Overview of TIP790: Wealth Beyond Money w/ Thomas Mueller‑Borja
This episode of The Investor’s Podcast features Thomas Mueller‑Borja (referred to as Thomas), Global Co‑Head of Real Estate and Global CIO for Value‑Add Real Estate at BlackRock. The conversation weaves together investing, leadership, fundraising logistics, governance/behavioral science in investment committees, and the intersection of money, values and living well. Thomas blends practical how‑to insights (raising funds, deal committees, capital flows) with personal practices (sleep, meditation, presence) and reflections on culture, temperament and ethics.
Guest snapshot
- Role: Global Co‑Head of Real Estate & Global CIO — Value‑Add Real Estate at BlackRock.
- Scale context Thomas gives: BlackRock manages ~ $13.5T; real estate platform ≈ $100B; his business manages roughly $25B of that.
- Fund size examples: €1.5–3B funds; typical investor base ~40–60 LPs; common ticket size cited ~€50M.
Key topics discussed
- Day‑to‑day & travel
- Long, global days across time zones; frequent travel to meet investors and inspect physical assets.
- In‑person presence viewed as critical for partnership building and dealing with physical real estate.
- Fundraising mechanics (practical)
- Typical process is slow: multiple meetings and long due diligence cycles.
- Build a prospect funnel based on target fund size, expected average ticket and conversion rate (example: raising $2B with €50M ticket → need ~40 investors; at 20% conversion → ~200 prospects).
- Use firm distribution channels (esp. at large firms) but still need a structured, persistent outreach.
- Capital flows & fund structure
- Closed‑end private funds: subscription documents signed up front; capital called as assets are acquired; payments via bank transfers into fund/SPV structures.
- Investment committee & governance innovations
- Typical IC: 7–9 members; presentations led by deal teams; ~90+ minute meetings.
- Behavioral tweaks implemented: anonymous electronic voting to reduce peer pressure and encourage dissent; a non‑IC “challenger” role to play devil’s advocate and run a pre‑mortem analysis.
- Led by Emily Haisley (behavioral scientist at BlackRock) on process redesign.
- Macro view: rates, cap rates & country selection
- Real estate cap rates correlate with real (not nominal) sovereign rates; depending on term premia behavior, cap rate compression isn’t guaranteed when central banks cut.
- Strategy: underwrite market‑neutrally but selectively position in markets with sustainable fiscal profiles (examples: Sweden, Germany vs. higher‑debt countries).
- People, culture, meritocracy
- Success factors: IQ + EQ; consistent improvement; intrinsic drive (distinct from external ambition); teamwork and humility.
- Measuring merit: track record and temperament as much as raw skill; favor those who combine creativity with emotional self‑regulation.
- Values, community & spirituality
- Influence of the value investing community (William/ValueX/Mastermind) on his thinking: presence, ethical seriousness, kindness, quality.
- Emphasis on “spaciousness” (mental space created via meditation) to enable better decision‑making and flow.
- Personal habits for performance
- Priorities: sleep, exercise, nutrition, meditation, and relationship (family/friends).
- Practical hacks: Sleep‑regulation tools (example: Sleep8), personal trainer for accountability, reduced alcohol, morning routines for uninterrupted focus.
- Typical personal flow windows: early morning before kids wake; mid‑morning (~11:15am) and late afternoon (~4:30pm).
- Honesty vs kindness (ethical tradeoffs)
- Thomas: honesty is easier and less energetically costly; kindness can sometimes override full honesty when it better serves people’s well‑being ("kindness trumps honesty if it serves kindness").
- White knight tendency: an urge to take the ethical/high‑road option and seek third solutions when neither option meets ethical standards.
Notable quotes & insights
- “I think it’s really this hunger for, on the one hand, deal making, but also being entrepreneurial and building a business.”
- “We redesigned our IC process to allow anonymous voting so people can dissent without peer pressure.”
- “Honesty is... selfishly the right thing to do — being dishonest consumes a lot of energy.”
- “Kindness trumps honesty if it serves kindness.”
- “Energy flows between people — when two minds meet and click something shifts.”
Practical takeaways / action items for investors and leaders
- Fundraising: quantify your funnel. Define target fund size → expected average ticket → required investor count → conversion rate → total prospects. Expect long DD cycles; meet the team and assets in person.
- Governance: introduce anonymity in committee voting and appoint an explicit challenger/devil’s advocate to surface downside scenarios (pre‑mortem).
- Macro positioning: underwrite conservatively for market risks; tilt toward jurisdictions with healthier fiscal metrics if you want to capture potential cap‑rate compression.
- Personal performance: prioritize sleep and routines (use environmental tools and accountability to maintain exercise); embed a morning practice (meditation) to create spaciousness for better decision‑making.
- People & culture: hire for talent + emotional maturity + team orientation. Encourage humility and curiosity across the team.
Books & resources Thomas mentions
- Rory Stewart — Politics on the Edge; Middleland (in progress).
- Charles Handy — 21 Letters on Life and Its Challenges.
- Seth Klarman — Margin of Safety (he gifted himself a copy).
- Value investing community resources: William (podcast/mastermind), Guy Spier / ValueX experiences.
Episode wrap / final notes
- The episode mixes hard, tactical investment and organizational practices with softer but crucial themes: temperament, presence, kindness, and spiritual practices that support sustained performance.
- The conversation is useful whether you want concrete takeaways on fundraising and committee governance, or inspiration about the role of values and rituals in professional life.
If you want a quick checklist derived from the episode:
- For fundraising: set fund target → estimate ticket size → compute needed LPs → set conversion assumptions → build prospect list (2–5× required prospects).
- For committees: adopt anonymous voting; designate a challenger; do pre‑mortems.
- For personal productivity: schedule and protect morning flow time; use accountability (trainer, co‑working) to maintain disciplines while traveling; prioritize sleep and meditation.