Compounders Podcast

My guest on the show today is Whit Huguley, the Portfolio Manager at River Oaks Capital. Whit is a microcap specialist who has been running this portfolio full time since early 2020. Whit puts together one of the most comprehensive quarterly letters I have ever seen—in many cases discussing all the companies in his portfolio. As I learned more about his process and philosophy I became curious about: Why he first became interested in microcaps; The checklist he uses to evaluate stocks; His rationale for investing in small banks and financials; Why he places so much value on traveling to meet with companies; and How he approaches the topic of when his companies will eventually get valued properly For more information about River Oaks Capital, please visit: https://www.riveroaks-capital.com/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Maj Soueidan, Co-founder of GeoInvesting.com, brings over 30 years of microcap investing wisdom. He discusses the challenges of investing in microcaps, especially in today's climate of risk aversion. Maj highlights his checklist approach for assessing management teams and why many misunderstand the opportunities in this space. He also uncovers the hidden potential in Canadian microcaps, pointing out that they often offer significant investment mispricing compared to the U.S. market. A treasure trove of insights for investment enthusiasts!

My guest on the show today is Scott Colson, the CIO of Irrational Capital. Scott has partnered with well-known academic and author Dan Ariely to build indexes based on human capital assessment—and partner with asset managers to create ETFs--that are tied to a proprietary metric they call the Human Capital Factor. In this eye-opening discussion, we covered: The founding of Irrational Capital and how Scott got involved; The various ETFs that Irrational Capital has launched with Harbor Capital; What types of companies score highly when it comes to the Human Capital Factor; The simplicity of and alpha generating potential of using the Human Capital Factor; and The differences between the larger and smaller cap ETFs. Scott mentioned a number of securities and ETFs during this podcast. I don’t own any of them. For more information about Irrational Capital, please visit: https://www.irrational.capital/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guest on the show today is Mac Sykes, the Portfolio Manager of the Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities Fund. Mac has been with Gabelli for over 15 years and runs a portfolio that is focused on the financial services industry. We haven’t had many chances to discuss banks on this podcast. So, I was excited to speak with Mac about: The major tailwinds he and his team believer are supporting the companies in the portfolio; How technology is transforming and impacting the incumbents in the financial services industry; The future of Berkshire Hathaway as we approach an inevitable change in leadership; Portfolio construction and especially concentration; and How the big money centers banks are positioned to weather the next credit cycle For more information about the Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities Fund, please visit: https://www.gabelli.com/funds/etfs/gabf Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guests on the show today are Jen Yu and Alex Penfold, the co-founders of Jaxon Lane, a beauty and skin care company they run as a husband and wife team. I have known these two for many years and am a user of their products. Jaxon Lane is known for its Bro Mask, a product whose goal it is to make healthy facial skin more accessible to men. In this wide ranging discussion, we covered: The founding idea and story of Jaxon Lane; How Jen and Alex figured out how to navigate a brand new industry; The differentiation that comes from focusing on male skin care products; Their strategy for growing both e-commerce and brick and mortar sales; and Their approach to new product innovation For more information about Jaxon Lane, please visit: https://jaxonlane.com/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guest on the show today is John Zolidis, the President and Founder of Quo Vadis Capital. John is a consumer and retail specialist who manages money for clients and, harkening back to his sell-side days, offers single stock research to professional investors. Given all of the secular and cyclical factors that have impacted retail companies over the last decade, I was really looking forward to speaking with John about: The unique return on capital lens that he approaches brick and mortar companies with; How he structures an investment portfolio; What people commonly get wrong about retail and restaurant stocks; What a retail compounder looks like in the early stages; and The lasting impact of the shift to e-comm and of COVID on the retail sector For more information about Quo Vadis Capital, please visit: https://www.quovadiscapital.com/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guest on the show today is Jeff Schwartz, the CEO of Dentity. Jeff has a long track of success and has been the CEO of a number of public companies. Jeff’s newest venture is called Dentity, a company that is attempting to make digital identities ubiquitous across the internet. In this fascinating conversation, we discussed: How a self-described “auto guy” got into the digital identity space; The business model surrounding creating digital identities for people; Why he enjoys building multi-sided markets from scratch; The role that AI is going to play when it comes to demand for verifiable digital identities; and The benefits of having a decentralized structure rather than one that is centralized For more information about Dentity, please visit: https://www.dentity.com/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guest on the show today is Clare Flynn Levy, the Founder and CEO of Essentia Analytics. I met Clare several years ago when my prior firm worked with Essentia to help us improve our decision making. The process of having Essentia analyze past successes and mistakes was so insightful that I became a big fan of the product. Accordingly, when I reconnected with Clare recently, I was excited to speak with her about: The founding inspiration for Essentia; The concepts of Behavioral Alpha and of providing a helpful benchmark to managers; Working with both managers and allocators to help improve decision making; How Essentia can use all its data to make the software even better over time; and Ways in which managers can use Essentia’s data to help market their firms. For more information about Essentia Analytics, please visit: https://www.essentia-analytics.com/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

My guest on the show today is Nick King, the co-founder and CEO of Vint. Through Vint, Nick is on a mission to turn wine into a financial asset class. Nick was working on the buy-side at a value investment firm but left to work on Vint full-time in 2021. Since then, the company has gone through a rigorous SEC registration process and is now in position to offer investors the ability to participate in the returns available that come from owning wine. With that as a backdrop, I was eager to talk to Nick about: The structural inefficiencies in wine pricing that can lead to attractive returns; Where an investment in wine fits within a broader portfolio; The different strategies that Vint offers; How his experience as a professional investor has impacted the way he manages Vint; and Whether or not Vint benefits from being a first mover in the space. For more information about Vint, please visit: https://vint.co/ Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Soo Chuen Tan, Founder and President of Discerene Group, shares insights on building a successful investment firm managing over $2 billion. He discusses the unique drawdown structure designed for limited partners, emphasizing the importance of contrarian thinking. Soo Chuen highlights the delicate balance between valuing traditional profitability versus emerging disruptors. Additionally, he elaborates on navigating investment risks in diverse jurisdictions, especially in China, while fostering strong, long-term partnerships within the investment landscape.