Insights from 10 East

10 East Investment Advisory Board welcomes Joel Alsfine

10 East is pleased to welcome Joel Alsfine to its Investment Advisory Board. Joel is playing a pivotal role in shaping our investment pipeline—sourcing and reviewing opportunities, pressure-testing theses, and guiding portfolio construction.

Institutionalizing Excellence: Introducing 10 East’s Investment Advisory Board¹

Applying rigorous diligence and disciplined oversight to every investment decision we make.

Repricing Risk, Extending Hold Periods: Continuation Vehicles in Focus¹

In today's private equity environment, headlines often spotlight industry-leading firms, but for investors seeking liquidity or disciplined reentry, a lesser-known trend may be more consequential: the rise of continuation vehicles.

Investment Discipline in Practice: Waiting for the Right Pitch¹

In a capital environment often driven by thematic momentum, we continue to evaluate opportunities through a dispassionate fundamentals-first lens. At 10 East, that means passing when we think key individuals, structure, scalability, or governance fall short — even when the story is compelling.

Data Centers: Derivative AI Exposure¹

The AI platform shift is a topic of conversation at most investment committees these days—and with expectations sometimes breaching the realm of reality—many investors are exhausting significant mind share teasing out how to play the theme. It remains somewhat unclear, though, where value will accrue. The app layer? Foundational model layer? Incumbents vs. startups? Topics of ongoing debate.

Niche Private Markets: Key Person Risk¹

Investing in private market exposures is somewhat akin to entering a multi-dimensional contract. Investors should underwrite both legal and qualitative layers when vetting a prospective investment partner. One risk that overlaps both layers is key person risk– often under-appreciated in private markets.

Opening Doors to Niche Private Opportunities¹

Listen to an interview between Ted Seides, founder of Capital Allocators, and Michael Leffell, the Managing Member of Portage Partners, Chairman of Canoe Intelligence, and Founder and Chairman of 10 East.

Adverse Selection in Private Markets: VC Crowdfunding as a Case Study¹

Adverse selection is often discussed but seldom backed by empirical evidence. We were curious to understand what story the data tells, using VC crowdfunding as a case study.

Government Services & Technology Sector Thesis¹

The Government Services and Technology niche has been an area of interest to our investment team - our brief sector thesis lays out the market opportunity.

Private Markets: Fees and Value Creation¹

Investors have an instinctive draw towards negotiating fees. But when is this focus misguided? In this piece we discuss fees, the value creation premium (VCP), and decompose risk/return dynamics for blue-chip, large-scale exposures vs. more niche, smaller-scale exposures.

Hidden Risks of Investing in Private Markets through Investment Clubs & Personal Networks¹

The common denominator with informal channels is that it’s often uneconomic to perform thorough due diligence, they can lack performance accountability, and there may be too much ‘trust in the crowd’…

Vetting Investment Partners, Time-Tested Heuristics¹

Over time, markets evolve and patterns form. This post details a sampling of qualitative heuristics we use to filter through the noise in a hyper-fragmented space (>28,000 GPs) to identify high-potential investment partners focused on niche, lower-middle market strategies.

Investing in America in a Post-Globalized World (Part 2)¹

Today, investors can avoid certain risks found in our increasingly disrupted global supply chain by exploring attractive domestic opportunities.

Are we looking at a Post-Globalized World? (Part 1)¹

After a decades-long shift towards globalization, markets and supply chains face an uncertain future. Disruptions, delays and crises are causing some investors to re-assess risks abroad and look for opportunity closer to home.

A Letter from our Founder, Michael Leffell¹

Michael reflects on lessons from a distinguished career at Davidson Kempner, discusses the transition to private market investing, shares timeless principles guiding his investment process, and outlines the vision for 10 East.