SI368: Valuation Has Left the Room ft. Cem Karsan & Alan Dunne
Top Traders Unplugged
Retail, RIAs, and the Explosion of Options ETFs
Alan asks about retail participation; Cem clarifies RIA-driven flows and rapid growth in options-based ETFs and structured product issuance.
Cem Karsan joins Alan Dunne to chart a market running on more than just momentum. Beneath the surface: a structural liquidity engine, political incentives aligned with asset reflation, and a surge in non-correlated flows reshaping risk itself. As institutions scramble to catch up and volatility begins to rise with price, Cem draws on lessons from the late 90s to explain why the real story is not about valuation - but positioning. From AI’s misunderstood impact to the growing role of options, gold, and crypto, this is a portrait of a regime defined not by fundamentals, but by reflex and constraint.
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Episode TimeStamps:
00:23 - What has been on our radar recently?
02:00 - Industry performance update
03:07 - Are current valuations a sign of a bubble?
12:13 - The importance of reflexivity
18:59 - The move towards non correlation is upon us
22:55 - What is driving up asset prices?
26:34 - When will the supply/demand imbalance normalize?
31:56 - Reaching an uncontrollable situation
35:47 - What are markets showing us about options?
39:38 - Precious metals is the place to be
42:26 - Is AI actually the game changer that we all expect it to be?
52:07 - Will better technology = better performance?
56:03 - A timeline for possible risk dates
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