Other People's Money with Max Wiethe

Dan Rasmussen has built his firm Verdad Capital into a billion-dollar asset manager on the back of one core activity, producing high quality research. Since Verdad’s inception in 2014, they have produced almost 500 pieces of research that they publish on their website weekly and distribute both on Twitter and to their large email list of readers. This research serves two functions. It’s both the backbone of the strategies employed at this highly quantitative firm, and a point of connection with existing and potential investors. In this interview with Max Wiethe, Rasmussen discusses how he’s used research to showcase his authentic self and build an audience that provides enumerable benefits. They also discuss the compliance process for publishing research, how he has built out his team and Verdad’s internship program, and why he takes a more SaaS approach to product market fit. Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR Follow Dan Rasmussen on Twitter: https://x.com/verdadcap Follow Max Wiethe on Twitter: https://x.com/maxwiethe Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:43 The Value of Research and Verdad’s First Big Thesis 10:27 The SaaS Approach Product Market Fit 20:26 Investing in Human Capital 24:21 The Research and Publishing Process 28:41 Research as Brand Building 33:06 Compliance and Misconceptions About Public Statements 41:35 Authenticity and Investor Archetypes 46:07 Making Mistakes 49:45 Being Early on PE

Hedge fund strategies like distressed, long short equities, relative value, etc. are well defined and understood by allocators. As a result, funds that fit neatly into these style boxes can easily answer the question, “what type of fund are you?” But what if you don’t fit neatly into one of these boxes? Be too exact and no one will search for your niche strategy. Push the envelope to fit into one of these boxes and suddenly investors feel like they’ve been tricked into a meeting. This is a problem that Louis Camhi, founder and CIO of RLH Capital, has had to deal with since launching his SPAC focused strategy in 2021. In this interview with Max Wiethe, Camhi discusses why educating investors about SPACs and defining his fund for style box focused investors has been harder than finding interesting SPAC trades. They also touch on outsourcing back and middle office, the little things you don’t think about when you are working for a larger fund, and the tradeoffs between SMAs and pooled vehicles. Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR Follow Louis Camhi on Twitter: https://x.com/valwithcatalyst Follow Max Wiethe on Twitter: https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow OPM on Twitter: https://x.com/OPMpod Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://x.com/JackFarley96

Harris Kupperman, CIO and Founder of Praetorian Capital joins Max Wiethe to share how he’s grown his firm to over $300 million in AUM, largely by breaking the institutional mold. They discuss Kupperman’s choice to build a strategy with UHNW investors and family offices in mind rather than traditional institutional investors and the benefits of a diversified base of LPs. They also discuss the firm’s blog Kuppy’s Korner, the importance of authenticity in brand building, and his choice to register the fund as a 506(c). Clarification: At 50:48 Harris mentions that almost half the capital in the fund is from gains. As of September 30th, 2024 44% of the capital is from gains. Sign up for Kuppy’s Korner at: https://pracap.com Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR Follow Harris Kupperman on Twitter: https://x.com/hkuppy Follow Max Wiethe on Twitter: https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow OPM on Twitter: https://x.com/OPMpod Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://x.com/JackFarley96

Building a successful hedge fund is hard. It’s even harder when you’re fighting the perpetual upward momentum of the market. Despite this headwind, Carson Block, CIO and Founder of Muddy Waters Capital, has made his firm into a successful fund management business and taken down billion-dollar frauds in the process. In this interview with Max Wiethe, Block explains why starting a fund became necessary to pursue activist short selling in a serious capacity, the pitfalls of capital raising and the different types of investors who are interested in specialized strategies like theirs, and how he is expanding his business with new strategies beyond activist short selling. Recorded on October 21st, 2024. Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR Follow Muddy Waters on Twitter: https://x.com/muddywatersre Follow Max Wiethe on Twitter: https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow OPM on Twitter: https://x.com/OPMpod

Max Wiethe interviews the very best investment fund managers about the business of Other People's Money. Max is in partnership with Jack Farley and Other People's Money is part of the Monetary Matters podcast network. Stay tuned for the first episode of Other People's Money with activist short seller Carson Block, airing in late October 2024. Follow Max Wiethe on Twitter https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow Other People's Money on Twitter https://x.com/OPMpod Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://x.com/JackFarley96