Enterprising Investor

In Episode #284, Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte Frontier Advisory, discusses the coming demand shock for some emerging markets, the relationship between China and Africa, and what needs to happen for emerging markets to divorce themselves from moves in commodities and simple currency fluctuations.   The Take 15 Series is a series of short interviews with leading practitioners on timely topics focused on the investment profession.

In Episode #283, Chester Santos, one of the world’s foremost experts on memory training and the 2008 USA Memory Champion, discusses why it’s important for financial professionals to exercise their memories. Santos reviews the three main principles of memorization—visualization, invoking additional senses, and applying creativity; and offers practical tips on how to become better at remembering people’s names.

In Episode #282, Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and founder of Life Planning Partners, tells CFA Institute why it is essential that financial advisers talk to their clients about their health and then walks us through the components of a health care discussion.  

In Episode #281, Joshua M. Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, the persona behind the highly successful financial blog, The Reformed Broker, talks about his views on the Obama administration’s push for a fiduciary standard for brokers; the story behind his “reformation”; the outlook for fintech; how social media has helped business; and who he considers “must-reads.”

In Episode #280, John Kay asks which design principles can financial service providers use for building products that can help investors achieve their goals.

In Episode #279, Borderless markets have made it easier for fund managers to seamlessly invest in equities. Yet, country allocation and local risk factors are among dominant considerations for global fund managers. In this interview, Aswath Damodaran discusses approaches and limitations in equity country selection.

In Episode #278, David Schawel, CFA, discusses the appropriate role for fixed income as investors contemplate the end of a thirty year bull market in rates. Schawel also discusses how professional investors use Twitter and his outlook for Marketplace lending.   

In Episode #276, Halla Tomasdottir, Founder and CEO of Sisters Capital, outlines the arguments for a more balanced approach and evaluates the connections to a more sustainable financial services industry.  

In Episode #276, Jon Moog at US-based Lizard Investors discusses why international small cap investing should come with a warning label, “Don’t try this at home.” While opportunities abound for the savvy investor, poor corporate governance, illiquidity, and lax accounting standards are just some of the risks Moog and his colleagues wrestle with as part of their due diligence process. Learn about the importance of “time arbitrage” as well as risks and rewards of international small cap investing in this brief interview with a well-travelled industry veteran.  

In Episode #275, Dan Ariely, as he provides a more rational approach to money and opportunity costs. There is a rational or right way as well as an irrational or wrong of thinking about money. As human beings we are prone to thinking about money in the wrong way, but fortunately, there are some things we can do about our irrationality.