The Allocator’s Checklist: How LPs Size Up Managers

About this episode

Charlotte Zhang discusses her journey into LP life and how she evaluates fund managers at Inatai Foundation.

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Charlotte Zhang, Senior Portfolio Manager at Inatai Foundation. Charlotte shares her unconventional path from tech investment banking into LP life, her work at Inatai Foundation, and how she evaluates fund managers across asset classes. She explains Inatai’s mission-driven, endowment-style strategy centered on efficiency, innovation, and impact, and how they manage capital for other aligned foundations. She also shares how generalist allocators run thematic research sprints, why they avoid rigid asset class buckets, and how they think about biotech, crossover, and platform value creation. For venture managers, she outlines what LPs look for: real differentiation rooted in an unmet need, some form of specialization, strong networks and early access, and the “four Ps” all anchored in people with integrity and learning agility. Also, don’t miss Michael Podolny as he explains how Sidley’s emerging companies practice is increasingly busy as AI-driven and globally ambitious startups seek sophisticated, full‑lifecycle legal and tax advice from day one, with a particular focus on planning early to maximize QSBS tax benefits…

People in this episode

Hosts: Earnest Sweat, Alexa Binns

Guest: Charlotte Zhang

Topics covered

• investment strategy
• venture capital
• fund management
• asset classes
• impact investing
• biotech

Keywords

• LPs
• fund managers
• investment strategy
• thematic research
• biotech
• impact investing
• QSBS tax benefits

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Inatai Foundation, Sidley

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