An Evening at Alpen Privatbank: What Endurance Teaches Us About Investing

On 20 November 2025, Avalon Advisory had the pleasure of joining the Alpen Privatbank in Düsseldorf for an exclusive client event featuring a keynote by our Managing Partner, Nicki Lange. The bank invited selected guests to an inspiring evening focused on mindset, endurance, and decision-making — themes that shape both high-performance sport and long-term investing.

Set in the newly opened Düsseldorf branch, the event brought together a diverse group of entrepreneurs, investors, and private banking clients. The atmosphere was intimate, designed for meaningful dialogue rather than formal presentations. It was the kind of setting where stories resonate and perspectives shift.

A Journey Through the Atacama Desert

As the evening’s special guest, Nicki took the audience into one of the most surreal regions on earth: the Atacama Desert in Chile. Earlier this year, he completed a 250-kilometre ultra race across the desert — five days of heat, altitude, isolation, and physical as well as mental extremes.

Alongside his talk, guests were shown a short film documenting the race: a raw insight into moments of doubt, perseverance, and the constant negotiation between “what if” and “why not”. Yet the evening was about far more than sport. It was about what these experiences reveal about how we think, decide, and act.

Why Endurance Matters in Banking and Investing

The discussion naturally bridged into the world of private banking and M&A. Because at its core, endurance sport teaches principles that mirror the realities of the capital markets:

• Long-term perspective beats short-term speed
  Selling a company or building a robust investment strategy is not a sprint — it’s a marathon.

• Preparation is everything
  Just as training hours accumulate over months, financial decisions require structure, planning, and discipline.

• Resilience shapes outcomes
  Markets fluctuate. Processes become challenging. The mindset to continue — especially when conditions shift — is decisive.

• Clarity under pressure
  In the desert, as in deals or investments, clarity comes from experience, routine, and trust in the process.

These parallels made the conversation especially valuable for the bank’s guests, offering an entry point into financial topics through the lens of human performance and personal growth.

The Dialogue

Events like this show how powerful it can be when finance opens itself to broader perspectives.
Endurance sport provides a relatable and emotional framework for talking about volatility, discipline, and long-term strategy — subjects that often feel abstract on paper. The result is a more human, more grounded exchange. For us at Avalon, evenings like this reinforce what we strongly believe: the best conversations emerge when business meets real experience — when numbers and narratives come together.

Our Appreciation

We extend our sincere thanks to the Alpen Privatbank for hosting us, for the warm welcome, and for creating an atmosphere where meaningful dialogue could unfold.
A special thank you also goes to the guests who joined the conversation, asked thoughtful questions, and contributed to an inspiring night. We look forward to continuing this exchange — both on and off the trail.