Many investors often go with the crowd when investing
because they haven’t researched enough. In an exclusive interview with Finance
Magnates, family wealth management expert Salvatore Buscemi explains the
dangers of following the (uninformed) crowd. Buscemi reveals what the
super-wealthy really think about liquidity, the differences in their value
systems, and how that affects their investments.
Salvatore Buscemi is the CEO and Co-Founder of private
family investment office Dandrew Partners and the author of several books on
investment, including “Raising Real Money: Real Estate Funds
Uncovered” and “Making the Yield: Real Estate Hard Money Lending
Uncovered”.
His latest book is entitled “Investing Legacy: How the
.001% Invest”. In this book, Buscemi explores the investment biases and
other non-quantitative drivers for investment decision-making of the world’s
wealthiest and most powerful families – the so-called .001% of society. Besides that, he also explains the causes of conflict, how
to manage it, and where these world-class investment opportunities come from.
Buscemi started his career in investment banking at Goldman
Sachs and is a graduate of Fordham University. As he explains, the purpose of
the book is to shed light on the non-quantitative drivers that shape the
financial destinies of the privileged few.
But what can those of more modest means learn from the
behavior of the richest 0.001% of the world’s population – a group for which he
coined the term ‘the Decimals’?
“I moved
to Miami during the Bitcoin NFT craze, which attracted a lot of money from
middle-class investors following the lead of their peers who might be
professionals (doctors, chiropractors, lawyers) but are not professional
investors,” explains Buscemi.
“Just
because someone is a lead surgeon and earns more money than their colleagues, it
doesn’t mean they automatically know what they are doing,” he adds. “In
addition, no one can see their trading account, so they have no idea if these
individuals are as successful as they claim to be. But they are perceived to be
smarter than everyone else, and others will copy them because they want to look
smart too.”
This is
indicative of a herd mentality approach to investment that is exacerbated by
the unwillingness of male investors to do proper research, he suggests.
“Women tend
to do their groundwork and take a longer-term view, whereas many men get their
information from Reddit,” says Buscemi. “This was the focus of my book, which
has been read mostly by female audience.”
Importance of Networking
So, bearing
that in mind, what sort of asset classes should investors be looking at?
“If they
are qualified, they should want to get into private direct investment and
private equity alongside some of the smarter families, which requires
networking,” says Buscemi. “People are reluctant to spend $5000 to attend a
conference, but the real wealth is made from networking and getting access to
deals like an insider.”
In my observation, a significant factor is the reluctance of many smaller, middle-class investors to invest in their potential. This investment doesn’t refer to purchasing books or frequenting the gym; it primarily points to building robust networks. #CRE https://t.co/pzOpLQFaVi
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) July 13, 2023
He refers
to the head of a wealthy family who has been able to pull in millions of
dollars at short notice on previous deals to emphasize his point about the
importance of building contacts.
“He is
able to do this because he spends more than 200 days a year on the road and has
built up a powerful network,” says Buscemi. “Most people don’t have the ability
to do this, but they could start by not looking for stock advice on Instagram
and instead following professional investors on LinkedIn. It takes a bit of
effort, and people don’t like to hear this, but they need to understand the
rationale behind these investments and not be afraid to ask questions.”
According
to Buscemi, there is no excuse not to get involved in family office groups to
really learn what they are doing and build a degree of comfort before you even
start to think about attending a conference. As he says: “It is always good to
have friends already there.”
The Dos and Don’ts of Pitching to Family Offices#PrivateEquity #RelationalCapital #CallingTheCapital #CapitalRaisingStrategies #FamilyOfficehttps://t.co/PIB73ZTfc4
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) October 19, 2023
Capital Markets in the US
Buscemi suggests
the capital markets are coming back and that the US is not only a great place
for people to invest but also a great place to start a business and raise
money.
“There is
also value in investing in industries you understand,” adds Buscemi. “So if you
are a medical professional, for example, you might want to look at life
sciences. But make sure you are investing with people whose interests are
aligned with yours.”
TV shows
like the business reality series’ Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank may give the
impression that it is relatively easy to come up with a million-dollar – or
even billion-dollar – idea, but smart investors will favor entrepreneurs who
have multiple exits behind them.
“We are very
open about what we invest into, and the reason why we are successful is that we
don’t back first-time founders,” says Buscemi. “If you have a bunch of guys
that are small investors, they have no incentive other than to get angry if
things go wrong or become apathetic, so I would urge people to do a lot of
networking in order to find the best deals.”
This is
the first factor he considers when assessing a private investment opportunity, regardless of the industry. “I want to know how many exits this founder has had
because, at some point, the business is going to be sold off, merged with another
company, or go public, and I want to work with founders who can stay the
course,” he says.
Conducting Due Diligence
The next
question is to find out who the lead investors are. “You want to see smart
money coming in behind the founders,” says Buscemi. “It gives you comfort when
these investors have done this before and have been through a number of
economic cycles.”
Navigating Due Diligence in Startup Fundraising#FundraisingTips #DueDiligence #InvestmentStrategies #Startupshttps://t.co/EoETTeTJPr
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) July 26, 2023
When it
comes to conducting due diligence on founders, he suggests a rather interesting
approach based on social media research.
“We were
looking at a company founded by a number of young people and started following
them on Facebook and Instagram,” Buscemi explains. “It quickly became clear
that their lifestyles were not congruent with first-time founders – for
instance, flying first class all over the world. This suggested to me that they
had an ego, and you never want someone’s ego to be more important than your
money.”
He also
recommends doing background checks to determine if there have been concerns
about a founder’s conduct during previous deals – something that many people
are reluctant to do but can reveal a lot about the person you may be investing
with. When asked about his investment truism, Buscemi uses a sporting analogy. “Bet on the jockey,
never the horse,” he concludes.
Many investors often go with the crowd when investing
because they haven’t researched enough. In an exclusive interview with Finance
Magnates, family wealth management expert Salvatore Buscemi explains the
dangers of following the (uninformed) crowd. Buscemi reveals what the
super-wealthy really think about liquidity, the differences in their value
systems, and how that affects their investments.
Salvatore Buscemi is the CEO and Co-Founder of private
family investment office Dandrew Partners and the author of several books on
investment, including “Raising Real Money: Real Estate Funds
Uncovered” and “Making the Yield: Real Estate Hard Money Lending
Uncovered”.
His latest book is entitled “Investing Legacy: How the
.001% Invest”. In this book, Buscemi explores the investment biases and
other non-quantitative drivers for investment decision-making of the world’s
wealthiest and most powerful families – the so-called .001% of society. Besides that, he also explains the causes of conflict, how
to manage it, and where these world-class investment opportunities come from.
Buscemi started his career in investment banking at Goldman
Sachs and is a graduate of Fordham University. As he explains, the purpose of
the book is to shed light on the non-quantitative drivers that shape the
financial destinies of the privileged few.
But what can those of more modest means learn from the
behavior of the richest 0.001% of the world’s population – a group for which he
coined the term ‘the Decimals’?
“I moved
to Miami during the Bitcoin NFT craze, which attracted a lot of money from
middle-class investors following the lead of their peers who might be
professionals (doctors, chiropractors, lawyers) but are not professional
investors,” explains Buscemi.
“Just
because someone is a lead surgeon and earns more money than their colleagues, it
doesn’t mean they automatically know what they are doing,” he adds. “In
addition, no one can see their trading account, so they have no idea if these
individuals are as successful as they claim to be. But they are perceived to be
smarter than everyone else, and others will copy them because they want to look
smart too.”
This is
indicative of a herd mentality approach to investment that is exacerbated by
the unwillingness of male investors to do proper research, he suggests.
“Women tend
to do their groundwork and take a longer-term view, whereas many men get their
information from Reddit,” says Buscemi. “This was the focus of my book, which
has been read mostly by female audience.”
Importance of Networking
So, bearing
that in mind, what sort of asset classes should investors be looking at?
“If they
are qualified, they should want to get into private direct investment and
private equity alongside some of the smarter families, which requires
networking,” says Buscemi. “People are reluctant to spend $5000 to attend a
conference, but the real wealth is made from networking and getting access to
deals like an insider.”
In my observation, a significant factor is the reluctance of many smaller, middle-class investors to invest in their potential. This investment doesn’t refer to purchasing books or frequenting the gym; it primarily points to building robust networks. #CRE https://t.co/pzOpLQFaVi
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) July 13, 2023
He refers
to the head of a wealthy family who has been able to pull in millions of
dollars at short notice on previous deals to emphasize his point about the
importance of building contacts.
“He is
able to do this because he spends more than 200 days a year on the road and has
built up a powerful network,” says Buscemi. “Most people don’t have the ability
to do this, but they could start by not looking for stock advice on Instagram
and instead following professional investors on LinkedIn. It takes a bit of
effort, and people don’t like to hear this, but they need to understand the
rationale behind these investments and not be afraid to ask questions.”
According
to Buscemi, there is no excuse not to get involved in family office groups to
really learn what they are doing and build a degree of comfort before you even
start to think about attending a conference. As he says: “It is always good to
have friends already there.”
The Dos and Don’ts of Pitching to Family Offices#PrivateEquity #RelationalCapital #CallingTheCapital #CapitalRaisingStrategies #FamilyOfficehttps://t.co/PIB73ZTfc4
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) October 19, 2023
Capital Markets in the US
Buscemi suggests
the capital markets are coming back and that the US is not only a great place
for people to invest but also a great place to start a business and raise
money.
“There is
also value in investing in industries you understand,” adds Buscemi. “So if you
are a medical professional, for example, you might want to look at life
sciences. But make sure you are investing with people whose interests are
aligned with yours.”
TV shows
like the business reality series’ Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank may give the
impression that it is relatively easy to come up with a million-dollar – or
even billion-dollar – idea, but smart investors will favor entrepreneurs who
have multiple exits behind them.
“We are very
open about what we invest into, and the reason why we are successful is that we
don’t back first-time founders,” says Buscemi. “If you have a bunch of guys
that are small investors, they have no incentive other than to get angry if
things go wrong or become apathetic, so I would urge people to do a lot of
networking in order to find the best deals.”
This is
the first factor he considers when assessing a private investment opportunity, regardless of the industry. “I want to know how many exits this founder has had
because, at some point, the business is going to be sold off, merged with another
company, or go public, and I want to work with founders who can stay the
course,” he says.
Conducting Due Diligence
The next
question is to find out who the lead investors are. “You want to see smart
money coming in behind the founders,” says Buscemi. “It gives you comfort when
these investors have done this before and have been through a number of
economic cycles.”
Navigating Due Diligence in Startup Fundraising#FundraisingTips #DueDiligence #InvestmentStrategies #Startupshttps://t.co/EoETTeTJPr
— Salvatore Buscemi (@SMBuscemi) July 26, 2023
When it
comes to conducting due diligence on founders, he suggests a rather interesting
approach based on social media research.
“We were
looking at a company founded by a number of young people and started following
them on Facebook and Instagram,” Buscemi explains. “It quickly became clear
that their lifestyles were not congruent with first-time founders – for
instance, flying first class all over the world. This suggested to me that they
had an ego, and you never want someone’s ego to be more important than your
money.”
He also
recommends doing background checks to determine if there have been concerns
about a founder’s conduct during previous deals – something that many people
are reluctant to do but can reveal a lot about the person you may be investing
with. When asked about his investment truism, Buscemi uses a sporting analogy. “Bet on the jockey,
never the horse,” he concludes.