Ep 217 Ian Macoun - Make It Better: Building Investment Excellence That Lasts

About this episode

Ian Macoun discusses the principles of sustained investment excellence and the factors that contribute to long-term success in portfolio management.

If you’ve recently had a liquidity event, inherited complexity, or are quietly wondering whether your portfolio is truly built for the next 30 years — this episode is essential listening. In this conversation, Ian Macoun, founder of Pinnacle Investment Management, joins David Clark to unpack what actually drives sustained investment excellence — and what quietly destroys it. With over $200 billion under management across 19 affiliates, Pinnacle has become one of Australia’s most successful multi-affiliate investment firms. But this episode is not about scale. It’s about structure, incentives, character, and long-term alignment. For sophisticated investors managing significant capital, this discussion goes directly to the hard questions: Why do some fund managers endure for decades while others fade? How do you distinguish confidence from dangerous ego? Is private credit a structural allocation, or the next bubble? How should wealthy operators think differently about portfolio construction? What does AI mean for growth investing? Where are private markets heading next? Ian’s philosophy is simple but demanding: excellence is the only standard. And that applies to both managers and…

People in this episode

Host: David Clark

Guest: Ian Macoun

Topics covered

• investment excellence
• portfolio construction
• private markets
• long-term alignment
• fund management
• AI in investing

Keywords

• investment management
• liquidity event
• portfolio
• fund managers
• private credit
• growth investing
• capital
• investment structure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pinnacle Investment Management

Places: Australia

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