Episode Details

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today we sit down with a technology and fund services veteran who has worked with many of the industry’s largest asset managers.

Cesar Estrada is Private Markets Head at Arcesium, a global financial technology company delivering pre- and post-investment operations and enterprise data management solutions designed to systematize the most complex workflows.

Arcesium was built from a platform developed and tested by investment and technology development firm, the D. E. Shaw Group, and launched as a joint venture with Blackstone Alternative Asset Management. J.P. Morgan, another large client, later made a strategic investment in the company, helping Arcesium further its mission: to power the entire investment lifecycle.

Cesar is responsible for Arcesium’s data management and investment operations technology and services offered to private markets fund managers and investors. 

Previously, he served as Senior Managing Director and Alternatives Business Head for North America at State Street — a role in which he drove the growth agenda for a business with approximately $1 trillion in Assets Under Administration by leading new product launches, expansion into new client segments, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions. He served on the board of State Street Fund Services Inc. Prior to that, as a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, Cesar led the Private Equity & Real Estate Funds Services business from launch to $350B AUA.

Cesar and I had a fascinating conversation about the impact of technology and automation on private markets. We discussed:

• What private markets going mainstream means for pre- and post-investment operations.
• Why alternative asset managers need to have technology solutions to manage, track, and analyze data and workflows if they want to scale.
• The biggest challenges that alternative asset managers face as they handle the increase in data management, more funds, and more investors.
• What technology or workflow solutions are still missing.
• How much AI will impact technology workflows in private markets.
• Why ABF has become such an important part of the private credit ecosystem.

Thanks Cesar for coming on the show to share your wisdom and experience in private markets.

Subscribe to Alt Goes Mainstream to receive the weekly newsletter every Sunday and all of AGM’s podcasts.

You can also see a recent Q&A with Cesar on AGM here.

If you want to learn how Arcesium is delivering the technological infrastructure required to manage the complexities of asset-based financing, you can download their white paper here and read thoughts on the asset-based finance space from Arcesium’s Private Markets Head and industry veteran Cesar Estrada.

Show Notes
00:00 Introduction and Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

00:39 Guest Introduction: Cesar Estrada

02:37 Cesar's Background

02:57 Cesar's Career Path

03:35 Evolution of Fund Services Industry

04:49 Arcesium's Core Competencies

05:06 Technology in Private Markets

05:27 Arcesium's Joint Venture Origins

06:12 Technology Architecture

07:11 Client-Centric Ownership Model

07:18 Building for the Biggest

07:46 Solving Complex Problems

08:44 Challenges and Solutions in Data Management

10:28