Chris had a chance to talk with Stacey Relton, Managing Partner at Strait Capital, whose efforts have elevated the firm to a global brand. Stacey has increased the Strait Capital's revenue by 500% and spearheaded major firm initiatives to position the firm’s infrastructure for accelerated growth and scalability.

On this episode, Stacey and Chris discuss the world of private equity and hedge funds, the importance of building a culture in your organization, and how Stacey went above and beyond for her team during the pandemic. Enjoy! 

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris
Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

(01:35) - Stacey’s Career Prior to Working at Strait Capital

(03:36) - How did you get this reputation of being able to ‘make shit happen'?

(05:32) - What started your growth trajectory of almost 500% in 4 years?

(08:18) - Did you have people making intros for you in New York or was it straight cold calling?

(11:22) - How’d you kill your first elephant?

(12:45) - What is Strait Capital? What does a fund administrator do?

(14:38) - If someone starts a hedge fund with an endowment, does the endowment state that Strait Capital has to be involved?

(15:05) - Do you hire the fund administration attorney?

(15:35) - Is it usually the hedge fund manager that hires you or the investor?

(17:20) - When do hedge funds begin to involve you?

(18:23) - Do most people starting a new fund using placement agents to raise money or is that done internally?

(20:11) - What is considered a large client?

(21:18)  - Why is Strait Capital better than its competitors? 

(23:33) - Building a Culture

(26:12) - At what size does compliance change or are there multiple tiers where things change?

(28:48) - How would you know if someone was doing insider-trading?

(29:49) - What happens when your fund hits $150 Million?

(31:19) - If I raise a fund and suddenly its worth $150m in two years, am I now in that SEC category?

(31:51) - Who values private stuff?

(33:03) - Is there another tier beyond $150 million?

(34:59) - Could a Blackstone ($20B fund) have hundreds of SPV’s that are folding into the big fund?

(35:35) - Would someone like Blackstone outsource their administration?

(36:02) - What are some things that separate great managers from the run of the mill folks?

(39:16) - Have you ever caught anything such as fraud through email monitoring? What happens if you catch it?

(40:58) - Is it always intentional when people are running Ponzi schemes?

(41:26) - How do you think Bernie Madoff was able to get away with what he did?

(43:18) - Are you starting to see a lot of distressed funds being raised?

(45:43) - How long does it take to raise a fund?

(47:58) - What is a hybrid fund?

(49:41) - Do you ever work with public companies? Will you ever touch a SPAC? [Special Purpose Acquisition Company]

(52:49) - Does one raise a fund every 2-3 years?

(53:30 - When did you shift from rainmaker to building processes and systems? What has it been like as the captain of your ship for the last 6 months?

(1:03:36) - Do you have a morning routine?

(1:05:04) - What would you tell people graduating right now in this environment?

(1:08:38) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

(1:10:13) - What’s the best book you’ve ever read?
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Patrick Lencioni Books

(1:14:31) - How can people reach you & Strait Capital?
Stacey's LinkedIn

The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts