Why alternatives matter today

How do you build portfolios that survive liquidity crises, inflation shocks, and the most volatile market regimes in modern history? In this episode, I talk with Alfred Lee, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Q Wealth Partners and one of Canada’s most experienced multi-asset portfolio architects. Alfred previously managed over $75 billion across equities, fixed income, commodities, factor strategies, and thematic ETFs at BMO—while also spending a year at the Bank of Canada running part of its quantitative easing program during the pandemic. He shares what he learned from overseeing $25B in fixed income and $50B in equities, how ETFs transformed the public markets, why alpha is harder to generate than ever, and why alternatives, real assets, CTAs, and discretionary macro strategies must anchor the next generation of portfolios.

Highlights:

• Lessons from overseeing $75B across fixed income, equities & commodities
• What Alfred learned managing QE operations at the Bank of Canada
• Why generating alpha in public markets is harder than at any point in history
• How Q Wealth Partners serves as Canada’s version of a modern RIA aggregator
• Building model portfolios using open architecture while staying within regulatory guardrails
• The “debasement regime”: why inflation will appear in bursts for years
• Why CPI understates real-world cost of living and what that means for investors
• How to allocate to Bitcoin, gold, and real assets through one-ticket solutions
• 60/40 is outdated: Alfred’s 50/30/20 framework for the next decade
• Behavioral finance as the biggest driver of investor outcomes
• Why illiquidity is a feature, not a bug—and the “virtue of staying invested”
• How to evaluate private credit, private equity, and alternative strategies
• Why liquidity collapses cause correlations to spike across asset classes
• How to run “portfolio war games”: preparing for the next crisis
• The single greatest lesson Alfred learned from 2008 and 2020: never assume liquidity

Guest Bio:

Alfred Lee is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Q Wealth Partners, where he oversees portfolio construction, asset allocation, and investment platform design for one of Canada’s fastest-growing wealth platforms. Before joining Q Wealth, Alfred spent over a decade at BMO, where he helped grow its ETF franchise to $100 billion in assets and managed more than $75 billion across fixed income, equities, commodities, and factor strategies. He previously completed a one-year secondment at the Bank of Canada, where he ran part of the central bank’s quantitative easing program during the pandemic, helping restore liquidity and functionality to the provincial bond and funding markets.

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Stay Connected with Alfred Lee:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfred-lee-cfa-cmt-dms-b329025/ Q Wealth Partners: https://www.qwealth.com/

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Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to participate in any investment strategy. All opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the views of Weisburd Capital. Participants may hold positions or have financial interests in the companies, funds, or investments discussed. Any references to specific investments are for illustrative purposes only. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Any third-party data or opinions have not been independently verified. Listeners should conduct their own research and consult their own advisors before making any investment decisions.

(0:00) Introduction (0:39) Influence of mentors in Alfred's career & building an asset management firm (2:23) Launching a gold bullion fund & overview of Q Wealth Partners (4:38) Portfolio allocation strategies and views on alternatives (8:49) Inflation, purchasing power, and philosophy on Bitcoin and gold (11:55) Behavioral finance and modernizing the 60/40 portfolio (18:19) Mapping portfolio construction with privates and diversification (23:26) Addressing the J-curve effect and interval funds usage (27:44) Handling unique investment opportunities and avoiding deworsification (32:13) Adding investments and the importance of uncorrelated returns (39:05) Timeless advice and managing liquidity during crises (41:51) War games and crisis preparation for asset managers (44:14) Closing remarks