Vitaliy Katsenelson, the CEO at IMA, a value investing firm in Denver, joins Julia on episode 30 to discuss his newest book, Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life, which is his first non-investing book. Vitaliy shares his love of writing, family, work, music, and stoic philosophy in the book.
In this episode, Vitaliy details his backstory of growing up in Soviet Russia and coming to America. He also shares his impressions of capitalism and how investing was “love at first sight.” For Vitality, writing is the most important thing that’s transformed his life and career, and he spends 700 hours each year writing.
Vitaliy views Stoicism as an operating system for life. He wishes he had encountered Stoicism when his mother died of brain cancer when he was 11, and that tragedy helped bring him closer to his father.
Elsewhere, Vitaliy shares his views of the markets and why high-interest rates are making value investing great again. He dives into his thesis of a Dot-com Bubble 2.0, how tech stocks became overvalued thanks to abundant capital, and how eventually, that sector will be a “value investor’s paradise.” He also shared his economic outlook and house the housing market is worse than you think.
0:00 Intro
0:42 Born in Russia, made in America
2:36 First impressions of capitalism
4:31 First taste of Pepsi
8:01 Finance was ‘love at first sight’
12:28 Writing journey
16:30 700 hours per year writing
19:08 Navigating a painful period through writing
22:50 Losing mother to brain cancer at age 11
25:00 Stoicism as an operating system for life
27:00 Stoicism and investing
30:12 High interest rates make value investing great again
32:33 How low rates fueled tech stocks
35:36 Thoughts on tech layoffs
36:46 Quiet quitting ends with loud firing
39:00 Dot-com bubble 2.0
44:37 Tech stocks will become a value investor’s paradise
46:00 We’re likely going to have a recession
46:55 Housing market is worse than you think
51:00 Where it gets worse for homeowners
52:05 A value investor’s framework during a recession
53:37 America became more tribal
55:40 Student loan debt forgiveness is a slippery slope
1:02:00 A moral hazard
1:03:00 Final thoughts
