Enterprising Investor

In Episode #333, Steven Eisman, managing director at Neuberger Berman and portfolio manager for the Eisman Group, is known for predicting the global financial crash of 2008 and for being portrayed in the book and the film, The Big Short. In this interview, he addresses several questions, including: Are markets more ethical today than they were in the past? Are there systemic risks in today’s market that could see a repeat of 2008? Have regulators done a good job? And the burning question that everyone seems to want the answer to: Does Steve believe there is another “big short” opportunity approaching? Tune in for the answers to these questions and more.

In Episode #332, Alex Murguia, co-founder of inStream and managing principal of McLean Asset Management, discusses the impact of technology on financial planning and wealth management. Financial planning remains a key component of many wealth management offerings and can be a point of differentiation for advisers in otherwise crowded markets. In recent years, increasingly agile technology has transformed financial plans from the multi-paged volumes that tended to gather dust to more cost effective, dynamic, real-time roadmaps and guides for clients' financial lives. 

In Episode #331, Amy Florian, CEO of Corgenius, a consulting firm that teaches financial services professionals how to support clients in times of grief, loss, and transition, explains that grief is triggered when there is a break in an attachment. And while we tend to think of this break as the loss of a loved one, positive transitions—such as retirement—can also trigger grief. Florian discusses why it’s important for financial advisers to communicate with clients when they are grieving and experiencing difficult times and offers practical tips for compassionate conversations.

In Episode #330, Michael J. Mauboussin, author of The Success Equation, considers the continuum between luck and skill as it pertains to investing. He also shares his thoughts on the price/earnings multiple as a valuation tool, the hallmarks of an effective investment process, and how professional investors might mitigate some of the most common behavioral biases.

In Episode #329, Elizabeth M. Lilly, CFA, founder of a long-only investment firm focused on small-cap and micro-cap equities, explains how her investing style was shaped, in part, by Warren Buffett. She also discusses how she finds investment opportunities, the importance of a strong governance structure in firms, and how she avoids value traps and other pitfalls facing small cap value-oriented fund managers.   

In Episode #328, we visit with Dr. Notebaert,founder and CEO of One Step Ahead—Notebaert Consulting, which specializes in helping companies and people put neuroscience into practice.

In Episode #327, Omar Selim, founder and CEO of Arabesque, an ESG quant asset management firm, sits at the nexus of ESG, machine learning, and big data. In this interview, Selim tells viewers why he believes Arabesque is “the Tesla of finance,” what he thinks finance will look like in the next decade, and what it means to build a values-based asset management firm.

In Episode #326, Roberto Rigobon describes the Billion Prices Project, an alternative measure of inflation he developed with a colleague at MIT. He discusses the inspiration behind the Billion Prices Index, its composition and correlation to the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the practical implications of this work for policymakers and asset managers.

In Episode #325, John Wilson explains how to integrate key tenets of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing into the equity research process. He also offers insights into the outlook for ESG investing, including the opportunities and challenges it offers, as well as the prospects for improved ESG-related disclosure by firms.

In Episode #324, Christine L. Todd, CFA, shares her outlook for infrastructure spending in the United States and explains both the benefits and risks associated with investing in infrastructure through US municipal bonds.