course for second-year MBAs. Over the past three decades, “Venture Capital and Private Equity” has consistently been one of the largest elective courses at Harvard Business School and whose teaching materials are used in business schools around the world. He has taught numerous executive and doctoral courses on venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurship and has introduced a series of entrepreneurship classes at Harvard College.

He graduated from Yale College with a special divisional major. He worked for several years on issues concerning technological innovation and public policy. He then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard’s Economics Department.

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: Creating Synergies between Academia and Alternative Institutional Investors

By Improving Alpha | April 20, 2026

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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 combined intelligence and portfolio performance gains?

In our latest episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, we welcome Assistant Professor of Finance, Simon Mayer, from Carnegie Mellon University. Alternative investors who are wondering where academic theory and practitioner insights intersect will gain a tremendous view of the synergies that can be achieved today.

Catch the latest as host, Michael Oliver Weinberg, and Simon Mayer cover these synergies and trends across digital assets, ESG investing, continuation vehicles, and SPACs.

Highlights include:

What new developments are emerging when it comes to private capital markets?
What is the attraction to stablecoins, and how will it impact the larger financial ecosystem, especially in light of the Genius and Clarity Acts?
Why do private equity continuation vehicles exist, and just how great is the risk of zombie CVs and/or GPs sitting on both sides of the deal table?
What is the current state of ESG today, failures, passive investment when allocators wish to go greener, and shareholder activism?
What can be learned from the previous SPAC boom? Are they still useful, and how should you ride this roller-coaster for future strategic investments?
What does Simon believe will occur with the tokenization of other alternative assets as the market evolves?
And more.

Connect with Simon Mayer:

Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg:

About Our Guest:

Simon Mayer joined Carnegie Mellon University as an Assistant Professor in Finance in summer 2023. Prior to joining CMU, Simon has been faculty at HEC Paris and a research fellow at Chicago Booth. He received his PhD in Financial Economics in 2021 at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research interests include Corporate Finance, Financial Intermediation, Private Capital Markets, and Financial Technology. Simon has published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Financial Economics. At Tepper, he is teaching courses on Corporate Finance and Financial Markets.

The release date may not correspond to the recording date.

Improving Alpha: Tobias Read on Removing Political Grandstanding from Oregon’s Hybrid Pension Plan

By Improving Alpha | August 7, 2023

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Warren Buffet has been quoted in the past about what happens to investors when the tide goes out and we see who’s been swimming naked. This quote can be aligned quite well to the environment that many institutional investors find themselves in today, given inflation, net zero regulations, fiduciary responsibilities, and more.

In our latest episode, Michael Oliver Weinberg is joined by Tobias Read, State Treasurer, Oregon, where Tobias discusses the approach that his team has taken towards innovation, why running a pension isn’t simply about just maximizing a return number, or why a pension plan can’t do it alone when it comes to climate change regulations.

Additional listener highlights include:

early takeaways from the public and private sector and how that grew Tobias’ interest in the ways businesses and government interact with each other.
with assets under management at $100 billion representing 400,000 members, we learn how Tobias looks at asset allocation for the future of the plan.
even though Oregon was the first state pension in the country to go into private equity investing, what does that mean for the future deployment of resources given current market conditions?
how Tobias considers the debate between divestment, exclusion and engagement when it comes to ESG asset allocation and the challenges in moving the plan to a net zero position by 2050.
And more

About Our Host:

To learn more about our host visit: https://www.vidrio.com/blog/improving-alpha-podcast-tobias-read-oregon-hybrid-pension

About Tobias Read:

Tobias Read understands that financial empowerment, wise investments, and sound management are foundational to the quality of life and economic opportunities for Oregonians, and key to the long-term vitality of our state.

Elected Oregon’s 29th State Treasurer in 2016, Tobias is a collaborative problem solver who draws upon his management, political, and finance policy experience to serve Oregonians as Treasurer.

He worked in the U.S. Treasury and as a liaison between designers, engineers, and manufacturing units for Nike Inc. In 2006, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he served a decade and championed legislation to invest in public education, improve state financial management, finance critical infrastructure improvements, and help Oregonians save for a more secure future.

As State Treasurer, Tobias knows that financial confidence helps Oregonians get ahead, no matter where they live. He supports efforts to connect Oregonians with their unclaimed property, improve financial education, encourage Oregonians to invest in themselves, and promote smart and accountable government reforms that improve transparency and stretch dollars for taxpayers and beneficiaries of public trust funds.

The State Treasurer is a constitutional officer and the state’s navigator for sound and responsible financial policy. The Treasurer protects the state’s credit ratings, sits on the Oregon Investment Council and State Land Board, and oversees public investing, banking, bonding, and financial empowerment programs. Those include the Oregon 529 Savings Network, which allows families to save for higher education, job training, and disability-related expenses, and the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan. The Treasury manages an investment portfolio worth roughly $106 billion.

Tobias earned his bachelor’s degree from Willamette University and his MBA from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He has been a volunteer for Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), a youth sports coach, a member of the Willamette University Athletic Director’s Advisory Board, and a founding board member of Hoopla, Oregon’s largest three-on-three charity basketball tournament.