E61: Erik Iverson and Mike Partsch on WARF’s $3B Endowment Strategy

Erik Iverson and Mike Partsch of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) sit down with David Weisburd to discuss how WARF supports innovation while driving financial returns. In addition, they discuss the case for investing in life sciences, how inventions turn into portfolio companies and the importance of maintaining relationships through market cycles. (0:00) Introduction and overview of Wharf (1:45) Investment strategy and portfolio construction (4:08) Correlation between industry hype and venture returns (7:00) Sponsor: Deel (8:40) Process of spinning out companies from the University (12:45) Sourcing and developing new relationships in venture capital (15:06) Discussion on unfair practices in valuation and liquidation (16:38) Challenges of venture capital (17:04) The mission and highlights of WARF