
Opto Sessions – Invest in the Next Big Idea
Investment Opportunities: Opto Sessions brings you exclusive interviews with the world’s top investors, fund managers and CEOs, uncovering their secrets to success. Tune in to learn how to invest in the next big idea and gain actionable insights from the industry's sharpest minds.
Latest episodes

May 6, 2021 • 55min
Alan Brochstein - Investing in Legal & Medical Cannabis
This week I have the pleasure of introducing Alan Brochstein who’s known as the leading Financial Analyst dedicated to the Cannabis industry. Alan spent decades on the inside of the investment industry as a portfolio manager on wall street before starting 420 Investor, the largest due diligence platform covering publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. In addition he leads content development and strategic alliances at New Cannabis Ventures, a leading provider of relevant information in the cannabis industry. A necessary source of information for anyone interested in investing in this industry.We have a very interesting conversation where we discuss the huge potential of the industry, common misconceptions about some of the most popular stocks such as Tilray and Canopy growth and how cannabis could be considered as a growing consumer staple. Enjoywww.newcannabisventures.com@Invest420...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Apr 29, 2021 • 1h 4min
Damien Bisserier - Ray Dalio's Bridgewater & The Risk-Parity Approach
Damien is a Managing Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at ARIS - Advanced Research Investment Solutions - a $19 billion investment advisor. Damien has over 19 years of experience advising some of the world’s leading institutional investors. Damien spent nearly a decade at Bridgewater Associates, one of the highest-profile hedge funds on the planet, founded by world-famous investor Ray Dalio. In this role, Damien was responsible for managing relationships with the company’s impressive list of clients, an array of family offices, foundations, and pension mandates, ranging from $1 billion to $100 billion in size. We discuss why risk-parity strategies are effective in today’s market environment, and uncover why some risk-parity managers missed their long-touted chance to record significant returns amid the pandemic’s volatility. We conclude by examining ARIS’s industry-first Risk-Parity ETF – Enjoy the interview!...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Apr 22, 2021 • 1h 9min
Mark Yusko - #2.1 Quadrillion, Digital Assets & Being Early in Innovation
Today I welcome Mark Yusko, the Founder, CEO & Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Creek Capital Management and Managing Partner at Morgan Creek Digital Assets.He currently manages close to $2 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets at Morgan Creek. He’s known for his alternative Thinking About Investments and interest in emerging asset types. It makes sense then that a cornerstone of the morgan creek investment philosophy is to invest in innovation. In this interview, we touch on Blockchain and digital currency as the greatest wealth creation opportunity of our lifetime, SPACs, Bitcoin, and how some of the best investment opportunities come from being an early investor in innovation.Enjoymorgancreekcap.com@MarkYusko....Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Apr 15, 2021 • 1h 1min
Ben Goldsmith - The Green Industrial Revolution & Investing in Sustainability
Ben Goldsmith is an environmentalist and sustainability-focused investment pioneer. Founder and CEO of London-listed investment firm Menhaden, Ben, and the team focus their attention on the theme of energy and resource efficiency. Having previously co-founded the clean tech-focused investment firm WHEB back in 2003, Goldsmith has a long track record delivering returns in this space. Ben has also used his personal wealth to support both philanthropic and political projects in this area.Ben and I discuss how Menhaden identify companies delivering or benefiting from the efficient use of energy; we unpick the firm’s unique criteria for portfolio inclusion; and highlight the stocks that figure in the current fund. And after a historic year for clean energy returns in 2020, Ben gives us his outlook for the segment for the second half of 2021. Enjoy the interview!...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Apr 8, 2021 • 56min
Angela Chang Newell - Chamath Palihapitiya's Emerging Managers Class of 2021
Angela Chang Newell is a portfolio manager at Social Capital. As many of our listeners will know, Social Capital is the brainchild of Chamath Palihapitiya – a billionaire and Twitter influencer with over 1.4 million followers.Earlier this year Angela made it into an exclusive group, Chamath and Social Capital’s Emerging Managers class of 2021 – an industry-first initiative that has sought investors, of all backgrounds, who believe they can develop differentiated strategies to generate outsized returns. Social Capital has funded their portfolio managers with an initial capital base, with the aim of scaling that over time.Angela has worked for some of the biggest and most prestigious asset managers in the world – including JPMorgan and Macquarie – and her unique take on US equity investment was extremely compelling. We discuss what differentiates her approach from the rest of the market; what makes an exceptional portfolio manager; Angela takes us inside one of the most talked-about companies in the industry. Enjoy the interview!After the interview, Angela shared Dimon's 2020 letter to shareholders. Read for more insight into the JPMorgan CEO's insight:https://www.jpmorganchase.com/content/dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co/investor-relations/documents/ceo-letter-to-shareholders-2020.pdf ...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Apr 1, 2021 • 1h 5min
Lyn Alden - Network effects, Bitcoin & Finding Quality, Undervalued Stocks
On Friday 19th March I spoke to Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy. Lyn has been conducting investment research in various public and private capacities for over 15 years, and her methods have received global renown – Lyn has 165,000 followers on Twitter, and has contributed to sites like Business Insider, MarketWatch, CNBC, The Street, and Time’s Money Magazine. Lyn’s edge lies in the intersection between Engineering and Finance – we discuss how this influences her unique investment approach, and how a Contrarian slant helps Lyn identify quality, undervalued stocks.Also on the agenda are Network effects – we dig into their impact on businesses like Facebook and Amazon, and how their influence incited Lyn’s Bitcoin bet in April 2020. After an in-depth look at Lyn’s current portfolio, we discuss how stock market investors should navigate the tumultuous interest rate environment. Enjoy the episode!Sign up for Lyn’s free newsletter, here: https://www.lynalden.com/investing-newsletter/ ...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Mar 29, 2021 • 55min
Mish Schneider - Stagflation, The Commodity Supercycle & Bitcoin Vs Gold
Hello everyone, Ed Gotham here, and welcome to Opto Sessions where we interview the top traders and investors from around the world uncovering their secrets to success. In this episode, I’m talking to the wonderful Michele Schneider. Mish is a former floor trader and co-founder of Marketgauge serving as the Director of Trading Research & Education. Marketgauges' philosophy is to identify both the biggest macro and emerging trends using their proprietary tools, indicators, and proven trading models. It provides financial information and education to thousands of individuals, as well as large companies such as Barron’s, Fidelity, Thomson Reuters, and Bank of America. Mish has a daily newsletter highlighting some very interesting trends and opportunities on the markets in "Mish's Daily", available on marketgauge.com and on Opto. In this interview we dive into Bitcoin Vs Gold, The potential commodity supercycle, stagflation and the inflation narrative spooking the markets. @marketminutemarketgauge.comMish’s Market Minute Advantage (Premium subscription)https://marketgauge.com/trading-ideas/mishs-market-minute-advantage/At Opto Sessions we interview the top traders and investors from around the world uncovering their secrets to success. ...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

Mar 25, 2021 • 1h 9min
Justin Onuekwusi - Justifying Fees in a 'Zero-Fee World' & Cross-Asset Allocation in 2021
Justin Onuekwusi is Head of Retail Multi-Asset Funds at Legal & General Investment Management. The Legal and General group is one of the world’s biggest and most successful insurers and asset managers, with over £1 trillion in assets. LGIM’s Multi-Asset team manages more than £63bn, with Justin playing a leading role in the strategic allocation of those funds. Having started out as an analyst with Aon Hewitt in 2003, Justin next worked at Merrill Lynch during the now seminal period between 2007-08, staying with the firm until 2010, before taking up a role as Multi-Asset Fund Manager, at Aviva. And for the last seven and a half years Justin has been with LGIM, now heading up the firm’s extremely successful Retail Multi-Asset business.I talk to Justin about asset allocation, leveraging his cross-asset expertise to understand where investors should be weighing their portfolios in 2021, and beyond. We discuss his investment philosophy, and how LGIM’s use of their extensive index offering gives them one of the most successful, low-cost fund ranges on the market. Enjoy! Search #talkaboutblack to read about Justin's ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, and beyond....Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.

10 snips
Mar 18, 2021 • 1h 60min
Adam Robinson - Outsmarting the Market, Systems & 'The Great Game'
Adam Robinson, founder of Robinson Global Strategies, discusses market mechanics, trend dissemination, and the importance of having a well-defined system. They explore understanding market sentiment, balancing one's thinking, and the battle between inflation and deflation narratives. They also touch on simplifying analysis, mastering attention, and the importance of attention management.

Mar 14, 2021 • 29min
Howard Lindzon - SPAC Attack, Collectibles & $1.9 Trillion Stimulus
We’ve got Howard Lindzon from Phoenix Arizona on the show today. He’s the founder and managing partner at Social Leverage, an early-stage seed investment fund who’s stand-out investments include Robinhood, eToro, Kustomer, Rally road & more. Many will also know him as the founder of StockTwits, the largest online community of investors and traders. ...Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the podcast. Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter: https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter-----The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only. Opto Markets LLC does not recommend any specific securities or investment strategies. Investing involves risk & investments may lose value, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The information provided is not an endorsement of this product and is for information and/or educational purposes only.