73 Strings' Yann Magnan - unlocking valuation intelligence in private markets

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. Today’s episode is with a founder who is building mission-critical valuation and portfolio monitoring software for alternative asset managers. We are joined by Yann Magnan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yann-magnan-bbb9623/), the Co-Founder and CEO of 73 Strings (https://www.73strings.com/), to discuss how valuation work and portfolio monitoring is moving from manual to automated and why that’s so important for the industry. 73 Strings has leveraged AI and automation to more seamlessly and cost-effectively extract data, monitor portfolios, and streamline middle-office processes for valuations. 73 Strings works with a number of the industry’s top alternative asset managers and has received investment from Blackstone, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Hamilton Lane, Golub, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, and Broadhaven Ventures, amongst others. Yann has brought his experience as a senior member of the Duff & Phelps team, where he was EMEA Market Leader and member of the Global Operating Committee and as a Partner at EY’s Transaction Advisory Services to help bring valuation and portfolio monitoring solutions into the mainstream. Yann and I had a fascinating conversation about how technology innovation and AI are impacting private markets and perspectives on valuation work today. We discussed: - The challenges with manual valuation services businesses. - How to create uniformity and standardization with private markets fund performance data. - How AI is changing private markets post-investment reporting processes. - Does automation in private markets help big funds or small funds more? - The evolution of post-investment private markets market structure. - The biggest technology innovation still missing from private markets. - Why the growth of the wealth channel and evergreen funds increases the need for more streamlined reporting and valuation solutions. Thanks Yann for coming on the show to share your expertise, insights, and passion about private markets. Show Notes 00:00 AI Since Day One 01:06 A Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus 02:02 Introduction to Yann Magnan 04:11 From Manual To Automated 04:44 Excel Google Email 04:58 Cloud And Early AI 05:07 Governed Auditable Process 05:30 Founding 73 Strings 05:36 Two Valuation Platforms 05:55 Scaling With Alts Growth 06:28 Evergreen Acceleration 06:54 Retail Investor Expectations 07:09 Transactions Need Fresh NAVs 07:44 Valuations For Transactions 08:14 Continuation Vehicles Context 08:42 Reporting To Trading Shift 09:07 Illiquid Vs Liquid Compare 09:18 Mimicking Public Markets 09:43 Valuation Philosophy Changes 10:27 Back Office To Front Office 11:25 New Stakeholders To Balance 11:59 Why Private Must Feel Public 12:20 Transparency And Liquidity 13:18 Is Liquidity Good 15:11 Evergreen Process Differences 16:09 Higher Frequency Requirements 18:00 Tech Leverage Points 18:53 People Plus Technology 19:44 Portfolio Data As DNA 21:02 No Single Valuation Standard 21:47 Consistency Over Time 22:20 Human In The Loop 22:42 Art And Science Framework 24:03 No One Best Method 24:55 Wealth Channel Education 25:30 What LPs Should Ask 26:46 What Top GPs Want 27:38 Global Tech Adoption 28:49 Fundraising Drives Ops 30:23 AI Data Extraction Story 31:48 Standardizing Data Labels 32:21 Data Model Requirements 32:52 Is Data A Moat 33:14 Turning Data Into Insights 33:54 Scale Versus Specialization 35:04 Tech Helps Small Managers 36:21 AI Impact On All Funds 36:44 Starting Before GenAI Boom 37:42 ML And NLP Foundations 38:40 Agents Accelerate Valuations 39:26 Overnight Valuation Refresh 39:57 More Frequent Valuations 40:10 Limits Of Daily Data 41:03 Explainability And Trust 41:42 Next Market Structure Shift 42:09 Digital GP LP Data Sharing 43:12 Interconnection Needs Trust 43:46 Closing Thanks A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus (https://www.ultimusfundsolutions.com/), the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands. That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals. Learn more at ultimusfundsolutions.com (http://ultimusfundsolutions.com/) or email info@ultimusfundsolutions.com (mailto:info@ultimusfundsolutions.com). We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com/).