Samir Vasavada

Co-founder of Vise, an AI-powered investment management platform for financial advisors.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The next major source of capital for private funds will be retail investors, as traditional institutional LPs are already over-allocated.

True portfolio personalization, far beyond the 'cruise control' level of current offerings, will become a non-negotiable, table-stakes requirement for all investment advisors.

The primary barrier preventing the inclusion of illiquid, long-term assets like venture capital in retail portfolios is the absence of a robust and broad secondary marketplace for liquidity.

A small, high-agency team is more effective for achieving fast and lean growth than a large organization with many senior executives, which can consume excessive capital and management resources.

The most significant trend in wealth management is the convergence of private and public markets, requiring a unified 'operating system' to manage assets holistically.

Podcast consensus on Vasavada

Points of consensus

▶Vasavada consistently argues that the next major wave of capital for private markets will come from retail investors, as institutional sources like endowments and pension funds are already over-allocated.Apr 2026

▶He maintains that advanced technology is the key to unlocking the next phase of wealth management, enabling sophisticated services like deep personalization and daily tax-loss harvesting for a broader client base.Apr 2026

▶A core belief is that the enterprise Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) market is on the cusp of exponential growth, projecting it will expand from $2 trillion to $10 trillion in assets within five to seven years.Apr 2026

▶He repeatedly emphasizes the massive, untapped opportunity in alternative assets for retail investors, noting that less than 3% of the $83 trillion U.S. retail wealth market is currently invested in them.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶Vasavada's own narrative highlights a significant strategic tension in Vise's history: an initial, flawed strategy of hiring numerous senior executives was abandoned in favor of a leaner, more effective team, indicating a debate between rapid scaling and efficient growth.Apr 2026

▶There is a clear strategic pivot detailed in his claims, moving from serving small RIA firms to an exclusive focus on large enterprise clients, suggesting the initial market approach was not viable for their long-term goals.Apr 2026

▶He identifies a fundamental misalignment of incentives between venture capitalists, who push for rapid capital burn, and founders, who should prioritize efficient growth, reflecting an internal conflict within the startup ecosystem he operates in.

▶While championing the inclusion of illiquid assets like venture capital in retail portfolios, he simultaneously acknowledges the primary barrier is the lack of a robust secondary market, presenting a conflict between his vision and current market infrastructure.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶The Retail Revolution in Alternative InvestmentsApr 2026

Vasavada argues that the next frontier for growth in private markets is the retail investor. With institutional investors over-allocated, he sees a massive opportunity to channel a portion of the $83 trillion U.S. retail wealth market into alternatives, a trend validated by major acquisitions like BlackRock's purchase of HPS and GIP.

This focus suggests that the primary challenge for asset managers is no longer deal flow, but creating accessible, liquid products and the distribution platforms necessary to tap into the vast, underserved retail market.

▶Technology as the Foundation of Modern Asset ManagementApr 2026

Vasavada envisions the future of asset management as being built entirely on a technology platform, not through traditional M&A. He positions Vise as an 'operating system' that uses data to deliver hyper-personalized portfolios and sophisticated strategies, like daily tax-loss harvesting, at a scale and cost previously impossible.

For Vasavada, technology is not just an efficiency tool but a disruptive force capable of creating a new category of asset manager that can achieve scale and sophistication superior to incumbents.

▶The Strategic Evolution of a UnicornApr 2026

Vise's journey from a $4 million seed round to a unicorn in 18 months was followed by a significant strategic reset. This involved pivoting from small RIAs to large enterprise clients, a two-year process, and restructuring from 150 employees to a much leaner, high-agency team after concluding that a large headcount of senior executives was a capital-intensive mistake.

Vise's story is a case study in the post-ZIRP startup correction, where the 'growth at all costs' playbook was replaced by a focus on product-market fit, capital efficiency, and sustainable, targeted growth.

▶The Predicted Explosion of the Enterprise RIA MarketApr 2026

A cornerstone of Vasavada's thesis is the imminent, massive growth of the enterprise RIA market. He predicts this segment will quintuple in size, from $2 trillion to $10 trillion in AUM over the next five to seven years, driven by the convergence of public and private markets.

Vasavada is making a concentrated bet on a single market segment's macro growth, positioning Vise not just as a participant but as the essential, purpose-built infrastructure required to power this expansion.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Early Stage

Vise raises its seed round, led by Keith Rabois and Ben Ling, at a $4 million valuation.

Within 18 months of seed

The company experiences hyper-growth, achieving a unicorn valuation.

Peak Growth Period

Vise scales its headcount to approximately 150 employees, including numerous senior executives, a strategy later deemed a mistake for consuming excessive capital and management time.

Strategic Pivot

The company restructures to a leaner team and pivots its go-to-market strategy away from small RIA firms to focus exclusively on large enterprise clients.

Product Re-development

Following the pivot, Vise undergoes a two-year development cycle to build its purpose-built platform for the enterprise RIA segment.

Suggested prompts

How does Vasavada's vision for a technology-powered asset manager challenge the traditional M&A-driven growth models of firms like BlackRock and Morgan Stanley? &nearr;What are the primary technological and market-based hurdles Vise must overcome to facilitate the widespread adoption of illiquid alternatives in retail portfolios, given the lack of a secondary market? &nearr;Analyze the strategic rationale and risks associated with Vise's pivot from serving a broad base of small RIAs to focusing exclusively on the enterprise segment. &nearr;To what extent do Vasavada's lessons on lean team structures and hiring reflect broader trends in the post-ZIRP startup ecosystem? &nearr;

Key concepts

Vise Business Strategy 8 ep Alternative Investments 5 ep Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) 5 ep Vise Technology 4 ep Market Predictions 4 ep Wealth Management Trends 4 ep Venture Capital 4 ep Tax-Loss Harvesting 2 ep

Notable quotes

“we want to build the world's largest asset manager entirely powered by technology platform”

Samir Vasavada · How Vise Became a Unicorn With Just 40 Employees

“Over the next five to seven years, that market will go from $2 trillion in assets to $10 trillion in assets.”

Samir Vasavada · How Vise Became a Unicorn With Just 40 Employees

“endowments are over allocated venture pension funds are over allocated venture so the real opportunity is well retail”

Samir Vasavada · How Vise Became a Unicorn With Just 40 Employees

“So we went from seed to unicorn in like 18 months, which was kind of insane.”

Samir Vasavada · How Vise Became a Unicorn With Just 40 Employees

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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