George Michelakis – Chess Master's Approach to Long-Short Equity at Gladstone

**Ted Seides** (0:01)
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Hello, I'm Ted Seides and this is Capital Allocators. This show is an open exploration of the people and process behind capital allocation. Through conversations with leaders in the money game, we learn how these holders of the keys to the kingdom allocate their time and their capital. You can join our mailing list and access premium content at capitalallocators.com.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:43)
All opinions expressed by Ted and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of capital allocators or their firms. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Capital Allocators or podcast guests may maintain positions and securities discussed on this podcast.

**Ted Seides** (3:02)
My guest on today's show is George Michelakis, the Chief Investment Officer of Gladstone Management, a $2 billion Longshard Equity Hedge Fund based in London. George founded Gladstone in 2006 with seed capital from, well, me, of protege partners and six years later, bought back the stake when still managing less than $100 million. In the dozen years since, Gladstone has won awards for European Hedge Fund of the Year and the top performing five-year fund for three years in a row. Long before that, George became an international chess master and took third in the 1992 World Under-20 Chess Championships.
We discussed George's path from chess to investing, alongside his college friend Roelof Botha of Sequoia, the challenges of the fundamental long-shirt equity model, the culture required to make it work and how he does it at Gladstone. Before we get going, 2024 is shaping up to be a great betting year. On the first episode of the year, I discussed a bet I made with Morgan Housel that same as ever would sell more than 100, copies. Morgan let me know just last week that his new book already has sold 150, copies. Sales are accelerating week over week, and it wouldn't surprise me if it sells a million copies 10 times our overrun.
Second, my son Eric touted his focus going into our family fantasy football league final. He sounded persuasive and perhaps ready to take over the show on the Spread the Word clip, but I edged him out and took home this year's trophy. Two bets in two weeks with two wins has me wondering if I should go to Vegas. If you want another winning bet, I'll share one here. I'll bet that if you share your love of Capital Allocators at the next opportunity, you'll look good, feel good, and be good. I'll also bet that if you're listening to this, you already agreed. So go ahead and spread the love. Thanks for spreading the word about my betting prowess. Just don't tell Warren Buffett I said so.
Please enjoy my conversation with George Michelakis.

**Ted Seides** (5:15)
George, wonderful to see you.

**George Michelakis** (5:17)
Thank you for having me, Ted.