In this episode of the Enterprising Investor podcast, guest host Ryan Munson discusses the 2024 edition of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index with Mercer's Executive Director of Investments and Global Chief Investment Strategist, Rich Nuzum, CFA. Rich, who has extensive experience in providing investment advice and leading long-term savings reform projects, shares insights into the key features of robust pension systems and the challenges faced by underperforming ones.

Founder and CEO of Essentia Analytics, Clare Flynn Levy, joins Mike Wallberg, CFA, to discuss the concept of the behavioral alpha score, a metric designed to assess an investor's decision-making skill. Drawing from her experience as an active equity fund manager, Clare explains the origins of the behavioral alpha score and its significance in the pursuit of sustainable investment alpha in an increasingly competitive landscape. She emphasizes that traditional methods of generating alpha, such...

Stephen Foerster, CFA, discusses his new book, "Trailblazers Heroes and Crooks: Stories to Make You a Smarter Investor."  In the book, Professor Foerster shares intriguing stories that illustrate valuable lessons for investors, drawing from diverse topics such as professional sports, fraud cases, and even wildlife encounters. The conversation kicks off with a fascinating tale involving Warren Buffett's early investment in the 1960s, featuring the notorious figure Tino DeAngelis and an...

Mike Wallberg welcomes senior Bloomberg writer Stephanie Baker to discuss her new book, "Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia." The book offers an in-depth analysis of the West's response to Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Stephanie shares insights from her extensive reporting and how her experiences in Moscow during the 1990s shape her perspective on the drastic economic shifts resulting from the invasion. The conversation delves into the...

Drew Estes, CFA, a portfolio manager at Banyan Capital Management, and host Mike Wallberg, CFA, discuss Drew’s thought-provoking article, "Commercial Evolution," which explores the intersection of evolutionary biology and investment strategies. He shares his disillusionment with traditional economic theories, particularly equilibrium theory, and advocates for a broader understanding of economics by incorporating biological concepts. Drew explains how both economists and biologists study the...

Join as Jordan Doyle and Genevieve Hayman discuss their recent report, "Smart Beta, Direct Indexing, and Index-Based Investment Strategies." The conversation explores the historical context and substantial growth of index investing, highlighting the expansion of index ETFs, mutual funds, and smart beta ETFs. Genevieve and Jordan provide insights into how these strategies should be understood and integrated within client portfolios. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic world...

Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University, director of research at Research Affiliates, and author of "DeFi and the Future of Finance," is best known for identifying the link between an inverted yield curve and impending recessions—a theory that has guided financial practitioners for nearly four decades. This episode delves into his famous recession indicator and its historical performance, as well as perspective on the current volatile market and the Federal Reserve's...

Join Mike Wallberg, CFA, and Ken Laudan, portfolio manager of Buffalo Fund's Blue Chip Growth Fund, for a thought-provoking discussion on the future of AI in investing. Ken shares his contrary view on AI's transformational potential, drawing on his extensive experience as a sell-side analyst and buy-side portfolio manager. The conversation also touches on the current market landscape and the emergence of a shifting narrative toward other stocks. Tune in to gain a fresh perspective on the...

Fei-Fei Li, former Chief Investment Officer at Research Affiliates and current CIO at Kavout Algo Financial, shares insights from her extensive background in finance. She discusses her tenure at Research Affiliates, where she led research and strategy design for the firm's systematic active strategies and smart beta indices. The conversation then pivots to her current role at Kavout Algo Financial, where she is spearheading the development of an AI tool aimed at revolutionizing the investment...

Tune in as David Blanchett, CFA, shares insights on his latest research on investment horizons, serial correlation, and better retirement portfolios. David discusses the impact of time and inflation on optimal portfolio construction and makes a case for including commodities in portfolios. Listen now to learn more about his findings and insights into retirement planning strategies. Read the full paper here: https://cfainst.is/4eW9BTp.

In this episode of the Enterprising Investor podcast, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, interviews Alfonso Ricciardelli, CFA, about alternative credit. Alfonso co-edited “An Introduction to Alternative Credit” for the CFA Institute Research Foundation. Mike and Alfonso discuss the motivation behind the paper and the importance of expanding access to retail investors for alternative credit products. Tune in to learn more about this niche area of finance!

On this episode of Enterprising Investor, Mike Wallberg, CFA, interviews Chris Geczy from UPenn's Wharton School about the application of AI in the investment industry. Professor Geczy discusses the evolution of AI in finance and its historical context dating back to the 1960s. Join the conversation to explore the intersection of AI and investment strategies.

In this episode of Enterprising Investor, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, interviews Robert Hagstrom, CFA, author of "The Warren Buffett Way," discussing insights from the recent Berkshire shareholders meeting and the evolution of Warren Buffett's investment strategies over the past 30 years. They delve into the atmosphere of the Berkshire meeting, often dubbed the "Woodstock of capitalism," which kicks off days before the main event with various conferences and events. Tune in to gain valuable...

In this episode of Enterprising Investor, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, engages with Andy Lee, founder of Parallaxes Capital, to uncover the hidden gems within tax receivable agreements. Andy shares his insights on how these agreements, akin to pharmaceutical and musical royalties of past decades, offer investors long-term cash flow opportunities often overlooked by many. Join the conversation as Andy sheds light on his unique approach to finding value in the financial market.

This episode of Enterprising Investor features Dr. Meir Statman discussing the role of money in happiness and how mindset can impact investing success. Dr. Statman, a professor at Santa Clara University, recently published a book titled "A Wealth of Wellbeing, A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance." The book explores making better decisions about financial and life well-being. Dr. Statman shares personal insights that highlight the importance of understanding risks beyond the stock...

On this episode of the Enterprising Investor podcast, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, interviews Mark Higgins, CFA, author of "Investing in US Financial History." Mark delves into the comprehensive process of breaking down US financial history from 1790 to the present day, highlighting key inflection points and the evolution of the financial system. Join Mike and Mark as they uncover the compelling insights from centuries of financial markets in this engaging discussion.

In this episode of the Enterprising Investor Podcast, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, introduces Barbara Stewart, CFA, an experienced FX trader, high-net-worth manager, researcher, author, and keynote speaker. Barbara discusses her annual Rich Thinking study, which focuses on women and finance. This year's study asked 50 successful people about their investment portfolios. Barbara shares her insights and goals for the study, aiming to advance the world of women and finance. Her full report will be...

In March, Guiding Assets is joining forces with the Enterprising Investor Blog. The podcast will be renamed and become the Enterprising Investor podcast. Same great content as before. Better alignment with our mission of putting investor content first. 

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, interviews Dr. Daniel Peris, CFA, a senior portfolio manager with Federated Hermes. Dr. Peris discusses his new book, "The Ownership Dividend," and the paradigm shift he sees in how U.S. investors think about dividend stocks. He explains that for generations, investors have considered it normal to focus on capital gains and overlook the importance of dividends. Drawing on his background as a historian, Dr. Peris provides a unique...

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg is joined by Dr. Edward McQuarrie, Professor Emeritus of the Levy School of Business at Santa Clara University. Dr. McQuarrie challenges some long-held assumptions in financial markets, including the belief that stocks always outperform bonds over the long term and that a negative correlation between bonds and stocks leads to effective diversification. He discusses his research, which takes a historical perspective by analyzing U.S. stock...

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, sits down with Ivan Mitov, the VP and Director of Risk Research for FactSet. Ivan leads a team of quantitative researchers who focus on building and applying multi–asset class risk models. The discussion centers around the application of AI and large language models in the investment industry. Ivan explains the research process and the outputs his team works towards for clients. Tune in to gain insights into the role of AI in risk...

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, is joined by Olivier Fines, CFA, Head of Advocacy and Capital Markets Policy Research for EMEA at CFA Institute. They discuss the findings of a recent CFA Institute report on the valuation of cryptoassets. The conversation explores the history of CFA Institute's engagement with cryptocurrency and how traditional valuation techniques can be applied to determine the defensible value of cryptocurrencies. Olivier shares insights from his...

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg interviews Dr. Joe Simonian, a leading quant expert in the field of investment research. Dr. Simonian is the co-author of a new book called "Quantitative Global Bond Portfolio Management," which explores the application of quantitative methods in fixed income investing. They discuss the various topics covered in the book, including both traditional and cutting-edge techniques in global bond management. Listeners will gain insights into the...

In this episode of Guiding Assets, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, is joined by Kunal Kapoor, CFA, CEO of Morningstar, to discuss the rise of AI and its role in financial markets. Kunal shares insights into Morningstar's mission to empower investor success. Tune in to learn more about the accelerating pace of change in the industry and how Morningstar is adapting to it.