%20(1).png?width=600&height=338&name=menu_thumbnail%20(4)%20(1).png)
%201.svg){kind=small}
Joe Lonsdale on how Opto aims to enhance private investing for RIAs and family offices
Key Takeaways
- Private markets remain opaque, with the lack of comprehensive data making it difficult for most people to approach investing in a sophisticated way.
- Opto's vision is to eventually allocate trillions of dollars to higher-returning areas, partnering with RIAs to help them give clients access to opportunities they might not have otherwise seen, in a tailored way that's aligned with their goals and values.
- Opto is different from other alternative investment access platforms in that we started off as a technology company. We are focused on building a solution in partnership with RIAs to solve their problems and make their businesses run better.
Transcript
Private investing today, there's very little data. It's very much just like asking your friends what they think. It's very much oftentimes emotionally driven, just driven by what you happen to be sold at a given day, as opposed to looking at the landscape of everything out there and understanding what the best people are doing in each space, understanding how to align your values, how to align your goals. It's very hard for most people to approach it in a sophisticated way. It's very opaque. So there's a lot to fix.
I started Opto because this is a really important market. It's a really exciting market, and the market's a mess right now. It's not just that the top RIAs don't always have access to the best things, even the top investment banks. The stuff I see people offering their clients from supposedly sophisticated banks. A lot of it's terrible. And how do you give the clients access? How do you figure out what they're passionate about? How do you show them options? When people are making high returns on their money, that means more economic growth, it means they are creating more with their money, it means their money is being less lazy. And it's our job to help them do that.
Building Addepar, I learned there's a lot of different types of RIAs and family offices you're not really building for one client. There's really tens or even over 100 types of clients. Everyone has specific ways of doing things. People are experts in one thing and not something else. And when you're trying to go after the space that give people access to the private markets, they might be the best in the world at a certain area but then not really know much at all about venture capital or energy or credit. And what I learned is that you have to meet people where they are. You have to tailor it to the way they think about the world. And you have to give them access to things that otherwise they might not have seen.
My vision for Opto is if we're doing a great job in five years and ten years from now, we're helping allocate trillions of dollars towards areas that are higher returning, that are creating more value, we’re helping people's money be less lazy, we’re helping people's money express their values in ways that are exciting. And we're making a lot of RIAs a lot more confident about the space; we’re making a lot of family offices a lot more confident about how to access these markets. And we're really making the private markets a more dynamic place where more people can achieve better things for the world, using the capital behind it.
What's different about Opto than other alt access platforms or alternative investment access platforms is that we started off as a technology company. We have core tech DNA. We're trying to build a solution that partners with the RIA. So we're coming to the RIA, we're saying you have this set of problems. How do we help make you run your business better? How do you help your clients express their values, understand what's going on, and how do we make money in a way that's aligned with your goals? While being an honest interlocutor for the space, giving you access to everything going on in the right way.
You know, if Opto is successful, we’re going to route more money towards good ideas, you know, there's always going to be speculative fads, there's always going to be malinvestment. But hopefully, giving people a better perspective on all the options out, there’s going to be less malinvestment and more money that's creating jobs, creating value for the world. You’re going to have a lot larger, more dynamic private markets, and it's going to be a lot more intuitive for RIAs and family offices on how to access those markets.
Important disclosures
Opto Investment Management, LLC (the “Firm”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Opto Investments, Inc. and is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. SEC registration does not mean the SEC has approved of the services of the investment adviser. This website is operated and maintained by Opto Investments, Inc. Certain products described herein and institutional relationships may involve investment advisory services provided by the Firm. This website is presented for financial institutions and investment professionals only and is not intended for individual consumers or retail investors, unless specifically noted. Unless otherwise indicated, commentary on this site reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the author and should not be regarded as a description of services provided by the Firm or its affiliates. The opinions expressed here are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual on any security or advisory service. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. While all information presented, including from external, linked or independent sources, is believed to be reliable, we make no representation or warranty as to accuracy or completeness. We reserve the right to change any part of these materials without notice and assume no obligation to provide updates. Nothing on this site constitutes investment advice, performance data or a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. We disclaim any responsibility for information, services or products found on linked websites. Images and photographs are included for the sole purpose of visually enhancing the website. None of them show current or former clients and should not be construed as an endorsement or testimonial. All investing is subject to risk, including loss of principal. Historical performance is not a guarantee of future performance and clients may experience different results. This information contains certain “forward-looking statements,” which may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential” and other similar terms. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to financial condition, results of operations, and success or lack of success of the depicted investment strategy. All are subject to various factors, including, but not limited to general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in interest rates, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting operations that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. See related disclosures at https://www.optoinvest.com/disclaimers.
