The Distribution by Juniper Square

Juniper Square
  • 4.8 (62)
  • Investing
  • Updated Biweekly

The Distribution by Juniper Square sits you down with industry experts, thought leaders, and some of the biggest names in commercial real estate, venture capital, and private equity, for open and honest conversations about what’s happening in the private markets.

  1. 4d ago

    The Discipline of Betting Against the Crowd — Bill McMorrow, CEO of Kennedy Wilson

    Brandon Sedloff and Bill McMorrow trace the evolution of Kennedy Wilson from a $57,000 real estate auction company in 1988 to a global investment firm managing nearly $38 billion in assets. McMorrow shares how a series of pivotal relationships, from early banking mentors to partnerships with George Graziadio and Fairfax Financial's Prem Watsa, shaped the firm's trajectory across four decades of real estate cycles. The conversation on The Distribution reveals how McMorrow identified opportunities in Japan during the 1990s, Ireland and the UK following the Great Recession, and multifamily housing markets when regional banks retreated in 2023. They discuss: - Why McMorrow focuses exclusively on housing across the US, Ireland, and the UK after owning every asset type - How a half-hour conversation at a Berkshire Hathaway meeting led to $20 billion in joint ventures over sixteen years - The discipline of saying yes to start the journey, even when the path forward isn't clear - Why narrowing focus and tuning out noise matters more than ever in today's information-saturated environment - What McMorrow learned from working on commercial fishing boats, in a slaughterhouse, and growing up in a family of nine kids This episode offers insight for investors navigating uncertainty, building long-term institutional relationships, and recognizing contrarian opportunities when markets feel murky. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:43) - Bill McMorrow's early life and formative years (00:05:31) - Banking career and move to Philadelphia (00:08:43) - Acquiring Kennedy Wilson in 1988 (00:10:51) - Expanding to Japan in the 1990s (00:12:14) - The Great Recession and meeting Prem Watsa (00:15:06) - Kennedy Wilson's culture and growth to $38 billion (00:16:36) - Growing up in a family of nine (00:22:25) - Building relationships with foreign investors (00:24:25) - The Ireland opportunity and Bank of Ireland deal (00:30:55) - Kennedy Wilson's business model today (00:31:24) - Focus on housing and recent acquisitions (00:39:11) - Staying focused and tuning out the noise (00:44:22) - The importance of starting the journey (00:45:39) - Taking chances and betting against the crowd (00:47:45) - Looking ahead: opportunities and strategy (00:54:34) - Closing thoughts Links: Kennedy Wilson - https://www.kennedywilson.com/ Juniper Square - ⁠⁠https://www.junipersquare.com/⁠⁠ Brandon on LinkedIn - ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/⁠

    The Discipline of Betting Against the Crowd — Bill McMorrow, CEO of Kennedy Wilson

  2. Aug 11

    Geopolitics Over Asset Allocation: Why the Next 40 Years Demand a New Portfolio Playbook - John Bowman - CEO of CAIA Association

    Brandon Sedloff and John Bowman explore the future of private markets through the lens of CAIA Association's recent research report, "The World Rewired." Bowman, CEO of CAIA Association, shares insights from eight global roundtables with over 120 C-suite executives across major financial centers. The conversation examines how geopolitical shifts, evolving product structures, and talent needs are reshaping portfolio construction and investment strategy. Bowman argues that the post-World War II regime of low rates, stable globalization, and minimal inflation has ended—requiring allocators to fundamentally rethink how they build portfolios. They discuss: - Why geopolitics may replace asset allocation as the primary framework for portfolio construction - How tokenization could solve liquidity challenges better than traditional gate structures - The shift from hiring job-ready specialists to recruiting systems thinkers with interdisciplinary judgment - Why the Gulf region has become a serious contender as the capital of private capital This episode offers a strategic roadmap for institutional investors, asset managers, and private markets professionals navigating a regime change in global markets. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:28) - Introducing John Bowman and CAIA (00:02:59) - Early career and path to finance (00:07:58) - Transition from asset management to CFA Institute (00:11:49) - Journey through CFA Institute (00:17:00) - Leading CAIA and building community (00:29:11) - The World Rewired research report (00:34:25) - Product innovation and the retail push (00:44:06) - Geopolitics as portfolio framework (00:49:01) - Middle East sovereign wealth dynamics (00:52:19) - Talent and systems thinking (00:56:47) - Where to learn more Speaker Profiles:   Brandon Sedloff     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/     Website — https://brandonsedloff.substack.com/   John Bowman     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlbowmancfa/ Organizations:   CAIA Association — https://caia.org/   Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/

    Geopolitics Over Asset Allocation: Why the Next 40 Years Demand a New Portfolio Playbook - John Bowman - CEO of CAIA Association

  3. Aug 4

    The Inefficiency Advantage: Why the Best Alpha Lives in Private Markets' Hidden 90% - Raphi Schorr - Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Partner - HighVista Strategies

    On this episode of The Distribution, Brandon Sedloff and Raphi Schorr explore what makes inefficient markets the last bastion of alpha in private investing. Schorr, Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Partner at HighVista Strategies, explains how his firm deploys $14 billion across overlooked corners of the market, from lower middle market private equity to venture capital, private credit, and public biotech, where large addressable markets, poor information, and limited competition still reward patient capital and deep networks. They discuss: - Why lower middle market private equity operates beneath the radar of most institutional investors - How backing fund one managers in venture capital creates decades of compounding access - Why 50% of the S&P 500 is venture-backed and what that means for where value is created today - The rise of GP-led secondaries in the lower middle market as sponsors seek to hold their crown jewels longer - How pattern recognition built over 20 years helps identify winning managers and companies in fragmented markets This episode offers a clear view into how experienced allocators find alpha in markets most investors never see. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:05) - Meeting Raphi Schorr and HighVista Strategies (00:02:32) - Mathematics and early investing exposure (00:06:40) - From physics to operations research (00:09:27) - Joining HighVista and the shift to private markets (00:12:10) - Building the firm from day one (00:16:28) - What HighVista does today (00:20:18) - Inefficient markets and where alpha lives (00:24:54) - Pattern recognition in lower middle market PE (00:28:00) - Balancing analytics with relationships (00:31:10) - Access and the venture capital power law (00:34:44) - Backing fund one managers (00:42:29) - Creating optionality through early partnerships (00:48:22) - Structural themes for the next 36 months (00:52:41) - What keeps Raphi up at night (00:54:54) - Closing thoughts on talent and opportunity Speaker Profiles:   Brandon Sedloff     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/     Website — https://brandonsedloff.substack.com/   Raphi Schorr     Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelschorr/ Companies:   Juniper Square — https://www.junipersquare.com/   HighVista Strategies — https://www.highvistastrategies.com/

    The Inefficiency Advantage: Why the Best Alpha Lives in Private Markets' Hidden 90% - Raphi Schorr - Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Partner - HighVista Strategies

  4. Jul 28

    Institutional and Private Wealth as Equals: Nearly $100 Billion Built From Day One - David Weisburd - Co-Founder and Managing Partner - Weisburd Capital

    Brandon Sedloff and David Weisburd explore the hidden psychology behind venture capital fundraising and LP decision-making on The Distribution. Weisburd, co-founder of Weisburd Pierce and host of How I Invest, shares insights from hundreds of conversations with institutional allocators managing over 10 trillion dollars in assets. The discussion reveals why LP incentives often diverge from traditional performance metrics, how career risk shapes investment behavior, and why media has become a structural advantage in private markets. They discuss: - Why LPs use a "double gated" diligence process that most GPs misunderstand - How the average pension CIO tenure of 6.1 years creates rational but seemingly counterintuitive investment patterns - Why elite Ivy League endowments are shifting away from blind pool funds toward direct investments and SPVs - The mechanics of anchor investor psychology and momentum in fundraising - How media functions as a network effect business and relationship-building tool at scale This episode offers a practical framework for understanding how capital allocation decisions actually get made in venture and private markets. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:32) - David's immigrant journey and first ventures (00:04:16) - Starting the How I Invest podcast (00:05:29) - Growing up poor and the mindset it created (00:08:06) - The stamp of approval from elite institutions (00:11:32) - From Tuck to 10x Capital (00:14:08) - What is a media-driven venture firm (00:17:00) - Why media is a moat in venture capital (00:20:28) - Advice for GPs on podcast guesting (00:23:03) - The psychology of elite listening (00:27:25) - Theory of mind and the LP LLM (00:29:09) - The rational irrationality of LP behavior (00:43:00) - Themes guiding capital allocation (00:49:05) - Advice for GPs and LPs (00:51:41) - Outro Speaker Profiles:   Brandon Sedloff     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/     Website — https://brandonsedloff.substack.com/     Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/   David Weisburd     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/     Twitter / X — https://x.com/DWeisburd     Weisburd Capital — https://www.weisburdpierce.com/ Podcasts:   How I Invest — https://howiinvestpodcast.com/episodes

    Institutional and Private Wealth as Equals: Nearly $100 Billion Built From Day One - David Weisburd - Co-Founder and Managing Partner - Weisburd Capital

  5. Jul 21

    The Platform Architect: Why Decision Architecture and Succession Planning Are Private Markets' Next Competitive Edge - Mike Cordingley - Managing Director @ Ferguson Partners

    Brandon Sedloff and Mike Cordingley explore what it takes to build durable, scalable private markets firms in an era of constant disruption. Mike leads the strategy, leadership, and advisory group at Ferguson Partners, a talent management and strategic advisory firm that works with about half of the public REITs and many of the largest private equity and real estate platforms. His work takes him inside these organizations as they navigate fundamental shifts in leadership, operating models, and business strategy. The conversation on The Distribution covers how private markets firms have reached an inflection point where the entrepreneurial, founder-led models that drove early growth now face pressure from rising costs, compressed fees, and the need to retain next-generation talent. Mike explains why founders must move beyond an investment thesis to develop a true enterprise strategy, and why the CEO's role is evolving from chief decision-maker to platform architect who distributes decision rights across the organization. They discuss: - Why succession planning has become a business imperative as founder-led firms face generational transitions - How decision architecture creates competitive advantage by pushing decisions closer to where value is created - Why AI represents a people transformation challenge, not just a technology implementation - The concept of zero-based org design and what it means to treat operating models as design choices rather than fixed structures This episode offers practical frameworks for leaders wrestling with how to scale their organizations, develop talent, and prepare for the next phase of growth in private markets. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:33) - Why founders need an enterprise strategy (00:02:20) - Mike's path to management consulting (00:07:17) - The role of consultants in private markets (00:09:29) - Four big trends shaping private markets today (00:13:27) - How we got to this inflection point (00:17:49) - Navigating founder succession and talent retention (00:30:59) - Decision architecture as a competitive advantage (00:38:59) - Operating model as a design choice (00:42:28) - Distributed accountability and data access (00:46:27) - Precision talent matching (00:50:40) - AI as a people transformation, not just efficiency (00:53:17) - Closing Links: Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/ Mike on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecordingley/ Ferguson Partners - https://www.fergusonpartners.com/ Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/

    The Platform Architect: Why Decision Architecture and Succession Planning Are Private Markets' Next Competitive Edge - Mike Cordingley - Managing Director @ Ferguson Partners

  6. Jul 14

    Against the Rate Cut Consensus: Floating Rate Credit, Consumer Resilience, and a Higher-for-Longer Decade - Elizabeth Burton - Chief Strategist - Fortress Investment Group

    Brandon Sedloff and Elizabeth Burton explore the shifting landscape of institutional investing, macro strategy, and the growing case for credit over traditional private equity allocations. Burton brings a unique perspective shaped by her time as an allocator at the Maryland State Retirement System and as CIO of the Employees' Retirement System of Hawaii before joining Fortress Investment Group as chief strategist. The conversation touches on her unconventional path into finance, the lessons she learned managing public pension capital, and why she believes floating rate credit deserves a larger role in institutional portfolios. They discuss: - Why floating rate credit offers better downside protection and fee alignment than private equity in a higher-rate environment - How debt monetization and money supply growth could push inflation back above 4% by year-end - Why AI is creating a divide between investors who can move quickly on co-investment opportunities and those constrained by governance structures - The consumer credit opportunity in prime and near-prime segments that many institutional investors are overlooking - How anchoring investment strategy to a single variable like the 10-year Treasury can simplify decision-making across asset classes This episode offers a clear-eyed view of the challenges facing institutional investors in the 2030s and the strategic shifts required to meet return targets in a persistently higher rate world. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:30) - Elizabeth Burton's early life and path to finance (00:03:50) - From horse farm to Wall Street (00:06:10) - College choice and French politics major (00:09:08) - First finance role and Santa Barbara internship (00:12:16) - Mortgage-backed securities and Chicago MBA (00:15:55) - Baltimore payments consulting detour (00:19:37) - Transition to LP side at Maryland Retirement (00:26:20) - Becoming CIO in Hawaii (00:32:30) - Joining Fortress as chief strategist (00:35:25) - The strategist role and economics anchor (00:41:00) - Fortress overview and consumer focus (00:44:10) - Inflation outlook and floating rate credit case (00:47:20) - The bunker portfolio thought experiment (00:51:30) - AI creating investor haves and have-nots (00:54:30) - Closing Links:   Brandon Sedloff     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/     Website — https://brandonsedloff.substack.com/  Elizabeth Burton     LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethtburton/ Companies:   Fortress Investment Group — https://www.fortress.com/investors/financial-advisors   Juniper Square — https://junipersquare.com

    Against the Rate Cut Consensus: Floating Rate Credit, Consumer Resilience, and a Higher-for-Longer Decade - Elizabeth Burton - Chief Strategist - Fortress Investment Group

  7. Jul 7

    Operational Alpha at Any Scale: How a $300 Billion Platform Invests Like a Sector Specialist - Lowell Baron - CEO | Real Estate - Brookfield

    Lowell Baron and Brandon Sedloff trace the evolution of Brookfield's real estate business from a small balance sheet investor into a global platform managing roughly $300 billion in assets. Baron shares how he joined what was then called Brascan in 2005 with fewer than twenty people on the real estate team, initially working on a modest credit fund while the firm owned just a stake in an office company. He explains how the decision to avoid overheated deals in 2006 and 2007 positioned Brookfield to capitalize on opportunities after the global financial crisis, eventually launching the consortium model in 2009 that became the foundation for committed funds starting in 2012. They discuss: - Why Brookfield built operating platforms with 30,000 employees instead of relying on third-party operators - How the firm expanded methodically across property types and geographies, including a ten-year process to enter India - The bifurcation in office markets and why Class A space in major cities now faces supply constraints - How diversifying across housing sub-sectors from student housing to senior living reduces risk while improving returns - The role of AI in creating operational efficiencies and unlocking predictive insights from Brookfield's proprietary data This episode on The Distribution offers insight into how scale, operational depth, and patient capital can coexist in a single platform when grown deliberately over decades. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:46) - Journey from law to banking (00:04:18) - Cold calling your way into real estate (00:10:24) - Joining Brookfield in 2005 (00:16:08) - Brookfield's transformation from balance sheet to investment manager (00:20:18) - Discipline during the 2006-2007 boom (00:22:11) - Geographic and sector expansion (00:25:12) - The 2009 consortium and the first committed fund (00:29:17) - Brookfield's scale today (00:32:44) - Operating expertise at scale (00:43:27) - Housing strategy across the continuum (00:48:18) - AI and the future of real estate (00:52:00) - The office market bifurcation (00:56:26) - Leadership philosophy and people development Links: Lowell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lowell-baron-23146913/ Brookfield - https://www.brookfield.com/ Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/ Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/

    Operational Alpha at Any Scale: How a $300 Billion Platform Invests Like a Sector Specialist - Lowell Baron - CEO | Real Estate - Brookfield

  8. Jun 30

    Credit, Secondaries, and 30 Years of Relationship-Driven Alpha - Aaron Gershenberg - CEO @ Pinegrove Venture Partners

    Brandon Sedloff and Aaron Gershenberg sit down in California's wine country to explore three decades of venture capital evolution. Aaron, CEO and managing partner at Pinegrove Venture Partners, shares his unconventional path from economic development work and real estate consulting to building SVB Capital into a $10 billion platform, then relaunching after the bank's collapse as Pinegrove, backed by Sequoia Heritage and Brookfield. They discuss: - How Aaron used Monte Carlo analysis to project fund performance and justify additional capital during the dot-com crash - Why he structured distribution-only fee models for anchor LPs instead of traditional management fees and carry - The mechanics of becoming a FOIA blocker to attract pension fund capital - How Pinegrove positions across seed, Series A, Series B, credit, and secondaries to capture alpha at different stages - Why the 2024–2026 vintage may deliver the fastest value creation Aaron has seen in his career This episode offers a roadmap for institutional investors navigating venture exposure, LP sentiment shifts, and the structural innovations that have reshaped fund economics over the past 25 years. Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:20) - Growing up between Uganda, Kenya and New Jersey (00:10:50) - Africa's influence and giving back (00:15:40) - Question authority and the unstructured path (00:18:30) - Real estate consulting and the sales pivot (00:21:10) - Breaking into venture in the mid-'90s (00:32:00) - Joining Silicon Valley Bank (00:33:30) - Building community through cycling and kiteboarding (00:37:00) - Launching SVB Capital (00:40:15) - Innovative fund structures and FOIA blockers (00:44:20) - Scaling through three eras: 2000–2023 (00:49:00) - SVB's collapse and rebuilding as Pine Grove (00:50:20) - Partnering with Sequoia Heritage and Brookfield (00:56:30) - Pine Grove's platform and strategies today (01:02:30) - AI conviction and the 2024–2026 vintage (01:09:10) - What keeps you up at night Links: Aaron on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-gershenberg-7361b23/ Pinegrove Venture Partners - https://pinegrove.vc/ Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/ Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/

    Credit, Secondaries, and 30 Years of Relationship-Driven Alpha - Aaron Gershenberg - CEO @ Pinegrove Venture Partners
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The Distribution by Juniper Square sits you down with industry experts, thought leaders, and some of the biggest names in commercial real estate, venture capital, and private equity, for open and honest conversations about what’s happening in the private markets.

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