Chris Ailman is the chief investment officer of the $220 billion pool for California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). He joined CalSTRS back in 2000 after 4 years as CIO of the Washington State Investment Board and 11 years as CIO of the Sacramento Country Employees Retirement System.  Chris is a legend in the business and the list of accolades for his work is longer that the list of my podcast episodes. Our conversation dives in with the flawed business model of government running a money management firm, looming retirement crisis, and challenges of governance and communication with a rotating Board.  We then turn to the inner workings CalSTRS, including the use of internal and external managers, managing a long-term asset allocation cruise ship, inflation sensitive investments, risk mitigating strategies, private equity for a huge pool of capital, the innovation lab, ES and G, and building influence among large asset owners.  Learn More     Discuss show and Read the Transcript      Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com      Join the  Capital Allocators Forum     Write a review on   iTunes     Follow Ted on twitter at  @tseides      For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast  

Chris Ailman – CalSTRS’ Venerable CIO (Capital Allocators, EP.86)

Allocator and asset management expert, Ted Seides, conducts in-depth interviews with leaders in the institutional investing industry. Guests include Chief Investment Officers from leading allocators, asset managers, strategists, thought leaders, and many more. Our mission is to learn, share, and help implement the process of premier investors. Learn more and join our community at capitalallocators.com.

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David Morehead is the CIO at Baylor University, where he oversees the $2.2 billion endowment. David came to Baylor thirteen years ago after an eighteen-year investment career that spanned every aspect of public markets investing. He created an approach to investing at Baylor that is quite different from others in the seat. David recently started sharing his insightful perspectives on the craft on Twitter/X under the handle @CIO_Baylor.   Our conversation covers David’s background and path to Baylor, the three styles of endowment management pursued in the industry, and the thematic top down approach he employs. We discuss his implementation of that approach across risk management, portfolio construction, private markets, manager selection, and turnover.    Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

David Morehead – Top Down Allocation at Baylor (EP.381)

On today’s show, we’ll discuss another empty room – an opportunity ignored by most investors because they either don’t want to or can’t participate. We’ve shared conversations under this theme about a range of forgotten opportunities from specific emerging markets to biotech. Previous episodes are available under the mini-series or topic search at capitalallocators.com. This time around, we discuss a room that was overflowing two years ago, has been abandoned since, and might be coming back once again - crypto and blockchain technologies.   My guest is Chris Dixon, a general partner at a16z and one of the leading voices and investors in the space. Chris recently published a book entitled Read Write Own, which explains the history, thesis, features, and importance of blockchain technology in his classic framework-driven, non-technical style.   Our conversation covers aspects of the book, including the history of the internet, rationale for blockchains, and tokenomics. We then turn to what’s happened in the ignored space since the fall of FTX across stablecoins, NFTs, DeFi, Bitcoin ETFs, regulation, and the devotees still involved in the space. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Dixon - Empty Rooms: Web3 After the Fall (EP.380)

Chris Dixon is a General Partner at a16z where he leads Crypto investing, overseeing the largest pool in the space at $7 billion across four dedicated venture funds and a team of eighty professionals. Chris is one of the leading voices in the crypto ecosystem and topped the Forbes ‘Midas List’ as the most successful venture capitalist in the world in 2021. He was a guest on the show last year, and that replay is available in the feed.    Our conversation covers Chris’ framework for web3, network effects, venture economics, and institutional adoption. We turn to some of the areas he is most excited about deploying capital, including the creator economy, infrastructure, DeFi, gaming, and decentralized content creation. We close with how a16z supports portfolio companies in crypto, and Chris’ thoughts on the current market downturn.    A full list of a16z investments can be found here - https://a16z.com/investments/.    Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership 

[REPLAY] Chris Dixon – Frameworks and Investing at Scale (EP.258, Crypto for Institutions 2, EP.05)

Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds.  Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor.  At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others.     Our conversation covers Chris’ early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing.  We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception.      Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, where he focuses on the a16z Crypto Funds.  Before joining Andreesen in 2013, Chris co-founded, built and sold two technology companies and was a prolific seed investor, founding member of Founder Collective, and personal investor.  At various spots along the way, Chris was an investor in BuzzFeed, Uber, Venmo, Hotel Tonight, Coinbase, and Oculus, among many others.     Our conversation covers Chris’ early interest in computers and business, and lessons from starting companies and angel investing.  We then turn to his activities since joining Andreesen Horowitz, discussing new computing platforms, a brief history of centralized and decentralized computing, development of blockchain technologies, potential killer apps, token basics, and investor perception.     Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

[REPLAY] Chris Dixon – The Future of Blockchain at a16z (Capital Allocators, EP.172)

Shiloh Bates is the Chief Investment Officer at Flat Rock Global, an alternative credit manager specializing in the junior tranches of CLOs. Last year, Shiloh published CLO Investing, a comprehensive review of the structure, payoff rules, and historical performance of CLOs.  Our conversation covers Shiloh's twenty-five years spent in and around the space, an overview of the market, the characteristics of CLOs, the attractiveness of CLO equity relative to other credit opportunities, and Flat Rock’s approach to investing in CLO equity and BBs. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Ailman – CalSTRS’ Venerable CIO (Capital Allocators, EP.86)

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