TIP707: The Collapse of Long-Term Capital Management w/ Clay Finck
We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network
Intro
In this episode, Clay explores When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein, the gripping story of the rise and fall of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM).
Founded by Wall Street’s brightest minds, including Nobel Prize-winning economists, LTCM generated astronomical returns using complex mathematical models and extreme leverage—until a financial crisis in 1998 exposed its fatal flaws. Clay also discusses the dangers of overconfidence, the illusion of diversification, and why excessive leverage can be a ticking time bomb.
Additionally, he shares details on an exclusive value investing event hosted by TIP in Big Sky, Montana, in September 2025.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
00:00 - Intro
03:34 - How John Meriwether and a team of Wall Street’s brightest minds, including Nobel laureates, built a hedge fund that seemed invincible, using sophisticated financial models and extreme leverage.
25:55 - LTCM’s reliance on mathematical models that assumed markets behaved rationally, leading them to underestimate the possibility of extreme events.
48:30 - How the Russian debt default triggered widening credit spreads, exposing LTCM’s overleveraged positions and leading to catastrophic losses.
54:49 - Why LTCM’s failure posed systemic risks to the global financial system, forcing the Fed to coordinate a rescue with major Wall Street banks.
01:08:17 - The dangers of excessive leverage, overconfidence in financial models, and the mistaken belief that markets always revert to historical norms.
01:15:09 - How to attend our new value investing event in Big Sky, Montana, bringing together passionate investors for deep discussions and meaningful connections.
And so much more!
Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
- Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more here.
- Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members.
- Lowenstein’s book: When Genius Failed.
- Mentioned book: Big Mistakes.
- Related Episode: Listen to TIP514: Permanent Supply Chain Disruptions that Will Destroy the Economy w/ Jim Rickards.
- Email Shawn at shawn@theinvestorspodcast.com to attend our free events in Omaha or visit this page.
- Follow Clay on X.
- Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here.
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