Episode summary
Michael Batnick, Managing Partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management - Real talk on private markets
Alt Goes Mainstream
· · Hosts: Michael Sidgmore · Guests: Michael Batnick
Summary
Michael Batnick traces his path into wealth management from a rough start: getting kicked out of college twice, selling insurance during the GFC, and eventually meeting Josh Brown at a train station after a Knicks game. He says that experience gave him a lasting appreciation for the business he is in now, where clients come to him for advice rather than him cold-calling people to sell products they did not want.
The conversation centers on how he thinks about investing and private markets. Batnick argues that risk should be defined personally, not universally, and that investors should take as much risk as they can while still surviving both upside and downside. He is cautiously curious about private markets, but says most advisers do not understand them well, the implementation burden is high, and the case for adding them to client portfolios has to be overwhelmingly compelling.
He also says alternatives remain a “sold, not bought” business because public markets have worked so well. If public returns fade, he thinks demand for private credit, private equity, or hedge-fund-like strategies could rise. Separately, he credits content creation with helping his firm’s growth and believes AI may raise adviser productivity and let firms serve more households.
Key takeaways
- Batnick says his insurance stint taught him to value client demand because he went from cold-calling strangers to having people seek out his content and advice.
- He argues investors should size risk so they can survive both a market drawdown and a rally without making emotional mistakes.
- Batnick says most advisers lack the training, access, and workflow to comfortably use private markets at scale.
- He is curious about private markets but says his firm has not adopted them because it does not believe it has an edge.
- He thinks AI could raise adviser capacity materially by automating preparation and other lower-value work.
Notable quotes
“I think generally speaking my belief is that you should take as much risk as you can such that you can survive the upside and the downside”
“Advisors do not understand private markets really at all. It's not what we're trained on”
“we're the prettiest girl at the ball right now. The questions that you're asking are the questions that everybody's asking”
“these things are sold, not bought. So, you need really talented salespeople, relationship managers”
“I think that AI is going to push the ceiling much higher from a business perspective”
How the episode opens
Everybody gets a piece. We're going mainream. Everybody's going to eat.
We're going mainream. All my family sing. See you on mainream.
We're going mainream. From Wall Street to Melrose Avenue. We're going mainream.
venture capitalists to athletes to creators to the person who's collecting trading cards. We're going to collision of culture and finance. We're going.
Welcome back to the Alcoa's mainstream podcast. On today's show, we turn the tables. We welcome fame podcast co-host of animal spirits and the compound and friends and managing partner and director of research at 4 billionaum ritual wealth management Michael Batnik to come on the show to share a wealth manager's perspectives on private markets.
Michael's career has taken a number of fascinating turns. He started selling insurance before a chance meeting on the platform of a subway station with Josh Brown of Roltz wealth after a New York Knicks loss led to a job offer at Roltz Wealth Management. At Rit Holtz, Michael has been an integral part of the team that has helped drive the firm's growth, leading with content and education.
Each of the firm's partners have built impressive content platforms across blogs, books, and podcast channels. Their thoughtful approaches to investing come through in their work, and it's translated into how they think about private markets. Michael provided interesting viewpoints on why alternatives have yet to be adopted by many advisers and the challenges with adopting alternatives products.
Michael and I had a fascinating discussion at the intersection of wealth and alts. Michael and I covered his journey into wealth management and the lessons he's learned along the way. The importance of education and networking in the wealth management industry, how he thinks about risks in public and private markets, the evolution of wealth management as a business, why alternatives products are still sold and not bought, the importance of staying focused on fundamentals and long-term investing, and the workflow challenges that alternative investments have for a wealth management firm.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- private markets
- wealth management
- alternative investments
- advisor adoption
- content and investing
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Ritholtz Wealth Management
- New York Knicks
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Alt Goes Mainstream, this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Sidgmore. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
