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

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today we have the operator’s view on the show. We bring in someone who rose up the ranks of a private equity-backed software company to be CEO of that company — ECi Software Solutions — that now generates over $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.

We welcome Ron Books, now an Operating Partner at Carlyle and the CEO at Net Health, a Carlyle portfolio company. He also sits on a number of boards for Carlyle.

He is now the Chairman and is the former CEO of ECi Software Solutions, a leading global provider of cloud-based software for SMEs, which he successful sold to Leonard Green & Partners for a multi-billion dollar exit. Ron started with ECi when it was a startup company and rose in the organization to serve as VP Sales, then COO, and then CEO, a position which he held from 2009 to 2021. While serving as CEO, Ron and his team developed and executed a strategic plan that included overseeing 46 M&A transactions and a successful software license to cloud migration across nearly a dozen platforms. They received investment from — and sold the business to — Insight Partners, Carlyle, Apax Partners, Goldman Sachs, and most recently, Leonard Green & Partners. Under his leadership as CEO, ECi grew from less than $50M in revenue to over $500M and a sale of the company in 2020 at a multi-billion dollar valuation.

Ron has all the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur — energetic yet thoughtful, a tireless work ethic, the ability to connect with customers and employees, and loyalty to both customers and employees.

Ron and I had a fascinating conversation about what it takes to build a great company and culture and how to work with private equity given that he’s been on both sides of the table. We discussed:

• Lessons learned from growing a business to $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.
• How he built and grew ECi through acquisitions and globalizing the business.
• Why culture matters and how to vet for culture in the hiring process.
• Stories from the challenges and successes of integrating 41 companies via M&A.
• How founders should think about working with private equity firms.
• How founders can get the most out of their board members and operating partners.
• The transition from CEO to Operating Executive back to CEO.

Thanks Ron for coming on the show to share your wisdom and experiences that are an invaluable source of learnings for both founders and investors.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode takes us inside the world of wealth from the perspective of one of the industry’s largest alternative asset managers.

We are joined by Sean Connor, President & CEO, Global Private Wealth at Blue Owl Capital, a firm with over $160B in AUM. 

Sean highlighted a number of key insights for navigating and working with the wealth channel as he shared lessons learned from building a successful private wealth business at a large alternative asset manager.

Sean is responsible for bringing the breadth of the Blue Owl investment platform to the global private wealth market. He’s at the forefront of Blue Owl’s private wealth initiatives globally and oversees fund formation, product structure innovation, capital raising, and client servicing. He also oversees business development, marketing, and operations for Private Wealth at the firm. Prior to his current role, Sean was one of the first employees at Owl Rock (now the Direct Lending division of Blue Owl) and was responsible for building out the private wealth business.

Prior to joining Blue Owl and Owl Rock, Sean served as a Managing Director of CION Investment Management for over 10 years. Sean was a member of CION’s Investment Committee and was responsible for all aspects of CION’s business including originating, underwriting, negotiating, and corporate finance transactions globally. In 2020, Sean was recognized by Private Debt Investor as one of the industry’s Rising Stars.

Sean and I had a fascinating conversation about what it’s like to work with the wealth channel. We discussed:

• How and why it’s so difficult to work with the wealth channel.
• Why the wealth channel is not a new phenomenon, yet why it’s still relatively untapped in terms of alternative asset managers understanding how to work with the wealth channel.
• How Blue Owl’s wealth business works across its three different investment platforms.
• Why scale matters in certain areas of private markets.
• Why the wealth channel is not one channel, but rather an agglomeration of different customer types and geographies.
• How the market is evolving where a one-stop-shop type firm may be how much of the wealth channel interacts with private markets.
• What it means for distribution professionals to understand their client and the daily demands of a wealth manager's business when educating the wealth channel on alternatives products.
• Why education of the wealth channel should focus more on holistic education and less on selling product.
• Why the wealth channel matters when it comes to alternative asset managers acquiring other alternative asset managers.

Thanks Sean for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share such actionable and thoughtful insights on how firms can work with wealth.

Welcome to the 8th episode of 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, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his 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:

• How is product innovation enabling the wealth channel to invest in private markets?
• How are GPs being thoughtful about the structures they are creating for their clients?
• What challenges do GPs face when thinking about how to build products for the wealth channel?
• What is driving the growth of evergreen and interval fund structures?
• Why is it important to focus on user experience when structuring products?
• Where are we in the evolution of private markets? Is it still “early innings?”

Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode takes us inside the mind of a tech titan who is at the forefront of shaping the market structure evolution in private markets.

John Stecher is the Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone. He’s responsible for all aspects of technology across the firm and advises the firm’s investment teams as well as acts as a resource to portfolio companies on technology-related matters. John and the team at Blackstone have invested in iCapital, Canoe, 73 Strings, LemonEdge, amongst others.

It’s also his background in other areas of technology and consumer financial services that stands out – and provides insights and lessons learned for how to build technology within private markets. Prior to joining Blackstone, John was a Managing Director, the Chief Technology Officer, and the Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays. He was also a member of the Barclays Technology Management Committee. Prior to joining Barclays in 2017, he worked at Goldman Sachs, where he held a variety of senior management and engineering roles across the firm’s capital markets and technology divisions, and most recently built their Marcus-branded consumer finance division. He also worked at IBM, where he was appointed an IBM Master Inventor, where he delivered / created over 45 patents across several diverse problem spaces.

John and I had a fascinating conversation about how technology is core to both the business Blackstone is building and the businesses they invest into. We discussed:

• How Blackstone leverages technology internally and externally to create value.
• Why alts are still sold, not bought.
• Why he sees the biggest evolution happening in the finance and accounting space within private markets — and what innovations are being built there.
• Why the front office of private markets will still require human intervention despite technology advancements.
• Why the alts space needs systematization.
• How product structure innovation (i.e. evergreen funds, etc.) is driving technology innovation.
• How private markets are becoming more consumer oriented.

Thanks John for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and experience of building core technology for capital markets and private markets.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. 

Today we have an incredible discussion that spans the world of private credit and the growth of women’s sports - and how those two topics intersect in the guest’s daily life.

Chris Long founded Palmer Square Capital Management, an approximately $29B+ asset manager focused on corporate and structured credit with offices in Kansas City and London, in June 2009. Currently, he serves as Chairman, CEO, and Portfolio Manager. 

Since inception, Chris has been successful in building one of the premier credit investment firms in the world that includes clients across institutions, family offices, RIAs, bank / trust, and broker dealers. Prior to starting Palmer Square, Chris built a deep investment background at some of the top financial firms in the world, including Morgan Stanley, TH Lee Putnam Ventures, and JP Morgan.

In December 2020, Chris added the title of Professional Sports Team Owner, as he joined Co-Founder and Owner Angie Long and Co-Owner Brittany Mahomes in bringing a National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Kansas City. The KC Current launched on an extraordinary timeline, playing its first professional match just 124 days after the franchise was announced. As owners, Chris, Angie, Brittany, and recent addition to ownership Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, have had a clear vision for not only establishing the best women’s soccer club in the world, but also having the KC Current serve as a model for all of women’s sports, which was no more apparent than with the recent completion of their new stadium, a $124M project that is the first soccer stadium specifically for a women’s professional soccer team.

Chris serves on the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Board of Governors and Expansion Committee as well as on the Executive Committee of the Kansas City 2026 World Cup Bid. Chris was recently recognized for winning the prestigious Kansas City Sports Commission’s 2022 Sports Executive of the Year and Sports Business Journal’s 2022 Power Players — Women’s Sports. He and his wife Angie were inducted into the 2023 Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame.

Chris and I had a fascinating conversation that spanned the world of credit and sports team ownership and investing — and how those two worlds are coming together. We discussed:

• How Chris and his team built a $29B asset manager in the credit space.
• Why he believes that private credit’s growth does not represent a systemic risk despite a more lax lending environment due to increased capital inflows and increased competition for good deals.
• Why he believes the one-stop-shop will emerge in credit for both borrowers and LPs.
• Why a background in credit and investing has been invaluable in understanding how to navigate the business side of building and running a sports franchise.
• How Chris decided to buy a NWSL team with his wife and co-founder Angie.
• Why Chris believes investing in women’s soccer in the US is like “buying the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.”
• Why owning your own facilities as a sports team is a huge lever to increase revenues and drive enterprise value.
• How driving business initiatives for a sports team can help build the community and build the roster.

Thanks Chris for coming on the show to share invaluable insights into building elite performers in both the world of finance and the world of women’s soccer. Good luck this season with the Current — I’ll be rooting for you, except when you play Angel City FC 😉.

This material is for informational purposes and is prepared by Palmer Square Capital Management LLC (“Palmer Square”), is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of date of publication and are subject to change. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by Palmer Square to be reliable and are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Past performance is not indicative of current or future results. This information provided is neither tax nor legal advice and investors should consult with their own advisors before making investment decisions. Investment involves risk including possible loss of principal.

“The room where it happens …

No one really knows how the game is played

The art of the trade

How the sausage gets made

We just assume that it happens 

But no one else is in the room where it happens …

When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game

But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.”

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. 

These excerpts were in a song by Leslie Odom Jr. and Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton. But they could also be applied to the conversation Laurence Tosi of WestCap and I had today.

Today’s show is with someone who has been in the room where it happens. Stories and perspectives shared today were from someone who has helped turn bills into laws in private markets.

Laurence Tosi has been part of building foundational technology businesses and companies in capital markets and private markets – from investing in and building Ipreo, iLevel, TMC Bonds, and Tradeweb as an executive at Merrill Lynch where he served as COO of Global Investment Banking and Trading, building Blackstone from 2008-2015 as the CFO, Management & Risk Committee Member, Head of the Tech Innovations Fund, and Blackstone Treasury Solutions Fund, and building and scaling Airbnb as CFO and Head of Payments, Customer Experience, and Corporate Development.

At Merrill Lynch and Blackstone, L.T. deployed $500M of capital, returning over $1.6B without taking a loss.

He's now building WestCap, a $7.6B growth investing firm that L.T. characterizes as an “operating equity firm” that helps founders and companies scale their businesses at the inflection point in between traditional venture capital and private equity. L.T. and WestCap have leveraged their collective operating knowledge to invest in a number of industry leaders, including two industry defining companies in private markets, iCapital and Addepar. They’ve also invested in the likes of SIMON, which was acquired by iCapital, GoodLeap, Sharegain, Klarna, Paxos, AccessFintech, Treasury4, Hopper, Avenue One, StubHub, and more.

L.T. and I had a fascinating conversation that took us to a number of places. We discussed:

• Stories from building Blackstone.
• The deeper meaning behind Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s comment “scale is our niche” and how “scale begets skill.”
• Insights L.T. and the Blackstone team had around working with the wealth channel that enabled them to transform how Blackstone and the industry worked with private wealth.
• Why the realization that at Blackstone, they weren’t selling to the end investor but that they were selling to the financial advisor was such a critical insight as they worked with the wealth channel.
• What it means to transform Blackstone from a firm into a business.
• Parallels and patterns L.T. took from building and investing in foundation market infrastructure businesses at Merrill Lynch and Blackstone to how they are investing in private markets at WestCap.
• L.T.’s learnings from a focus on customer experience and simplifying the product at Airbnb.
• What’s the unlock for alternatives that harmonizes the industry?
• Why consortium is a “bad word” but why standardization will be so critical to the next phase of private markets.
• Why private equity firms have the best business models in finance.
• The difference between being in the business of building their business between being in the business of building your business and what L.T. is trying to accomplish at WestCap.
• Why L.T. believes in the partnership model for alternative asset managers and why he believes that’s an enduring model.

L.T., thanks so much for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom, experience, and deep industry knowledge from being a pioneer in private markets.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives deep into one of the fastest growing independent wealth platforms in the US — Sanctuary Wealth — and how alternatives is a major ingredient to the growth of their firm and the RIA space more broadly.

We have Sanctuary’s MD and Head of Alternative Investments, Patrick McGowan, and Director of Strategic Partnerships, Oksana Poznak, on the show to discuss why they believe alternative investments are a key driver of their growth and why they are so important to the development of advisor’s practices.

Patrick and Oksana both bring valuable perspectives on private markets to bear.

Patrick was previously a SVP and Head of Product Management at Azimut Alternative Capital Partners, the NY based GP stakes arm of Azimut Group, one of the largest independent wealth management companies in the world. This background gives him a great understanding of the GP stakes world, where he's spent a bunch of time thinking about this in terms of how it relates to the wealth channel. Prior to Azimut, Patrick was part of the Invesco Private Capital team, the $1B PE and VC arm of Invesco, where he focused on their efforts for CalSTRS SMA and a fund of funds that invested in a number of high-performing, generally smaller and emerging managers. He also worked at OC Private Capital, a JV between Carlyle and OppenheimerFunds, the advisor to a $1B close-ended interval fund focused on private credit. Prior to this role, he was a Senior Director at AI Insight, which was acquired by iCapital. He started his career at OppenheimerFunds and then worked at Altegris Investments, which was a pioneer in bringing alts to the wealth channel.

Oksana brings over 20 years of experience in business development, marketing, and relationship management to Sanctuary. She was most recently Segment Marketing Director at CAIS, where she promoted alternative investment fund managers. Prior to CAIS, she held senior positions at Atria Wealth Solutions, BNY Mellon Pershing, Ladenburg Thalman, and Advisor Group.

We had a fascinating discussion about the intersection of wealth and alts. We discussed: 

• What it will take to grow Sanctuary to a $100B Super RIA.
• Why the wealth channel is so interested in alternatives.
• Why alternative asset managers are interested in working with the wealth channel.
• How alternative asset managers can best approach working with and educating the wealth channel.
• The biggest mistake alternative asset managers make when trying to work with the wealth channel.
• How smaller funds can partner with wealth advisors.

Thanks Patrick and Oksana for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom about the intersection of wealth and alts. We hope you enjoy.

Welcome to the 7th episode of 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, who as the leader of a platform that is responsible for the majority of individual and advisor-led investment flows into the alts space, has his 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:

• Why are chemistry and collaboration key for the next wave of private markets?
• How is solving distribution challenges like solving logistics challenges?
• What does the “Amazon-ification” of private markets mean?
• What does it mean to meet advisors at their point of need?
• What parallels can we draw from internet 1.0 to the growth in private markets today?
• How can the industry deliver tools to help advisors create holistic portfolios with alts at the start?
• What’s more important - the “fin” or the “tech” in “fintech?”

Thanks Lawrence for a great episode … looking forward to next month’s conversation!

A few weeks ago, the tables were turned and I sat down with David Weisburd of the 10X Capital Podcast to talk about the ongoing transformation of private markets.

The wealth channel is becoming a centerpiece of the LP universe. Every alternative asset manager either has — or has to have — a strategy for working with the wealth channel in today’s private markets.

We discussed:

• Why the wealth channel will become a prominent LP for many funds over time.
• How infrastructure solutions like iCapital are enabling the wealth channel to efficiently access private markets.
• Why GP staking will become part of the LP solution set for their exposure to private markets.

Thanks David for having me on your show to discuss how private markets are rapidly changing before our eyes.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

On today’s episode, we travel around the world of hospitality investing. We talk with Carlos Rodriguez Jr., the Founder, President, and COO of Driftwood Capital, one of the US’s leading hospitality sponsors with over $3B in hospitality assets under management. They’ve found a way to do both the traditional things in real estate investing and development well and compliment that with an innovative strategy to bring over 1,200 accredited investors on their platform as they find ways to improve how sponsors can access deals and capital.

Carlos and I had a fascinating discussion about real estate and private markets. We covered:

• How hospitality investing was impacted by Covid and how Driftwood weathered the storm.
• Lessons learned from operating through Covid.
• Why location, location, location rings true in real estate investing.
• How the millennial traveler and work from home have impacted hospitality investing.
• The most surprising things in real estate investing over the past few years.
• How technology is impacting real estate investing.

Thanks Carlos for coming on the show to share your insights and wisdom about hospitality investing. We hope you enjoy.