Australian Investors Podcast Meb Faber on Quant Investing, Shareholder Yield ETFs & Building Cambria Funds
Nov 25, 2025
Meb Faber, CEO of Cambria Investment Management and renowned host of his own podcast, dives into the world of quantitative investing. He shares his journey from biomedical engineering to embracing quant strategies and launching innovative ETFs. The discussion includes insights on shareholder yield, blending dividends with buybacks, and the unique criteria for ETF creation. Meb also reflects on memorable guests from his podcast and emphasizes the importance of fundamentals in investing, all while hinting at his enthusiasm for future adventures in Australia.
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From Childhood Lessons To A Career Pivot
- Meb Faber traced his investing interest to childhood conversations about money with his father and early stock postcards from camp.
- He later delayed grad school to solve investing puzzles after biotech and internet booms collapsed, which redirected his career into asset management.
Create Guardrails To Avoid Emotional Mistakes
- Build rules and guardrails to remove emotional biases from investing decisions.
- Use position sizing, portfolio construction and historical study to prevent repeat mistakes and reckless risk-taking.
Publish Accessibly, Get Faster Feedback
- Writing accessible research and publishing it publicly accelerated Meb's reputation more than academic journals would have.
- The internet's instant feedback became a superior peer review compared with traditional slow academic publishing.
