This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the giant alternative asset manager, Brookfield. Today Brookfield boasts $750bn in assets under management, and it’s a global footprint that includes many noteworthy office buildings and key infrastructure assets. To break down Brookfield, I’m joined by Nima Shayegh from Rumi Capital Partners. We cover Brookfield's powerful history, the evolutionary changes in the operating structure, and what separates Brookfield from other big managers. We started with Blackstone, we covered Vanguard, and now we hope you enjoy this breakdown of Brookfield.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt   Show Notes [00:02:19] - [First question] - The size and scale of Brookfield and what they do [00:04:52] - How they invest through their balance sheet [00:06:54] - How Brookfield achieved the scale it has today  [00:10:36] - What differentiates Brookfield from their competitors in alternative assets [00:14:31] - Their unique employee compensation strategy   [00:18:19] - The various segments of their business that helped them achieve their scale [00:21:05] - Breaking down the economic structure of their revenue streams [00:25:50] - Percentage of revenue generated by performance and management fees [00:27:13] - Complex corporate structure and getting comfortable with it as an investor [00:29:33] - Overview of their ownership structure and its prior scrutiny  [00:32:32] - Brookfield’s philosophy on debt writ large  [00:36:04] - Their strategy and approach to capital allocation [00:40:11] - Important growth metrics they track most closely  [00:45:57] - Insights and benefits behind merging with other alternative managers [00:47:23] - How interest rates impact an asset manager like Brookfield [00:50:12] - Correlation between rising inflation and dividend stock selloffs  [00:52:38] - Other major risks that might pose a threat to Brookfield’s growth   [00:53:51] - Major lessons from intimately studying Brookfield 

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital, and today we’re breaking down Vanguard. Vanguard and its founder, Jack Bogle, have ushered in an era of low-cost investment, which has left its mark on the entire industry. Today, the business commands $7.5 trillion of assets under management and owns approximately 8.5% of any given public company in the US. To break down Vanguard, I’m joined by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg and author of The Bogle Effect. We explore the firm’s unique ownership structure, which in large part enabled its success, look at the potential for regulation to slow Vanguard down, and assess the unique figure that founded the business, Jack Bogle. Please enjoy this breakdown of Vanguard.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt   Show Notes [00:02:24] - [First question] - The size and scale of Vanguard as it exists today  [00:05:45] - Some of the secular forces that has allowed Vanguard to capture so much of the market [00:09:04] - How Vanguard generates revenue and thoughts on its ownership structure [00:12:36] - What the fee structure would look like as an investor buying an ETF versus a fund [00:15:10] - The key differences of investing in a Vanguard ETF compared to a mutual fund  [00:18:20] - Market share of the key players and the industry landscape [00:21:24] - How big of a player ARK is in relation to how much media coverage they get [00:22:33] - Jack Bogle’s history, his thesis on mutual funds, and starting Vanguard  [00:28:07] - What it was like transitioning to new leadership given Jack’s fans and supporters  [00:32:10] - The thing that allows Vanguard to attract more funds despite their competitors  [00:35:58] - Complimentary services their competitors are offering that Vanguard is considering to capture more market share [00:42:59] - Potential regulatory risk that could pose a threat to Vanguard’s growth  [00:47:27] - How Vanguard has managed to avoid headlines unlike Blackrock [00:48:56] - The lessons for investors and builders when studying Vanguard’s story