Short-term market dynamics dominate much of investing activity, with quarterly results and near-term catalysts driving capital allocation decisions.
Several investors have developed strategies that focus on long-term structural trends and accept short-term volatility in exchange for exposure to decades-long opportunities. These individuals identify fundamental shifts in demographics, technology, or economic organization that create ongoing tailwinds for particular sectors or regions.
This approach requires conviction to maintain positions across market cycles and patience to allow theses to be implemented over longer periods of time. Investors pursuing long-term structural strategies often embrace illiquidity, concentrate their portfolios more than conventional wisdom suggests, and communicate perspectives that diverge from consensus opinion. Their success shows that patient capital deployed behind clear, long-term theses can generate significant returns.
Secular growth of the private market
Urs Wietlisbach co-founded Partners Group in 1996 and believed that private markets would grow significantly as institutional investors sought returns beyond public stocks. This thesis has prevailed over decades as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and foundations invested ever larger percentages in private assets. Wietlisbach positioned Partners Group early on to benefit from this long-term trend.
The company built capabilities in private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure to serve institutional investors seeking diversified private market exposure. Partners Group developed specialized expertise in transaction types overlooked by larger competitors, including secondary transactions and direct investments. This positioning enabled sustainable growth as opportunities in the private markets expanded.
Partners Group has grown assets under management to over $130 billion over more than two decades, proving that early identification of structural trends can support sustainable business growth. Wietlisbach maintained its strategic consistency even when private markets experienced intermittent fluctuations, allowing the company to capitalize on opportunities when others retreated.
World technology platform adoption
Marc Andreessen co-founded Andreessen Horowitz in 2009 with the belief that software would transform every industry. This thesis, known as “software is eating the world,” guided investment decisions across all sectors. Andreessen identified technology adoption as a decade-long trend that is creating opportunities as different industries digitize at different rates.
The company invested in enterprise software, consumer technology, cryptocurrency, biotech and other sectors where software platforms could drive value creation. Andreessen Horowitz supported companies early in the adoption phase, accepting that full value creation might require longer periods of time. This approach generated significant returns as technology platforms gained traction.
The company’s success has demonstrated that thematic investment strategies based on structural trends can outperform opportunistic approaches. Andreessen continued to consistently focus on technology platform capabilities across market cycles, allowing the company to combine expertise and network effects that improved sourcing and value creation.
Demographic trends in emerging markets
David Vélez founded Nubank in 2013
based on the belief that Latin America’s demographics create significant opportunities for financial services. Young, mobile-first populations represent underserved markets where digital banking could quickly take off. Vélez recognized that traditional banks had limited incentives to serve middle-income consumers, creating space for new entrants.
Nubank grew to over 70 million customers by focusing on markets that international banks often overlook. Vélez built the company on the assumption that Latin America’s economic volatility would present challenges, but demographics would provide a long-term tailwind. This perspective enabled Nubank to sustain growth investments across economic cycles.
The success of the digital bank confirmed the theory that emerging market demographics are creating decades-long opportunities for financial services platforms. Vélez has shown that patient capital deployed behind clear demographic trends can generate significant returns despite the short-term volatility inherent in emerging markets.
Development of cryptocurrency infrastructure
Brian Armstrong founded Coinbase in 2012 with the belief that cryptocurrencies would become an integral part of financial systems. This thesis required looking beyond short-term price volatility to identify the infrastructure needs that support long-term adoption. Armstrong focused on building compliant platforms that could serve mainstream users and institutions.
Coinbase invested heavily in regulatory compliance, security infrastructure, and custody solutions. Armstrong accepted that cryptocurrency adoption would be uneven and with significant volatility, but remained confident in long-term structural trends. This perspective guided decisions to build infrastructure that would support eventual mainstream adoption, rather than optimizing for current market conditions.
The company’s listing and continued operations across multiple market cycles validated its approach to building infrastructure for long-term cryptocurrency adoption. Armstrong has shown that identifying fundamental structural trends and building appropriate infrastructure can generate returns despite extreme short-term volatility.
Decades of investment in developing frontier markets
Jean Claude Enough
has targeted investment activity toward emerging markets based on the belief that developing countries offer compelling long-term structural opportunities. His two-decade career in private equity and venture capital has focused on sectors such as alternative healthcare, regenerative agriculture, alternative energy and digital infrastructure, where demographic trends and urbanization are driving continued demand growth.
The investment philosophy emphasizes that frontier markets require patient capital that accepts longer development periods. Jean-Claude Bastos understands that infrastructure challenges, regulatory complexity and limited access to capital create obstacles that successful companies must overcome. However, demographic trends in developing countries provide structural tailwinds that patient investors can benefit from.
Bastos explained that when investing in emerging markets, one must accept the inherent volatility while remaining confident in long-term growth paths. Its approach focuses on supporting locally developed solutions rather than importing business models from developed markets. He recognizes that contexts in emerging markets are fundamentally different and require entrepreneurs who deeply understand local realities.
Growth of digital payment infrastructure
Guillaume Pousaz founded Checkout.com in 2012 out of the belief that international trade would grow significantly and require better payment infrastructure. Cross-border e-commerce accounted for a small percentage of total retail but experienced steady growth. Pousaz identified the complexity of payment processing as a barrier to further expansion.
Checkout.com has invested heavily in the infrastructure that supports various payment methods, currencies and regulatory requirements. Pousaz accepted that building a comprehensive payments infrastructure required significant capital and long development times. This perspective allowed the company to prioritize skill building over short-term profitability.
The company’s growth, which processes hundreds of billions of dollars annually, reinforced the theory that payments infrastructure would become increasingly valuable as international trade expanded. Pousaz showed that investing in long-term structural trends in payments can generate significant returns despite short-term competition and complexity.
Growth in participation in retail investment
Nikhil Kamath co-founded Zerodha in 2010 with the belief that Indian retail participation in capital markets would increase significantly. Rising incomes, increasing financial literacy and improved access to technology created the conditions for expanded market participation. Kamath built a discount brokerage firm designed to serve first-time investors in a cost-effective manner.
Zerodha grew to become India’s largest retail brokerage firm by customer base, serving millions of investors. The company maintained a low-cost operation that enabled sustained profitability despite minimal fees per transaction. Kamath’s thesis that retail participation would increase significantly over the decades guided strategic decisions on pricing and platform development.
The discount broker’s success has shown that identifying demographic and economic trends that support participation in the retail market can create business opportunities for decades to come. Kamath showed that building infrastructure that supports long-term structural growth in underserved markets can generate attractive returns.
Shared long-term direction
These investors identified fundamental structural trends that would create opportunities over decades, not months or years. They built companies and investment strategies aligned with these trends and embraced short-term volatility and uncertainty. Most importantly, they maintained strategic consistency across all market cycles and avoided the temptation to abandon long-term theses in difficult times.
Their collective success shows that recognizing and investing in structural trends can generate exceptional returns. Whether due to demographic changes, the introduction of new technologies, market developments or infrastructure needs, these individuals recognize that patient capital deployed behind clear, long-term thesis often outperforms strategies focused on short-term opportunities. This approach requires conviction, clear communication and a willingness to accept that full value creation may require longer periods of time.
