Tag: Data Centers

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Thematic Investors: Fast-Tracking the US Grid – Policy, Power Demand, and Infrastructure

Thematic Investors: Fast-Tracking the US Grid – Policy, Power Demand, and Infrastructure

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The demand dynamic for US power growth is significantly accelerating, with spending on new generation assets – necessary to keep pace – nearing $350B over the next five years. This presents a tremendous opportunity for institutional investors focused on the total energy complex and its ripple effects across infrastructure, commodities, and more. From a policy standpoint, flexibility will be key to ensure build-outs, regulation reforms, and energy supply chains are all interconnected.

In our latest episode of the Thematic Investors podcast, we welcome two experts who live and breathe the world of energy today, each with their own perspectives on investing, regulation, affordability, and reliability. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on what it will take to power American infrastructure and the target areas for investment in the near future:


– Ravi Bellur, Founder and Portfolio Manager, Ripple Effect Asset Management.

– Peter Lake, Senior Director of Power – National Energy Dominance Council, The White House.

Key takeaways from this discussion include:

– What are the initial estimates on new power generation that the US will require by 2030?

– Back in June, Thematic Investors welcomed Roland Vetter, Portfolio Manager, Envestra Capital, who discussed the connection of energy across Europe. What will need to occur to connect US supply chains, regulatory reforms, and demand centers efficiently so that it’s not just business as usual and everyone involved recognizes the speed for power?

– How can institutional investors like pensions and foundations avoid stranded or improperly hedged assets in this increased energy cycle?

– How are hyperscalers involved, and what does that mean for contracting on existing electrical resources and how the investment cost eventually gets passed to the retail consumer?

– What is the policy that the administration passed that is helping to fast-track data center connection in 60-90 days instead of 6-8 years?

– How is the President’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge helping residential customers in states like Georgia and Alabama eliminate property taxes, while getting companies like Meta and Google to get projects built and increase their compute power?

-What does obstructive regulation look like in the energy sector, and why is common sense making its way back to environmental impact statements?

– Which emerging technologies are prioritized for delivering reliable affordable power to the new economy?

– and much more.

 

Connect with Kieran Cavanna: 

Connect with Ravi Bellur:

Connect with Peter Lake:

About Ravi Bellur:

Ravi Bellur is the Portfolio Manager and Founder of Ripple Effect Asset Management, a New York-based hedge fund focused on investment opportunities across energy, mobility, industrials, and infrastructure. Before launching Ripple Effect, he held investment roles at Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and PointState Capital, where he developed extensive experience analyzing global energy markets and real asset investments. Ravi is known for connecting long-term trends across power generation, industrial growth, and emerging technologies to identify investment opportunities shaped by changes in the global economy.

About Peter Lake:

Chairman Lake currently leads power grid policy at the White House as Senior Director of Power at the National Energy Dominance Council. The advisory work at his consulting firm Cardinal Rose will be inactive during his time at the White House.

As one of the few executives to serve as the highest-ranking government official in both power (PUCT/ERCOT) and water (TWDB) in a top ten global economy (Texas), Chairman Lake has led multiple organizations through some of the largest crises in recent American history. His decisive leadership under intense pressure and unrelenting media scrutiny delivered sensible solutions and systemic change previously regarded by many as impossible. By addressing some of the most complex problems in two of the economy’s most critical sectors, he has established a reputation as one of the world’s go-to agents of meaningful change.

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Thematic Investors: Envestra Capital on Investing in Europe’s Energy Transition

Thematic Investors: Envestra Capital on Investing in Europe’s Energy Transition

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The world is changing rapidly as it searches for new energy alternatives to meet the growing demand of data centers, electric vehicles and to reduce carbon emissions. Add in geopolitics around Ukraine and Iran, and the infrastructure of energy supply lines becomes less stable. Given this landscape, how can thematic investors optimize portfolio strategies to generate returns across both energy and infrastructure?

In this episode of the Thematic Investors podcast, host Kieran Cavanna sits down with Roland Vetter, Portfolio Manager at Envestra Capital, to get the pulse of Europe’s energy transition and infrastructure landscape. How does this landscape compare and contrast with the Trump administration’s goals, and how deep does the level of interconnectiveness stretch across investment opportunities?

Additional takeaways from this discussion cover:​

  • How Roland’s background in mechanical engineering and energy economics has led him through various market cycles and conditions and what he’s seeing in terms of Europe’s appetite for renewables, what makes investments in energy transition work, and overall trends in energy costs.
  • Geopolitics and how Europe is changing their approach in dealing with Russia by leaning into renewables like wind, solar, and battery systems. How stable is the network for these renewables?
  • When looking at investment plays under an energy transition theme, what else is Roland and his team uncovering to support their larger thematic investments?
  • Is the interconnectiveness of Europe’s energy transition enough? Can energy demand be easily distributed across country lines, or do bottlenecks still require greater institutional investment?
  • What are some of the misses that both the Trump administration and Germany have made in response to energy transition technologies? What does Roland believe could be a potential solution moving forward?
  • What does the uranium trade look like today for institutional investors, and is there still a viable entry into this play?
  • How does Roland and his team look at growth drivers, portfolio mix and new targets, and downside protection?
  • And more

Connect with Kieran Cavanna: 

Connect with Roland Vetter:

About Roland Vetter:

Roland Vetter is a Portfolio Manager at Envestra Capital, where he manages a long-only investment strategy focused on energy transition and infrastructure opportunities. With a background in mechanical engineering and energy economics, Roland began his career at Siemens Energy before transitioning into finance through an MBA. He spent four years at Morgan Stanley on the sell side before moving into asset management, where he has navigated multiple market cycles across both long/short and long-only strategies. His combination of technical expertise and investment experience provides a unique perspective on the companies, technologies, and infrastructure driving the future of global energy markets.

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Thematic Investors: Gavin Baker Blending Sci-fi, History and Literature for Tech Investing Success

Thematic Investors: Gavin Baker Blending Sci-fi, History and Literature for Tech Investing Success

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Michael Steinhardt offered invaluable insights into investing, emphasizing the importance of conviction, balance, and the willingness to acknowledge mistakes. This rings especially true in the dynamic world of technology investments, where assessing asset pricing and risk in areas like artificial intelligence, application software, GPUs, and data management is crucial for success.

In this latest episode of the Thematic Investors podcast, Kieran Cavanna is joined by Gavin Baker, CIO & Managing Partner, Atreides Management, LP. Gavin shares how his love of history and games of chance ignited his enthusiasm for technology investing. 

Additional key points discussed in this podcast with Gavin include:

  • how he said goodbye (momentarily) to the dream of living in a pickup and rock climbing and doubled down on investing in technology-themed investments.
  • throughout history, starting from the era of the steam engine, we have observed the emergence of technological bubbles that often herald a new wave of investment opportunities. As we contemplate the rise of AI, the question arises: could we be on the brink of another such transformative bubble?
  • how can VC’s or private equity firms take advantage of data center investments for the future.
  • the challenges that numerous multi-billion dollar startups encounter in this industry and the significant risks associated with investing in them, particularly with the formidable presence of industry giants such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft and the rest of the Magnificent Seven..
  • how his time at Fidelity prepared him with an ‘investing lens’ to see the truly different CEOs of our time. He explains how it’s almost like watching Jordan play basketball and comparing the way Elon and Jensen run Tesla and Nvidia. 
  • how his parents’ love of literature and history helped him open his imagination to technology investing across both public and private asset classes.
  • And more.

Resources:

Connect with Kieran Cavanna: 

About Gavin Baker: 

Gavin Baker is the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Atreides Management, LP. In addition to overseeing investments and research at Atreides, he is responsible for the firm’s day-to-day portfolio management. Prior to founding Atreides in 2019, Gavin was at Fidelity Investments from 1999 to 2017, most recently as the portfolio manager of the Fidelity OTC Portfolio from 2009 to 2017. He also helped spearhead Fidelity’s venture capital investing from 2013 to 2017. Prior to managing the Fidelity OTC Portfolio, he was a portfolio manager of the Fidelity Select Wireless Portfolio from 2007 to 2011, the Fidelity Select Telecommunications Portfolio from 2007 to 2009, and the Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals Portfolio from 2002 to 2005. Gavin started his career at Fidelity as an analyst and focused on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, retail, consumer packaged goods, and telecommunications. Gavin earned an AB in economics and history from Dartmouth College.

Please note, the information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest, and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial and or our host, Kieran Cavanna. The content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding investment planning.

All opinions expressed by Gavin Baker in this podcast (the “Podcast”) are solely his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Atreides Management, LP (“Atreides”). This Podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Atreides may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this Podcast. This is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security in any fund managed by Atreides. The statements and opinions contained herein may change at any time, based on market or other conditions.  This Podcast includes forward-looking statements, including projections of future economic conditions, and information that is provided for illustrative purposes.  Atreides does not make any representation, warranty, guarantee, or other assurance whatsoever that any of such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate.

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Thematic Investors: Alan Bezoza, DigitalBridge on finding the shiny penny in telecom investing

Thematic Investors: Alan Bezoza, DigitalBridge on finding the shiny penny in telecom investing

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In the fast-paced world of institutional investing, the speed of innovation varies across different sectors. However, in the realm of telecommunications, investment strategies are constantly evolving. Whether your focus is on the cutting-edge upstream products like carriers, data centers, and telecom companies, or the dynamic downstream products such as semiconductors and the intricate supply chain that supports them, this industry is always driving forward.

In our latest episode of the Thematic Investors podcast, host, Kieran Cavanna, speaks with Alan Bezoza, Managing Director, Liquid Strategies at DigitalBridge Investment Management. The conversation will touch on the evolution of the telecom sector, cloud wars (both 1.0 and 2.0) and the overall ecosystem, future trends, and a lot more.

Alan covers: 

  • how his early intellectual curiosity led to a career in telecom investing by blending an inner tech nerd with financial analyst expertise.
  • the demand for power, space, and connectivity in the cloud ecosystem and how the shift to AI is driving change in this area.
  • how is the industry balancing the power hunger of servers and the data centers that are being built to meet the needs. 
  • The power requirements for AI and the need to move data centers to areas with cheaper power 
  • what plans are in place by the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to enhance AI in Cloud Wars 2.0.
  • how the investment narrative in supply and demand change depending on semiconductor analysts vs. data center analysts.
  • why many analysts viewed cable as a product that couldn’t scale, and yet DSL ended up being the biggest loser in the telecom battle..
  • why are Comcast and Charter floundering, while T-Mobile and Verizon are adding almost a million subscribers per quarter.
  • why Denver is such a linchpin for the telecom industry.
  • Speculation on the future of telecom, chips, artificial intelligence, and longer-term increments.
  • And more!

Connect with Kieran Cavanna: 

Connect with Alan Bezoza:

About Alan Bezoza:

Alan Bezoza is a Managing Director of Liquid Strategies at DigitalBridge Investment Management with a focus on public equity securities within the Technology, Media, and Telecom sectors. Mr. Bezoza has spent over 20 years researching and investing in the TMT sector with a particular focus on the global Communications and Media Ecosystem, which includes media, cable, telecoms, mobile towers, data centers, communications technology, data networking, and their respective supply chains. 

Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2020, Mr. Bezoza was a Partner and Sector Head at Dorsal Capital, a market-neutral hedge fund, where he focused on the Media, Telecom, and Communications Technology sectors. Prior to Dorsal, he spent over seven years at Janus Capital, where he was a Senior Analyst and Co-Sector Lead of the Communications investment team that included the Telecom, Media, and Internet sectors. Mr. Bezoza previously worked in equity research as a Senior Vice President at both Oppenheimer and Friedman Billings Ramsey. He has published numerous industry white papers, appearing in print and financial news outlets (CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, etc.), and has keynoted industry conferences. In 2005, he was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a “Best on the Street” analyst for his stock picks in the Broadcasting and Entertainment sector. Mr. Bezoza started his career at Lazard Asset Management, where he worked on the Emerging Markets and International small-cap portfolios.

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