Enterprising Investor

Cheryll-Ann Wilson, PhD, CFA, is a finance and technology scholar researching private markets and investment transparency. She explores private credit’s explosive retail expansion, why smooth returns may mask valuation risks, and how semiliquid funds can face redemption spirals. The conversation also examines covenant-lite loans, layered leverage, unequal recoveries, and the questions investors should ask before allocating.

Mark J. Higgins, financial historian, investment adviser, and author, examines why financial bubbles persist. He maps the incentive networks behind the dot-com boom and the Global Financial Crisis, then connects them to today’s private equity and private credit surge. They discuss hidden systemic risk, liquidity promises in semi-liquid funds, warning signs visible to ordinary investors, and questions pension trustees should ask.

Eddie Perkin, CFA, former CIO at Eaton Vance and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, explores the behavioral traps behind poor investment decisions. He discusses overcoming stock attachment through zero-based portfolio reviews, judging decisions by process rather than outcomes, and identifying durable compounders. He also examines blind voting, junior-first feedback, small teams, and hiring practices that encourage productive conflict and independent thinking.

Irina Bevza, CFA, leads quantitative solutions at Fineco Asset Management and researches investment strategies and ETF markets. She explores the rise of self-driving portfolios, collaborative AI agents, and faster investment governance. The conversation examines cascading errors, false consensus, black-box accountability, and how AI may reshape portfolio careers while leaving humans responsible for judgment and trust.

If heat is a real-world cost for companies, why is it still not accurately and consistently priced into the market? Guest host, Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor, speaks with Mustafa Dah, an associate professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance and Accounting at the Lebanese American University, about  extreme heat as a distinct financial risk. While climate-related disclosures have expanded, markets often struggle to translate recurring heat exposure into company valuations, credit assessments, and costs of capital. This episode explores why investors, analysts, and portfolio managers need to move beyond disclosure and incorporate measurable indicators such as lost operating days, adaptation spending, and weather-risk signals directly into financial analysis and investment decisions.

Kwame Christian, founder of the American Negotiation Institute and author on negotiation and conflict, blends psychology and practical tools. He explores why people avoid tough talks, how confidence and emotion labeling improve outcomes, and a three-step compassionate curiosity method for calmer, collaborative conversations. Topics include salary talks, persuasive listening, and daily practices to build negotiation resilience.

Matt Ankrum, CFA, a quantitative investor building a coffee-can portfolio for his children, and Neeraj Khemlani, former CBS News president and author, bring research and storytelling to long-term stock hunting. They explore traits of 100-baggers like recurring revenue, B2B strength, steady growth and compound power. Conversations cover patience, volatility, acquisition-led growth, and why some winners hide in plain sight.

In this episode of Enterprising Investor, Ben Carlson, CFA, director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz Wealth Management, co-host of the Animal Spirits podcast, and author of Risk and Reward: How to Handle Market Volatility and Build Long-Term Wealth, joins Mike Wallberg, CFA, to discuss why volatility is the unavoidable price of higher returns. Drawing on market history, behavioral finance, and real-world investing examples, Carlson explores the challenges of market timing, inflation, and portfolio construction, while highlighting the habits that help investors stay disciplined through uncertainty.For investment practitioners, the conversation offers valuable insights into managing client expectations, communicating complex concepts in accessible ways, and designing portfolios that clients can stick with over the long term. Carlson also shares lessons from Warren Buffett, the financial crisis, and his own experience working with institutional investors and wealth management clients.Listen to the episode to learn how a long-term perspective can help investors navigate market turbulence and build lasting wealth.

Joachim Klement joins Mike Wallberg, CFA, to break down the investment implications of today's geopolitical environment. From energy market disruptions to shifting trade dynamics, Klement explains how global events feed through to inflation, interest rates, and asset valuations. The conversation also explores how investors can separate noise from signal, rethink international diversification, and incorporate assets such as commodities to better manage geopolitical risk. With markets increasingly shaped by policy and global tensions, Klement offers a practical lens for portfolio construction. Listen today to learn how to position portfolios in a more complex and interconnected world, and find Joachim's Research Foundation brief, The Geoeconomic Decade, on the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center website:  https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/foundation/2025/geoeconomic-decade. 

What is really happening beneath the surface of private markets? In this episode of the Enterprising Investor, host Mike Wallberg, CFA, speaks with returning guest, Mark Higgins, CFA, author of Investing in US Financial History, and Leyla Kunimoto, founder of Accredited Investor Insights, about emerging stress in private credit and private equity. They explore investor outflows from semi-liquid funds, the mechanics and risks of NAV-based valuation, and the growing disconnect between market narratives and underlying realities. Drawing on both current market developments and historical cycles, Kunimoto and Higgins unpack what these trends could mean for liquidity, pricing, and investor outcomes. Whether you are an institutional allocator or an individual investor, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at the risks and complexities shaping today's private markets. Listen now to gain timely insights and practical perspectives.