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Ken Majmudar on Wealth, Markets & Life

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Weekly essays, conversations, and ideas on value investing, wealth, and the decisions that actually compound over a lifetime.
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The Essays

Ken’s writing on markets, money, and time.

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The 46 Stocks Everyone Wishes They Owned

A Meditation on Luck vs Skill In Investing and In Life

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The World’s First Trillionaire (Part II)

Part II: What Happens When Abundance Becomes the Problem

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The World’s First Trillionaire (Part I)

Part I: What the First Trillionaire Reveals About Capital, Labor, and the Future of Wealth

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The Berkshire Hathaway CEO Transition

Can the Enterprise and its Principles Outlast Its Iconic and Irreplaceable Founder?

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SpaceX at $1.75 Trillion: Genius, Madness, or Both?

Everyone is asking if SpaceX is overvalued. That’s not the right question

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The Empires of the Future Are Empires of the Mind

By Ken Majmudar

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The Ridgewood Channel

Conversations and breakdowns, on camera.

OpenAI and Anthropic could go public within months — the two largest AI IPOs in history. Before they do, watch this replay of our live webinar on how to think about the next wave of AI IPOs without overpaying. History is clear: across 9,253 US IPOs from 1980–2024, roughly 6 in 10 lost ground over the following three years, with a median 3-year return of −25.7%. The average first-day pop of +18.9% is followed by an average 3-year underperformance of −20.5% versus the market. The opening print is not the investment case. In this session, Ken Majmudar (Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Ridgewood Investments — CFA Charterholder, Harvard Law School, former IPO banker at Merrill Lynch & Lehman Brothers) and Sam Namiri (Partner & Portfolio Manager, Ridgewood Select Value Fund) cover: ▸ What 100 years of IPO history teaches about buying hyped names at debut — and the pattern that repeats in every wave ▸ OpenAI & Anthropic: the real picture — what's genuinely impressive, and what should give investors pause ▸ The disciplined playbook: how to get exposure to the AI theme without paying today's IPO prices ▸ Live Q&A on AI, IPOs, concentrated positions, RSUs, and "story stocks" 🔗 LEARN MORE Ridgewood Investments: https://ridgewoodinvestments.com — DISCLOSURES Ridgewood Investments, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission, nor does it indicate a particular level of skill or ability. This video is for educational and general informational purposes only. It does not constitute personalized investment advice, nor an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security. Securities mentioned are discussed for illustration only. All investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Opinions reflect the judgment of the presenters as of the date of recording and are subject to change without notice. Ridgewood or its clients may hold positions in securities mentioned. Figures referenced are drawn from third-party sources believed reliable but not guaranteed (Reuters; Jay R. Ritter, University of Florida, Updated IPO Statistics 2026; Exponential View). Consult a professional adviser before acting on any information discussed. #OpenAI #Anthropic #IPO #AIStocks #ValueInvesting
Before You Buy the OpenAI IPO, Watch This (Webinar Replay)
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Do You Really Think Investing Is Risky? 😱
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These are the 5 worst money decisions I’ve seen people make—and most don’t even realize it.
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If I Lost Everything, I’d Only Do This
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3 Rules Before ANY Investments!
Looking rich and being rich are very different things. Here's how to tell which side you're on. Save it before you forget.
5 signs you're actually building wealth (most people miss #3).
#investing #personalfinance #wealthbuilding #financialliteracy
Ask These 4 Questions Before You Invest Anything 💰
The Psychology of Money Explained #moneymindset #wealthbuilding #investingtips #financialliteracy
Why Average Investors Beat Geniuses
#lifestylecreep #wealthbuilding #financialfreedom
More Money Won't Fix This Problem 🏋️
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The Capital Alliance Podcast

Long-form conversations on wealth and investing.

Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://linkly.link/2ebz3 In this episode of the Capital Alliance Podcast, Ken Majmudar sits down with Mike Nicoletti and Jason Wallace, co-founders of Top Mark Capital, a San Diego-based investment firm running a concentrated generalist fund and a dedicated healthcare & biotech fund. Mike and Jason took an unusual path to fund management: they were operators first. They shared hard-won lessons from building (and shutting down) startups — including the painful realization that "winners stay alive long enough for good things to happen" — and how selling a clinical trial technology company to LabCorp shaped the way they analyze businesses today. The conversation goes deep on what value investing actually means in 2026. Mike argues that value principles get arbitraged away over time — Graham's net-nets are gone, Buffett's float and intangibles edge got absorbed — so the real challenge is figuring out what comes next. For them, the answer runs through AI: collapsing switching costs, falling barriers to entry, and why the market may be mispricing great software businesses anyway. We cover: - From tech consulting and startups to launching Top Mark in 2012 - Why an operator background makes you a more patient investor - How value investing principles get arbitraged away — and finding "the next thing" - Hamilton Helmer's Seven Powers as an evolution of Porter's Five Forces - Why AI is crushing SaaS switching costs — and why companies still aren't ripping out Salesforce - A software company is "a sales organization wrapped around a product" - The AI momentum market: memory stocks, data center bottlenecks, and vertical price action - Are we living through a second industrial revolution? GDP, jobs, and the UBI debate - The biotech funding winter, the thaw, and why ~40% of pharma in-licensing now comes from China - Using AI in the research process — without outsourcing final judgment on the 10-K - What a peer community means for fund managers outside the New York bubble Follow Mike Nicoletti & Jason Wallace: Top Mark Capital: https://topmarkcapital.com/ Telltales Podcast & Substack: https://telltales.substack.com Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljnicoletti/ Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wallace21 Follow Capital Alliance Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/ Capital Alliance Website: https://mycapitalalliance.com/ Follow Ken Majmudar: Substack: https://compoundideas.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenmajmudar/
They Sold a Startup to LabCorp, Then Built a Value Fund | Top Mark Capital
Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://linkly.link/2ebz3 In this episode of the Capital Alliance Podcast, Ken Majmudar sits down with Evan Tindell, founder of Bireme Capital, a long/short equity fund. Evan shares how he built Bireme Capital from a $20 million seed from Ballantyne to over $155 million AUM a rare trajectory in the RIA space. He breaks down his investment philosophy, his approach to short selling, why he believes undervalued stocks are caused by cognitive biases, and how he thinks about asymmetric opportunities on both sides of the book. We also go deep on the current market environment -- AI-driven valuations, quantum computing stocks, and where Evan sees the most compelling short opportunities hiding in plain sight. And at the end of the conversation, Evan shares what Capital Alliance has meant to him as a fund manager -- and why investing in the right room of people turned out to be one of his best decisions. We cover: - How Evan launched Barium Capital with a $20M seed and scaled to $155M+ - His framework for identifying undervalued stocks through cognitive bias theory - Why short selling requires a particular mindset -- and who it's right for Apple, Intel, AI washing, and where the real short opportunities are today The difference between "idea generation" and conviction - How macro environments and narrative cycles create mispricings What it actually means to be part of a peer community as a fund manager Follow Evan Tindell : https://x.com/evantindell Bireme Capital: https://www.biremecapital.com/ Follow Capital Alliance: Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/ Capital Alliance on X: https://x.com/CapitalAll79917 Follow Ken Majmudar: Substack: https://compoundideas.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenmajmudar/
From Pro Poker Player to a $155M Fund: Evan Tindell's Investing Playbook
it's a conversation I've been looking forward to sharing.
I invited Evan Tindell, founder of Bireme Capital #podcast #investing
Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://linkly.link/2ebz3 In this episode of the Capital Alliance Podcast, we sit down with Asif Suria, Founder and CEO of Inside Arbitrage, a leading research platform focused on event-driven investing strategies. Asif brings a rare combination of deep technical expertise and decades of market experience. Starting his career in technology during the dot-com era, he transitioned into investing through some of the most volatile market cycles—from the dot-com crash to the Global Financial Crisis—before building Inside Arbitrage into a trusted platform used by professional investors worldwide. We dive deep into event-driven investing, including merger arbitrage, spinoffs, insider trading signals, and activist strategies. Asif breaks down how he built proprietary tools to track hundreds of live deals, process SEC filings in real time, and generate high-quality investment ideas through data and pattern recognition. He also shares how reading You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt shaped his approach, why “seasons” exist within investing strategies, and how overlapping signals—like insider buying + spinoffs + M&A—can create asymmetric opportunities. We cover: - How Asif transitioned from tech to investing during the dot-com crash - Building Inside Arbitrage and turning it into a subscription business - The fundamentals of merger arbitrage and how to track deal spreads - Why insider buying can be powerful—but also misleading - The concept of “idea generation” vs. conviction investing - How macro environments impact strategy performance - Real-world case studies combining multiple event-driven strategies - Why timing and urgency matter in event-driven investing This episode is a masterclass on finding non-obvious edges in public markets. Follow Asif Suria: Inside Arbitrage: https://www.insidearbitrage.com X : https://x.com/AsifSuria Asif's Book The Event Driven Edge in Investing : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201953634-the-event-driven-edge-in-investing Follow Capital Alliance: Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/ X : Follow Ken Majmudar: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenmajmudar/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenmajmudar/ Substack: https://compoundideas.substack.com/
He Built the Research Platform for Event-Driven Investing | Asif Suria
In our latest Capital Alliance Podcast episode, Asif Surya (Founder of Inside Arbitrage) breaks down how event-driven investing actually works—from merger arbitrage to insider buying to spinoffs—and why combining signals is where the real opportunity lies. This is a different way to think about markets: → Idea generation vs. conviction → Why “seasons” exist in strategies → How data + pattern recognition creates edge If you want to understand how professionals find asymmetric opportunities, this one’s worth your time. Full episode dropping soon.
Most investors don’t look where the real edge is.
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Capital Alliance Testimonial | Jonathan Tanne, Founder & CEO of Tangible Investment Management
Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://linkly.link/2ebz3 In this episode of the Capital Alliance Podcast, we sit down with Matthew Peterson, Managing Partner of Peterson Capital Management and a 25-year veteran of the investing world. Matt is one of the most respected concentrated value investors of his generation. He spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs in credit risk consulting across New York and London before walking away to launch his own fund, with just $100,000 of his own capital and $25,000 from a friend. Matt shares how he went from teaching English in China and modeling credit risk for Goldman to building Peterson Capital Management into a multi-fund platform with $40M+ AUM, a 13.7% long-term annualized return, and a 60%+ net return year in 2024. He opens up about the "Valley of Death" every emerging fund manager has to survive, the year a public company in his concentrated portfolio turned out to be fraudulent, and the years of going without a paycheck while clawing back to high watermarks. We cover the "Who, Not How" mindset shift that transformed his business, his frugal-vs-cheap framework for high-ROI spending, how he uses AI agents and 50,000-run Monte Carlo simulations to build conviction on macro and energy trades, why he believes oil and gas will stay higher for longer, and how a casual backyard barbecue in Omaha grew into the Berkshire Soirée, one of his most powerful marketing assets. Follow Matthew Peterson: Peterson Capital Management: https://www.petersoncapital.com Veritas Alpha: https://www.veritasalpha.com Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-peterson-cfa-100/ Follow Capital Alliance: Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/ Follow Ken Majmudar: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenmajmudar/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenmajmudar/ Substack: https://compoundideas.substack.com/ Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro and Matt's background 3:00 — Relocating between Texas, Omaha, and Portugal 5:30 — Growing up in Minnesota and studying at Puget Sound 8:30 — Teaching English in China and landing at Goldman Sachs 13:00 — Earning his CFA and the "golden handcuffs" of Wall Street 17:00 — Leaving Goldman in 2010 and launching Peterson Capital Management 22:00 — The slow grind from $125K to $5M AUM 27:00 — Why running a fund is more than being a great analyst 32:00 — The Horsehead Holdings fraud and surviving down years 37:00 — Concentrated portfolios, high watermarks, and years without pay 42:00 — Escaping the "Valley of Death" and building a team 47:00 — The "Who, Not How" mindset shift 52:00 — Frugal vs. cheap and the ROI of investing in yourself 57:00 — Guy Spier's advice: do the hard things first, the audience shows up later 1:01:00 — How the Omaha backyard barbecue became the Berkshire Soirée 1:07:00 — Marketing as a small fund and creating many-to-one dialogue 1:12:00 — Spinning out Talas Turkey Value Fund and Titan Strategic Income 1:18:00 — The Talas Turkey Tour and finding 3x cashflow companies in Istanbul 1:24:00 — Increasing the surface area of your luck 1:29:00 — Why in-person community matters for contrarian investors 1:34:00 — Operation Epic Fury: AI agents, Monte Carlo war scenarios, and the energy thesis 1:41:00 — Why energy prices stay higher for longer and where the alpha is 1:47:00 — Final thoughts on Capital Alliance and compounding together About Matthew Peterson: Matthew is the Managing Partner of Peterson Capital Management, a concentrated value fund he launched in October 2011 after spending years at Goldman Sachs in credit risk consulting across New York and London. He is also the founder of the Talas Turkey Value Fund, Titan Strategic Income, and VeritasAlpha.com, an AI-powered research platform. He holds a CFA designation and a degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Puget Sound. His funds collectively manage $40M+ AUM with a 13.7% long-term annualized return. He hosts the annual Berkshire Soirée in Omaha and the Talas Turkey Tour, both of which have become signature gathering points for global value investors.
Scaling From $125K to $40M AUM: He Left Goldman During a Crisis to Start a Fund - Matthew Peterson
Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://linkly.link/2ebz3 In this episode of the Capital Alliance Podcast, we sit down with Saurabh Mukherjea, the Founder and CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers. Saurabh is one of India’s most influential fund managers, a prolific author of bestsellers like Coffee Can Investing, and a pioneer in democratizing investing for the Indian public. Saurabh shares how he went from being an immigrant kid in suburban London to building the fastest $1 Billion AUM firm in India. He shares how he started with just $1 million and a team that worked two years without a salary. He opens up about the emotional toll of hypergrowth, what it felt like to lose sight of valuations during COVID-19, and the humbling correction that followed. We cover the Investing framework that changed his career, his three rules for pitching wealthy clients in 20 minutes or less, and how writing books and podcasts took Marcellus from $100M to over $1B. Follow Saurabh Mukherjea: Marcellus Investment Managers: https://marcellus.in Saurabh on Twitter/X: https://x.com/saborwm Saurabh’s book Coffee Can Investing : https://www.amazon.in/Coffee-Can-Investing-Stupendous-Wealth/dp/067009045X Follow Capital Alliance: Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/?viewAsMember=true Follow Ken Majmudar : Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenmajmudar/ Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/kenmajmudar/ Substack : https://compoundideas.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro and Saurabh’s background 3:15 — Coffee Can Investing and the Bob Kirby paper 8:30 — Venture Capital evidence for buy and hold 12:00 — Saurabh’s origin story, LSE, and working with Sir John Kay 18:45 — Founding Clear Capital and predicting the 2008 crisis 24:00 — Selling the firm and migrating to India 27:30 — Building Ambit Capital’s businesses 30:00 — Starting Marcellus with $1M and the Avengers moment 36:15 — Two years without salary and how founders got equity 40:00 — Scaling to $1B and the emotional toll of hypergrowth 45:30 — Losing sight of valuations and the 2022-2023 correction 50:00 — What makes a legendary fund manager vs. an ordinary one 56:00 — The psychology of standing outside the herd 1:01:00 — How to pitch wealthy clients in 20 minutes 1:07:00 — Social cachet and the Royal Enfield analogy 1:11:30 — Selling features not the product 1:15:00 — How books and podcasts built the Marcellus brand 1:21:00 — How American institutions started calling during COVID 1:25:00 — Differences between running a fund in India vs. the West 1:31:00 — Managing long-term investing with short-term client expectations 1:36:00 — Where India fits for US and European allocators 1:42:00 — Why Indian small caps are still overvalued 1:46:00 — India’s next decade and the five WESCO themes 1:52:00 — The importance of community and the tragic cost of isolation 1:58:00 — Final thoughts on Capital Alliance and vulnerability in fund management About Saurabh Mukherjea: Saurabh is the founder and CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers, one of India’s most prominent investment firms managing approximately $700M in assets across high net worth and institutional clients globally. Educated at the London School of Economics, he previously co-founded Clear Capital in the UK and served as CEO of Ambit Capital in India. He is a founding director of the Association of Portfolio Managers in India and has authored multiple bestselling books including Coffee Can Investing, The Unusual Billionaires, Diamonds in the Dust, and Behold the Leviathan. His institutional client base spans pension funds, endowments, churches, and universities across Europe and North America.
From $1M to $1B AUM: How Saurabh Mukherjea Built His Fund With No Salaries
Join the Capital Alliance Waiting List Here: https://shorturl.at/72hTF In this episode of Capital Alliance, we sit down with Pieter Slegers, the founder of Compounding Quality, one of the world’s fastest-growing stock research newsletters with 480,000+ email subscribers and 500,000+ social media followers. Pieter shares how he went from stocking shelves at 13 and losing 60% on his first investment to building one of the largest investing newsletters in the world all while developing a disciplined quality investing framework that professional and retail investors alike have come to rely on. We cover his 15-point stock analysis framework, why he believes S&P 500 returns could drop to 5–6% over the next decade, how he built his audience from zero, the economics behind a newsletter business, and his honest take on what AI means for stock research. Follow Pieter Slegers: : Compounding Quality Newsletter: https://www.compoundingquality.net Pieter on Twitter/X: https://x.com/QCompounding Pieter’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207625385-the-art-of-quality-investing Follow Capital Alliance: Capital Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycapital-alliance/ What we discuss: Pieter’s investing origin story from a 60% loss at 13 to 480K subscribers Why he quit asset management and the 2X salary rule that made it risk-free The “compounding goodwill” flywheel how giving away free research built an empire His 15-point stock analysis framework for quality investing Platform strategy why Twitter is declining for newsletter growth and LinkedIn still works Newsletter economics — conversion rates, Substack fees, pricing, and margins Why in-person networking at Omaha changed the trajectory of his business AI vs. human stock analysis his honest take on ChatGPT  doing his 15-point framework Why he thinks stock market returns will be lower next decade (5–6% vs. 7–9%) The book launch how “The Art of Quality Investing” sold 5,000 copies in 60 days Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro 2:45 — Pieter’s investing origin story 8:30 — Why he quit corporate asset management 14:20 — How Compounding Quality started 18:50 — The compounding goodwill flywheel 24:15 — Twitter vs. LinkedIn — what works for building an audience 32:00 — Serendipity & the power of in-person networking 38:45 — Building community vs. just publishing content 45:20 — AI’s impact on stock research and newsletters 52:10 — Next decade stock market return outlook 58:30 — Writing for your audience — the “explain it to your mom” rule 1:05:15 — Book launch & selling 5,000 copies in 2 months 1:12:00 — Final thoughts on staying relevant as an investor About Pieter Slegers: Pieter is a stock researcher, investor, and publisher based in Antwerp, Belgium. After managing assets at a boutique firm overseeing €3B+, he launched Compounding Quality anonymously on Twitter in June 2022. Today it’s one of the largest investing newsletters in the world with 480,000+ subscribers. He is also the author of “The Art of Quality Investing” and runs a community of quality-focused investors.
How He Picks Stocks for 500,000 Investors | Pieter Slegers (Compounding Quality)
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