1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: This is Master's in Business with Barry Ridholds on Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 2: This week on the podcast, I have an extra special guest. 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 2: Michael Carmon is co head of Private Markets at Wellington Management. 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 2: Wellington's a fascinating company. They've been around literally nearly a century. 5 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 2: At one point in time, Jack Bogel, founder of Vanguard, 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 2: was chairman of their mutual funds. Just really a fascinating 7 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 2: history from a private company to a public company back 8 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 2: to a partnership. Really interesting, and Michael has had a 9 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 2: bird's eye view of this for really the past twenty 10 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: five years. He is uniquely situated because he has run 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 2: both public mutual funds as well as privates including late 12 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 2: stage venture, private equity, credit down the list. He really 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 2: sees all sides of the lfant and is capable of 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 2: describing it in a way that I thought was both 15 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 2: fascinating and informative. I found this to be an interesting 16 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 2: discussion and I think you will also, with no further ado, 17 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 2: my conversation with Wellington Management's Michael Carmon. 18 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 3: Thank you, Barry, thank you for having me. 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 2: So let's talk a little bit about Wellington, which has 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 2: really a fascinating history, not only have they been around 21 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 2: since I think nineteen twenty five, almost one hundred years old, 22 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 2: and one point in time Jack Bogel was their chairman 23 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 2: at least of the mutual fund division. Tell us a 24 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 2: little bit about the firm's history and how it's evolved 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 2: over the past one hundred years. 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: Sure, well, I haven't been there for most of the 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: hundred years, so you're just so you're aware. 28 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 2: Okay, you look a little younger than that. 29 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 3: Thank you. I appreciate that. 30 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: And as you noted, the firm's almost one hundred years old. 31 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: Started in nineteen twenty eight and twenty eight. One of 32 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: the interesting aspects of the firm is that it was 33 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: a public company at one point in the nineteen seventy 34 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: The company went private in nineteen seventy nine and we 35 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: became a partnership twenty nine original partners. We now have 36 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: almost two hundred partners and we've gone through probably about 37 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: three generations of partnership change, which is very unusual. As 38 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: you know, in the business, it usually is very difficult. 39 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: But because the ownership was very dispersed among all of 40 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: the partners, it made those transitions very easy. And so 41 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: we've grown from a very small company with twenty nine 42 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: partners back in nineteen seventy nine too, as you noted 43 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: over a trillion dollars of assets and it become very diversified. 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,359 Speaker 1: We were originally very equity heavy back in the day, 45 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: and we made a lot of investments on the fixed 46 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: income side, so fixed income is now a substantial percentage. 47 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 3: Of our assets. 48 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: We entered the liquid alts market with hedge funds back 49 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety four, and we entered the private market 50 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: in twenty fourteen with my product in late stage growth. 51 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: So you weren't there in twenty eight, you weren't there 52 00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 2: in seventy nine. When did you join? 53 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 3: Well, I joined in nineteen ninety nine in. 54 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 1: The middle of the tech bubble as a growth investor. 55 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: Great time for the first nine months. Sure, it was 56 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: April of ninety nine. I had an amazing ninety nine 57 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: and early two thousand and I had left a hedge fund. 58 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: So I was probably one of the few people to 59 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: leave a hedge fund and go to a larger institution 60 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:19,399 Speaker 1: in the middle. 61 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 3: Of the tech bubble. But I wanted to be on 62 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 3: a larger platform. 63 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: I love being with a lot of other investors and 64 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: being very collaborative and collegial, and I felt that that's 65 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: what embodied Wellington's culture, which was exactly what I got 66 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: and what we continue to be today. And so I 67 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: loved it from the first day I got there, and 68 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: now I've been there for just under twenty five years. 69 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 2: So let's define some terms. Everybody knows what a hedge 70 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 2: fund is, but let's talk about liquid alts. How do 71 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 2: you define liquid alts? 72 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: Liquid alts I basically define as versions of hedge funds, basically, 73 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: and you know, it's a synonym for hedge funds. And 74 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: thinking about the alts market, right, there's liquid alts and 75 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: then there's non liquid alts, which would be mostly on 76 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: the private side. And so our initial thrust was what 77 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: our first hedge fund was, a financial services hedge fund 78 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: started by Nick Adams back in nineteen ninety four, which will, 79 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: I guess be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary next year. And 80 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: now we have a number of different hedge funds. We 81 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: have in the macro, we have multistrat we have point 82 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 1: hedge funds in technology, in the healthcare field, and so 83 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: we've built out over twenty billion dollar hedge fund liquid 84 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: business and now we've added privates to that. 85 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 2: So I want to focus on the phrase liquid alts, 86 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 2: which I don't think a lot of lay people understand. Typically, 87 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 2: when you're invested in a hedge fund or private equity, 88 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 2: you agree to be locked up for a certain period 89 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,799 Speaker 2: of time. There are occasional windows or gates that open 90 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 2: and you could take some capital out. So when you 91 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 2: commit to pe or venture, whatever that money is figure 92 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 2: seven to ten years, you're not going to touch it. 93 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 2: When you say liquid as, what you're really saying is 94 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 2: if you need this money back within X period of time, 95 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 2: you could get some or all of it. What has 96 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 2: distinguished liquid alts from these ill liquid locked up privates? 97 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: Sure, when I think of liquid als there's probably two 98 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: parts of it. So one is, to your point, the 99 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: money is not locked up for multiple years. Generally we 100 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: have a one to maybe two year lockup where you 101 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: can you can't access that capital. But more importantly, when 102 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: I fer liquid alts, it's generally the investments that they're 103 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,239 Speaker 1: making are in liquid liquid products, mostly public market products, 104 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: and you can go long, you can go short, you 105 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: can have leverage, you can have higher exposure levels, but 106 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: the securities are in the liquid public markets versus private equity, 107 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: which are in ill liquid private markets. 108 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 2: So it applies to both you the investor have a 109 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 2: much shorter period of illiquidity and specifically the assets that 110 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 2: the fund is investing. 111 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: In, correct, and definitely more emphasis on the types of 112 00:05:58,560 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: investments the fund is made. 113 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 2: So you started out investing directly in the public market, 114 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 2: small cap, mid cap, various styles. How did you find 115 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 2: your way to that side of the street, the more 116 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 2: private side of the street. 117 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's a great question. 118 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: And so to your point, I was a public portfolio manager, 119 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: started as a tech analyst and made my way to 120 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: associate portfolio manager and then began managing public portfolios in 121 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six prior to getting to Wellington. 122 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 2: Where were you managing those four in ninety six for 123 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 2: a hedge fund? 124 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: So that was actually Montgomery Asset Management. I don't know 125 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: if you remember the old Montgomery Securities, old school, correct. 126 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: And I loved Montgomery and Robertson Stevens and all these 127 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: boutique firms that are all gone. But they started an 128 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: asset management division, and my family and I moved out 129 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: to California and that was my first job in being 130 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: a portfolio manager was running a small cap fund for 131 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: them back in nineteen ninety six. 132 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 2: A little bit of a tech bias or it didn't 133 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 2: matter you go it was. 134 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 3: It was diversified. 135 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: But as a growth manager mature, obviously you're going to 136 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: have a reasonable wait to the tech sector. And I 137 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: started as a tech analyst, but I became over the years, 138 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: I became a much more diversified investor. That's probably the 139 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: biggest reason I was able to navigate the other side 140 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: of the tech bubble because I grew up in a 141 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: period where I did invest in other sectors besides tech, 142 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: and so that was very helpful when tech went out 143 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,239 Speaker 1: of favor for basically a decade. 144 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,559 Speaker 2: So who were the investors when you started doing small 145 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 2: cap and growth and are these the same sorts of 146 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 2: investors now doing privates at Wellington? 147 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: So when my first fund that I ran when I 148 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: was at Montgomery was a mutual fund, so it was 149 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: all individual investors. And that was the period of time 150 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: where you can be in some news publication and your 151 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: fund would become hot and you would get hundreds of 152 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: millions of dollars in assets in a short period of time. 153 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 3: And that's literally what happened to us. 154 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: But when you think about what I'm doing today and 155 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: the types of investors I have today today, it's more 156 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: of a combination of wealth management, so more in the 157 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: family office, high net worth ultra high net worth, and 158 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: then the other half of our business is large, large 159 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: and medium sized institutions. 160 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 2: How do you transition from public investing public stocks, you know, 161 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 2: mom and pop mutual fund investors, to family offices in 162 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 2: private So I would imagine that's a series of pretty 163 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 2: significant changes, both in what you're investing in and the 164 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 2: process of finding things to put capital into. 165 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 3: Yeah. 166 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I think of it as I've had a 167 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: second career right that I've made this transit difference. 168 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 2: It's like I was a lawyer, so this is my 169 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: second career or third career if you include asset management. 170 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 2: But I would think public and private are kind of 171 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 2: shades of the same thing. You're saying a distinct difference 172 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 2: from public mutual fund to private equity and late stage venture. 173 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 3: They are shades of the same thing. No doubt. 174 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: All of the skills that I garnered on the public 175 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: side have been transferable to the private side, and in fact, 176 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: in terms of what I do specifically in late stage growth. 177 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 3: My message has always. 178 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 1: Been that we've been able to bring our public market 179 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: expertise to the private markets because the companies were investing in, 180 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: as you're aware, used to go public at a much 181 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: earlier stage. 182 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,599 Speaker 3: When I was going back to that small cap fund. 183 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 1: Iran, I would sit across the table from companies that 184 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: had two, three, four hundred million dollar market caps that 185 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: were going public. 186 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 2: Right. 187 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,719 Speaker 1: The best example I always love to give is that 188 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: Amazon's last private round was at a sixty million dollar 189 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: post money valuation. 190 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 2: That's unbelievable, correct. 191 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: And today, as you know, you have companies like Stripe 192 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: doing fifty five billion dollar rounds right post money valuations 193 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: until the market has changed dramatically. And so to your question, 194 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: the way I started getting into this market was effectively 195 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: the FOMO of now seeing companies staying private life longer 196 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: as a public market investor, and I was running mutual 197 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: funds at Wellington as well as one of our hedge funds, 198 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: and I had the latitude to invest a certain percentage 199 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: of my assets in ill liquid investments and. 200 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 2: From Wellington, even though you're running mostly public equities. 201 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: Correct, under the forty Act, you could have up to 202 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: and you wouldn't do this, but you could have up 203 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: to fifteen percent in ill liquid securities. And for me, 204 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: in my mutual funds, I was in like the mid 205 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: to high single digits. But I started getting involved in 206 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: buying a lot of these companies as I realized that 207 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 1: companies were beginning to stay private longer. 208 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 2: And to clarify the way the SEC defined ill liquid 209 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 2: securities in the forty Act for mutual funds, some of 210 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:48,119 Speaker 2: these might even have been public companies but trade by appointment, 211 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 2: not a lot of float, not a lot of shares, 212 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,199 Speaker 2: or was it strictly non public private companies. 213 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 1: Well, you're getting above my pay grade in terms of 214 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: being that specific. That's why you're the lawyer and I'm not. 215 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 2: But I mean, it just seems funny that the SEC 216 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 2: would say up to fifteen percent. You just wonder what 217 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 2: was the genesis of that. Was this just not widely 218 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 2: traded stocks or was it really not public stocks. 219 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,839 Speaker 1: I don't know specifically the answer to the whys of this, 220 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: since it was done another thing that was done before 221 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: my time nineteen forty. 222 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 2: But I was just a kid, so I don't remember. 223 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 2: I wasn't paying attention. So then This raised a kind 224 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 2: of interesting question. You're you're adding more private and a 225 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 2: liquid stocks to your portfolio. At what point does Wellington 226 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,959 Speaker 2: sort of rub its chin and say, hey, this is 227 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 2: an interesting space. We're really private, curious, we want to 228 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 2: see if we can expand to this. What's that process like? 229 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: So the rubbing of the chin occurred in October of 230 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: twenty twelve when I wrote a memo to my partner 231 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: in crime, General O'Reilly, who's now my co head on privates, 232 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: and I said, hey, I think this might be a 233 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: really long term secular trend of companies staying private longer. 234 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: And I do think it's challenging to buy ill liquids 235 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: in publicly daily traded vehicles because of the ill liquidity 236 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: aspect of it. We should consider doing a dedicated fund 237 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: to take advantage of this trend for our clients. And 238 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: so that was about two years before our first close 239 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: and so we had never as you noted, we've never 240 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: done private. So we had to socialize if this was 241 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: a business and a direction that we wanted to take. 242 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: And I think that Wellington has always been very bottom 243 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: up and very entrepreneurial. And so after explaining why, I 244 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: thought we could do super well in this category. We 245 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: launched the product in twenty fourteen, and we were fortunate 246 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: to have several of our clients who believed in us 247 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: and believed in the team, and so we had our 248 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: first clothes in two thousand November of twenty fourteen, and 249 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 1: ultimately we raised a billion dollars for our first fund 250 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: in the private space. 251 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 2: So from a billion dollars almost ten years years ago, 252 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 2: what's Wellington's privates today? Some multiple that I would imagine correct. 253 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: So we're at about eight billion of commitments and money 254 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: under management. We now have five products in the space. 255 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: In fact, my original product invested in biotech. In twenty nineteen, 256 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: we spun out Biotech into a separate, dedicated product for 257 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: the biotech space, and now we've added products in investment 258 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 1: grade private credit. We have a product in the sustainability 259 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: climate area. We have a product called Wave which is 260 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: focused on diverse founders. And so now we've built out 261 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: the space further and our hopes are to launch additional 262 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: products in the space over the next several years and 263 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: really build a very multi dimensional, multi asset platform that 264 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:52,439 Speaker 1: will address private equity, mostly inventure credit, as well as 265 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: real estate. 266 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 2: So I've read a bunch of analysts research technical term, 267 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 2: bunch of research I've I've frequently seen analyzes that show 268 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 2: microcap and small cap run very parallel to venture capital 269 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 2: in terms of performance and volatility and other descriptions. What 270 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 2: have you found given your background running small cap at 271 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 2: one point in time and now doing a little bit later, 272 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 2: late stage venture capital. Are the parallels there at all? 273 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 2: Or is that sort of academic research overstated? Now? 274 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: I think it's a very fair characterization of the way 275 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: to think about this, because it's kind of the way 276 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: that I thought about this. And in fact, what's interesting 277 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: is that in my product, we have several clients that 278 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: use us as a small cap growth alternative. And the 279 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: reason being is that if you believe in my premise 280 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: that companies are staying private longer, what's happening is many 281 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: companies today are going public and skipping small cap. 282 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 3: Right if you think. 283 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: About the airbnbs and Ubers and many many others, they're 284 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: coming public not at three hundred million dollars, they're coming 285 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: public at ten billion, twenty billion, thirty billion. And so 286 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: their view is that, well, if we want to continue 287 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: to have exposure to the next generation of great companies. 288 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 3: This is a product that. 289 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: Will enable us to have exposure to that set of companies, 290 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 1: and so I think it is a fair characterization. In fact, 291 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: when we look at performance, we use as our public 292 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: market equivalent, we use the Russell two thousand growth index 293 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: as our comparison of whether we're doing a good job 294 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: or not doing a benchmark correct. 295 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 3: Correct. 296 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: So the obvious question is, at first, your thesis has 297 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 2: proven to be true for a long time, what do 298 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 2: we down to thirty five hundred companies in the Wilster 299 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 2: five thousand, fewer companies going public? So you definitely got 300 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 2: that right. I got to ask, why do you think 301 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 2: that is? What is the underlying reason why companies are 302 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 2: choosing to stay private for longer. 303 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: I think it's a really great question. And when we 304 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: first started, we felt the thesis was that Sarbanes Oxley 305 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: that was put in place in the early two thousands 306 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: made it a little bit more onerous and made it 307 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: more expensive for smaller cap companies to go public because 308 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: they they raised the regulatory burden of doing that, And 309 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: I think that was the genesis of this. But as 310 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: I sat in the boardroom and we have a lot 311 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: of observation rights. Board observation rights in terms of what 312 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: we do probably get them close to seventy five percent 313 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 1: of the time. What I've discovered is that I think 314 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: it actually makes sense because when you're private, you can 315 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: think more strategically. 316 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 3: You're not trying to make the March quarter in the 317 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 3: June quarter in the same time. 318 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 2: Longer term for sure. 319 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: Correct, you can think longer term, and when you're still 320 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: at a phase where you have fifty seventy five hundred 321 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: million dollars of revenues, you want to have a lot 322 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: of latitude. You want to have the ability to say, 323 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 1: you know what, we need to invest more money now. 324 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: And as you know, you start making decisions like that 325 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,080 Speaker 1: in the public market, and you release your earnings results 326 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: and say like, hey, our earnings next quarter are going 327 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: to be half of what we thought they were going 328 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: to be. Your stock price generally doesn't go up, and 329 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: then you go into the doghouse and you got to 330 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: scratch your way out of it. Whereas when I'm in 331 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: the board room, we probably spend ten percent of the 332 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 1: time maybe talking about the quarter, and ninety percent of 333 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,920 Speaker 1: the time really thinking strategically about where we can take 334 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: this business, how do we expand our product line? How 335 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: do we expand geographically? How do we expand distribution? And 336 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: so I think that for me, my thinking has evolved 337 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: in that I believe that it could make companies stronger 338 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: for longer if they have more time to think strategically 339 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: and then make that transition to having to balance the 340 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: strategic with the tactical. 341 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 2: There's no doubt that the era when you were running 342 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 2: a mutual fund the late nineties, there was a rush 343 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 2: to bring a lot of premature companies public. So let's 344 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 2: hold that aside. Clearly, just you know, issuing IPOs based 345 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 2: on clicks and eyeballs wasn't gonna work. But that said, 346 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 2: you bring up the regulatory burden of Sarbanes Oxley, but 347 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 2: that alone wouldn't get it done if there wasn't just 348 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 2: tons and tons of capital around. Talk about what's available 349 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 2: for early stage, seed, late stage companies that are looking 350 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:24,360 Speaker 2: to do around. There's no shortage of investors around, are there? 351 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 3: Yeah? 352 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: No, that's that's a fair point because everything I just 353 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: said would mean nothing if there wasn't capital to deploy 354 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: into these businesses. And over the last call it twenty 355 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: plus years, which from early stage and seed to late stage, 356 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: there has been more and more capital in the I 357 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: think in the earlier stage it's much more dedicated funds. 358 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: It's the traditional vcs that we all know that are 359 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: in that market, and as you get to the later stage, 360 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: it's it's a lot more eclectic. It's some dedicated funds 361 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,359 Speaker 1: like ours. There are more multi stage funds where there 362 00:18:57,359 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: were funds that were doing Series b's and c's and 363 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: are now doing late stage, where generally our fund averaging 364 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: a Series D. In terms of where we invest, there's 365 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: crossover funds, there's hybrid funds. Even hedge funds and mutual 366 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: funds have invested in this space. And so there are 367 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,719 Speaker 1: a lot of pockets. A lot of people like myself 368 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,959 Speaker 1: when I first started, are taking public mutual funds some 369 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: of the bigger players out there, and they're also investing 370 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: in this space. And so there has been more capital 371 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,200 Speaker 1: available for these companies, which is what has enabled them 372 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: to stay private longer. 373 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,920 Speaker 2: Really interesting, so let's talk a little bit about the 374 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 2: process of evaluating different types of privates. You kind of 375 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 2: alluded that the skills you learned evaluating small cap growth 376 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 2: companies is very applicable to late stage venture and other privates. 377 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 2: Take us through that. What are the similarities? 378 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, And because I would not be a good 379 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: early stage investor, I don't have any skill sets in 380 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: evaluating three people in a garage with an idea. But 381 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:07,640 Speaker 1: when we're looking at companies, and many of the companies 382 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: in our portfolio they all have usually fifty million dollars 383 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,199 Speaker 1: plus in revenues. Many of them have one hundred two 384 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: hundred plus in revenues, those skill sets are very applicable. 385 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: And because there's now product market fit, there's now streams 386 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: a data about how their customers have responded to their product, 387 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: how sticky are their customers, what the competitive landscape looks like. 388 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: So all of the information that we were assessing on 389 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,920 Speaker 1: the public side is very applicable to the private side. 390 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: And what I think distinguishes us at Wellington is that 391 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: we're able to utilize our public market investors in the 392 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:47,919 Speaker 1: due diligence process in helping us assess. We have fifty 393 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: five global industry analysts that have been covering their industries 394 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: for ten twenty thirty plus years, and whether it's logistics 395 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: or aerospace or a software company, we have the information, 396 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: and we have the skill sets to do that, and 397 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,679 Speaker 1: we have a lot of data to analyze, and we 398 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: could predict the future. We know what the company is 399 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: thinking about the future. Our numbers are generally going to 400 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: be lower because many of those numbers are aspirational. But 401 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: assessing management teams so qualitative and quantitative, is very similar 402 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: to what I've done on the public side for many, 403 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: many years. 404 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 2: So the parallels. You have a management team that you 405 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 2: can evaluate, you have a product that you can review, 406 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:27,640 Speaker 2: you have customers and revenue you can look at. All 407 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 2: of this comes down to execution. Those are the similarities. 408 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 2: What are the differences when you're looking at a company 409 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 2: that hasn't yet gone public isn't quite that mature. 410 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 1: I think I wouldn't think of it as a difference, 411 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: but I think it gets to your point. The part 412 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 1: that we don't know is the future. It can this 413 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: management team execute from here to the public markets. And 414 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: we always believe that our value added in the space 415 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: is that we can help them on that last mile 416 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: from the private market to the public market. 417 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 2: So that you're touching on something to ask what are 418 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 2: the milestones between a fifty million dollar company, meaning they're 419 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,679 Speaker 2: doing fifty million in revenues. They've been around a few years, 420 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 2: but they want to bulk up, they want to become 421 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:15,199 Speaker 2: more substantial. Do we care about round numbers like one 422 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 2: hundred million or five hundred million in sales or is 423 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 2: we just want to see that steady growth over time 424 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 2: and greater customer acquisition. 425 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: I think every company is unique and their journey is 426 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: very unique. And what I have found is that there 427 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: have been a number of situations where we invested and 428 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: things went off the rail early on and the companies 429 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: needed to pivot or they had big headwinds. I always 430 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: loved to use the example of Coupong, which is in 431 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,879 Speaker 1: e commerce space in South Korea, whose growth rate what 432 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: we owned it went from probably one hundred percent down 433 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: to twenty percent and then re accelerated as they got 434 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: their logistics strategy in order. And then DraftKings, which is 435 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: kind of the post to child that was at one 436 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: point sued by practically every attorney general in the country 437 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: whether daily fantasy sports was even legitimate, and then eventually 438 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,640 Speaker 1: became a big player in sports betting and I gaming, 439 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: and so those went totally. 440 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 3: Off the rails that we had marked them down. 441 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: Probably close to fifty percent at one point and then 442 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,959 Speaker 1: ended up being Two of our best outcomes is that 443 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: every company just has a different journey and the goal 444 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: is is to be patient. 445 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 3: In many case, you. 446 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 2: Were an early investor in DraftKings also, is that right? 447 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 2: And then what was the resolution? So we know what 448 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 2: happened with them? They blew up when the Supreme Court 449 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:33,160 Speaker 2: overturned the rule that only allowed gambling in certain states, 450 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 2: and now they're one of the handful of giant players there. 451 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:38,360 Speaker 2: What was the Korean company? 452 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,960 Speaker 1: So the Korean South Korean company is called Kupong, which 453 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: is basically simply the Amazon of South Korea. And so 454 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: they went through and I remember going through this with 455 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,120 Speaker 1: Bomb who is the CEO. Is that they were going 456 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: through a very similar thing that Amazon went through early 457 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,760 Speaker 1: in their existence. Is they were going from multiple day 458 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 1: delivery down to two day delivery, to one day delivery 459 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: to literally our delivery and doing all the logistics behind 460 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: that required a lot of infrastructure, and at one point 461 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: they had to really slow down growth to make sure 462 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: they got that right. And once they got it right, 463 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 1: they were able to reaccelerate. And they had a moment 464 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,400 Speaker 1: where they were getting very close to running out of capital, 465 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,880 Speaker 1: but they were able to put around together and then 466 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: they ended up having a really good outcome in the 467 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: public markets, and they went public. 468 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 3: They did. 469 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: They're public, yeah, public on NASDAK and so they've now 470 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: been public. I think they went public in twenty one, 471 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: so they've been public two plus years now, and so 472 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: they had a really good outcome. But those were two 473 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,360 Speaker 1: that were not you know, is to your point going 474 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: up until the right like it was, there was a 475 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: lot of sideways there and a lot of nail biting, 476 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: and then they ended up having good outcomes. But then 477 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: there's others that, to your point, will just continue to 478 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: pound out forty fifty sixty percent growth and go from 479 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: unprofitable to eventually profitable. And then our job is just 480 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: really to help them think through what do you know 481 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: to do between now and when you go public to 482 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: make sure that you remain a very attractive company in 483 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 1: the public markets, right, because there's always this risk which 484 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: I worry a lot about, is that companies stay private longer. 485 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,919 Speaker 1: But sometimes they can stay private too long, right, correct, 486 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: because you need you still need to have a really 487 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: good story for the public markets, because the public markets 488 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,919 Speaker 1: want to see a long term trend that they can 489 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 1: buy into. 490 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 3: And if they. 491 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: Believe that you've already seen your best days, your best 492 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: days are now behind you, that's not going to be 493 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,880 Speaker 1: a really interesting public investment. And so we really need 494 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: to think through what's the right timing, what are the 495 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 1: right dynamics, and what do you need to do today 496 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: to set yourself up for a really strong public showing. 497 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 2: So how do these areas work together or are they 498 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,639 Speaker 2: three distinct fields of investment? 499 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: So some of it works together and there's some synergies 500 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: and some ability for us to really invest across the 501 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: platform from early stags to lay stage. On the bench 502 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 1: side investment great private credit is a totally new area 503 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,679 Speaker 1: for us. But I think the commonality of everything that 504 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,919 Speaker 1: we're doing is through the lens of where can Wellington 505 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:14,399 Speaker 1: have an edge? What have we done historically on the 506 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: public side that would make sense to poort over to 507 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: the private side and leverage and scale that right, So 508 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: you think about credit, we have a multiple one hundred billion, 509 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: hundreds of billion dollars of revenue of asset business and 510 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: credit and so we have a lot of expertise, We 511 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: have a lot of experts, whether it's portfolio managers, analysts, 512 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 1: macro economists, and so there's a lot of things that 513 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: we can do in that space that we think we 514 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: can deliver very strong results. And similarly, as we think 515 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: about real estate, which we're not in yet but something 516 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 1: we're thinking about. We have a public reteam on the 517 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: equity side, we have a public presence on the credit 518 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: and fixed income side, and so we think that's an 519 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,199 Speaker 1: area that we can extend our expertise to also, and 520 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,359 Speaker 1: so we think about it through through that lens in 521 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: terms of where we where we believe the platform can 522 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: enable us to be super strong and what we've been 523 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: very i think very successful at doing is attracting investors 524 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:13,800 Speaker 1: who buy into that. 525 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,919 Speaker 2: So is some of the thinking around that these are 526 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 2: essentially uncorrelated in terms of their returns or does eventually 527 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,200 Speaker 2: all things go to one and the lack of correlation 528 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 2: goes away. 529 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 1: I think it always depends. I think you know, when 530 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: you look at what we're doing on the late stage space, 531 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: that's probably the most correlated to the public markets. We're 532 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,960 Speaker 1: definitely taking the direction that we're going from and how 533 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,720 Speaker 1: our performance is somewhat from what's going on on the 534 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: public side. Obviously, with our early stage fund, that's many 535 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:48,159 Speaker 1: years away from a liquidity event, so that's probably the 536 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: least correlated. So I think it's going to depend on 537 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,640 Speaker 1: the asset class. I think all things. I don't think 538 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 1: all things go to one. But there's going to be 539 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,400 Speaker 1: some correlation with what's going on in the public markets 540 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 1: and happening economically. That's going to have an impact on 541 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: the performance of the businesses that we're investing in on 542 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:10,359 Speaker 1: the private side similar to businesses that we invest in 543 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: on the public site. 544 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 2: That's really interesting. So let's talk a little bit about 545 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 2: the IPO market. Seems like it's been mostly frozen this 546 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,639 Speaker 2: year twenty twenty three. Why do you think that is? 547 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: So the IPO market always takes its queue from the 548 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,880 Speaker 1: public markets, and as you know, last year twenty two 549 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,480 Speaker 1: we had a bear market. It was pretty harsh bear market, 550 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: and particularly in growth. 551 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 2: It was a modest bear market in the S and 552 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 2: P five hundred off about nineteen percent, but the Nasdaq, 553 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 2: the tech heavy NASDAK I think, was down thirty two 554 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 2: or thirty four percent. That's a big losing a third 555 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 2: of your value, that's a big whack. 556 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: Yes, that was a little bit more nuclear winter, and 557 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: if you look at the innards of that, there were 558 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: a lot of companies down sixty, seventy and eighty percent. 559 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: And so when that happens, portfolio managers having been one 560 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: shut down. The last thing you want to do when 561 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: you have fifty fires in your portfolio is to look 562 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: at a new idea. Right, You're still trying to figure 563 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: out what you need to keep, what you need to jettison. 564 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 1: And so that is why the IPO market shuts down 565 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: in a bear market. 566 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 2: Now, now today, what do we have the SMP we're 567 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 2: recording this in the beginning of the fourth quarter. The 568 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 2: SMP is up about twelve percent for the year, above 569 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 2: average historically, and yet the IPO market still seems to 570 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 2: be a little chilly. Is it just recovering from last year? 571 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 2: Or why we still floundering along? 572 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: So we're thwing. I think we're in the thawing thwing, 573 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 1: okay orring moment. Right, we're starting to get there. And 574 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: if you look historically, and we've looked at data from 575 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: the last forty years, generally the IPO market when it 576 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: shuts down, it shuts down for about a year. Occasionally 577 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 1: it will shut down for two years plus, and as 578 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: you're noting, we're kind of in the second year of this, 579 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: and as you also noted, the markets are starting to recover. 580 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: And as the markets recover, public investors start to get 581 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: a little bit more comfortable looking at new ideas. 582 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 2: And we've had a few IPOs trickle out this year, right, 583 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 2: anything catch your eye? 584 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: You know, I don't look at the public markets quite 585 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: as closely, but had you had a cadre of companies 586 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: come public several weeks ago with Clavio, which is in 587 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:20,640 Speaker 1: a very interesting space in kind of the ad tech area, 588 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: and Instacart, which obviously was a down round but still 589 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: has an eight nine billion dollar market cap, and of 590 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: course arm which was a much larger play and a 591 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: spin out being respun out from Intel. And so to me, 592 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: they've traded fine, which is like a nice little indication 593 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: that the health of the IPO market is beginning to improve. 594 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: And of course I don't have a crystal ball, so 595 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: I don't know if the markets are up or down, 596 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 1: but let's assume that they're stable over the next couple 597 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: of quarters or several quarters. I think that there's a 598 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: reasonable backlog of companies that will start seeing being surfaced 599 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: and starting to come to the IPO markets. We know 600 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: we have companies in our portfolio that are beginning that 601 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: prep So I think my guess right now is that 602 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four begins to normalize and we'll we'll see 603 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,479 Speaker 1: improvements in the IPO market after two years of really 604 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: very very low volume. 605 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 2: So a decade ago, you identify private companies are going 606 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 2: to stay private for longer, which means there's going to 607 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 2: be a delay going public, and then a decade goes 608 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 2: by and more or less proves your thesis correct. Over 609 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 2: that ensuing decade, How has the IPO market changed? What's 610 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 2: different about a company going public in twenty twenty four 611 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 2: than you when you were first making these observations in 612 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 2: twenty fourteen. 613 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:43,719 Speaker 1: So I think generally what we're seeing as companies are 614 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 1: going public later. So instead of being like four or 615 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,000 Speaker 1: five six years into their existence, it's more like eight, nine, 616 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,080 Speaker 1: ten years into their existence. And so by definition, these 617 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: companies tend to be more mature and tend to be 618 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: larger than they were a decade ago. And particularly when 619 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 1: I started in the business and was managing money back 620 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: in the nineteen nineties, and so these companies hopefully should 621 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: have more sustainable performance and be a little bit less violatile. 622 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,600 Speaker 1: Albeit in twenty one we had a rush for a 623 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,320 Speaker 1: lot of companies to come public and that class has 624 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 1: not performed well, which is probably a good cautionary tale 625 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,440 Speaker 1: that you should be more mature when you hit the 626 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:22,280 Speaker 1: public markets. 627 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 2: So in the nineties, when you were running public funds, 628 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 2: that IPO process was very much a dog and pony show. 629 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 2: You would have the investment bank and the founders and 630 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 2: a whole bunch of folks do these giant road shows 631 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 2: and they would go from New York to Boston, they'd 632 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 2: go out to San Francisco. They would go all around 633 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 2: the country showing off the company before the big wedding. 634 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 2: How is it today, Do we still go through that 635 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 2: same process or have capital markets evolved for taking companies 636 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 2: public today? 637 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 3: Well, the biggest difference is it's now zoom, zoom and zoom. 638 00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: Right. It's just a lot of zoom meetings, so they're 639 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: running all over the world anymore, which is probably really 640 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: good for more efficient, for sure, massively more efficient. We 641 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: do have a couple of different directions we can take. 642 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,400 Speaker 1: Although the majority of the companies are still doing a 643 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: direct IPO. Right, you have direct listings that got a 644 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,320 Speaker 1: lot of play a few years ago. Obviously we saw 645 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 1: a lot from the spack market a couple of years ago. 646 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: I think that trend is in the rear view mirror. 647 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,120 Speaker 1: I always felt SPACs makes sense in very specific cases. 648 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,240 Speaker 1: But if you're a really solid company, you can go 649 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 1: public through an IPO, you don't need to do a spack. 650 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 1: So I don't see SPACs coming back. So a lot 651 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: has not really changed in that regard, other than the 652 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 1: fact that that companies now can do a lot more 653 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,280 Speaker 1: meetings in a lot more locations, in the comfort of 654 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: their offices or their home. 655 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 2: So let's talk a little bit about how you guys 656 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,480 Speaker 2: work with later stage companies. How do you think about 657 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 2: these firms versus either in early stage company where you 658 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 2: really don't have a sense of product and client base, 659 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,760 Speaker 2: and companies that have gone public where they're fairly mature 660 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 2: and it's pretty clear, hey, we have a sense of 661 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 2: what the next five years might look like. These sort 662 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,200 Speaker 2: of straddle that gray zone in between. 663 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: Correct, and the value that we add is very different 664 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,520 Speaker 1: than an early stage company. Right, when you're an early 665 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,080 Speaker 1: stage investor, you're going to help them hire their first 666 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 1: chief marketing officer, their first head of R and D, 667 00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:32,040 Speaker 1: and many other, many other positions, and you're going to 668 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 1: work with that founding team on their product market fit. 669 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 1: By the time we get involved, the company has been built, 670 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,720 Speaker 1: they've had they've achieved escape velocity, and it's really about 671 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: how well they can scale. And that's where we come in, 672 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: is really being able to help them. As I noted 673 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,400 Speaker 1: earlier on that last mile. So for instance, we have 674 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,040 Speaker 1: an ESG team, and so we have a team led 675 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,200 Speaker 1: by Hillary Flynn that steps in and works with the 676 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 1: company on what they're going to need to do from 677 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,000 Speaker 1: today to the time they go public to be at 678 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: a level that's going to make them attractive to the 679 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,520 Speaker 1: most investors on the public side, since, as we know 680 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,279 Speaker 1: the public side, many investors care about issues around ESG, 681 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:15,560 Speaker 1: particularly around corporate governance, so what the composition of the 682 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 1: board of directors should look like, and and many other 683 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: issues around that. We're going to help them really think 684 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: about strategically and tactically the things that they're doing today 685 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: that are going to have ramifications when they are a 686 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 1: public company, whether they're introducing products that have lower gross margins, 687 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 1: so optically, gross margins are going to start going down 688 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,840 Speaker 1: and that could have an impact on their multiples relative 689 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:40,360 Speaker 1: to things that they can do that can be gross 690 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:44,839 Speaker 1: margining enhanceome and what can they do to sustain their 691 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: level of growth for the longest period of time. And 692 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: as we talked about also IPO timing. Sometimes we've suggested 693 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,440 Speaker 1: that companies delay their IPO because we think that they 694 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,960 Speaker 1: don't have the visibility to go public today. Others we've 695 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:00,400 Speaker 1: suggested that they should go public sooner be to what 696 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 1: we talked about about not getting past their expiration date 697 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: of having an attractiveness to public investors. 698 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,839 Speaker 2: So private equity firms tend to come in and take 699 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 2: over running these companies. They manage them, not what you 700 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 2: guys do. The description of how you approach late stage 701 00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:23,320 Speaker 2: companies almost sounds like finishing school. You put the final 702 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,399 Speaker 2: touches and get them ready to send them out into 703 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,400 Speaker 2: the world. Is that to glib or is that a 704 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:30,400 Speaker 2: fair way to describe them? 705 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:30,560 Speaker 1: No? 706 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:31,400 Speaker 3: I like that description. 707 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,359 Speaker 1: I think that's what we're doing is really helping them 708 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: with finishing school. And importantly we want them to be 709 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:41,400 Speaker 1: attractive to the public side of Wellington. Subsequent to their IPO. 710 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 1: There's no guarantee. We always tell our companies, we don't 711 00:36:44,239 --> 00:36:46,480 Speaker 1: tell our public side what to do. But we've had 712 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: a lot of success and in fact, when you look 713 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: at the numbers over the first year of those companies 714 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 1: have gone public, we have bought massively more on the 715 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:58,400 Speaker 1: public side than we originally bought out of our private portfolios. 716 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,280 Speaker 1: And so that to me suggests that our finishing school 717 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,440 Speaker 1: is working very effectively and creating companies that are attractive 718 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 1: to not just the public side broadly, but to many 719 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,880 Speaker 1: of the investors on Wellington's public. 720 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 2: So I'm thinking about the tax consequences of what you 721 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,799 Speaker 2: just said. Can you own a company while they're still 722 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 2: private and then shift that over to the public funds 723 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:21,879 Speaker 2: or does it have to go to the process of 724 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,720 Speaker 2: the IPO and then you're buying shares in the secondary market. 725 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:26,359 Speaker 3: We can't. 726 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,680 Speaker 1: It has to be it always has to be arms length, 727 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,800 Speaker 1: and so we cannot take what we've done on the 728 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 1: private side, and that's in dedicated funds and transfer that 729 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:36,280 Speaker 1: to any of the other portfolios at Wellington. So everybody 730 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,959 Speaker 1: needs to make an independent decision, and we can't use 731 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,680 Speaker 1: our fund as a reservoir for the funds on the public. 732 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 2: I was just thinking of the tax consequences of having 733 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:49,840 Speaker 2: to sell the privately held shares out into the market 734 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:52,600 Speaker 2: and then someone else in the same under the same 735 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 2: roof goes out and buys those publicly shares. Seems like 736 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,640 Speaker 2: there's a tax arbitrage to be had, But that might 737 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,080 Speaker 2: be a litle little too cute by half. 738 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 1: No, but you talking about a product that I think 739 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: is very interesting in terms of the hybrid space where 740 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: you have public private products, and so it's something that 741 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:13,040 Speaker 1: we have actually in our fintech product. We have a 742 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:16,239 Speaker 1: public private product that can do just that, and we're 743 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,799 Speaker 1: thinking about additional ways that we can take advantage of 744 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 1: our public and private market expertise to create products for 745 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 1: our clients that can do exactly what you're saying is 746 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:28,360 Speaker 1: we can invest prior to the IPO and then we 747 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,080 Speaker 1: can hold for the long term subsequent to the IPO. 748 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,480 Speaker 2: Really interesting. So let's talk a little bit about valuation. 749 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,040 Speaker 2: What metrics are you looking at when you're thinking about 750 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,520 Speaker 2: elite stage venture investment. 751 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: It depends on the company and every company. We're going 752 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,320 Speaker 1: to use different metrics in healthcare versus tech, versus consumer 753 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,160 Speaker 1: and fintech. Many of our companies are still burning cash 754 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 1: when we get involved, and so a lot of times 755 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,439 Speaker 1: we're going to be thinking about normalized margins, and those 756 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 1: normalized margins are going to dictate how we think about 757 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 1: that price to revenue multiple that we're willing to put 758 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,400 Speaker 1: on that company at the time we invest. And a 759 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:08,719 Speaker 1: company ultimately is going to have ten percent margins, then 760 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,680 Speaker 1: that's going to be much lower relative to a company 761 00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: that can have thirty forty percent margins. And what I've 762 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:16,640 Speaker 1: done is really ported what I used to do on 763 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:19,480 Speaker 1: the public side to the private side. In terms of 764 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,319 Speaker 1: thinking about ranges, I always like to think about what's 765 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:25,759 Speaker 1: my downside risk and what's my upside potential. And we 766 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,239 Speaker 1: want to skew our investments to those that we believe 767 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,200 Speaker 1: we have a lot more upside relative to our downside. 768 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 2: So whenever I see forget, even seed like Series A companies, 769 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,239 Speaker 2: it feels like everybody's just making up numbers. Hey, there 770 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:43,239 Speaker 2: is no product, there are no customers. How to even 771 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,000 Speaker 2: come up with a multiple? This has to be very, 772 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:50,200 Speaker 2: very different than either seed or a stage venture investments. 773 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,600 Speaker 1: Absolutely, because as we've noted, we have companies with one 774 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:55,720 Speaker 1: hundred two hundred, three hundred million dollars revenues. 775 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,719 Speaker 2: So these are real companies, real products, real customers, real 776 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:00,239 Speaker 2: businesses are. 777 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:03,520 Speaker 1: Real businesses, and so we can really look at this 778 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:06,920 Speaker 1: in terms of having a little bit more confidence. I 779 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,960 Speaker 1: always like to say that these are not riskless, but 780 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,400 Speaker 1: they've been de risked, right. You know it's a company. 781 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:14,880 Speaker 1: What we don't know is we'll it's scale from one 782 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,319 Speaker 1: hundred million to five hundred to a billion, or is 783 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,000 Speaker 1: it going to be one hundred and make its way 784 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:19,920 Speaker 1: to two to three hundred. 785 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:24,080 Speaker 2: So these aren't binary outcomes. Either they work or they don't. 786 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:27,719 Speaker 2: It's hey, is this going to continue along or as 787 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 2: it is? Or can we get them to the next level? 788 00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 3: Correct? 789 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:32,920 Speaker 1: And when you look at our portfolio over the last 790 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:35,920 Speaker 1: ten years and all the outcomes we've had, we've gotten 791 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,800 Speaker 1: back our money or made money on about eighty percent 792 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,359 Speaker 1: of the deals that we've done, So it's a higher 793 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: hit rate. I always think of it this as a 794 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:45,759 Speaker 1: little bit more of a fat pitch portfolio, is that 795 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,640 Speaker 1: we stay away from binary events. We're looking for the 796 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:52,600 Speaker 1: events that the outcomes could be less good or they 797 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:53,759 Speaker 1: can be really good. 798 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:55,880 Speaker 2: You're not looking for the moonshots. You're not looking for 799 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,640 Speaker 2: one hundred to one and the other ninety five percent 800 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:00,520 Speaker 2: of the portfolios go to zero. 801 00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:03,640 Speaker 1: No, we we underwrite to a two to three x 802 00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:06,239 Speaker 1: return on our investment. And when you look at the 803 00:41:06,239 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 1: performance of our funds that are more mature Fund one 804 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:12,200 Speaker 1: and fun two, we're right in that camp about net 805 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,880 Speaker 1: two x or so. But we're doing it over a 806 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,719 Speaker 1: shorter period of time in terms of how long it 807 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,279 Speaker 1: takes we have we have a shallower J curve because 808 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,640 Speaker 1: we're returning capital more quickly and so and that's so 809 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,560 Speaker 1: that's how we're thinking about this category. Is that to 810 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,240 Speaker 1: your point, the range of outcomes are a little narrower. 811 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,279 Speaker 1: We're never going to have one hundred x, but it's 812 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:34,920 Speaker 1: going to be very rare when we get when we 813 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:35,880 Speaker 1: get back zero. 814 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,920 Speaker 2: Right. So what leads you to a yes, is it 815 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,040 Speaker 2: is it a certain comfort level that with understanding the business. 816 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 2: Is it the management team? Because you know, in my 817 00:41:47,239 --> 00:41:49,919 Speaker 2: office we've joked if it's not an obvious yes, it's 818 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,520 Speaker 2: a no. I don't know if you think of it 819 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,920 Speaker 2: in the same way when you're looking at late stage. 820 00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:58,160 Speaker 1: I think it's more in that camp that it's got 821 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: to be a more obvious, yes, but it's a lot. 822 00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:05,080 Speaker 1: It's I always think about investing as matching the qualitative 823 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 1: and the quantitative. Right is that I've always said to 824 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:09,239 Speaker 1: analysts when I was on the public side that we 825 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:12,440 Speaker 1: could always make the numbers work, but we have to 826 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,799 Speaker 1: have a management team that could execute. And so we 827 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,120 Speaker 1: spend a lot of time with our management teams. In fact, 828 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:22,040 Speaker 1: on average, we know our management teams for over a 829 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,520 Speaker 1: year before we invest with them. We want to understand 830 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,680 Speaker 1: how did they execute from the first time we met 831 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:29,200 Speaker 1: them to now. Did they say they were going to 832 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:32,160 Speaker 1: do X and they did X? Or above X or 833 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,400 Speaker 1: was it point five x? Right? So we want to 834 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,120 Speaker 1: see what their credibility is. We want to understand how 835 00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,439 Speaker 1: they've built their team around them. Are they the type 836 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,239 Speaker 1: of management teams that want to hire people that are 837 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,319 Speaker 1: smarter than them or people that just want to say 838 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 1: yes to them? And so we need to understand those dynamics. 839 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,440 Speaker 1: And so management is very, very important. I've always said 840 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,400 Speaker 1: in my career that I'd rather have an A management 841 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,200 Speaker 1: team running a C business than a C management team 842 00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,440 Speaker 1: running an A business, because that team will figure out 843 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 1: how to mess it up and always want the former, 844 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:03,600 Speaker 1: and so that is a really really important part of it. 845 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,600 Speaker 1: Then once we distinguish that we believe we have a 846 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,040 Speaker 1: good management team, then we have the ability to dig 847 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,719 Speaker 1: into the numbers and see if the numbers match what 848 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:14,920 Speaker 1: we're hearing from the team, because typically we don't have 849 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:17,680 Speaker 1: numbers early on, we're just building a relationship, and so 850 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:20,840 Speaker 1: now we're going to see if the numbers are matching 851 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,680 Speaker 1: the hype and the conversations that we've had with the teams. 852 00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:26,160 Speaker 1: And it's amazing to me how many times that is 853 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,480 Speaker 1: not the case. But in the times that it is 854 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:30,319 Speaker 1: the case, then those are the deals that we're going 855 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,400 Speaker 1: to want to lean into and really determine if we 856 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,719 Speaker 1: believe this is a sustainable business. How big is the 857 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 1: TAM the total available market or are they creating a 858 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:43,799 Speaker 1: new market. How fast are they growing today relative to 859 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:47,239 Speaker 1: other companies that were of similar scale, How sticky are 860 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:50,520 Speaker 1: their clients, what is their long term value to customer 861 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:54,279 Speaker 1: acquisition costs? All of those dynamics to figure out if 862 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:57,040 Speaker 1: this company can be a lot larger in the future 863 00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,400 Speaker 1: than it is today. Because generally we're looking for an 864 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,960 Speaker 1: IPO of two to four years after we invest, and importantly, 865 00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:04,960 Speaker 1: we have to look at it through the lens of 866 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,480 Speaker 1: can this eventually be a public company? Does this make 867 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:11,840 Speaker 1: sense that that public market investors will be enamored and 868 00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:14,680 Speaker 1: excited about seeing this company in the public market someday 869 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:15,240 Speaker 1: in the future. 870 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,759 Speaker 2: So do you work with other co investors? Do you 871 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:22,160 Speaker 2: work with other firms or are these just one off 872 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:23,960 Speaker 2: investments just with Wellington? 873 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,520 Speaker 1: So I'd say that almost every deal we do has 874 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:30,680 Speaker 1: a variety of investors in the cap table. We're not exclusive. 875 00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:32,759 Speaker 1: Very rarely have we been. I don't know if we've 876 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:35,160 Speaker 1: ever been the only investor in the cap table in 877 00:44:35,239 --> 00:44:39,200 Speaker 1: our round. One is we'd love to see insider involvement. 878 00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:41,480 Speaker 1: We want to see insiders taking a pro rauter or 879 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:43,919 Speaker 1: a super pro rauter of the round because that there's 880 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:46,120 Speaker 1: a lot of information in that If all the insiders 881 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,640 Speaker 1: aren't playing, or an insider is selling, then we generally 882 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:50,120 Speaker 1: don't want to. 883 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:52,479 Speaker 2: Be a part of that different vibe there. 884 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:56,080 Speaker 1: Correct, And then generally there'll be other investors that invest 885 00:44:56,120 --> 00:45:00,520 Speaker 1: alongside us, But importantly we're not generally working a alongside 886 00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:03,680 Speaker 1: them because these are competitive deals and we want to 887 00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:06,920 Speaker 1: get the maximum allocation that we need for our clients, 888 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,120 Speaker 1: and so we don't want to draw other people in 889 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,839 Speaker 1: during that process. We might help on the backside if 890 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:14,719 Speaker 1: we're leading the deal and there's other investors looking at it. 891 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:18,560 Speaker 1: But job one is making is figuring out for ourselves 892 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,280 Speaker 1: independently if we think this would be a good idea 893 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:24,200 Speaker 1: and making sure if we want, say our average check 894 00:45:24,239 --> 00:45:26,080 Speaker 1: size now and our funds is about seventy five to 895 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:28,399 Speaker 1: one hundred million, let's make sure that we can get 896 00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:31,120 Speaker 1: that check. And we have co investors that we work 897 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,480 Speaker 1: with that are clients of ours that we want to 898 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:35,839 Speaker 1: be able to offer them the opportunity to invest also, 899 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 1: and so we kind of stay very stealth when we're 900 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:42,640 Speaker 1: in the due diligence process, and then generally we'll see 901 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:45,080 Speaker 1: other investors come in to fill out a round. Probably 902 00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:48,239 Speaker 1: our average rounds are somewhere between two hundred to three 903 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:52,279 Speaker 1: hundred million dollars total rounds, and we're doing just under 904 00:45:52,320 --> 00:45:52,719 Speaker 1: half of that. 905 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,320 Speaker 2: So where does your deal flow come from? It sounds 906 00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:58,719 Speaker 2: like very competitive space. How do you find your way 907 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:02,040 Speaker 2: to some of these some of these late stage venture investments? 908 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, which is the most important part of what we 909 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:06,799 Speaker 1: do because the old adage is you don't see it, 910 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:09,719 Speaker 1: you can't do it, and so in on our team 911 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,759 Speaker 1: on my product, which is called Hadley Harbor, we have 912 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 1: eleven investors on our team and they are out there 913 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:17,680 Speaker 1: every day sourcing. I always think of it as kind 914 00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:21,279 Speaker 1: of forty forty twenty. Forty percent of the skill is onsourcing, 915 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:24,000 Speaker 1: forty percent is due diligence, and twenty percent is the 916 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:27,920 Speaker 1: ongoing support of the companies, but probably close to seventy 917 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,480 Speaker 1: five percent of the time is really going out and 918 00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:34,239 Speaker 1: looking for deals. Our biggest source of deals are from 919 00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:37,600 Speaker 1: our network of early stage investors that we have cultivated 920 00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:42,040 Speaker 1: over the last decade, hundreds of investors who have invested 921 00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:45,080 Speaker 1: in early stage companies that can help us get warm 922 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:47,839 Speaker 1: introductions to these companies, and by the time we get 923 00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:51,319 Speaker 1: into our round, it's very common that we know the 924 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:54,240 Speaker 1: majority of the board that's in that company, which generally 925 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:58,560 Speaker 1: consists of early stage investors that are very important proponents 926 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,759 Speaker 1: of having us being in bold with the company, that 927 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:03,279 Speaker 1: people believe that we can add value and that we're 928 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:05,919 Speaker 1: going to be additive to that company over the time 929 00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 1: that we invest, because we bring a much different angle 930 00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:11,759 Speaker 1: given that we have the public market expertise relative to 931 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:14,080 Speaker 1: earlier stage investors, and I have had a lot of 932 00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:16,839 Speaker 1: IPO outcomes and so we understand what it's going to take. 933 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:21,400 Speaker 1: But a lot of our sourcing comes from early stage seed, 934 00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:25,319 Speaker 1: Series A and even Series B investors who are are 935 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:26,520 Speaker 1: part of our network. 936 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:30,200 Speaker 2: Let me throw a curveball at you. You previously served 937 00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,640 Speaker 2: as the first male advisory board member of the Wellington's 938 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:37,560 Speaker 2: Women's Network. Do I have that right? 939 00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:38,920 Speaker 3: You do have that right. 940 00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:41,799 Speaker 2: I love the research, So tell us a little bit 941 00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:45,480 Speaker 2: about why you were the first male member of the 942 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:47,799 Speaker 2: Wellington's Women's Network. 943 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:50,080 Speaker 1: Well, thank you for pointing that out, and it's something 944 00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:53,239 Speaker 1: I'm actually very proud of because this was probably back 945 00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:55,480 Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven, in two thousand and eight, 946 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:59,440 Speaker 1: and I believe that was our first internal business network, 947 00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:03,439 Speaker 1: and a couple of the heads of that network came 948 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:05,560 Speaker 1: to me and asked if I was served, and I was. 949 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:07,839 Speaker 1: I was very honored, and I think it was a 950 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:12,960 Speaker 1: testament to my advocacy for women in the firm, and 951 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:14,680 Speaker 1: and so they felt that I could be a really 952 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,920 Speaker 1: strong advocate for them as we were trying to elevate 953 00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:21,640 Speaker 1: and get more women as a part on the investment 954 00:48:21,640 --> 00:48:25,160 Speaker 1: side and the business side and really level the playing 955 00:48:25,160 --> 00:48:27,120 Speaker 1: field over the longer term, and so I was I 956 00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:29,840 Speaker 1: was super happy to do it, and so I served 957 00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:32,760 Speaker 1: on that, I think for about six or so years. 958 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:37,120 Speaker 1: And then interestingly today, as I mentioned earlier, General O'Reilly 959 00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,520 Speaker 1: who's my co head, obviously a woman, but our whole 960 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:43,680 Speaker 1: our management team on the private side, consists of me 961 00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:47,040 Speaker 1: and all women. I'm the only guy on our private 962 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:49,920 Speaker 1: on our private team management team, which is which is 963 00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:53,399 Speaker 1: just great that that we've come to a point where 964 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,120 Speaker 1: where we can really have that much talent on our 965 00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,040 Speaker 1: team that could help us build the business. 966 00:48:58,160 --> 00:49:02,120 Speaker 2: And if I recall correctly, you're EO correct, Gene Heinz right, 967 00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:04,880 Speaker 2: aren't a lot of women in the world running a 968 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:06,160 Speaker 2: trillion dollar company. 969 00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:08,799 Speaker 1: She's one of them, correct, And Geane and I have 970 00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:12,080 Speaker 1: grown up in the firm. Jen's story. She always talks 971 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:16,160 Speaker 1: about that she started as an assistant out of Wellesley 972 00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:18,759 Speaker 1: and worked a way up to being a global industry 973 00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:21,600 Speaker 1: analyst and then managing partner, and then in twenty one 974 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:24,040 Speaker 1: she took over a CEO of the firm. And so 975 00:49:24,160 --> 00:49:27,680 Speaker 1: to your point, she is she is still in the minority, 976 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:32,839 Speaker 1: but an increasing percentage of the minority, and so it's 977 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:35,279 Speaker 1: getting everything is getting better over the longer term. 978 00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:37,600 Speaker 2: Really interesting. All right, I know I only have you 979 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,200 Speaker 2: for a limited amount of time, so let's jump to 980 00:49:40,239 --> 00:49:43,600 Speaker 2: our favorite questions that we ask all of our guests, 981 00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:47,000 Speaker 2: starting with what's keeping you entertained these days? What are 982 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,120 Speaker 2: you streaming, watching or listening to? 983 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:52,120 Speaker 1: Sure, so right now I'm streaming The Crown, so I 984 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,120 Speaker 1: know I'm a little behind the eight ball at hour, 985 00:49:54,400 --> 00:49:58,280 Speaker 1: though it's I love it because there's so much about 986 00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:01,399 Speaker 1: the UK that I don't know, particularly kind of pre 987 00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:04,479 Speaker 1: Charles and Diana. And so I'm now on season four. 988 00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:07,040 Speaker 1: So the first three seasons were really early in Queen 989 00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:09,160 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Rayn and there was just a lot of information 990 00:50:09,239 --> 00:50:12,040 Speaker 1: and just super well done. The acting is is great. 991 00:50:12,120 --> 00:50:13,920 Speaker 1: And then the one that I just finished that by 992 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:14,239 Speaker 1: the way, I. 993 00:50:14,239 --> 00:50:16,759 Speaker 2: Think there's one more season coming of the ground. 994 00:50:17,040 --> 00:50:19,520 Speaker 3: Great because I'm I'm slowly catching up. 995 00:50:19,520 --> 00:50:22,880 Speaker 1: I got you know, it's my it's my treadmill entertainment, 996 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,160 Speaker 1: so I'm slowly catching up. And then the one that 997 00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:28,160 Speaker 1: I watched recently that I absolutely loved was The Bear 998 00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:32,560 Speaker 1: so good, and season two, which I just finished recently 999 00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:35,880 Speaker 1: my wife and I finished was phenomenal and episode six 1000 00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:37,360 Speaker 1: might be one of the best. 1001 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:39,960 Speaker 2: Was that Copenhagen or was that the Forks No. 1002 00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:43,040 Speaker 1: Episode six was well when Jamie Lee Curtis and Bob 1003 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:44,480 Speaker 1: Odenkirk and it was the I. 1004 00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:47,640 Speaker 2: Think, oh the family Chrissmily Christ that was painful, that 1005 00:50:47,719 --> 00:50:52,440 Speaker 2: was difficult to watch. That was real time family meltdown. Yes, 1006 00:50:52,719 --> 00:50:54,960 Speaker 2: I mean my wife walked out in the middle of 1007 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:57,000 Speaker 2: that and said, let me know when it's over. She 1008 00:50:57,040 --> 00:50:58,040 Speaker 2: could not sit through that. 1009 00:50:58,080 --> 00:50:59,680 Speaker 1: But I think I think it was some of the 1010 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:03,319 Speaker 1: best acting. Jamie Lee Curtis was just unbelievable, and the 1011 00:51:03,360 --> 00:51:05,879 Speaker 1: acting and the whole situation. I mean, I'm sure many 1012 00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:11,000 Speaker 1: many families can relate to the dysfunction and just incredibly well. 1013 00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:14,160 Speaker 2: Done, really really interesting stuff. So let's talk about mentors 1014 00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:15,960 Speaker 2: who helped shape your career. 1015 00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:18,600 Speaker 1: Sure, so there's so many. I'm always afraid that I'm 1016 00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:21,080 Speaker 1: going to forget people. But two of the people at 1017 00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:23,960 Speaker 1: Wellington who I co managed money with when I first 1018 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:27,880 Speaker 1: got there and with just phenomenal investors. One was Bob Brands, 1019 00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:30,399 Speaker 1: who was we always referred to as the godfather of growth. 1020 00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:33,160 Speaker 1: He was only one of the first true growth investors 1021 00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:37,120 Speaker 1: at Wellington. Just a phenomenal investor in keeping it super simple, 1022 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:40,880 Speaker 1: having just a great feel for the markets, but just 1023 00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:43,400 Speaker 1: being able to meet with a management team and evaluate 1024 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:47,359 Speaker 1: them and making decisions based on those evaluations. And then 1025 00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:51,560 Speaker 1: the other one was Saul Panel who ran the run 1026 00:51:51,600 --> 00:51:54,799 Speaker 1: the Hertford Capital Appreciation Fund from inception to I think 1027 00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:58,120 Speaker 1: about twenty fifteen. Had just phenomenal performance. But he was 1028 00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:00,720 Speaker 1: like an old school go any way where a capital 1029 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:04,080 Speaker 1: appreciation manager. There were times where he could be positioned 1030 00:52:04,360 --> 00:52:07,840 Speaker 1: incredibly aggressively in growth companies, and then there were times 1031 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:10,600 Speaker 1: that he could be very value oriented. And so I 1032 00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:13,320 Speaker 1: don't think anybody I worked with did as good a 1033 00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:16,080 Speaker 1: job as navigating the tech bubble back in two thousand 1034 00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:19,200 Speaker 1: as he did and having great performance in nineteen ninety 1035 00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:22,680 Speaker 1: nine and then also having amazing performance in two thousand 1036 00:52:23,040 --> 00:52:27,440 Speaker 1: and He's just an amazing, amazing investor. So I say 1037 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,800 Speaker 1: those would be two that were very important in my career. 1038 00:52:30,040 --> 00:52:32,360 Speaker 2: Let's talk about books. What are some of your favorites 1039 00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:34,000 Speaker 2: and what are you reading right now? 1040 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:37,560 Speaker 1: Sure, so, a couple of books that I've really enjoyed 1041 00:52:37,560 --> 00:52:40,000 Speaker 1: over the last few years one was The Silent Patient 1042 00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:44,440 Speaker 1: by Alex Michael Ladies that just was kind of like 1043 00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:47,239 Speaker 1: a psycho thriller story and just had one of the 1044 00:52:47,239 --> 00:52:50,239 Speaker 1: most amazing twists towards the end that I. 1045 00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:54,200 Speaker 3: This is fiction, so that's a fiction book. 1046 00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:55,680 Speaker 1: And then the other one that I read, which is 1047 00:52:55,719 --> 00:52:57,479 Speaker 1: an older book, I think it was written twenty twenty 1048 00:52:57,480 --> 00:52:59,799 Speaker 1: five years ago, was A Human Stain by Philip Roth 1049 00:53:00,239 --> 00:53:03,160 Speaker 1: that was just also incredibly well written. A matter of fact, 1050 00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:04,840 Speaker 1: they just I was a part of something that everybody 1051 00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:06,839 Speaker 1: had to record. Bring a book, You had to literally 1052 00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:08,440 Speaker 1: bring a book, right And that was the book that 1053 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,479 Speaker 1: I brought. And then the one I'm reading right now 1054 00:53:11,520 --> 00:53:14,360 Speaker 1: that I'm on my kindle supposedly seventy percent of the 1055 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:17,120 Speaker 1: way through is a book called The Color of Water 1056 00:53:17,239 --> 00:53:20,360 Speaker 1: by James McBride, which was recommended to me. My favorite 1057 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,840 Speaker 1: book recommended, which is My Friend Susie, and it's a 1058 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:28,160 Speaker 1: biography slash autobiography, and it's written by a black man 1059 00:53:28,520 --> 00:53:31,719 Speaker 1: who was brought up by his white mother who grew 1060 00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:34,800 Speaker 1: up as an Orthodox Jew, okay, and so he learns 1061 00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:37,000 Speaker 1: later in life that he didn't know that he was 1062 00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:40,480 Speaker 1: actually Jewish, and his mother would never tell him anything, 1063 00:53:40,480 --> 00:53:43,280 Speaker 1: and he finally got his mother to tell him his story. 1064 00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:46,600 Speaker 1: And so the story is like one chapter of his life, 1065 00:53:46,920 --> 00:53:49,480 Speaker 1: him telling his life, and then another chapter of his 1066 00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:53,360 Speaker 1: mom talking about her life, juxtaposition between their two lives. 1067 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:57,120 Speaker 1: And so it's an incredibly fascinating book. And so that's 1068 00:53:57,120 --> 00:53:58,200 Speaker 1: what I'm reading right now. 1069 00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:01,520 Speaker 2: Our final two questions, what advice would you give a 1070 00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:06,319 Speaker 2: recent college grad interested in a career in either finance, 1071 00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:10,759 Speaker 2: mutual funds, private placements, late stage venture. What sort of 1072 00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:11,560 Speaker 2: advice would. 1073 00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:12,840 Speaker 3: You give them? Yeah, well, part of the answer is 1074 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:16,160 Speaker 3: what you just said. There's so much more variety of what. 1075 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:19,520 Speaker 1: You can do in the investment world than say, when 1076 00:54:19,520 --> 00:54:22,080 Speaker 1: I got out of school close to forty years ago, 1077 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:23,719 Speaker 1: which was you know, it was kind of one game. 1078 00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:25,040 Speaker 3: It was really public markets. 1079 00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:29,680 Speaker 1: But now with private credit and private equity and ETFs 1080 00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:32,000 Speaker 1: as well as the public markets, it's just a variety 1081 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:34,160 Speaker 1: of things that you can do. And so the advice 1082 00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:36,720 Speaker 1: I would get somebody coming out of school is figure 1083 00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:40,000 Speaker 1: out where your passion is, figure out what your investment 1084 00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:41,920 Speaker 1: style and what works for you. Do you want to 1085 00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:44,120 Speaker 1: be at a hedge fund and really be in the 1086 00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:46,399 Speaker 1: day by day and have to make basically a lot 1087 00:54:46,400 --> 00:54:48,520 Speaker 1: of decisions in short amount of time, or do you 1088 00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:51,479 Speaker 1: want to have a much longer timeframe. Are you more 1089 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:53,960 Speaker 1: in the growth mindset versus the value mindset? 1090 00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:54,880 Speaker 3: So you need to think. 1091 00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:57,759 Speaker 1: About all this and head towards the direction that really 1092 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:00,600 Speaker 1: fits your personality. Like for me, I know, I always 1093 00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:03,040 Speaker 1: tell the story that my moment was when I saw 1094 00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:07,640 Speaker 1: Rod Canyon of Compact unveil the first true laptop back 1095 00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:10,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen I think eighty eight or eighty nine. 1096 00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:11,640 Speaker 3: I was getting tingles. 1097 00:55:11,280 --> 00:55:14,719 Speaker 2: When you say laptop. I remember those because they were 1098 00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:19,160 Speaker 2: like these big giant suitcases. The monitor were like the 1099 00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:22,160 Speaker 2: lid of a suitcase with a handle sticking out, and 1100 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:23,560 Speaker 2: they weighed like one hundred pounds. 1101 00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:24,840 Speaker 3: Luggable, they call them luggable. 1102 00:55:24,920 --> 00:55:25,400 Speaker 2: Luggable. 1103 00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:27,719 Speaker 1: You knew it was going to be the creation of 1104 00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:30,680 Speaker 1: a market, right because this is a totally new market, 1105 00:55:30,719 --> 00:55:32,760 Speaker 1: and you think about you know, fast forward to today. 1106 00:55:33,400 --> 00:55:37,120 Speaker 1: I think most people have laptops versus versus desktop. Like 1107 00:55:37,120 --> 00:55:39,480 Speaker 1: at Wellington, we all have laptops now, we just plug 1108 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:41,320 Speaker 1: it in when we go. We don't have any desktops 1109 00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:44,280 Speaker 1: in the entire almost the entire organization, and so it's 1110 00:55:44,400 --> 00:55:47,560 Speaker 1: it was the beginning of a major, major trend, right, 1111 00:55:47,640 --> 00:55:48,640 Speaker 1: just like the iPhone. 1112 00:55:48,640 --> 00:55:50,520 Speaker 3: When the iPhone was introduced. 1113 00:55:50,560 --> 00:55:53,840 Speaker 1: Think about like nobody had a computer in their pocket. 1114 00:55:53,920 --> 00:55:57,600 Speaker 1: You had these blackberries or you had these these flip phones, 1115 00:55:57,920 --> 00:55:59,680 Speaker 1: but you didn't have you didn't have the Internet in 1116 00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:02,440 Speaker 1: your hand, and at that moment in time, So seeing 1117 00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:08,319 Speaker 1: those develop and understanding that sometimes these trends are overestimated 1118 00:56:08,320 --> 00:56:10,319 Speaker 1: in the short term and underestimated in the long term, 1119 00:56:10,400 --> 00:56:13,000 Speaker 1: and really trying to find those inflection points. That's what 1120 00:56:13,080 --> 00:56:16,640 Speaker 1: I always loved about investing, is being ahead of the 1121 00:56:16,640 --> 00:56:19,000 Speaker 1: crowd and trying to figure out where the puck is 1122 00:56:19,040 --> 00:56:22,200 Speaker 1: going to go before massively before it gets there. 1123 00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,000 Speaker 2: And our final question, what do you know about the 1124 00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:28,960 Speaker 2: world of investing today? You wish you knew thirty or 1125 00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:31,680 Speaker 2: so years ago when you were first getting started. 1126 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:33,799 Speaker 1: So I think I was thinking about it from the 1127 00:56:33,800 --> 00:56:36,400 Speaker 1: context of like over the last kind of two decades, 1128 00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:39,200 Speaker 1: and I think I wish I knew interest rates were 1129 00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:42,000 Speaker 1: going to stay low for as long as they did. 1130 00:56:41,880 --> 00:56:44,200 Speaker 2: Because just forty years wasn't that big a deal. 1131 00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:46,719 Speaker 1: Exactly if you knew that, right, if you knew it 1132 00:56:46,760 --> 00:56:48,359 Speaker 1: was just going to be down into the right from 1133 00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:52,200 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two to twenty twenty one, you would have 1134 00:56:52,239 --> 00:56:56,520 Speaker 1: been massively more aggressive in terms of your investments. I 1135 00:56:56,560 --> 00:56:58,880 Speaker 1: mean I was. I've been an aggressive investor. I've been 1136 00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:01,880 Speaker 1: a growth investor. That's not been bad. It wasn't because 1137 00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:03,560 Speaker 1: I knew interest rates were going to go down. But 1138 00:57:03,600 --> 00:57:07,600 Speaker 1: think about all the trends around buyout and everything in 1139 00:57:07,640 --> 00:57:11,239 Speaker 1: the investment universe that's benefited from that that it would 1140 00:57:11,239 --> 00:57:12,960 Speaker 1: have been great to know. Now, I think that that 1141 00:57:13,360 --> 00:57:17,320 Speaker 1: lesson was obviously two generations, but I don't think that 1142 00:57:17,320 --> 00:57:19,440 Speaker 1: that's going to help you over the next couple of 1143 00:57:19,480 --> 00:57:22,320 Speaker 1: decades because I think interest rates going to zero is 1144 00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:24,080 Speaker 1: probably a thing of the past. 1145 00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:27,640 Speaker 2: Huh, very very very interesting, Michael, Thank you for being 1146 00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:31,120 Speaker 2: so generous with your time. We have been speaking with 1147 00:57:31,200 --> 00:57:35,280 Speaker 2: Michael Carmen, co head of Private Markets at Wellington Management. 1148 00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:38,840 Speaker 2: If you enjoy this conversation, well be sure and check 1149 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:43,000 Speaker 2: out any of our previous five hundred discussions we've had 1150 00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:46,320 Speaker 2: over the past nine years. You can find those at 1151 00:57:46,880 --> 00:57:52,520 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you find your favorite podcasts. 1152 00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:56,400 Speaker 2: Sign up for my daily reading list at ridults dot com. 1153 00:57:56,680 --> 00:58:00,600 Speaker 2: Follow me on Twitter once again at Ridults. Hello, all 1154 00:58:00,640 --> 00:58:05,000 Speaker 2: of the Bloomberg Fine family of podcasts on Twitter or 1155 00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:08,920 Speaker 2: x AT podcast. I would be remiss if I did 1156 00:58:08,920 --> 00:58:11,800 Speaker 2: not thank the crack team that helps put these conversations 1157 00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:16,760 Speaker 2: together each week. Rich Subnati is our audio engineer. Attika 1158 00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:20,880 Speaker 2: of Albron is our project manager. Anna Luke is my producer. 1159 00:58:21,200 --> 00:58:25,760 Speaker 2: Sean Russo is my researcher. I'm Barry Rittolts. You've been 1160 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:28,880 Speaker 2: listening to Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio.