INVESTOLOGY: re-think investment management

Investment Management Intelligence
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Conversations with technologists, founders, academics, and strategists reshaping how capital is deployed, managed, and optimized. Hosted by George Aliferis (reformed investment banker, founder of Orama). Four series, one obsession: Skeptic's Guide — Dissecting marketing claims in investment management. What actually works. Source Code — Founder stories. How fintech builders are solving real problems in asset management. Institutional (Up)Grade — Technology, infrastructure, and operations. How institutions compete through innovation. Investologists — Deep conversations with recognized experts. The people setting the agenda. No macro. No market predictions. Investment management, period. Hosted by George Aliferis, a reformed investment banker and founder of Orama: http://orama.tv - thought leadership for those selling to financial institutions. investorama.substack.com

  1. Equity performance triples when it goes private? Featuring Neuberger Berman [The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management]

    MAR 24

    Equity performance triples when it goes private? Featuring Neuberger Berman [The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management]

    Welcome to the Skeptic’s Guide to Investment Management. In each episode, we examine one industry publication through a skeptical, logical, evidence-based lens, with the help of Tim McGlinn, ex-investment consultant, portfolio manager and professor of finance, and founder of the TheAltView . We discuss Georgetown University’s Center for Retirement Initiatives reports (with Willis Towers Watson) suggesting adding private equity and hedge funds to 401(k)s could leave retirees with 17% more money—thanks to 40 years of compounding and, conveniently, assuming investors pick managers that are well above average. The reports bake in big after-fee excess returns, raising the awkward question of whether everyone can be “above average” at the same time. The takeaway: stay skeptical, and don’t mistake university-branded publications for peer-reviewed research. You can find the original report here: https://cri.georgetown.edu/research/ Link to Tim’s original article: Georgetown & Willis Towers Watson More content like this on Substack and YouTube: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investology_podcast Investorama on Substack TheAltView on Substack Find us on LinkedIn George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis/ Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-mcglinn SGIM is an Investology podcast series, produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/ MUSIC CREDITS Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    9 min
  2. The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management #2: Georgetown University's Unacademic Assumptions

    MAR 10

    The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management #2: Georgetown University's Unacademic Assumptions

    Welcome to the Skeptic’s Guide to Investment Management. In each episode, we examine one industry publication through a skeptical, logical, evidence-based lens, with the help of Tim McGlinn, ex-investment consultant, portfolio manager and professor of finance, and founder of the TheAltView. The episode examines a report by the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives, produced with Willis Towers Watson, that you can find here: https://cri.georgetown.edu/research/ Tim found a headline claim that investors could retire with 17% more, driven by 40 years of compounding, based on the assumption of access to above-average managers for all retirees. Link to Tim’s original article Georgetown & Willis Towers Watson More content like this on Substack and YouTube: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investology_podcast Investorama on Substack TheAltView on Substack Find us on LinkedIn George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis/ Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-mcglinn SGIM is an Investology podcast series, produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/ MUSIC CREDITS Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    8 min
  3. Guardian of the Models: Building for Auditability First, When Others Build for Velocity

    FEB 23

    Guardian of the Models: Building for Auditability First, When Others Build for Velocity

    Welcome to another episode of SOURCE CODE. At Finovate, a leading Fintech conference “where you see the future of fintech first”, startups demo their solutions in seven minutes. This series is everything else - the human story behind the innovation. In every great story, there’s a hero on a quest and a guide who’s walked the path before. In b2b fintech, the customer is the hero. Today’s founder? They’re the guide. We’re going back to the origin - before the demo, before the product - to understand the journey that led here.  This story is about Alex Frankl, founder of Fintrac, a model platform for financial services. The interview was recorded at Finovate Europe 2026. Alex embodies The Defender archetype - standing guard over what’s most vulnerable in regulated finance: governance, auditability, and compliance. While others optimize for speed and flexibility, he remains resolute in defending the principles that protect financial institutions from risk. Like all great defenders, he’s driven not by glory but by a deep commitment to ensuring nothing sacred is lost in the pursuit of innovation. Links Fintrac Finovate demo: Subscribe to the newsletter: Source Code is a series from the Investology podcast, produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    5 min
  4. The Geeks Who Wouldn't Build a Neobank (And Let Every Brand Become One Instead) [Source Code]

    FEB 16

    The Geeks Who Wouldn't Build a Neobank (And Let Every Brand Become One Instead) [Source Code]

    Welcome to another episode of SOURCE CODE. At Finovate, a leading Fintech conference “where you see the future of fintech first”, startups demo their solutions in seven minutes. This series is everything else - the human story behind the innovation. In every great story, there’s a hero on a quest and a guide who’s walked the path before. In b2b fintech, the customer is the hero. Today’s founder? They’re the guide. We’re going back to the origin - before the demo, before the product - to understand the journey that led here.  This story is about Philipp Buschmann, founder of AAZZUR, a leading embedded financial services provider. The interview was recorded at Finovate Europe 2026.   Philipp embodies The Captain archetype - a decisive leader who guides others through complex transformation with clarity and confidence. He built AAZZUR to empower companies to achieve embedded finance without needing deep technical expertise, making the impossible accessible. Like all great captains, he inspires trust through clear vision, tirelessly enabling others to succeed, and stays focused on his true goal: helping his clients become Heroes in their own industries. Links AAZZUR on Finovate: https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/sponsors/aazzur/ Philipp Buschmann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippbuschmann/ Company website: https://www.aazzur.com/ Subscribe to the newsletter: Source Code is a series from the Investology podcast, produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    11 min
  5. From Studying Brains to Enabling Hedge Fund Innovation: How Neuroscience Built Neuralk AI [Source Code]

    FEB 12

    From Studying Brains to Enabling Hedge Fund Innovation: How Neuroscience Built Neuralk AI [Source Code]

    Welcome to the first episode of SOURCE CODE. At Finovate, a leading Fintech conference “where you see the future of fintech first”, startups demo their solutions in seven minutes. This series is everything else - the human story behind the innovation. In every great story, there’s a hero on a quest and a guide who’s walked the path before. In b2b fintech, the customer is the hero. Today’s founder? They’re the guide. We’re going back to the origin - before the demo, before the product - to understand the journey that led here. We start with Alexandre Pasquiou from Neuralk AI, recorded at Finovate. Alexandre Pasquiou holds a degree from Centrale Paris and a PhD in computational neuroscience from Inria. He co-founded Neuralk: Bringing Frontier AI intelligence to your business with a foundation model that delivers instant predictions on structured data. Alexandre embodies The Pioneer archetype - driven by curiosity and innovation, he ventured into uncharted territory by translating transformer architecture to structured data where others said it couldn’t scale. Like all great pioneers, he’s optimistic about the future, brave enough to explore what others haven’t, and focused on discovering truth through breakthrough technology. Links Alexandre on Finovate: https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/speakers/alexandre-pasquiou/ Alexandre Pasquiou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandre-pasquiou-0bb3b8b9/ Company website: https://www.neuralk-ai.com/ Subscribe to the newsletter Source Code is a series from the Investology podcast, produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    8 min
  6. Why Startups Fail But Tequila Works in Alternative Investing

    JAN 21

    Why Startups Fail But Tequila Works in Alternative Investing

    Born out of the 2020 lockdowns, Alts.co has grown into a unique platform offering access to unconventional asset classes, including tequila barrels, sports ventures, and K-pop music rights. But how do you promote alternative investments like these without getting lost in the hype? A conversation with Stefan von Imhof, CEO of Alts.co. Watch it on YouTube or listen on all podcast apps. A few quotes from our conversation Trust vs Fun  Trust is earned slowly but surely, and you can lose it like that if you’re not careful. But that’s why we’re careful. And so, it feels good. It feels really good to bring great deals to the community. And yeah, if we have stories to tell on top of it, fantastic. I’ve asked Stefan a few questions about what I call “investing beyond returns”, because investing is not multi-dimensional; topics for dinner conversation, status, learning, etc., all matter. But it turns out that the answer is more boring than I was hoping. Returns matter more than anything else, and trust is built on returns. That Tequila Trip We’ve been to Mexico twice now. We’ve been working with our tequila dealer, and yes, he’s as cool as he sounds, but we’ve been working with Miguel for about a year before this. And then as we matured as a company and realized tequila really is a great investment. It has all the same appreciation as wine and whiskey, without the wait. Tequila goes from Blanco to Reposado, to Anejo, to extra Anejo in three and a half years, and you’re out. I was a bit obsessed about something that sounded too much fun to be a sound investment: a tequila tasting and investing trip to Mexico. It turns out that meeting people, visiting locations, are just a normal part of a thorough due diligence, a topic that kept coming back in the conversation. The Right Risk-Profile  It’s tough to get our community excited for anything under like 12%, roughly. I would say the sweet spot is like 13 to 18%. The area above 20%, people just start   getting skeptical.  It sounds like b******t. And then it’s got to have downside protection. Stefan also added that they don’t offer startup investments and avoid Equity risk for the same reason. This brought me back to the issue I expressed with YieldStreet Willow Wealth: the most toxic offering for retail investors is a high headline yield, combined with a high level of risk (such as equity tranches) hidden in the footnotes. More information about Stefan & Alts.co: Alts.co https://alts.co/ Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanvonimhof/ About the Investlogy podcast:Investology is a podcast dedicated to rethinking investment management and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors.Listen on podcast platforms, or watch on YouTube. An episode produced by Orama (orama.tv): Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline with sales-driven video strategies. About the Host: George Aliferis, CAIA, is the founder of Orama. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia. George LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis-60078312/ Related episodes Yieldstreet (now Willow Wealth): Leyla Kunimoto: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    45 min
  7. The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management #1: GSAM's New Ray of Hope

    JAN 7

    The Skeptic's Guide to Investment Management #1: GSAM's New Ray of Hope

    Welcome to the Skeptic’s Guide to Investment Management. In each episode, we examine one industry publication through a skeptical, logical, evidence-based lens, with the help of Tim McGlinn, ex-investment consultant, portfolio manager and professor of finance, and founder of TheAltView . Link to the document https://am.gs.com/cms-assets/gsam-app/documents/insights/en/2025/am-retirement-survey-102025.pdf Tim’s Altview on Substack https://thealtview.substack.com/ MUSIC Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ A series from the Investology podcast produced by https://orama.tv/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    6 min
  8. Family Wealth. PE-Backed Wealth Management.

    12/22/2025

    Family Wealth. PE-Backed Wealth Management.

    For decades, wealth management was defined by proximity. Advisors, Families, relationships built on continuity. The industry scaled slowly because wealth is personal, and stewardship doesn’t lend itself easily to industrial logic. That assumption is now breaking. Over the past five years, the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry has entered what has been described as a golden era of deal-making—one driven not by product innovation, but by ownership change. Wealth management is being scaled, with Private Equity-backed equity “roll-ups”. In the latest Investology episode, we’re discussing the intricacies and implications of this industry trend with Andrew D. Mirolli, CEPA, the co-founder of BuyAUM.com - Growth Partner for RIA Buyers & Sellers. Enjoy the episode on every podcast platform or YouTube. About Andrew At buyAUM.com, I help Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) scale their practices and safeguard their legacies.For growth-focused firms, I provide access to curated acquisition opportunities tailored to strategic goals. For advisors exploring succession, I offer guidance and connections to ensure their clients and life's work are placed in trusted hands.With nearly a decade of experience supporting advisors nationwide, I understand that every practice carries a legacy worth preserving. That’s why we take a personal, relationship-driven approach, helping both buyers and sellers find the right fit for their future. Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-d-mirolli-cepa%C2%AE-7a304259/ About the Investlogy podcast:Investology is a podcast dedicated to rethinking investment management and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors.Listen on podcast platforms, or watch on YouTube. An episode produced by Orama (orama.tv): Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline with sales-driven video strategies. About the Host: George Aliferis, CAIA, is the founder of Orama. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis-60078312/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

    40 min
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Conversations with technologists, founders, academics, and strategists reshaping how capital is deployed, managed, and optimized. Hosted by George Aliferis (reformed investment banker, founder of Orama). Four series, one obsession: Skeptic's Guide — Dissecting marketing claims in investment management. What actually works. Source Code — Founder stories. How fintech builders are solving real problems in asset management. Institutional (Up)Grade — Technology, infrastructure, and operations. How institutions compete through innovation. Investologists — Deep conversations with recognized experts. The people setting the agenda. No macro. No market predictions. Investment management, period. Hosted by George Aliferis, a reformed investment banker and founder of Orama: http://orama.tv - thought leadership for those selling to financial institutions. investorama.substack.com

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