Alone on the Ice: A Conversation with Arctos' Ian Charles

On the previous episode of Dry Powder, Ian Charles, managing partner at Arctos Sports Partners, took us inside his approach to sports investing. It was a master class in sector specialization and value creation that you don’t want to miss, but Ian has always tended to go after nonobvious opportunities.

“I grew up in a small town in Alaska,” he says. “One of the things that you always heard as a kid was if you go out on the frozen lake, make sure you’re not around too many of your friends. It’s actually safer to be all alone.”

Today on the show, I ask Ian how he helped bring about a series of innovations in the secondaries market at Arctos, which launched a new strategy this week expanding into broader private markets. We’ll reflect on the creative transaction structures that have made secondaries more accessible and efficient.

I've also started a series of weekly posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow here.