🎥 RIT Capital Partners' Maggie Fanari - why permanent capital is a privilege

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s podcast takes us to the heart of London, where we sat down with Maggie Fanari, the CEO of J Rothschild Capital Management Limited, manager of RIT Capital Partners plc.RIT blends a rich heritage with a modern approach to both asset allocation and private markets.Lord Jacob Rothschild founded Rothschild Investment Trust in 1971. RIT listed on the London Stock Exchange with total assets of £280M. Today, the firm stands tall as one of the UK’s largest investment trusts with over £4.7B of total assets.The firm’s permanent capital and family office heritage have enabled the firm to think long-term, according to Maggie. “Permanent capital is a privilege,” she said.Maggie has brought an institutional allocator’s background to RIT. She joined as CEO of RIT from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2024, where she was Senior Managing Director, Global Group Head of High Conviction Equities at OTPP, which has a global mandate to invest in public and private companies.Maggie and I had a fascinating discussion about how the firm invests across public and private markets, balancing both top-down portfolio construction and bottom-up asset selection. We covered:How RIT has aimed to compound wealth over time.Why top-down portfolio construction and bottom-up asset allocation are equally important.How can investors capture as much growth, limit market volatility, and compound growth over a long period of time?How RIT finds uniuqe and different managers in private markets, which includes some of the top investors in the world.What market structure changes mean for investing across public and private markets?How to invest when the world order has changed.Why permanent capital is a privilege.How to be early to a theme rather than chase the trend.Why RIT decided to invest in SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks, and Epic Systems.Where do investors bucket RIT into their asset allocation?What is a manager’s edge and how can they apply that edge with consistency?Why depth of network matters for private markets managers.Why RIT invested in firms like Thrive, Greenoaks, and Ribbit.BioMaggie Fanari is the CEO of J. Rothschild Capital Management Limited (JRCM) , investment manager for RIT Capital Partners plc. She is Chair of JRCM’s Investment Committee.Maggie was previously Senior Managing Director, Global Group Head of High Conviction Equities at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which has a global mandate to invest in public and private companies.At Ontario Teachers’, she served as a member of many of the pension plan’s investment committees. She was involved in the execution of investments across a variety of asset classes (private and public), including supporting the development and execution of the venture and growth business.Before joining Ontario Teachers’, Maggie worked at KPMG and Scotia Capital. Maggie is a chartered accountant and a CFA charter holder. She also holds a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors.Maggie served as a non-executive director on the Board of RIT Capital Partners plc from April 2019 to February 2024.Thanks, Maggie, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion across public and private markets and your thoughtful perspectives from your experiences as an institutional investor.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 RIT Edge And Heritage02:49 Maggie Fanari’s Career Path04:38 Teachers’ Lessons On Allocation06:04 New Market Paradigm07:39 RIT Strategy And Track Record10:36 Backing Top Private Managers12:31 Co-Invest Playbook17:27 SpaceX And Public Private Value21:59 Moats Data And Permanent Capital26:45 Oversubscribed Funds And Size28:22 AI Rounds And Valuations30:05 Fund Size Expansion Debate31:58 Avoiding FOMO Staying Disciplined34:00 Private Allocation And Liquidity35:20 Holding Winners Post IPO37:36 Retail Investors And Market Structure39:20 Listed Trusts Discounts And NAV41:07 Long Term Holders And Asymmetry43:03 Sentiment Cycles In Private Markets44:39 Picking Managers And Edge47:53 AI And Venture Consolidation50:50 Being A Valuable LP Partner52:51 Cross Asset Insights One Team54:43 Risk Geopolitics And Resilience58:39 Permanent Capital Best Of Both01:00:18 ClosingJoin over 17,000 Substack subscribers & followers and 44,000 LinkedIn and podcast followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hamilton Lane, StepStone, Partners Group, General Atlantic, Hightower, Focus Financial, Corient, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com