Resolve Riffs Investment Podcast

With our good friend Dave Nadig (CIO and Director of Research at ETF Trends) as co-host, we had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Investment, which manages the world’s largest crypto index fund. A veteran of the ETF industry, Matt brings institutional gravitas to a nascent sector and has recently authored the CFA Institute’s curriculum guidelines for digital assets. Our conversation included: Crypto as a currency looks highly unlikely to succeed, but as a technological advance it is highly unlikely to fail One of the most interesting problems in the space: very few people actually understand blockchain technology and its multifaceted capabilities The biggest risk in digital assets is behavioral Why market-cap weighted may be quasi optimal – size matters in a sector driven by network effects The delusional notions of Bitcoin replacing the USD The crucial importance of frequently rebalancing a portfolio that holds highly volatile assets A shifting zeitgeist and the typical question – from “will it go to zero?” to “what is a reasonable weight range?” Why UniSwap may be the greatest entrepreneurial story of the past decade We also discussed DeFi (Decentralized Finance), technological updates and the excitement around the Ethereum ecosystem, tax implications and much more. A big thanks to Dave Nadig, not only for the introduction to Matt and co-hosting the episode, but for flexing his healthy skeptical muscles and pushing back at times – it made for great entertainment! Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global* and Richard Laterman of ReSolve Asset Management.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global* and Richard Laterman of ReSolve Asset Management. Following our first conversation with David Fauchier (Portfolio Manager at Nickel Digital Asset Management), he insisted that we had to speak with Thomas Braziel, Founder and CIO of 507 Capital, who he claimed was one of the most interesting and independently-minded investors he had met in the digital asset space. With David as co-host, our awesome conversation with Thomas covered topics such as: Why almost all his stories begin with a bankruptcy Opportunities that don’t scale tend to offer the juiciest returns The reason some of these trades work is precisely because they are not scalable His perspective on the Mt. Gox debacle and why he has been buying claims on it for years Claims investing – why many distressed assets fly under the radar of most allocators His unique investment style – if Soros and Buffet had an ‘investment love child’ Different models for claims investing – from complex factoring to ‘loon shot buccaneering’ Getting along with all the players in the space can be a form of alpha We went deep into the inner workings of the space, including how different countries treat personal liabilities in bankruptcies, the contrasts between English Common Law and the US legal system, and what it means to go ‘forum shopping’. Yet another highly entertaining and educational episode and we hope you enjoy it. Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

For this podcast we had the pleasure of being joined by Fred Pye, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 3iQ Corp. He is also the Chairman of 3iQ Digital Holdings Inc. 3iQ is a pioneer manager in the digital asset space, with a variety of Canadian and international mutual funds and ETFs providing access to a variety of cryptocurrencies.   On this episode we discuss: The early history of trailblazing unique asset classes The QSC/OSC and Bitcoin – a commodity, a security or a currency Closed-end funds – their advantages for investors Four years, plus 10,000 pages of due diligence Frontier asset classes and client retention The impact of Bitcoin on third world economies The future of the Blockchain We thoroughly enjoyed this episode and hope that you will too. See you next week.   This is GestaltU from ReSolve Asset Management where we debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*.  

This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*.  “A year ago, digital assets were a fringe asset class, the mere mention of which could spell career risk. Now, the career risk is likely if you completely ignore the space.” Global markets are evolving at a blinding pace, and investors often find themselves in a race to catch up with what are sometimes truly tectonic shifts. Nowhere is this more emblematic than in the digital assets realm. We had the pleasure of once again hosting Tyrone Ross Jr, along with his new business partner Eric Ervin – founders of Onramp Invest – for a fascinating conversation that covered: A ‘meeting of minds’ that resulted in Onramp Invest The fast and furious migration of digital assets into the common zeitgeist Trying to seamlessly integrate Onramp Invest into advisors’ workflow – ease of access is crucial Onramp Academy – filling the education vacuum and establishing a foundation for conversations Integrating traditional finance with the crypto world The difference between digital assets and digital currencies One third of the S&P500’s market cap is represented by financial services – the size of the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) Pie The importance of properly anchored risk expectations for a highly volatile and emerging asset class The discussion also included frameworks for understanding both the value of digital assets (think network effects) and their possible place in portfolios (where rebalancing is of paramount importance). Eric and Tyrone shared their screen to walk us through their portal and some of the very useful tools they’ve created for investors. Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*. “There are two types of truths – one that can be derived from first principles, and another that emerges from a common set of beliefs or a shared narrative.” It was our great pleasure to speak this week with Demetri Kofinas, host of the popular Hidden Forces podcast. We have been keen listeners to Hidden Forces for some time and have admired Demetri’s ability to dive deep into topics as diverse as epistemology, philosophy, global macro and digital assets, to name just a few. Our conversation included: Demetri’s background in media and journey to establishing Hidden Forces Disillusionment after the Great Financial Crisis and conspiracy rabbit holes Is the fracturing US political system beyond repair? The Trump Phenomenon – cause, symptom or catalyst? Hyperrealism, information bubbles and the struggle to find common ground Fiat news and narrative wars Defining truth – the trouble with epistemology Digital assets, financial nihilism and generational divide US, China and Russia – the geopolitical backdrop Demetri also walked us through his process for generating ideas for episodes and cited memorable guests that have helped shape his understanding on many of the subjects we touched upon. It was a truly fascinating conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*. “As the discount rate drives towards zero, it inflates every asset on the planet, including their correlations. Today’s dominant factor is discount rate risk.” Fasten your seatbelt and dial down the speed on your podcast player, because you are in for an epic ride. With our good friend Corey Hoffstein (CIO of Newfound Research) as co-host, we were once again joined by one of the most interesting and thought-provoking guests we’ve had on the show: Chris Schindler (Co-founder, CEO and CIO of Castlefield Associates). This incredibly rich and nuanced conversation touched on themes that included: Who is “on the other side” of trades and investment strategies – persistent wealth transfers that lead to positive utility for both parties, with no “willing losers” Crowded and anti-crowded trades – drilling into the reflexive nature of markets What leads to crowding – structural and behavioral reasons, along with naturally-long players Why alternative risk premia (aka investment factors) have become shockingly crowded, and where investors might find blue ocean in the space Behavior doesn’t manifest in a vacuum – why the efficient market hypothesis is naturally at odds with human synchronization Alpha in traditional investments implies being early and/or different Social media, riot theory and the emergent phenomenon of crowds The ultimate CIO’s dilemma – where do we go from here? The moral hazard trade – governments, central banks, and self-fulfilling prophecies A basket of call options is always preferable to a call option on a basket We also covered some of the underlying reasons for market synchronization, how many steps ahead of the crowds are likely to lead to profitable trades, and much more. This episode contains more nuggets of wisdom than we could count and is certainly worth saving for future reference. Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.    

Annie Duke, a former World Series of Poker champion and author, dives into the complex world of decision-making. She shares her academic journey in cognitive science, drawing parallels between poker strategies and investment decisions. The conversation highlights biases like the Dunning-Kruger effect and the sunk cost fallacy, while exploring the importance of cognitive flexibility and diverse perspectives. Annie also reflects on the value of knowing when to quit, reshaping how we perceive success and failure.

How we can prepare for every investment scenario. We discuss: Risk Parity and Futures Markets Leverage and Value Diversification Outsourcing Expertise Integrating Asset Classes to Maximize Returns

This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*. This week we were joined by Brandon Caruana and Brian Tang, cofounders of Cayman-based Cartan Group, a consulting firm that specializes in blockchain technology solutions. The two combine for a deep and broad knowledge base of the emerging digital asset space, which made for a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation that included topics such as: The full ‘crypto stack’ – core networks and their multiple layers Block sizes and transaction speeds – features or bugs? Proof of work vs proof of stake – validation methods and relative merits Energy costs, algorithm rules and security Trade-offs between different blockchains and layers – what problems are they trying to solve? Why base layers are always more secure than the stack Why Bitcoin is the asset-equivalent of a duck-billed platypus Asset-backed coins and varying collaterals for stable coins We also discussed the attractive features of the Algorand protocol, Helium and ‘proof of space’, and the generational divide between living in the analog and digital realms. The conversation devolved into philosophical musings on Artificial Intelligence and techno-utopia (and at times dystopia), a future of abundance and the pursuit of passions and callings, which left us with the ultimate question: is AI going to eat, rule or serve the world? Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week.   *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.    

How can we manage for scenarios when Liquidity evaporates? We discuss: The mechanics of a Liquidity Shock The Fed and the Long Volatility Gap Diversification, Tail Hedge Protection and Theta Bleed Dennis Rodman and the Long Vol Trade Yield, Growth and Inflation