As the business of professional sports has transformed from a multimillion-dollar industry into a multibillion one, more and more athletes have begun to embrace a second career in investing. Shortly after his retirement this summer, for instance, former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced the launch of a new $100 million VC fund in partnership with Jeff Stibel.
Dugout Ventures
Now, another newly retired legend is following in his path: David Ortiz, the former Boston Red Sox great who hung up his spikes in October. Ortiz is the headliner among a group of ex-Major League Baseball standouts who have teamed up to launch Dugout Ventures, a private equity group that will focus on supporting and investing in companies and initiatives with some connection to baseball.
Since its founding by Will Thomson and Chip Russell in June 2016, the Massif Capital Real Asset Strategy has outperformed all of its real asset benchmarks. Since its inception, the long/short equity fund has returned 9% per annum net, compared to 6% for the Bloomberg Commodity Index, 3% for the 3 MSCI USA Infrastructure index Read More
With a lineup of lead investors that also includes former pitcher Nolan Ryan, former shortstop Barry Lark