Our Podcasts
Podcasts
Value Talks: Noam Bracha Hosts Boaz Varshavsky for a Conversation on Trends in the Alternative Investments World
This episode explores the evolution of the illiquid investments space and the key trends shaping it today, with a focus on allocation shifts, the entry of private investors, and the growing complexity of products. It examines how the field has evolved from classic private equity into areas such as private debt, infrastructure, and secondaries — primarily against the backdrop of a shifting interest rate environment and liquidity challenges. The discussion highlights the growing importance of professional analysis in a world where information is not readily accessible, and the increasing sophistication of investors — including a shift from institutional-only players to family offices and qualified private investors. It also explains how funds and managers are adapting their strategies to the new environment, including a move toward safer transactions, the use of covenants and collateral, and advanced risk management.
Watch the recording
Value Talks: Investment Strategies in the Private Equity World
This episode offers a comprehensive overview of the private equity landscape as a core component of alternative investments, with an emphasis on market structure, investment strategies, and the evolving dynamics of recent years. Itamar, Inbar and Noam explore how the sector has developed into a primary engine within investment portfolios—alongside private debt, real estate, and infrastructure - and its continued significant growth on a global scale. The episode delves into key private equity strategies, such as buyout, growth, turnaround, and co-investments, explaining how fund managers generate value through company optimization, leverage, and active management. Additionally, the discussion compares risk-return profiles across various asset classes and highlights the benefits of broad diversification within funds. A central part of the discussion is dedicated to the impact of the macro environment – specifically rising interest rates and inflation – which have altered market conditions, hindered exits, and slowed distributions to investors. At the same time, these shifts have created new opportunities, particularly in the secondary market, which offers liquidity, asset acquisitions at a discount, and exposure to more mature investments. Finally, the episode emphasizes the critical importance of fund manager selection, the significant performance dispersion among managers, and the need to deeply understand return structures, cash flows, and risks, especially for qualified investors active in this space.
Watch the recording
Value Talks: Inbar Steiner hosts Nir Turner for a Conversation on Infrastructure Investing
This episode explores the world of private infrastructure as an alternative asset class, featuring a discussion with Nir Turner from Meitav. The conversation focuses on the evolution of the sector – shifting from traditional infrastructure to digital and renewable energy – and how institutional bodies are building exposure to this space. The episode explains the allocation of investments between Israel and international markets, the balance between fund investments and direct deals, and the key sectors involved, such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and environmental infrastructure. Additionally, we examine the different investment strategies across the risk-return spectrum, ranging from core to opportunistic. The discussion highlights the advantages of infrastructure as a defensive asset characterized by stable cash flows, inflationary protection, and inelastic demand, while also addressing unique risks such as regulation, demand fluctuations, and construction challenges. Finally, the episode reviews key trends such as the growth of digital infrastructure and AI, the transition to green energy, and the rise of the infrastructure secondary market as a compelling investment opportunity.
Watch the recording
Value Talks: Inbar Steiner hosts Ronny Zakay for a Conversation on Secondary Strategies
In this episode, we host Ronny Zakay from Migdal for an in-depth exploration of the secondary market, one of the fastest-growing sectors in private equity. The discussion highlights how this market evolved from the need for liquidity within long-term investments, enabling investors to buy or sell existing stakes in funds and companies – often at a significant discount. The episode focuses on the two primary transaction types, LP-led and GP-led, explaining the differences between them and the dynamics that have fueled sharp market growth in recent years, particularly following interest rate hikes and a slowdown in exits. The conversation also covers the importance of accurate pricing and manager selection, given the inherent complexity and dispersion between funds. We also examine the advantages of secondary investments, such as broad diversification, shorter investment duration, and exposure to more mature assets, alongside the risks and challenges involved, including manager dependency and the use of leverage. Finally, the episode touches upon the expansion of the secondary market into other areas such as debt and infrastructure, and its increasing role in the portfolios of institutional and qualified investors.
Watch the recording
The Investment Train Podcast – Dorit Dor, Co-Founding Partner of a Quantum Technologies Investment Fund – The Quantum Revolution
In this episode, we dive into one of the most fascinating and least understood technological revolutions of our time — quantum computing — together with Dorit Dor, former CTO of Check Point and currently Managing Partner at the QBEAT fund. Dorit explains how the quantum computer changes the rules of the game through exponential parallel computation, capable of solving problems that classical computers will never be able to crack — from breaking cybersecurity encryption to developing new drugs and materials. The conversation highlights the unique investment window that exists right now, just before the technology reaches full commercial maturity, and examines Israel's comparative advantage thanks to its exceptional human capital and pool of physicists. This is a story about the transition from scientific theory to business reality that is expected to reshape the world order, and about the need for investors and organizations to prepare today for tomorrow's computing infrastructure.
Watch the recording
The Investment Train Podcast – Private Investment Funds with Inbar Steiner
Israel's non-traded market is undergoing a revolution. Feeder funds and open-ended funds are making alternative investments more accessible than ever before, but Inbar Steiner of Value Investments warns: "New qualified investors need professional guidance." In a fascinating conversation on the Investment Train Podcast with Dor Markowitz-Rot, Steiner reveals the major opportunities of the coming period: the infrastructure world as a shelter from volatility, the secondary market developing in the wake of the growing primary market, and the special situation that will arise from the anticipated debt maturity wall. "We are heading into a wall of debt," Steiner explains. According to her, companies that took on loans in the zero-interest-rate era are now facing a new interest rate environment — creating opportunities for Special Situation funds, but also requiring careful manager selection. What's the solution? According to Steiner, it is essential to choose managers with a proven track record. Or, as she sums it up: "Human capital is what makes the difference from one firm to another."
Watch the recording