Would you hand your money to a 24-year-old who'd never run a hedge fund? A lot of very smart people did — and it worked, until it didn't.

Wendy and Matt look at the rise and near-implosion of Situational Awareness as a case study in how institutional investors actually evaluate managers, and why being brilliant at picking stocks isn't the same as being able to run a portfolio.

Referenced essay: "Situational Awareness" (Leopold Aschenbrenner, June 2024): https://situational-awareness.ai

Learn more about Ivy Invest: https://ivyinvest.co

What would you do if you had $1 billion to invest in stocks? In 2019, Wendy faced that question — and the math said invest all at once. They didn't. Wendy and Matt on lump sum vs. DCA, why it's not market timing, and how the framework flips for private markets.

Wendy's full post on DCA theory vs. practice: https://askacio.ivyinvest.co/p/theory-vs-practice

Learn more about Ivy Invest: https://ivyinvest.co

Not many people have built three institutional investment offices from scratch. Colin Ambrose has – he's the show's first LP guest, and also Wendy's longtime mentor. They discuss what endowment investing actually is, how institutional investors evaluate risk, and the one due diligence question Colin asks every fund manager.

Learn more about Ivy Invest: https://ivyinvest.co

SpaceX just filed for the largest IPO in history — but thousands of investors may not own what they think they own. We break down the hidden layers, fees, and fraud risks in the private shares market. Plus Matt shares his own SpaceX investment from 2018.

Referenced article: Reuters on SpaceX secondary buyers

Learn more about Ivy Invest: https://ivyinvest.co

Wendy is joined by Carson Block, founder of Muddy Waters Capital, an activist, research-oriented hedge fund best known for its short positions. Carson shares his journey from operating a self-storage business in China to running an investment firm whose research has contributed to at least 11 public company delistings. He discusses:

• His framework for identifying short opportunities
• Where many short sellers make mistakes
• Why he continues to publish his research publicly
• How he approaches risk management
• Why he's worried about AI

---Learn more about Muddy Waters at https://muddywatersresearch.com/Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Investing in individual private companies might make for good cocktail party talk, but will it drive good returns? This week, Wendy and Matt discuss why even sophisticated institutional investors typically invest in funds rather than participate in standalone individual private company financings. They cover the challenges of evaluating single company investments and how the rise of AI may exacerbate risks.

---Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co

What can Capital One's $5.15B acquisition of Brex teach us about the complexities of investing in venture funds? Matt and Wendy discuss the nuances of venture fund stages and strategies, the value of vintage year diversification, and the importance of approaching venture investing in a programmatic way.

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Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Many private markets fund managers are rapidly innovating to bring products to the retail wealth channels, and some institutional investors aren't so happy about it. This week, Wendy and Matt deep dive into what's making big institutions so nervous about having to potentially share the limelight with individual investors.

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Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Are private company secondaries about to go mainstream with Morgan Stanley's acquisition of pre-IPO marketplace EquityZen? Matt and Wendy discuss the history of secondaries, how they typically work, and what this might all mean for individual investors.

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Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Is AI going to change everything, or are we just caught in a hype cycle? This week, Wendy and Matt discuss how the current AI market compares with past periods of market mania, what the current boom might mean for energy usage, and how AI might change the investing landscape across public and private markets.

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Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠.

Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠