The Generalist - Destiny: Disrupting BlackRock

Friends,

Here are some companies I wish I had exposure to:

• Stripe
• SpaceX
• Plaid
• Automation Anywhere
• Discord
• Public
• Epic Games

Some of you may have a similar list of fast-growing, high-potential companies that remain in the private markets. Historically, if you wanted to invest in one of these businesses, you needed to (i) be a very connected VC, (ii) know how to navigate the complex secondary markets, or (iii) wait until they went public.

​Destiny is changing that.

When the company’s Tech100 index lists on the New York Stock Exchange later this year, retail investors will be able to invest in a basket of the world’s most valuable startups, including the companies listed above. If you want exposure to Stripe, SpaceX, or Superhuman, you’ll be able to invest in a liquid, publicly-traded asset.

While revolutionary on the customer side, Destiny could be even more interesting to watch from a business perspective. Started by Sohail Prasad and Samvit Ramadurgam – founders of leading secondary marketplace Forge (FRGE) – Destiny has the potential to disrupt venture capital and become a major player in the investment landscape. In time, it may even fulfill its ambition of becoming “BlackRock for the private markets.” If you want to learn how Destiny decides which companies to include in its basket and what it takes to run a compliant index fund, jump in here:

NB: Though we note this at the bottom of every piece, it’s worth highlighting that this is not investment advice, and everyone should do their own research. Each person will have different preferences, risk tolerances, and financial goals. It also goes without saying, I hope, that investment products can go down as well as up.
​
​This piece was written as part of The Generalist's partner program. You can read about the ethical guidelines I adhere to in the link above. I always note partnerships transparently, only share my genuine opinion, and commit to working with organizations I consider exceptional. Destiny is one of them.

Brought to you by Destiny

Today’s piece is supported by Destiny.

The modern investment management firm is building the “Tech100,” an index of 100 high-growth tech businesses. The ETF is expected to list on the NYSE later this year. You can think of it as a version of SPY or QQQ for the private markets.

When the Tech100 launches, every day investors will get access to a basket of leaders like Stripe, SpaceX, Plaid, Public, Instacart, AtoB, and many others.
​
If you want to be among the first to gain access to the Tech100, make sure to sign up on Destiny’s site.​

Destiny: Disrupting BlackRock

Actionable insights

If you only have a few minutes to spare, here's what investors, operators, and founders should know about Destiny.

• A basket of the best. Destiny has built an index of tech’s most promising private companies. By buying shares in the “Tech100” ETF, investors get exposure to players like Stripe, SpaceX, and Epic Games. It’s the first time so many top-tier names have been so accessible to the mass market.
• A decade in the making. Founders Sohail Prasad and Samvit Ramadurgam have been obsessed with expanding access to private tech since 2013. Before they founded Destiny, the pair built Forge, one of the world’s largest marketplaces for secondary shares. In 2021, Forge debuted on the NYSE.
• The era of ETFs. Over the past couple of decades, passive strategies have taken over from more active approaches. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, exemplifies this transition. Though Larry Fink’s shop started by leveraging active strategies, it has become the king of passive ETFs.
• Execution is everything. Building a winning index isn’t as easy as simply picking the companies you want to invest in. Destiny’s job isn’t just to identify valuable startups – it’s to gain access to them at advantaged prices. That requires a deep understanding of venture capital and the secondary markets.
• Rising competition. For now, Destiny’s index appears unique. It is unlikely to remain so uncontested. Startups like Titan and Carta have demonstrated an interest in the space, while investment managers like BlackRock could leverage their experience to tackle this new asset class. Destiny will need to stay one step ahead and look to turn potential rivals into partners.

***

In 1986, Larry Fink was on a losing streak. His securities unit had logged $100 million in losses, threatening to derail a gilded career. Though scarcely in his mid-thirties, Fink was a known entity in finance — First Boston’s youngest-ever managing director and respected for his pioneering work on the mortgage-backed bond market. By some estimates, Fink had added $1 billion to the institute he had joined fresh from UCLA’s business school. But Wall Street’s memory can be short. Despite his historical performance, Fink was pushed out.

It proved to be the making of him. Two years after his departure, Fink raised $5 million to start the investment firm that would come to be known as BlackRock. The shop, which began in a tiny rented office on Bear Stearns’ trading floor, would become the world’s largest asset manager.

Today, BlackRock manages nearly $8 trillion in capital. Before the drawdown in 2022, its AUM crested an astonishing $10 trillion.

Ten trillion. Ten trillion. It’s a number so large that it ceases to be comprehensible. Humans struggle to visualize discrete units beyond five and fail terribly at comparing figures several orders of magnitude apart.

Ten trillion is 80 Tiger Globals stacked on top of each other.

Ten trillion is 179 Ubers placed end-to-end.

Ten trillion is 1,042 Coinbases bundled into a burlap sack.

Ten trillion is unfathomable, impossible, almost funny in its absurdity. It is the kind of figure that makes you question what money is, in the same way repeating a word makes you wonder what it means; a figure that doesn’t bring to mind a moat so much as a towering wall of cash. This is the BlackRock imperium, the vast fortress of Fink, a man who responded to the loss of $100 million by amassing 100,000 as much.

What would it take to disrupt it?
​
It is a provocative question, and Sohail Prasad believes he has the answer. His company, Destiny, has created a publicly tradable index of the top 100 high-growth startups, featuring names like SpaceX, Stripe, Epic Games, Revolut, Impossible Foods, Plaid, Public, and Instacart. For the first time, everyday retail investors will be able to capitalize on the growth of tech’s best-performing private companies. Though revolutionary in its own right, Destiny has no plans to stop there. Prasad aims to build a modern investing giant that rivals the industry’s biggest players, a “BlackRock for the private markets.” It’s a vision a long time in the making.

I’m extremely excited about what Destiny is building and what it means for the future of venture capital, wealth creation, and investment management. I think you’ll really like this one.

See you on Sunday,

Mario
​
PS – If you want to be first to know when Destiny launches, make sure to sign up for their updates here.​