David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
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David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
Ep 194: David Neal - From Nation-Building to Member Outcomes: The Power of Long-Term Investing
Inside the Rope with David Clark
51 minutes 25 seconds
9 months ago
Ep 194: David Neal - From Nation-Building to Member Outcomes: The Power of Long-Term Investing
After seven years of trying, we’ve finally done it—this episode of Inside the Rope features one of the most influential figures in institutional investment in Australia: David Neal, CEO of IFM Investors and founding CIO and former CEO of the Future Fund, Australia’s $300+ billion sovereign wealth fund.
David takes us behind the scenes of building the Future Fund from the ground up—how a clean slate, a world-class board, and a clear long-term mandate allowed for a new investment philosophy rooted in flexibility, illiquidity premiums, and global best practice. We talk about the importance of strong governance, the benefits of a total portfolio approach, and why the endowment model still resonates in long-term capital allocation.
Now at the helm of IFM Investors—a global institutional asset manager originally founded by Australian industry super funds—David shares insights into investing on behalf of working people, the tailwinds driving infrastructure investment globally, and why private markets are an increasingly powerful lever for value creation.
IFM was conceived by a collective of Australian industry super funds with a bold ambition: to give working people access to the kinds of global, complex investments traditionally reserved for the ultra-wealthy.
Today, IFM manages over $250 billion across infrastructure, private equity, credit, equities, and real estate—always with a clear mission to deliver strong, long-term outcomes for its members.
If you're seeking clarity on private markets, this is a conversation not to be missed.
Inside the Rope with David Clark
David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
