For our second episode of year six of the podcast, we welcome my friend John Bowman to the podcast. I can’t say enough positive things about what John is doing with the CAIA Association (as well as his predecessor Bill Kelly), both of whom put investors first, which is what this podcast is all about. John stepped in as CEO at the beginning of 2025 and we thought it would be great to hear his vision for where alternative investing is headed over the next decade. John is a speaker, writer, commentator and frequently keynoting industry conferences and has been featured in the WSJ, NYT, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, CNBC and more. John earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charter holder, which is how we have known John for so long. In this episode, we discuss past CEO Bill Kelly, miles traveled over the past year, the future of CAIA, liquidity budgets for investors and how to size an allocation to alternatives, the private/public convergence, tokenization of private assets, and more. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder & Co-Managing Principal of 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host  Kevin Laake, CFA, CAIA (Team Lead at Mariner Institutional). Both of us are past Presidents of CFA Society Orlando. It is worth noting that Kevin serves as a Chapter Executive for CAIA Florida, which is why I thought he would be great as a co-host for this episode. Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com   Show Notes: · From Vision to Action: CAIA’s CEO on Shaping Tomorrow’s Industry (https://caia.org/blog/2025/01/14/vision-action-caias-ceo-shaping-tomorrows-industry) · Capital Decanted Podcast (https://caia.org/capital-decanted-podcast) · Caia.org · CFA stackable program (https://caia.org/stackable)

To kick off year six of the Investors First Podcast, today’s guest is Tom Lee. Tom is the Managing Partner and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, with over 25 years of experience in equity research. Formerly J.P. Morgan's Chief Equity Strategist, he is a top-ranked strategist and you will frequently find him on CNBC. Lee holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and is a CFA charter holder. In this episode, we discuss where the S&P 500 will end up in 2025 and areas of the market Tom likes in 2025. Tom discusses bitcoin and how it should be valued relative to gold. We talk about AI and its impact on the market, but more importantly, the importance of ethics as it relates to AI. We also discuss DOGE (which hasn’t been discussed since Truman in the 40’s), why more basketball players should shoot free throws underhand, and how he developed the granny shots strategy. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Drew Papke, CFA (Director, Private Bank Investments at Fifth Third Bank). Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com Show Notes: · FundSrat: https://fundstrat.com · Complimentary Research: fsinsight.com · Granny Shots: https://fsinsight.com/members/stock-lists/?category=granny-shots-stock-list · Book rec: The Coming Wave (By: Mustafa Suleyman)

Today’s guest is Rob Arnott, Founder and Chairman of Research Affiliates, where he actively contributes to research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy, and client relations. He co-manages several funds, including the PIMCO All Asset and RAE™ funds. Throughout his career, Rob has challenged conventional financial wisdom and pioneered strategies such as tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach. Before founding Research Affiliates in 2002, Rob was chair of First Quadrant, LP, global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers, and CEO of TSA Capital Management. He has published over 150 articles and won numerous awards, including eight Graham and Dodd Scrolls awarded annually by the CFA Institute. Rob also received the 2013 William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award. Rob holds a summa cum laude BS in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from UC Santa Barbara. (Note: bio condensed by ChatGPT). In this episode, Rob gets us current since he last visited us in Orlando last February, with everything from market returns to the returns impact pre and post-election. We officially welcome Rob as a Florida resident, we discuss the beginning of Research Affiliates, along with indexes dumping stocks and the contrarian launch of his new ETF, NIXT, expected returns, AI and its impact on white-collar professionals, and more. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Javier Perez, CFA (Director, BlackPoint Capital), both of us are Past Presidents of CFA Orlando. Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com Show Notes: Link: Expected Returns Interactive Tool Research Affiliates: https://www.researchaffiliates.com/ NIXT ETF: https://nixtetf.com/etf/

Today’s guest is Marlena Lee. Marlena is Dimensional Fund Advisor’s (DFA) Global Head of Investment Solutions, leading a team focused on investment thought leadership and client education. She is also a member of DFA’s Investment Research Committee.    Founded in 1981, DFA is a global asset management firm with ~$800B in assets under management, known for successfully applying academic research to practical investing.   Prior to her time at DFA, Marlena served as Co-Head of Research, directing the firm’s global research agenda. Marlena was a teaching assistant for Nobel laureate Eugene Fama at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds a PhD and MBA from Chicago Booth, an MS in agricultural and resource economics, and a BS in managerial economics from UC Davis. (ChatGPT generated Bio)   In this episode, we start by covering Marlena’s academic journey as a TA with Nobel Laureate Professor Gene Fama at the University of Chicago. We pivot to the investment side with a discussion about the Magnificent 7 and what is driving US market performance, an update on factor investing, a brief history of Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), small c(r)ap investing, the use of Russell 2000 as a benchmark and the dwindling number of public names in US markets.    Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Christina Shaffer, CFA (Director of Fixed Income, AllGen Financial)   Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com   Show Notes: https://www.dimensional.com https://www.dimensional.com/hk-en/bios/marlena-lee

Today’s guest is Marko Papic, Marko leads BCA Research's BCA Access and developed GeoMacro Research, the first discretionary macro-geopolitical investment strategy in finance. He connects clients with a broad expert network and custom research, having founded BCA’s Geopolitical Strategy service. His book, Geopolitical Alpha, presents a framework for predicting investment outcomes. Previously, Marko was a Partner and Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, advising institutional investors. His work is included in the CAIA curriculum and The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Geopolitics. Starting as a Senior Analyst at Stratfor, he has lectured at Stanford and Georgetown. Marko holds advanced degrees from the University of Texas and UBC.   This is the second time we have had the privilege of hosting Marko, almost 4 years ago on the button. Marko is no doubt one of our favorite guests in the history of this podcast.   In this episode, we cover the U.S. election, who will win and what America’s foreign policy will look like for Trump or Harris. We discuss the powerful American consumer driven economy, how to position your portfolio, the untapped equity in American’s homes, and getting us current on the last 4 years since the last time Marko joined us.   Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Chris Cannon (CIO/Principal, FirsTrust)   Links: https://www.bcaresearch.com https://www.bcaresearch.com/marketing/geomacro https://www.bcaresearch.com/marketing/report/gmac/what-geomacro/100026   Please enjoy the episode.  

Today’s guest is Jeremy Schwartz, CFA, Global Chief Investment Officer at WisdomTree. Before Jeremy started at WisdomTree in 2005, he was a head research assistant for Professor Jeremy Siegel and became his co-author on the sixth edition of the book Stocks for the Long Run. He received his B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and hosts the Wharton Business Radio program Behind the Markets on SiriusXM 132. Jeremy is a CFA charter holder and is a member of CFA Society Philadelphia. In this episode, we start by covering Jeremy’s charter holder story. We discuss how he first met Professor Jeremy Siegel while at U Penn and the amazing partnership they have had over the last couple of decades. We also dived into currency hedging in equity markets, the calculus behind launching a new ETF, his podcast and more. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Chris Cannon (CIO/Principal, FirsTrust) Please enjoy the episode. 

Highly respected finance figure Michael Mauboussin discusses luck vs. skill in investing, market concentration, buybacks, and advice for aspiring professionals. Topics include public vs. private equity, skill amplifying luck in market success, and the shift from tangible to intangible investments.

Ali Hamed, Co-Founder at CoVenture, shares insights on early-stage investing, discussing the importance of capital vs. ideas, democratization of private market investing, funding YouTube creators, contrarian investing strategies, and personal growth in the finance industry.

Dr. Meir Statman discusses the importance of diversifying wealth across various measures, including financial, social, and cultural aspects. He covers topics such as human capital, optimal portfolio management, overspending, underspending, and self-actualization. The episode also explores the U curve of life satisfaction, the value of patience for young professionals in building wealth, and the multifaceted nature of wealth beyond money. Additionally, it delves into retirees' tendencies to underspend, the complexities of wealth inheritance, and the significance of balancing financial stability with generational well-being.

Sion Evans from VenCap discusses the power law driving VC returns, the importance of identifying exceptional founders, choosing the right managers over specific sectors, managing market turbulence with disciplined approaches, exploring Indian VC landscape growth, global investment strategies, and aspirations in the cybersecurity space.