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Capital Allocators: How the world’s elite money managers lead and invest
The chief investment officers (CIOs) at endowments, foundations, family offices, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds are the leaders in the world of finance. They marshal trillions of dollars on behalf of their institutions and influence how capital flows throughout the world.
But these elite investors live outside of the public eye. Across the entire investment industry, few participants understand how these holders of the keys to the kingdom allocate their time and their capital.
What's more, there is no formal training for how to do their work.
So how do these influential leaders practice their craft? What skills do they require? What frameworks do they employ? How do they make investment decisions on everything from hiring managers to portfolio construction?
For the first time, CAPITAL ALLOCATORS lifts the lid on this opaque corner of the investment landscape.
Drawing on interviews from the first 150 episodes of the Capital Allocators podcast, Ted Seides presents the best of the knowledge, practical insights, and advice of the world's top professional investors.
These insights include:
- The best practices for interviewing, decision-making, negotiations, leadership, and management.
- Investment frameworks across governance, strategy, process, technological innovation, and uncertainty.
- The wisest and most impactful quotes from guests on the Capital Allocators podcast.
Learn from the likes of the CIOs at the endowments of Princeton and Notre Dame, family offices of Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, pension funds from the State of Florida, CalSTRS, and Canadian CDPQ, sovereign wealth funds of New Zealand and Australia, and many more.
CAPITAL ALLOCATORS is the essential new reference manual for current and aspiring CIOs, the money managers that work with them, and everyone allocating a pool of capital.
But these elite investors live outside of the public eye. Across the entire investment industry, few participants understand how these holders of the keys to the kingdom allocate their time and their capital.
What's more, there is no formal training for how to do their work.
So how do these influential leaders practice their craft? What skills do they require? What frameworks do they employ? How do they make investment decisions on everything from hiring managers to portfolio construction?
For the first time, CAPITAL ALLOCATORS lifts the lid on this opaque corner of the investment landscape.
Drawing on interviews from the first 150 episodes of the Capital Allocators podcast, Ted Seides presents the best of the knowledge, practical insights, and advice of the world's top professional investors.
These insights include:
- The best practices for interviewing, decision-making, negotiations, leadership, and management.
- Investment frameworks across governance, strategy, process, technological innovation, and uncertainty.
- The wisest and most impactful quotes from guests on the Capital Allocators podcast.
Learn from the likes of the CIOs at the endowments of Princeton and Notre Dame, family offices of Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, pension funds from the State of Florida, CalSTRS, and Canadian CDPQ, sovereign wealth funds of New Zealand and Australia, and many more.
CAPITAL ALLOCATORS is the essential new reference manual for current and aspiring CIOs, the money managers that work with them, and everyone allocating a pool of capital.
220 pages, Hardcover
Published March 23, 2021
152 people are currently reading
734 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 24, 2021
The Top Lessons From Top Capital Allocators
Ted Seides shares the best tips, advice, and wisdom he has learned from the CIOs, investors, and deep thinkers he has interviewed on the first 150 episodes of his popular Capital Allocators podcast. The book is short but powerful. It has three parts:
Part 1 gives advice on five skills every CIO needs:
- How to interview money managers
- Tips on decision-making
- Tips on negotiating
- How to lead the team
- How to manage the team and develop talent
Part 2 explains five frameworks of the allocator’s environment
- The critical but often overlooked impact of the fund’s governance structure
- The investment strategy
- Elements of a good investment process
- How to use new technology
- How to deal with uncertainty
Part 3 is a collection of the best quotes from his podcasts. Some of my favorites:
“Anyone who thinks nothing lasts forever has never invested in a bad private equity fund” – Karl Scheer, University of Cincinnati Endowment
“Manager skill is rare. It’s really hard to identify in advance. Sometimes it’s hard to identify after the fact.” – Matt Whineray, New Zealand Super Fund
“Emphasize the reflective over the reactive.” – James Aitken, Aitken Advisors
I also like that Seides gives a list of books and links to learn more about each topic. And he includes in an appendix an example of a preparation document with key questions to ask money managers during an interview.
Overall, this book is a valuable collection of wisdom and advice.
Ted Seides shares the best tips, advice, and wisdom he has learned from the CIOs, investors, and deep thinkers he has interviewed on the first 150 episodes of his popular Capital Allocators podcast. The book is short but powerful. It has three parts:
Part 1 gives advice on five skills every CIO needs:
- How to interview money managers
- Tips on decision-making
- Tips on negotiating
- How to lead the team
- How to manage the team and develop talent
Part 2 explains five frameworks of the allocator’s environment
- The critical but often overlooked impact of the fund’s governance structure
- The investment strategy
- Elements of a good investment process
- How to use new technology
- How to deal with uncertainty
Part 3 is a collection of the best quotes from his podcasts. Some of my favorites:
“Anyone who thinks nothing lasts forever has never invested in a bad private equity fund” – Karl Scheer, University of Cincinnati Endowment
“Manager skill is rare. It’s really hard to identify in advance. Sometimes it’s hard to identify after the fact.” – Matt Whineray, New Zealand Super Fund
“Emphasize the reflective over the reactive.” – James Aitken, Aitken Advisors
I also like that Seides gives a list of books and links to learn more about each topic. And he includes in an appendix an example of a preparation document with key questions to ask money managers during an interview.
Overall, this book is a valuable collection of wisdom and advice.
May 2, 2021
Basically a summary of the podcasts
I was hoping to get more insights out of this. However, over long stretches it felt stale, kind of an attempt to generate a bit more revenue out of the same content.
While did find some nuggets that I think I will be able to use, there were also some concepts that could have benefitted from a little more explanation. Some topics would have become more accessible.
Don't get me wrong. The author certainly is a subject matter expert. I'm not sure, though, this book reflects the best he can be as an expert.
I was hoping to get more insights out of this. However, over long stretches it felt stale, kind of an attempt to generate a bit more revenue out of the same content.
While did find some nuggets that I think I will be able to use, there were also some concepts that could have benefitted from a little more explanation. Some topics would have become more accessible.
Don't get me wrong. The author certainly is a subject matter expert. I'm not sure, though, this book reflects the best he can be as an expert.
December 29, 2021
Just a plug for his podcast without much extra value. Allocators in the real world will likely (if I had to guess) find this advice generic and simple. Gave three stars for some of the example questions for manager interviews, think i found a few worth using in my day job... overpriced for 128 pages of content (largely just summaries from podcast interviews) and then another 30 pages of quotes and then 30 pages of appendices.
May 5, 2022
This book was interesting, and likely a very useful book for those involved with managing money for others. As a do-it-yourself investor the quotes provided good wording but not much new that I could implement. I expected a heavier emphasis on the discipline of investing, but that will likely appear in books after the next correction rather than after a 10 year bull market.
August 16, 2024
Not helpful at all
This book was interesting at a very high level with some entertaining quotes. As a roadmap for how to actually run an active portfolio, it was not useful. There were no specific strategies offered just a collection of what many people do in certain circumstances and what works for them. All of this advice collectively has done nothing more than allow, 70% of these managers to underperform an index allocated portfolio. That’s just the data and there’s no getting around it. I was hoping to find in here some specific strategy that would consistently lead to out performance with some analytics to back it up. There simply isn’t one. I would recommend investors use index funds for asset allocation in each segment that they wish to invest in. Your odds of success will be greatly enhanced compared to randomly selecting a variety of strategies like these and trying to implement them.
This book was interesting at a very high level with some entertaining quotes. As a roadmap for how to actually run an active portfolio, it was not useful. There were no specific strategies offered just a collection of what many people do in certain circumstances and what works for them. All of this advice collectively has done nothing more than allow, 70% of these managers to underperform an index allocated portfolio. That’s just the data and there’s no getting around it. I was hoping to find in here some specific strategy that would consistently lead to out performance with some analytics to back it up. There simply isn’t one. I would recommend investors use index funds for asset allocation in each segment that they wish to invest in. Your odds of success will be greatly enhanced compared to randomly selecting a variety of strategies like these and trying to implement them.
December 31, 2022
"Manager skill is rare. It's really hard to identify in advance. Sometimes it's hard to identify after the fact."
"If you can't be with the best manager in venture capital, don't do it. Don't spend much time on it or try to find fancy way around it. VC has very high autocorrelation. It's just a big unfair advantage. Once you are winning, you can keep winning if you do it right."
"True proprietary transactions are very rare. They exist, but they are very rare."
"IRRs are juiced by credit lines and skewed from early one-off events. The metric also does not consider the opportunity cost of uncalled capital commitments. And any amounts not yet distributed in the calculation of TVPI and RVPI are subject to fair value manipulation, particularly in situations when managers are preparing to raise capital for a successor fund."
"If you can't be with the best manager in venture capital, don't do it. Don't spend much time on it or try to find fancy way around it. VC has very high autocorrelation. It's just a big unfair advantage. Once you are winning, you can keep winning if you do it right."
"True proprietary transactions are very rare. They exist, but they are very rare."
"IRRs are juiced by credit lines and skewed from early one-off events. The metric also does not consider the opportunity cost of uncalled capital commitments. And any amounts not yet distributed in the calculation of TVPI and RVPI are subject to fair value manipulation, particularly in situations when managers are preparing to raise capital for a successor fund."
September 22, 2022
I read /Capital Allocators: How the world’s elite money managers lead and invest/, by Ted Seides, which distills summaries and some zingers from Ted's podcast of the same name:
https://capitalallocators.com/podcast...
Much respect to Ted Seides for The Bet and even more so for his track record.
I didn't find his book interesting though, because institutional fund managers like him are funds-of-funds investors, and Seides mostly focused on management and process.
Information and stories about investing in equities or individual companies would be much more interesting.
I bet the podcast format - discussions with institutional investors rather than summaries of those discussions - is way more interesting.
https://capitalallocators.com/podcast...
Much respect to Ted Seides for The Bet and even more so for his track record.
I didn't find his book interesting though, because institutional fund managers like him are funds-of-funds investors, and Seides mostly focused on management and process.
Information and stories about investing in equities or individual companies would be much more interesting.
I bet the podcast format - discussions with institutional investors rather than summaries of those discussions - is way more interesting.
November 12, 2024
This book is a collection of insights around the asset allocation industry with the inclusion of life wisdom nuggets.
Those insights were gathered from conversations with guests at Ted Seides podcast “Capital Allocators”.
I found the book short, light and entertaining, and it’s a great substitute for people like me who do not enjoy listening to podcasts that much.
I have to say, it’s very basic, and if you are looking for a roadmap to help you understand the asset management business, you won’t find much.
Those insights were gathered from conversations with guests at Ted Seides podcast “Capital Allocators”.
I found the book short, light and entertaining, and it’s a great substitute for people like me who do not enjoy listening to podcasts that much.
I have to say, it’s very basic, and if you are looking for a roadmap to help you understand the asset management business, you won’t find much.
May 1, 2022
Good overview for FoFs
I bought this book thinking it was a bit broader in terms of individual manager capital allocation and/or corporate capital allocation. It’s quite focused on how fund of funds allocate to fund managers. It’s an interesting read but you have to care a decent amount about that activity for it to be worthwhile.
I bought this book thinking it was a bit broader in terms of individual manager capital allocation and/or corporate capital allocation. It’s quite focused on how fund of funds allocate to fund managers. It’s an interesting read but you have to care a decent amount about that activity for it to be worthwhile.
November 26, 2022
Capital Allocators is a summary of more than 150 podcasts where Ted Seides interview various investment professionals.
For me the most useful and interesting part was about manager selection process which is roughly 1/3 of a book. However, there was a lack of deeper insights in particular asset class and how they work. I give extra points for the author as the book is quite short
For me the most useful and interesting part was about manager selection process which is roughly 1/3 of a book. However, there was a lack of deeper insights in particular asset class and how they work. I give extra points for the author as the book is quite short
September 9, 2021
Very basic, offers you broad advice that could be applied to seemingly anything. Absolutely no drama either. Main failure of the book was not tying it all into the institutional investing world. Book is missing that link, I think. 2.5 stars, but only made it a third of the way through.
April 9, 2021
Definitely recommend his podcast. His book is very Insightful. But I felt it started off very strong. And finished off weak.
April 17, 2021
Too simple and boring. Doesn’t add anything new. Wasted time and money
April 17, 2021
Light and enlightening
For the serious and thoughtful investor,this book reminds us of the things we thought we knew, but never applied.
Keep it for future reference.
For the serious and thoughtful investor,this book reminds us of the things we thought we knew, but never applied.
Keep it for future reference.
June 18, 2021
I expected a book that would outline the actual capital allocation decisions with case examples. I am not really sure what this book tried to do.
June 29, 2021
Technical and boring. Quite disappointed with this tome on investing processes. Very little practical advice.
July 4, 2021
This is may be interesting for non-professionals. For a practitioner it reads like a structured list of stuff, compiled with zero creative thought.
November 8, 2021
got some insights into how the world of institutional investing works.
May 29, 2022
Front part of the book was more niche; nonetheless the nuggets of wisdom from chapter 10 onwards has made the book an inspirational read.
September 27, 2022
Not too bad. Summary of his podcast. A few great quotes
January 21, 2025
Lessons from the great capital allocators distilled into bite size nuggets and quotes
October 25, 2025
not much useful
November 29, 2025
Don`t bother and listen to podcast
February 12, 2026
Niche target audience for sure, but I found the book to exceed expectations, especially for the descriptions of how to best run interviews. This contained a lot of valuable strategies, not just limited to allocators speaking to asset managers.
March 27, 2021
This book was a bit of a letdown. I had high expectations, but after going through the book realized that much of the content is irrelevant. The only parts that I enjoyed were selected quotes that are towards the end of the book.
May 9, 2021
I don’t think I’m the specific target audience for this book, but I still really enjoyed it. I’ve only been investing for a few months, but I’m trying to soak up as mutch knowledge and wisdom as I can. I hadn’t heard of Ted Seides or his podcast before, but I saw some authors and others I respect sharing the launch of this new book, so I decided to pick it up. Ted has interviewed so many money managers that he’s seen and learned about a lot of successes and failures, and that’s what he put together in this book. The chapters are short (not a bad thing) and cover a variety of topics like investment strategy, technology, and managing risk and uncertainty. These chapters as well as the one with a bunch of rapid fire nuggets of wisdom were my favorites, but as an avid reader, I really appreciate how Seides ends each chapter with book suggestions. Some of the other chapters definitely went over my head, but as I continue to learn about investing and the markets, I’ll be sure to revisit this book because it provides so much value.
May 22, 2022
I don't think I was exactly the intended audience for this book. I was expecting it to be more about CFOs that allocate capital, instead of was about portfolio managers of large funds (pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds etc) who allocate funds to investment managers. That's on me.
Some great takeaways in terms of leadership but very little if you are looking for something to demonstrate investment strategies for your personal account or as an investment analyst. Parts were quite specific in how to select a money manager wisely.
This is largely a summary of the best pieces from the Capital Allocators podcast and in that regard it was quite condensed. It also meant the book was 50% quotes from said podcast. Naturally this made it feel like a big plug for it.
Overall, an enjoyable listen but I don't think I'll be coming back to it again.
Some great takeaways in terms of leadership but very little if you are looking for something to demonstrate investment strategies for your personal account or as an investment analyst. Parts were quite specific in how to select a money manager wisely.
This is largely a summary of the best pieces from the Capital Allocators podcast and in that regard it was quite condensed. It also meant the book was 50% quotes from said podcast. Naturally this made it feel like a big plug for it.
Overall, an enjoyable listen but I don't think I'll be coming back to it again.
October 17, 2022
The book is meh. Great for anyone who's a limited partner or investing in other funds, but not really that useful for many others.
Some notes I took:
Active investing now has a problem of paradox of skill
Good interviewers define the purpose, prepare, set the stage, listen actively and receive feedback
Outline a framework and a few good questions but listen and follow-up with good questions to what they’ve said
Find a good comfortable setting, find common ground, ask simple brief questions
Let people talk
Express humility
Lose the script
Be careful of confirmation bias
We are hard wired to make bad decision
For more notes and quotes, see here - https://www.anichexperience.com/book-...
Some notes I took:
Active investing now has a problem of paradox of skill
Good interviewers define the purpose, prepare, set the stage, listen actively and receive feedback
Outline a framework and a few good questions but listen and follow-up with good questions to what they’ve said
Find a good comfortable setting, find common ground, ask simple brief questions
Let people talk
Express humility
Lose the script
Be careful of confirmation bias
We are hard wired to make bad decision
For more notes and quotes, see here - https://www.anichexperience.com/book-...
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews