E241: How Spirits Became a $1 Trillion Alternative Asset Class

Highlights:

• The incentives that keep consultants from finding the “best and brightest” managers—and how RVK broke the mold
• Why 90% of RVK’s fund allocations were self-sourced, and how that approach drives better returns
• The conversation that led Giuseppe to co-found InvestBev—and how whiskey became a new institutional asset class
• The real asset characteristics of whiskey barrels—and why they appreciate over time like fine art
• How InvestBev’s analysis with Kellogg proved near-zero correlation between whiskey and traditional markets
• Why barrel investments deliver equity-like returns with half the volatility of equities
• How to educate LPs when creating a new asset class—and what early adopters get right
• Why InvestBev’s edge comes from deep beverage-industry relationships across Bacardi, Molson, and Coors
• The scaling lessons from Fund I to Fund V—and how institutional credibility compounds over vintages
• Why operational excellence, data, and early hiring decisions define fund longevity
• The best LP advice he ever received: “No investor ever complains about getting their money back.”

Guest Bio:

Giuseppe Infusino is the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner at InvestBev, where he leads the firm’s investment strategy, sourcing, diligence, and structuring processes across consumer brands, beverage services, and hard assets.

Prior to InvestBev, he spent over a decade managing institutional investment portfolios for prominent allocators deploying multiple billions in private markets. He holds an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a B.S. in Finance & Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Giuseppe Infusino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppe-infusino-331b198/

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