DISCLAIMER: Things I am not: an accountant, a lawyer, a fiduciary to any reader, or a registered advisor. I’m just a guy writing a newsletter so none of this constitutes any tax, accounting, legal, life, or investment advice.

Following up from last week

It was amazing meeting so many subscribers at events around Milken. It is still surreal to have people tell me they read what I write. Let alone one person telling me that The AGM helped illustrate the legitimacy of their career decisions to their parents.

I’m as surprised as you all are.

I loved meeting all of you and I’m sorry if I didn’t get to spend quality time with all of you.

It was very busy week where I attended 23 side events in addition to numerous meetings and the actual Global Conference at the Hilton and Waldorf.

Also for those who asked me at the conference how I was able to get an issue out during Milken, I don’t want to be the one to spoil the surprise, but most newsletters (though not usually this one) are written weeks in advance and delivered on scheduled send.

As people keep asking how they and their friends can sign up for The AGM I’ve decided to start a referral program. It’s easy, refer friends and colleagues using this link and eventually (hopefully), those referrals will give you access to things, like priority for certain events, merchandise, or shoutouts.

We’ll start with just three referrals to get a shoutout in a future issue.

This week also represented the first ever The AGM sponsored in person event. Special thanks to NKD Advisory for supporting a great lunch for 20 family offices investing in venture.

In The News
Milken’s Global Conference YLC Learnings

This week we’re back with another In The News, cover learnings from Milken Global Conference from my Milken Young Leaders Circle network. It’s one of the shorter posts yet but should give you some context on what was covered at Milken Global Conference.

If you don’t know what the Milken Global Conference is, or need some more context, read Issue #9, where I cover what makes Milken a unique event on the finance conference calendar.

Andrew’s Surprise Takeaway

But first, my #1 learning. Don’t laugh.

John Fogerty is a performer of another class. I only had the free time to attend three sessions, one on mental health, Mike Milken’s interview of Bill Clinton, and the John Fogerty concert. I’m not a concert person, but Fogerty was amazing.

I am not a big music fan, hilariously so, for example I couldn’t name a single Red Hot Chili Peppers song.

I like what I like and it isn’t necessarily what others in my peer age group enjoy. Sure, I had heard the name Fogerty but wasn’t really sure what he was known for. During the conference he kept playing songs that started out unfamiliar and that I then realized were standards I’d heard many times before.

But that wasn’t all. John and his band played with such immense joy. A joy that everyone else I talked to regularly mentioned as being effusive and genuine.

He was just happy to be playing his songs (after a long battle to regain his rights) even if it was to a crowd of just over 300 people lucky enough to have conference badges and a couple hours to spare on a Wednesday afternoon. A happiness that was infectious to everyone in the Oasis Pavilion tent last Wednesday.

My #1 learning is that I’m actually a big John Fogerty and Credence Clearwater Revival fan — definitely not what I expected to leave Milken with. I’m listening to Fortunate Son right now while I write this issue of The AGM.

So there, you have it. My #1 learning, in only a bit of jest, is that I’m actually a big fan of John Fogerty.

Also, in case you were wondering, Puppy Playtime was amazing and remains the undefeated best part of Milken Global Conference (yes, even better than the Fogerty concert.)

Keep reading for the learnings from all the people smarter than me in YLC.

The Real Learnings

Everyone else I talked to had learnings that were more “real” and focused on a business context. I asked my fellow Young Leaders Circle members for their thoughts and generally they “stuck to the script”. I’ve included some of the most interesting responses below.

LP Disappointment

My take, reading between the lines, is that many allocators are realizing that now may be the time to stop re-upping in to some fund families. These GPs are now feeling the pressure of overpaying and not being active enough in likely a great vintage time, and many will see LP pullback when they go back out to raise.

There were clearly a lot of new funds in market (common for Global Conference), and most interesting was seeing all the funds sponsoring events. Many funds past fund III still targeting FOs and trying to raise — without any clear explanation of why their current investors aren’t continuing to back them.

Different Era

Tanveer Kathawalla, managing partner at Pioneer 1890, who was attending his first Milken as a member of Young Leaders Circle pointed out the appearance of an over reliance on pattern recognition driven by an overconfidence from previous successes

Melissa Frakman, founding partner at Emphasis Ventures, an India focused fintech investor observed a lack of clear consensus among the top CIOs on panels during the conference.