What's in store for you:

1. Photo From My Life
2. Life Thought: Classic Sayings
3. Financial Thought: Liquid Private Investments
4. Good Sh*t: Dixieland Delight

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Photo From My Life:

Life Thought:

Classic Sayings: Ben, my long-time business partner, is famous for coming up with great sayings. Today, I want to highlight two of them:

Belly to Belly

You're probably wondering what the hell this means. Well, it just means sitting down face to face with someone. Why Ben calls this belly to belly, I'm not entirely sure. But, it stuck with me.

It’s simple, but powerful. Want to drive more sales? Get belly to belly. Navigating a tough challenge? Get belly to belly. Need to brainstorm something big? Get belly to belly. Having a difficult conversation? You guessed it—get belly to belly.

There’s just something different about sitting down in person. The distractions fade. The connection deepens. That face-to-face energy can’t be replicated through Zoom or a Slack message.

Now don’t get me wrong—I love working remotely. It fits my rhythm. But even as a remote work fan, I’ve learned that some things still require the effort to show up. It's why Ben and I block time every quarter to sit down together and strategize. It's why I’m driving to Jacksonville today for three in-person PE List sales meetings. And it’s why for VDB Wealth, I’ll gladly fly to meet a potential client wherever they are. (If you're located in Park City or San Diego, you move to the top of my list!)

In our screen dominated world, sitting down in person can be a differentiator.

Value Slap

It’s exactly what it sounds like—delivering an overwhelming amount of value up front, with no strings attached. No hidden pitch. No bait and switch. Just genuine help. The belief is simple: if you lead with value, the business will eventually follow.

This belief is at the core of how I’m building VDB Wealth. It’s not about chasing every sale. It’s about playing the long game and investing time today that might not pay off for years. It's helping one person who may mention me to a friend 3 years later.

So, what does a “value slap” actually look like at VDB Wealth?

1. I’ll spend 2 hours with anyone who wants to build a financial plan—from scratch, together.
2. I’ll review investment accounts and allocations to make sure they align with your goals.
3. I’ll help build out trusts and estates—at no charge.
4. I’ll review old tax returns to see if we can uncover additional savings or missed opportunities.

Want to be value slapped? I'm more than happy to help. Feel free to book a call with me. Absolutley zero pressure. Link here.

Financial Thought:

Liquid Private Investments: There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the shift toward liquid private investment vehicles. It's a development that could reshape how everyday investors access private markets—and one that deserves a bit of unpacking.

The Legacy Rules (And How Things Are Changing):

Historically, private equity and other alternatives have been reserved for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. These investments typically came with long lock-up periods—5 to 10 years or more—because the companies you’re investing in aren’t publicly traded and don’t provide daily liquidity. You invest, sit tight, and hope the return at the end is worth the wait.

But now? The industry is shifting. Asset managers are introducing liquid versions of private investment strategies—funds that aim to give investors quarterly, or in some cases even monthly, redemption options. Think of them as “private equity lite” options designed for the wealth management channel. Blackstone, Apollo, and others are already deep in this transition, and more players are jumping in.

The goal is simple: broaden the investor base. But, as with everything in finance, the devil is in the details.

What This Means for the Common Investor

In theory, this sounds like a win. More access, more diversification, more return potential. But the reality is more complicated.

First off, “liquidity” in private markets isn’t the same as liquidity in public ones. These funds often have redemption gates, limit withdrawal amounts, or pause redemptions entirely in turbulent times.

Also, fees in these structures can be higher, layered, and harder to dissect. You’re paying for access, liquidity engineering, and active management—all of which can eat into returns.

For many retail investors, that means you may get the feeling of liquidity without the full benefit—and without fully understanding the risks you’re taking.

Impact on Returns:

Is Illiquidity Still a Premium? The historical appeal of private equity is clear: returns. The data below makes the case well.

Across every time period—5, 10, 15, 20 years—private equity (as measured by the Pitchbook North American PE Index) has outperformed the S&P 500 by a meaningful margin.

But how much of that return outperformance is due to the illiquidity premium investors demand? That’s a critical question.If these new vehicles reduce illiquidity (through more flexible redemption options), do they also reduce that return premium? Possibly.

How will this impact larger funds, where returns are already more muted and predictable? The biggest firms have institutionalized their strategies, and while their scale brings stability, it also often limits upside. Smaller and mid-sized funds still have more potential alpha—but they won’t be the first ones launching liquid structures.

The bottom line? Liquid alternatives may become more like public market proxies with higher fees. That’s not always a bad thing, but it’s worth understanding what you’re actually getting.

Who Should Consider These?:

In general, unless you have a deep understanding of the alternative investment universe—or work in the industry—I haven't historically recommend allocating to private investments until your liquid portfolio exceeds $5M+. I can be convinced at a lower level, but in most cases, it’s simply not worth the complexity, illiquidity, and additional due diligence required. If someone was insistent on getting access to the private market, I would advise them to buy equities in the private fund managers that trade on the stock market (Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, Apollo, etc).

However, with this new liquid approach, I'd be more confident in expanding the investor universe to groups with lower net-worths. It may be a net positive for that investor group.

Final Thought:

Nuance Matters As with most financial topics, this one is filled with nuance. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. None of my random musings should be taken as investment advice.

Good Sh*t:

Dixieland Delight: Okay, I’ve got a confession.

Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard the song "Dixieland Delight" by Alabama. I know. I can already feel the collective gasp from every person who grew up in the South or went to a college football game in the last 30 years. Somehow, I missed it entirely.

But wow—what a discovery. It’s got that perfect blend of easy Southern charm and end-of-the-week energy. It makes me want to roll the windows down, drive slow, and sing along like it's Karaoke at 3am in the Lower East Side.

If you want the pure experience, you can watch the music video on YouTube. However, they sing the song at Alabama football games. You can watch a version of that here. Pretty electric. A good reminder that I need to make it to an SEC football game!

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