Circulus Summit: Navigating Turbulence
Circulus is building on our successful digital platform of newsletters (6000 subscribers) and popular podcasts (No. 3 globally in family office podcasts) to bring family offices face to face to engage with the power of ideas and build enduring relationships.
In an era characterized by persistent volatility, policy uncertainty, and rapid structural shifts, the ability to interpret signals and act decisively has become a crucial advantage.
Navigating Turbulence is an exclusive gathering designed for family offices dedicated to long-term capital preservation and growth. Through closed-door discussions and high-caliber networking, attendees will gain access to diverse perspectives on the global macro landscape. This includes insights from top CIOs, asset allocation experts, sports investing specialists, venture partners, AI experts, and those analyzing the current tax outlook. The focus is not on reacting to headlines but on building frameworks for resilience and long-term outperformance.
Keynote Spotlight: Michael Fisch
Michael Fisch, a founder and CEO of American Securities, a $23 billion private equity firm originally formed from the Rosenwald family office, will be the keynote speaker. Mike was a popular guest on Private Capital and will be joining us live to share his remarkable story and offer his unique perspective. American Securities is a real operators firm that actively seeks out market leaders. Mike will discuss the current state of private equity, the challenges of manufacturing growth and overcoming bottlenecks, and their innovative resource group that enhances efficiencies within their underlying companies. We are delighted to have him as a speaker.
Featured Panel: The Rise of Sports as an Asset Class
As capital continues to expand beyond traditional markets, sports investing has emerged as an enticing and rapidly institutionalizing opportunity.
This dedicated panel will bring together leading investors to explore how family offices are accessing value across various aspects of the sports industry, including franchises, media rights, infrastructure, and adjacent ecosystems like niche sports. The discussion will delve into both the opportunities and the structural complexities of this dynamic space. Chris Heller, a Private Capital guest renowned for his expertise in identifying uncorrelated assets, will also be joining us.
Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how sports can be incorporated into a diversified portfolio and identify the most appealing risk-adjusted returns.
Navigating Turbulence is more than just a conference; it’s a platform for meaningful exchanges among peers who face similar challenges and are seeking the same advantages.
Qualified single-family offices are invited to apply for attendance.
Sebastian Mallaby - The Infinity Machine
Sebastian Mallaby, a British journalist, author, and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is renowned for his expertise in international economics, finance, and in-depth biographies. He has been a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and has authored notable books such as “The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future,” “More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite,” and biographies of Alan Greenspan and James Wolfensohn.
Four years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sebastian on the inaugural episode of the Private Capital podcast, where we discussed “The Power Law.” I was particularly intrigued by his latest book, The Infinity Machine. In this book, Sebastian delves into the life of the chess prodigy, founder of DeepMind, and Nobel Prize winner, Demis Hassabis. He provides a comprehensive account of the history of artificial intelligence leading up to the groundbreaking release of ChatGPT by DeepMind’s competitor, OpenAI. Sebastian meticulously documents the significant battle between the tech giants that ensued.
Sebastian’s writing process is intense, and he possesses a remarkable talent for simplifying the complexities of various fields, including hedge funds, venture capital, the World Bank, the Federal Reserve, and now AI. The Infinity Machine stands out as one of the most insightful and thought-provoking books I’ve read on AI and its far-reaching implications, especially his conviction that OpenAI will probably go bust.
Please enjoy my conversation with Sebastian Mallaby.
Peter Kraus - Investing as a Creative Process
Peter Kraus has occupied a front-row seat to the transformation of modern finance. His journey began not on a trading floor, but in the rigorous world of accounting at Peat Marwick, where he consulted on the bankruptcy of New York City and the historic breakup of AT&T. That foundation led him to a legendary 22-year run at Goldman Sachs, where he rose from a mortgage securities pioneer to Co-Head of GSAM and a key architect of the firm’s strategy. He then spent a decade rebuilding AllianceBernstein after they lost half their assets in 2008. Along the way, he and his wife Jill have become two of the world’s largest contemporary art collectors. In this episode, he joins us to reflect on forty years of institutional history, the shift from agency-led to counterparty-led banking, how he went from hating to loving the art of Rudy Stingel, and why his latest venture, Aperture Investors, is the culmination of a lifelong search for the perfect alignment between manager and client.
Peter Kraus is the Chairman and CEO of Aperture. For over four decades, Peter has worked at major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and most recently at AllianceBernstein, where he served as Chairman and CEO, successfully leading the firm’s turnaround after the crisis in 2008. Throughout his career, Peter has been a vocal proponent of pay-for-performance compensation models and the need for trust between active managers and their clients.
After years of watching diminishing returns and increasing outflows, he concluded that a disruptive idea like performance-linked fees would only be successful in an entirely new firm, one built from scratch with client performance as its primary objective. As a result, in 2018, Peter partnered with Generali to launch Aperture Investors.
Peter serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including Chairman of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the co-founder of the Kraus Family Foundation, a non-profit that supports public art and emerging artists, and Chairman of Marstone LLC.
Peter received his B.A. in economics from Trinity College and his M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Please enjoy my conversation with Peter Kraus.
Interviews with Mitch Julis, Co-Founder of Canyon Partners and Charley Ellis, author of The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs coming soon.
Thank you and see you next month!
