125 | How the Top 1% Actually Invest Their Money (It’s Not What You Think) with Tad Fallows

Mar 31, 2026

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

What if everything you’ve been told about investing, by your wealth manager, your bank, and even your financial advisor, is shaped more by their incentives than your best interests? In this episode of the Vital Wealth Strategies Podcast, host Patrick Lonergan sits down with Tad Fallows, co-founder of Long Angle, a private peer community built exclusively for high-net-worth entrepreneurs and investors. Tad spent a decade building and exiting a software company, and when he suddenly found himself managing serious wealth, he discovered a startling gap: the people best positioned to help often had the most conflicts of interest. So he built something different, a no-selling, no-pitch community where members with $5M to $100M+ in net worth share real intelligence, access elite alternative investments, and make smarter decisions together.

In this episode, Tad breaks down the investment strategies that the ultra-wealthy actually use, and why most entrepreneurs are unknowingly leaving significant returns on the table. Listeners will learn why a 30% allocation to alternative investments (private equity, private credit, litigation finance, search funds, and even whiskey barrel financing) can dramatically improve portfolio performance and reduce volatility. Tad also reveals why traditional wealth managers have a structural blind spot when it comes to recommending the best opportunities, how illiquidity can actually be a behavioral advantage for long-term investors, and the little-known tax strategy (Private Placement Life Insurance) that can turn a 12% return into a near 11% net, instead of the ~6% most investors settle for after taxes. Whether someone is a recently exited founder or a high-earner navigating complex finances for the first time, this episode is a masterclass in building generational wealth with intention.

Key Takeaways:

The top 1% allocate roughly 30% of their portfolio to alternative assets, including private equity, private credit, and niche strategies most investors never hear about.
Traditional wealth managers have an AUM-driven conflict of interest that keeps clients away from the best-performing (and often unmanageable) opportunities.
Private markets offer higher alpha potential because they are less efficient but access and operator-quality diligence are everything.
Illiquidity is not just a tradeoff, it’s a behavioral advantage that prevents panic selling and compounds long-term returns.
Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) is a powerful tax wrapper that converts ordinary income from private credit into tax-deferred or tax-free growth.
Search funds, investing in an operator to acquire a small business at ~4x earnings and sell at ~10x have historically generated 30%+ IRR.
In private markets, manager selection matters more than deal selection, back the 2nd to 4th fund managers with $100M–$1B+ AUM.
Community-driven investing (like Long Angle) gives members access to institutional-level intelligence and deal flow without product pitches or conflicts.
Most entrepreneurs post-exit are overconcentrated, under-diversified, and missing the access and peer networks needed to optimize their wealth.
The S&P 500 is a solid baseline (~10% long-term return), but alternatives add diversification, non-correlation, and return enhancement for investors who are ready.

Learn More About Tad:

Long Angle (Tad’s peer investing community for HNW entrepreneurs): https://longangle.com

Resources:

Visit www.vitalstrategies.com to download FREE resources

Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Vital Wealth Strategies Podcast | Tax & Financial Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/vital.strategies

Follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VitalStrategiesPodcast

Follow on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricklonergan/

Credits: