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This week on Swimming with Allocators, Kate Simpson joins Earnest and Alexa to share her journey from starting as a history major at the UNC endowment to leading the venture strategy at multi-asset OC…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Kate Simpson joins Earnest and Alexa to share her journey from starting as a history major at the UNC endowment to leading the venture strategy at multi-asset OCIO firm GEM. She explains how she learned institutional Investing, specialized in private markets, and refined her craft at Parish Capital and Truebridge, including fund-of-funds due diligence, reference work, and the power of platforms and networks. The conversation dives into how to build a venture program from scratch, why alignment, patience, and resource intensity matter, and how GEM uses a b…

In this 100th episode of Swimming with Alligators, Earnest and Alexa dive into how emerging managers and VCs can truly differentiate in a world where everyone shows the same logos and track records. T…

In this 100th episod…

In this 100th episode of Swimming with Alligators, Earnest and Alexa dive into how emerging managers and VCs can truly differentiate in a world where everyone shows the same logos and track records. They unpack why LPs increasingly care about who actually sourced and led deals, why personal differentiation matters more than over-explaining strategy, and how consumer investing is quietly coming back into favor. They explore the limits of “AI strategies” that are more theater than edge, the shifting career paths for 30–40-something VCs, and whether the popular barbell approach to venture (…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Mike Kakenmaster, Director of Investments at Loyola University Chicago, to discuss how a small endowment builds and scales a modern pri…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Mike Kakenmaster, Director of Investments at Loyola University Chicago, to discuss how a small endowment builds and scales a modern private capital and venture program. Mike shares his journey from hedge funds and a Family office to Loyola, explaining how being a generalist across asset classes (hedge funds, buyout, credit, venture) helps him see risks, opportunities, and market cycles more clearly. The conversation covers the shift of LP attention between private markets and hedge funds, how Loyola doubled its private capital al…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Mike Kakenmaster, Director of Investments at Loyola University Chicago, to discuss how a small endowment builds and scales a modern pri…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Mike Kakenmaster, Director of Investments at Loyola University Chicago, to discuss how a small endowment builds and scales a modern private capital and venture program. Mike shares his journey from hedge funds and a family office to Loyola, explaining how being a generalist across asset classes (hedge funds, buyout, credit, venture) helps him see risks, opportunities, and market cycles more clearly. The conversation covers the shift of LP attention between private markets and hedge funds, how Loyola doubled its private capital al…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Growth-investor-turned-LP Yuri Lee (TMRS) joins Earnest and Alexa and explains how her global upbringing and Love of Technology shaped her investing philosophy a…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, growth-investor-turned-LP Yuri Lee (TMRS) joins Earnest and Alexa and explains how her global upbringing and love of technology shaped her investing philosophy and belief that talent can come from anywhere. She walks through TMRS’s $3B and growing venture/growth mandate, how they split exposure between early-stage and multi-stage funds, and why they are building an aggressive 50/50 funds and co-investment program. Yuri shares what she looks for in emerging managers in clear, differentiated edge in sourcing, picking, or winning; true product–market fit…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Erik Balck Sørensen joins Earnest and Alexa to share his journey from serial founder in an almost non-existent Danish startup scene to CIO of Denmark’s Export…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Erik Balck Sørensen joins Earnest and Alexa to share his journey from serial founder in an almost non-existent Danish startup scene to CIO of Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, a sovereign platform backing Innovation at scale. Erik explains how Denmark went from having no venture funds or ecosystem infrastructure to becoming a global player in biotech, green tech, and deep tech, and why “giving back” and tight founder communities were crucial to that evolution. He breaks down what it really means to run a sovereign wealth fund with a dual mandat…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Wes Panek joins Earnest and Alexa to share his unconventional journey from consulting and international development to venture capital, and ultimately to his cur…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Wes Panek joins Earnest and Alexa to share his unconventional journey from consulting and international development to venture capital, and ultimately to his current role as an LP at the Astera Institute, a multi-billion-dollar foundation focused on deep tech and frontier science. Wes explains how his family background shaped his desire to make markets work for everyone, what he learned evaluating hundreds of emerging managers at Screen Door, and why he believes there is no single playbook for success in venture. He breaks down how and why Astera is addin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat talk with Avivar Capital Co-Founders Lisa Richter and Tina Castro about how they built an impact investing firm focused on aligning…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat talk with Avivar Capital Co-Founders Lisa Richter and Tina Castro about how they built an impact investing firm focused on aligning capital with social and environmental outcomes. They trace their paths from ShoreBank, Goldman Sachs, and the California Endowment to launching Avivar, and explain why all investing has impact, positive or negative. The conversation covers place-based investing, creative deal structuring for disaster recovery (like post-wildfire efforts in California), using venture capital as the right tool for …

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Juan Diego Briceno (JDB) shares his journey from New York private banking and Latin American wealth management to building and spinning out Pomifer Capital, an �…

This week on Swimmin…

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Juan Diego Briceno (JDB) shares his journey from New York private banking and Latin American wealth management to building and spinning out Pomifer Capital, an “extension of family office teams” focused on private equity and venture capital. He explains how sophisticated family offices think about alternatives, why many learn the hard way that they shouldn’t try to be full-time VCs, and how to avoid adverse selection in both direct deals and co-investments. The conversation covers hype cycles and climate investing, the dangers of over-concentrating …

Most investors chase scale. Regina Green explains why her team keeps their fellowship intentionally small—working deeply with just 5–10 managers a year, meeting regularly, and using capital as tru…

Most investors chase…

Most investors chase scale. Regina Green explains why her team keeps their fellowship intentionally small—working deeply with just 5–10 managers a year, meeting regularly, and using capital as true strategic growth fuel. If you care more about real partnership than flashy numbers, this is for you. Watch the full episode and subscribe at www.swimmingwithallocators.com.

There’s a quiet “chicken and egg” problem in venture capital that nobody talks about: GPs are expected to bankroll early costs from their own savings or friends and family. But why should your i…

There’s a quiet �…

There’s a quiet “chicken and egg” problem in venture capital that nobody talks about: GPs are expected to bankroll early costs from their own savings or friends and family. But why should your investing talent be tied to how wealthy you already are? This invisible barrier keeps great investors out of the game and reinforces the same old power structures. Watch the full episode and subscribe at www.swimmingwithallocators.com.

Most people think fund managers just raise capital and pick startups. In reality, they’re building a company of their own — an asset management business with all the same challenges founders face.…

Most people think fu…

Most people think fund managers just raise capital and pick startups. In reality, they’re building a company of their own — an asset management business with all the same challenges founders face. Discover why great GPs must think like entrepreneurs, not just investors. Watch the full episode and subscribe at www.swimmingwithallocators.com.