Sagard's Paul Desmarais III - building the next generation alternative asset manager: AGM Live at SuperReturn

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We sat down with Paul Desmarais III, the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Sagard, the fast-growing $46B global multi-strategy alternative asset manager.

We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.

With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.

Sagard combines a rich history and heritage of building asset management businesses with a modern approach to building a global alternative asset manager.

Paul’s deep understanding of the industry comes from being part of a family of multiple generations of asset management pioneers in Canada who have built some of the industry’s largest financial services businesses. 

Paul is the “next first generation” of asset management pioneers to come out of the Desmarais family. He started Sagard with $400M in seed capital in 2016 and, in ten short years, has grown the platform into a global multi-strategy alternative asset manager with over $46B. 

Sagard’s mission to empower founders by being a business that builds businesses shines through in the approach Paul and the team have taken in building Sagard. The firm has incubated, built, and acquired asset management talent and firms to scale across strategy and geography into the global platform that it is today.

Paul and I had a fascinating conversation about the business of asset management and why Sagard exists to serve entrepreneurs around the world. We covered:

Sagard’s entrepreneurial DNA.What does it mean to build a business that builds businesses?Being the “next first generation.”How Sagard approaches the buy, build, partner framework of asset management businesses.How Sagard has expanded its platform across asset classes and strategies.How to build a global, multi-strategy asset management brand.Why specialization matters in asset management.How to approach the wealth channel.The decentralized pod shop model.The future of private markets.

Bio

Paul Desmarais III is the Chairman and CEO of Sagard, an alternative asset management firm active in venture capital, private equity, credit, and real estate.

Paul has led Sagard since 2016, along with a handful of close partners bound by a common vision: partnering with entrepreneurs to catalyze transformation in our investments and communities. Sagard has experienced outstanding growth, with assets under management increasing to over $46B.

Under Paul, Sagard has built a global network of expertise that helps companies lead, embrace, and stay ahead of disruptive trends, expanding activity in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Paul engages actively in growing Sagard companies. Within the Sagard ecosystem, Paul is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Portage (fintech & financial services investing) and the Chairman and Co-Founder of Diagram (venture builder). Within the investment portfolios, he is the Chairman of Wealthsimple, Novisto, and Sagard Wealth, and a director of Nesto and Midas. Paul also sits on the board of Empower, the number two 401(k) business in the U.S.

Show Notes

00:00 Live From SuperReturn

00:10 Meet Paul Desmarais III

01:06 Family Business Roots

01:23 G1 Entrepreneur Mindset

01:35 Launching Sagard 2016

01:51 Generational Reinvention

02:02 Early Spark To Build

03:40 Learning From Mistakes

04:33 By Entrepreneurs For Entrepreneurs

04:45 Sagard Origin Story

04:58 Power Corp Alternatives Gap

05:43 Starting With Credit

06:10 Serving Beyond The Family

06:46 Alignment With Family Capital

07:19 Customer First Performance

07:44 Team Money Invested

07:53 Generational Time Horizon

08:47 Patience Builds Partnerships

09:22 Innovation In The DNA

09:39 Regional To Global Champions

09:53 Why Reinvention Matters

10:26 Platform Strategy Mix

11:02 Pillars Of The Firm

11:25 Fintech Ecosystem Flywheel

11:35 Building The Competitive Moat

12:07 Emerging Managers Advantage

12:41 Synergies At Scale

13:08 Designing Collaboration

13:47 Incentives And Shared Carry

15:07 Values Drive Culture

23:25 Legacy And Entrepreneur Impact

24:39 Closing Thanks