E221: From Citadel to Family Office CIO: Sid Malhotra’s Investment Lessons

In this interview, David Weisburd speaks with Sid Malhotra, the Chief Investment Officer at Kactus Capital, a single-family office. Malhotra discusses Kactus Capital's investment philosophy, emphasizing long-term thinking and aligning the investment team's interests with the family's through performance-based compensation and co-investment. He explains the strategic advantages of family offices, such as sector expertise, connections, and a longer time horizon, and contrasts single-family offices with multi-family offices, highlighting the control and alignment benefits of the former. Malhotra also shares insights from his experience at Pritzker Group, focusing on absolute returns, investment criteria, and a blend of bottom-up and top-down investment approaches. The conversation covers strategies for market corrections, the importance of dry powder, and the challenges of behavioral finance. Malhotra also reflects on his time at Citadel and its influence on his investment approach, as well as the appeal of multi-strategy firms. Finally, he touches on the impact of taxes on portfolio construction and offers advice to his younger self about networking.