Shohei Ohtani, Travis Hunter… and The Vistria Group?
01.21.25
Features

After a nearly 100 year hiatus, two-way athletes are redefining how sports are played. In baseball, Shohei Ohtani has improved on Babe Ruth’s achievements as a hitter and pitcher, winning three MVP awards, posting the first-ever 50/50 season, and, unlike the Bambino, doing both at the same time all the time, health permitting. In football, Colorado’s Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as a full-time wide receiver and cornerback, was arguably the best in the country at both positions, and will almost assuredly be the first non-quarterback selected in April’s NFL Draft. 

Put simply, Ohtani and Hunter are redefining what’s possible on the field. They’re also showing that things we believe are fundamentally incompatible can be achieved by the right people in the right place at the right time. At The Vistria Group, a PE firm dedicated to providing “significant financial returns combined with positive social change for communities across America,” that time is now. Earlier this month, Vistria closed its fifth flagship private equity fund at $3 billion, its largest to date, with investors all across the world. If there was any doubt that socially conscious investing could be successful, it has been long put to rest.

As these sports stars need teams to shine, Vistria beckons others to the socially impactful investing landscape, wrote Lisa Davis, a partner in real estate and the head of asset management at Vistria, in a clarion call published by Crain’s Chicago Business in May. Her message was simple: A rising tide lifts all boats, and perceptions about who or does not need affordable housing are often grossly wrong, and if seeing is believing, take a look at this.

And that’s the thing: When you’re seeing something beautifully incongruous, you never want to look away. In Ohtani’s case, it’s his return to the mound after a second Tommy John surgery, which is usually the death knell for a pitcher. Ohtani is literally “built different,” so it hardly matters, nor might it for Hunter, who merely has as good a chance as anyone to be the best two-way player football player of all-time. Seeing is believing. We see a $3 billion fund, and it’s hard not to believe. 

 

Growth Investor Weekly

Discover unique insights from growth investors and leading executives.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Top Go Back
© GrowthCap, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sign up for GrowthCap Insights