Improving Alpha: Innovation in Investing, ESG and Technology

When looking at the latest oil and gas headlines across the United States, many immediately think of Texas. North Dakota ranks #3 among the largest oil-producing states in the nation and is home to the $9BN North Dakota Trust Lands sovereign wealth endowment. This streamlined team generates revenue from oil royalties and taxes and is one of the healthiest institutions in the nation. So what’s t...

Are investors handing over too much power to artificial intelligence and thereby sacrificing critical decision-making skills in an effort to get easy answers? What happens to cognitive biases or thinking mistakes when we treat AI queries like a transaction rather than a conversation?

The Improving Alpha podcast welcomes Cheryl Einhorn, Founder and CEO of Decisiv...

Why are companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI delaying going public, and can this phenomenon be traced back to regulatory changes of the nineties? Can private market funding essentially dry up, leaving no alternative? How do these firms approach regulatory thresholds and what is the impact to stratgeic allocations by today’s leading LPs?

Michael Ewens, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd P...

Institutional investors seeking strategic opportunities around the world today need to be aware of how extreme political shifts, government corruption, asset volatility, and other factors can affect their portfolios. Taking the center stage of this discussion is the play on critical minerals and mining, and what sort of innovations or alternative ecosystems can be developed to help improve investment...

What have been the main motivators in LP investors looking at secondary markets and co-investments? Can larger asset owners like sovereign wealth funds and major endowments play in this space, or is it better left to more nimble allocators? Back in April, Improving Alpha welcomed Simon Mayer from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss his thoughts on academia&rsq...

As more institutional investors increasingly rely on massive amounts of data and consolidated software ecosystems, the term Platformocracy is finding its way into everyday usage. The term is defined as how major technology companies function as unelected governments, leveraging their networks to unilaterally dictate free speech, rules around online privacy, and more, all without impartial oversight. ...

As the complexity in alternative financial markets grows, is the bridge between academia and institutional investing being stretched to a point of collapse? Both researchers and investors deal with similar problems in institutional investing. Solution approaches may differ, but could a value be found in combining points of view, so that investors benefit from greater combined intelligence and portfol...

When examining sole fiduciary states, such as North Carolina, the direction of pension plans and other asset pools typically consolidates under a single elected official, typically the State Treasurer. Combine that setup with disappointing investment performance, and the stage begins to get set to reform both governance and investment operations. This is what happened in 2025 when Brad Briner, the Tr...

Albert Einstein is often quoted as stating, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.” As a society today, in this unstable world, you need both to accelerate success while avoiding defensive decision-making. Instead of taking up that defensive position, have the courage to go with more robust yet easier strategies blending data and intuition togeth...

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