The Investment Office by Ivy Invest

Wendy is joined by Carson Block, founder of Muddy Waters Capital, an activist, research-oriented hedge fund best known for its short positions. Carson shares his journey from operating a self-storage business in China to running an investment firm whose research has contributed to at least 11 public company delistings. He discusses:His framework for identifying short opportunitiesWhere many short sellers make mistakesWhy he continues to publish his research publicly How he approaches risk managementWhy he's worried about AI---Learn more about Muddy Waters at https://muddywatersresearch.com/Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Investing in individual private companies might make for good cocktail party talk, but will it drive good returns? This week, Wendy and Matt discuss why even sophisticated institutional investors typically invest in funds rather than participate in standalone individual private company financings. They cover the challenges of evaluating single company investments and how the rise of AI may exacerbate risks.---Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co

What can Capital One's $5.15B acquisition of Brex teach us about the complexities of investing in venture funds? Matt and Wendy discuss the nuances of venture fund stages and strategies, the value of vintage year diversification, and the importance of approaching venture investing in a programmatic way.---Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Many private markets fund managers are rapidly innovating to bring products to the retail wealth channels, and some institutional investors aren't so happy about it. This week, Wendy and Matt deep dive into what's making big institutions so nervous about having to potentially share the limelight with individual investors.---Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Are private company secondaries about to go mainstream with Morgan Stanley's acquisition of pre-IPO marketplace EquityZen? Matt and Wendy discuss the history of secondaries, how they typically work, and what this might all mean for individual investors.---Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Is AI going to change everything, or are we just caught in a hype cycle? This week, Wendy and Matt discuss how the current AI market compares with past periods of market mania, what the current boom might mean for energy usage, and how AI might change the investing landscape across public and private markets. ------ Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

Bitcoin may have generated remarkable returns over the last decade, but has it actually fulfilled its original promise? Matt shares his perspectives as a very early builder in Bitcoin, while Wendy discusses how many institutional investors view the space. ------ Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

What happens when investor incentives aren't quite aligned? This week, Wendy and Matt discuss the ways in which SaaS business models might have benefited investors over founders, how LPs view venture fund sizes and fees, and why different co-invest models might create different incentive structures.Discussed article from Will Quist from Slow Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-saas-myth-how-vcs-maybe-won-founders-expense-alt-will-quist-awj0c/------Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

This week, Wendy and Matt consider the impacts of private equity on small-cap stocks: is PE a factor in the shrinking of public markets? They also discuss the ways AI may create new opportunities for private equity strategies to create value for investors.------ Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

This week, Wendy and Matt discuss the rapid rise of new private markets products for retail investors. They explore why funds that typically worked only with large endowments & foundations are now designing new offerings targeted at individual investors. As a long-time institutional investor, Wendy shares her thoughts on some of the risks of these new approaches.------ Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠⁠. Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠⁠

In today's episode, Ivy Invest CIO Wendy Li and CEO Matt Pauker explore the potential impacts of two new proposals from the Trump administration: the opening of 401(k) plans to private markets, and a new tax-deferred investment account for children. Wendy shares thoughts from her experience as an institutional investor, and how those lessons might be applied to individuals looking to maximize the benefits of being long-term investors.------Learn more about Ivy Invest at ⁠https://ivyinvest.co⁠.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: ⁠https://askacio.ivyinvest.co⁠

In today's episode, Ivy Invest CIO Wendy Li and CEO Matt Pauker cover the latest dynamics in private markets investing. They cover the rise of multi-layer SPVs, the announcement of Robinhood's private company tokenization offering, and ponder the question: will some of these large tech companies ever go public?–Learn more about Ivy Invest at https://ivyinvest.co.Subscribe to Wendy's newsletter, Ask a CIO: https://askacio.ivyinvest.co