Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets

• Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference: Nuveen's Keith Jones - structuring products for success

  Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Alt Goes Mainstream was live from $1.2T AUM asset manager Nuveen’s nPowered conference, a two-day event bringing together Nuveen thought leaders and industry experts to explore challenges and opportunities in private markets.We interviewed some of Nuveen’s senior leadership on site to hear their views and perspectives on private markets, working with the wealth channel, and product innovation.We sat down with Keith Jones, the Global Head of Alternative Investments Product for Nuveen, and a member of the Extended Leadership Team. He’s responsible for the development and ongoing management of alternative investment products distributed through Nuveen’s institutional, wealth management, and retirement channels globally.Keith and I had a fascinating conversation about product innovation in the wealth channel, how to educate and market products specifically designed for the wealth channel, and why it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” approach.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Introduction to Ultimus Fund Solutions01:55 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream01:58 Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference02:19 Conversation with Keith Jones03:25 Keith Jones' Background04:04 Nuveen and TIAA Collaboration04:47 Keith's Role at Nuveen05:01 Product Innovation in Wealth Channel05:15 Structuring Products for Wealth Channel05:37 Client-Centric Approach at Nuveen06:59 Challenges in Structuring Products07:39 Credibility and Brand Importance09:36 Client Experience and Reporting09:46 Brand and Credibility in Product Creation10:40 Nuveen's Real Estate Focus11:38 Feedback from Distribution Teams12:33 Product Governance at Nuveen13:19 Institutional vs. Wealth Channel16:35 Evergreen Structures18:08 Operational Considerations18:51 FinTech Solutions in Structuring31:48 Future of Product Innovation32:20 Real Assets and Farmland33:25 Fee Compression in Alternatives36:13 Balancing Competing Forces36:51 Importance of Diversification38:34 Industry Collaboration for Change39:12 Conclusion and Final Thoughts39:58 Closing Remarks

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  40:17
• Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference: Nuveen's Jeff Carlin - "It's all about the end client"

  Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Alt Goes Mainstream was live from $1.2T AUM asset manager Nuveen’s nPowered conference, a two-day event bringing together Nuveen thought leaders and industry experts to explore challenges and opportunities in private markets.We interviewed some of Nuveen’s senior leadership on site to hear their views and perspectives on private markets, working with the wealth channel, and product innovation.We talked with Jeff Carlin, Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Wealth Advisory Services at Nuveen, and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. He’s responsible for leading the placement, distribution, and support of all products through the US Wealth distribution channel.Jeff and I had a fascinating conversation about working with the wealth channel and how Nuveen has created products to serve this growing investor segment.Thanks Jeff for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and expertise on private markets, private wealth, and distribution. We hope you enjoy.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Introduction to our Sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions01:58 Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference02:26 Jeff Carlin's Role at Nuveen02:33 Nuveen's Wealth Business03:28 Jeff Carlin's Career Background06:43 Evolution of Wealth Distribution06:56 Changes in Advisor Discretion09:52 Consultative Selling in Wealth Management10:04 Hiring Distribution Professionals12:10 Building Trust with Advisors14:03 Indispensable Partnerships16:41 Public vs. Private Markets19:14 Global Wealth Management19:44 Regional Differences in Distribution20:59 Focus on Specific Channels23:15 Structural and Non-Structural Advantages in Distribution27:32 Public and Private Market Strategies27:43 Portfolio Solutions Group27:57 Allocating to Private Markets28:19 Balancing Third-Party and Own Products28:43 Advisor's Role in Portfolio Construction29:28 Challenges in Wealth Channel Distribution29:36 SMA Business vs. Private Markets30:14 Intricacies of Private Market Investments30:35 Client Understanding and Implementation31:09 Drawdown Structures and Client Needs31:16 Perpetual Vehicles in Private Credit31:53 Simplifying Private Fund Investments33:00 Managing Capital Calls and Cash Flows34:45 Evergreen Structures in Private Markets35:10 Future of Private Market Investments36:20 Technology and Structural Innovations36:52 Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology37:40 Adoption of New Technologies38:29 Excitement About Private Markets39:18 Generational Differences in Investment40:11 Education and Intergenerational Wealth Transfer41:23 Gamification and Investment Psychology47:08 Advisor Education and Private Markets48:49 Changing Perceptions of Private Markets52:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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  53:33
• DealsPlus' Venkat Subramaniam - building a single source of truth for private markets

  Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s episode is with a founder who is building mission-critical software for private equity firms.I sat down in Citywire’s London studio with Venkat Subramaniam, the Co-Founder of DealsPlus, to discuss why he has built a digital solution to streamline, digitize, and automate the management of complex holding and capital structures for private equity firms.Historically, private equity firms have relied on humans and manual processes to manage and track cap tables, transactions, and entities. This process has required significant human intervention and has often been rife with errors, making deals harder to consummate and transactions. Venkat has taken his 15 years of experience advising private equity managers on cross-border transactions, most recently as an Associate Partner at EY UK, to build DealsPlus to create a single source of truth for capital structures for private equity firms. DealsPlus works with a number of industry-leading private equity firms and is backed by a private equity firm with $38B in AUM.Venkat and I had a fascinating conversation about the challenges private equity firms face with managing and tracking transactions and portfolio companies. We discussed:Why it’s been so hard to create a cap table management solution for private equity.Why it's much harder to build software for private equity firms than venture capital firms.How private markets can move from the Excel Age to the Digital Age.How to build software that provides a single source of truth.The atomic unit of value in private markets.Building an end-to-end platform versus building a point solution.What’s next in post-investment ops tech innovation?Thanks Venkat for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom on private markets tech.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Introduction and message from Ultimus01:59 Introducing Venkat Subramaniam and DealsPlus03:57 Venkat's Career Journey05:07 The Genesis of DealsPlus05:09 Challenges in Transaction Management06:25 The Lack of Uniformity in Private Equity Processes06:54 The Impact of Technology on Private Equity07:33 The Role of Cloud Computing08:24 The Consumerization of Enterprise Software09:04 Excel vs. Specialized Software09:34 The Importance of Cap Table Management10:04 Connecting Front Office and Back Office10:30 Building Effective Software Solutions13:24 Recurring Pain Points in Private Equity14:47 The Complexity of Private Equity Cap Tables15:44 Building a Platform for Private Equity16:43 Stakeholder Management in Private Equity18:50 Impact of Technology on Fund Operations20:25 Integrating DealsPlus into Workflows21:06 Best-in-Class Applications and Data Integration23:33 The Impact of Fund Size on Complexity25:42 Technology Adoption in Private Equity27:09 Network Effects in Private Equity Technology37:41 The Future of Private Markets Technology39:14 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

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  39:37
• 73 Strings' Yann Magnan - the opportunity for AI to automate private markets

  Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s episode is with a founder who is building mission-critical valuation and portfolio monitoring software for alternative asset managers.We are joined by Yann Magnan, the Co-Founder and CEO of 73 Strings, to discuss how valuation work and portfolio monitoring is moving from manual to automated and why that’s so important for the industry. 73 Strings has leveraged AI and automation to more seamlessly and cost-effectively extract data, monitor portfolios, and streamline middle-office processes for valuations. 73 Strings works with a number of the industry’s top alternative asset managers and has received investment from Blackstone, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, and Broadhaven Ventures, amongst others.Yann has brought his experience as a senior member of the Duff & Phelps team, where he was EMEA Market Leader and member of the Global Operating Committee and as a Partner at EY’s Transaction Advisory Services to help bring valuation and portfolio monitoring solutions into the mainstream.Yann and I had a fascinating conversation about how technology innovation is impacting private markets. We discussed:The challenges with manual valuation services businesses.How to create uniformity and standardization with private markets fund performance data.How AI is changing private markets post-investment reporting processes.Does automation in private markets help big funds or small funds more?The evolution of post-investment private markets market structure.The biggest technology innovation still missing from private markets.Why the growth of the wealth channel and evergreen funds increases the need for more streamlined reporting and valuation solutions.Thanks Yann for coming on the show to share your views and wisdom on private markets.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message01:56 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream02:05 Introducing Yann Magnan and 73 Strings03:56 Yann's Background in Valuation Services04:33 The Inefficiencies of Manual Valuation05:20 The Genesis of 73 Strings06:11 The Importance of Experience in Private Markets06:24 Automating Valuation Processes08:32 Challenges in Standardizing Valuation09:13 The Role of Human Judgment in Valuation10:24 AI's Potential in Valuation11:10 Accountability in Automated Valuation12:47 73 Strings' Data Handling and Partnerships14:07 Standardizing Data Across Portfolios15:44 Impact of Automation on Human Processes17:02 Growth of the Wealth Channel and Evergreen Funds17:59 Accelerating Need for Better Valuation Software19:37 Challenges of High-Frequency Reporting19:59 Technological Implications of Daily Valuation20:31 Private Assets and Technology Infrastructure20:44 Industry Resilience and Smart People20:59 Forefront Firms and Blackstone Partnership21:48 Valuation Process and Data Control23:11 Extensibility to Other Asset Classes24:12 73 Strings' Versatile Platform25:13 Howard Marks on Asset Allocation25:52 Atomic Unit of Value in Valuations27:31 Data Sharing Across Business Units30:24 Automation Benefits for Large and Small Firms31:33 Building Technology for Large Firms34:16 Trust and Experience in Client Relationships35:09 Strategic Investors and Their Value37:37 Industry Participation and Standardization39:13 Maturity and Cost of Technology40:22 Future of Data in Private Markets41:39 Convergence of Private and Public Markets42:11 Volatility and Transparency in Private Markets43:14 Attracting Retail Investors44:41 Conclusion and Final Thought

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  45:18
• Monthly Alts Pulse Ep. 14: Taking the pulse of private markets with iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano

  Welcome to the 14th episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream. Here’s the latest episode of the Monthly Alts Pulse, a live conversation in studio with Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman & CEO of iCapital. As the leader of a platform with over $200B of assets that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, Lawrence and iCapital have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening in private markets.On this episode, Lawrence and I had a fascinating and lively discussion. We covered:Has private markets moved from access as table stakes to customization and differentiation?What are the different phases of private markets — and how has iCapital built solutions for each?Is data the oil for private markets?How will model portfolios fit into the wealth channel’s adoption of private markets?If advisors now have access to private markets, how do they differentiate?How does the trend of OCIOs being acquired by wealth managers factor into the continued evolution of wealth channel adoption of private markets?The nuances of diligence on fund managers.Why do private markets “start and stop at the advisor’s desktop?”What's the interplay between brand, access, and customization?Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!Show Notes00:00 Introduction00:23 Trends in Wealth Management: Customization and Differentiation00:46 The Evolution of Private Markets Access01:28 Building Bespoke Programs for Advisors01:50 The Importance of Better Fit for Clients02:26 Infrastructure and Customization in Wealth Channels02:39 Phases of Evolution in Wealth Management03:29 Expanding Product Access and Automation03:49 Creating an Operating System for Wealth Management04:30 The Role of Model Portfolios04:56 The Role of Technology and Tools in Customization05:21 Differentiation Through Custom Solutions06:17 Understanding Customization in Wealth Markets07:11 The Role of Diligence in Wealth Management09:40 Reconciling Efficiency and Thoughtful Allocation09:59 Advisors' Role in Customization and Differentiation10:08 The Advisor's Role in Client Education11:01 The Future of Secondary Markets and Evergreen Products12:07 Tools for Advisors: Information and Fit14:57 The Importance of Education and Technology16:17 Product Innovation and Customization19:23 Conclusion: Balancing Tensions in Wealth Management

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  21:33

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