E321: Why Most LPs Have No Idea What’s in Their Portfolio

34 snips

Mar 10, 2026

Ryan Eisenman, Co-founder and CEO of Arch, builds software that automates data and reporting for alternative investments. He talks about why private markets still live in spreadsheets and PDFs, the operational chaos as portfolios scale, liquidity shortfalls that hinder re-ups, rising secondaries and deal-by-deal allocations, and how AI can extract terms from lengthy legal docs.

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INSIGHT

Data Fragmentation Makes Private Valuation Hard

Private fund data is highly fragmented: Arch ingests 50,000 unique investments with each fund using different formats and accounting, and top providers supply only ~7% of info.
Most data remains trapped in PDFs across 800 platforms, making standardized valuation hard.

ADVICE

Build For Today Not A Future Standard

Don’t wait for industry standards; build interoperability where the market is today using APIs and standard ingestion.
Arch is working on a push/pull standard API but continues to meet clients with current fragmented systems.

INSIGHT

Deal By Deal Structures Reduce Drag

LPs increasingly prefer deal-by-deal and independent sponsor structures because capital deploys 100% on day one, reducing cash drag from drawdown funds.
That shift reflects desire for shorter duration and more control over deployments.

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Why are private markets still managed in spreadsheets when hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake? In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Eisenman, Co-Founder and CEO of Arch, a platform supporting more than 550 clients and over $405 billion in alternative assets. Arch is building an operating system for private markets that helps investors manage the operational complexity of alternatives across private equity, venture, hedge funds, credit, and more, bringing modern infrastructure to a part of the financial system that has historically relied on manual processes and fragmented data.

Highlights:

What breaks when an LP scales from 10 to 50 fund commitments
Why most private markets data is trapped in PDFs across 800+ portals
The hidden operational chaos inside family offices and RIAs
How poor liquidity visibility impacts re-up decisions
Why venture fundraising has fallen dramatically since 2022 peaks
The shift of capital from institutions to the wealth channel
Growth in independent sponsor and deal-by-deal allocations
Why private market data feeds often don’t match source documents
The rise of secondaries and tightening discount spreads
Why borrowing against private assets remains inefficient
How Arch uses AI to extract key terms from 100-page LPAs
Lessons Ryan learned building a venture-backed fintech company

Guest Bio:

Ryan Eisenman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Arch, a fintech platform that automates data aggregation, reporting, and analytics for alternative investments. Arch serves global banks, RIAs, family offices, and institutional allocators, helping them manage complex private market portfolios more efficiently.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.

We’d like to thank AlphaSense for sponsoring this episode!

Sponsor:

AlphaSense is the AI-powered market intelligence platform trusted by 85% of the S&P 100, helping investment professionals make faster, more confident, data-driven decisions. Built for hedge funds, asset allocators, private venture capital firms, and investment bankers, AlphaSense uses advanced AI and powerful search across premium proprietary content to surface the insights that matter most—before the market moves. Elevate your research and stay ahead of the competition. Visit https://www.alpha-sense.com/howiinvest/ to learn more.

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Stay Connected with Ryan Eisenman:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-eisenman-21811246/

Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to participate in any investment strategy. All opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the views of Weisburd Capital. Participants may hold positions or have financial interests in the companies, funds, or investments discussed. Any references to specific investments are for illustrative purposes only. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Any third-party data or opinions have not been independently verified. Listeners should conduct their own research and consult their own advisors before making any investment decisions.

(0:00) $405B in Private Market Assets — But LPs Still Use Spreadsheets (1:19) The Hidden Chaos of Tracking Private Investments (2:05) Why LPs Don’t Understand Their Own Liquidity (3:54) What Breaks When LPs Go From 10 to 50 Funds (5:17) The Manual Systems Behind Billion-Dollar Portfolios (7:00) Why Private Markets Data Is Completely Fragmented (9:11) The Shift From Institutions to Wealth Channel Capital (12:24) The DPI Crisis Reshaping Venture Capital (13:38) Why You Can’t Borrow Against Private Assets (15:40) How AI Is Finally Fixing Private Markets Data