Our returning guest today is Vikram Mansharamani, a global trend-watcher who shows people how to anticipate the future, manage risk and spot opportunities.   In today’s episode, Vikram updates us on what’s been a busy three years since he first came on the podcast. We discuss his senatorial campaign in New Hampshire, his unfortunate split at Harvard, and then get into his new book, The Making of a Generalist. He gives a brief overview of the book and then apply his generalist lens to talk about his annual blog post that shares global developments he’s keeping an eye on over the next five years. We touch on immigration, the space economy, AI, tensions between US & China, and more.    Be sure to check out the show notes for all the related links we discuss in the episode.   Our co-hosts today are Chris Cannon, CFA, and myself, Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.    Resources 24 Global Developments to Watch Over the Next Five Years Purchase his book, The Making of a Generalist: An Independent Thinker Finds Unconventional Success in an Uncertain World Read the intro to his book Drill, Baby, Drill! The Kai Guy Show   Vikram's Recommendations Grant by Ron Chernow Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything Hardcover Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1984 by George Orwell Grid Down, Power Up     Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Today we host Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management. For most of us in the investment community, Howard needs no introduction. He is somebody we have looked forward to hosting for quite some time and I couldn’t think of anybody better to kick off year five of the Investors First Podcast. We could go on and on about his track record, whether it be his time at the University of Pennsylvania or the University of Chicago, his firm’s investment performance, or his various professional achievements, but we must note that Howard is a fellow CFA charter holder (circa 1975).    In today’s episode, we cover the various phases of Howard’s career. We then discuss the beginning of his time in high-yield debt and how the shift to a risk-return framework for fiduciaries forever changed the investing profession. We also discussed his famous memos and his important thoughts on the Sea Change we are currently experiencing in markets and much more. We are truly grateful for the time Howard offered and he was everything we expected and then some.    Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & guest host Chris Cannon, CFA (Chief Investment Officer, FirsTrust).    Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Our guest today is Adam Nash, the co-founder & CEO of Daffy.org, a modern platform and community for charitable giving that allows you to sign up for your donor-advised fund. Adam has served as an executive, angel investor, and advisor to some of the most successful technology companies to come out of Silicon Valley, including Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple. Adam also served as President & CEO of Wealthfront.    In today’s episode, Adam explains why his time at Wealthfront gave him the idea to launch Daffy (which stands for donor-advised fund for you). We walk through the ins and outs of a donor-advised fund, how Daffy manages to offer it at a cost that makes Vanguard 13x more expensive, and why this can be a great tool for year-end tax planning.   Listeners get an extra $25 for charity when they join Daffy. Get started for free here.    Our co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA, and myself, Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.    Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Today we host Professor Aswath Damodaran, where we speak about how Aswath gained his love for teaching and how it led to him becoming an expert in valuation. The episode quickly veered into a sharp critique of the shortcomings of ESG investing. We also discuss market efficiency as it relates to active vs. passive investing, his story approach to individual companies, the future of education, career advice for finance professionals and more.    Our hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA & guest host Chris Cannon, CFA (Chief Investment Officer, FirsTrust).   Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn.   Social Media:   LinkedIn Post (and Facebook): New episode w/ Aswath Damodaran, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA & Chris Cannon, CFA.   *Aswath’s love for teaching and how it led to him becoming an expert in valuation *A sharp critique of ESG investing *Market efficiency *His story approach to individual companies *Future of education and career advice for finance professionals   Enjoy! Insert link here   Twitter Post: New episode w/ Aswath Damodaran, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA & Chris Cannon, CFA. We discuss his love for teaching, his story approach for individual companies, a sharp critique of ESG investing and more.   Show Notes:  NYU Homepage: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/ Writing: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar Data: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar Tools: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar Musings on Markets blog: https://aswathdamodaran.substack.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLvnJL8htRR1T9cbSccaoVw

Today we host Phil Hayes, The ESOP Guy, where we speak about how Phil went from banker to Managing Partner of a large regional accounting firm (as a non-CPA) to now becoming an expert in ESOP’s.     In today’s episode, we speak about exit strategies in general, where ESOP’s fit, the mechanics of ESOP transactions and the tax advantages of this structure. We then bounce around and discuss everything all at once ranging from 1042 exchanges with qualified replacement property, to whether this is a good deal for BOTH the owners and the employees and much more.     Our hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA & guest host Chris Cannon, CFA (Chief Investment Officer, FirsTrust).   Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn.   Social Media:   LinkedIn Post (and Facebook): New episode w/ Phil Hayes, Partner at Berman Hopkins, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA & Chris Cannon, CFA.   *Journey from banker to Managing Partner of Regional accounting firm to ESOP expert *The ESOP Guy podcast *Exit strategies and where ESOP’s fit for business owners *Tax advantages *1042 qualified replacement property *Is this a good deal for BOTH seller and employees?    Enjoy! Insert link here   Twitter Post: New episode w/ Phil Hayes, Partner at Berman Hopkins, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA & Chris Cannon, CFA. We discuss the ESOP Guy podcast, goodness of fit for business owners, tax advantages, 1042 qualified replacement property, and whether this a good deal for all parties involved.    Show Notes:  https://www.journeytoanesop.com https://www.bermanhopkins.com/ https://www.esopassociation.org/resources https://www.nceo.org/find-your-resource https://www.esop.org

Our guest today is Peter Atwater, President of Financial Insyghts and an adjunct professor at William & Mary and the University of Delaware. He studies the impact of changing confidence on consumer decision-making, using his research to advise investors, business leaders, and policymakers. In 2023, he released the book, The Confidence Map: Charting a Path from Chaos to Clarity.    In today’s episode, Peter walks through some of the key topics in the world today, including the dominance of U.S. stocks, the rise of grifters in the past few years, why he coined the term K-Shape Recovery in 2020. Everything Peter discusses is through the lens of the decision-making framework laid out in his recent book, which is the best writing about the way feelings of confidence and vulnerability relate to the markets at any given time.    Our co-hosts today are Chris Cannon, CFA, and myself, Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guest today is Orlando’s own fantasy football expert, KC Joyner. KC used to work for ESPN and now runs his own website called The Football Scientist. We’ve had lots of amazing podcast guests since we started in March 2020, but since last year’s episode with KC was the second most downloaded episode of any episode we’ve had, we had to invite him back on.     In today’s episode, KC explains how another past podcast guest Peter Zeihan’s geopolitical framework applies to fantasy football. We cover a range of topics to get you prepped for your draft, and KC was kind enough to give our listeners a discount to his draft guide, so visit www.thefootballscientist.com and use the code CFA for a discount on his draft guide and season-long packages.    Our co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA, and myself, Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.    Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guest today is Cameron Dawson, Chief Investment Officer of NewEdge Wealth. Cameron is a Florida native, Rollins college graduate and former board member of the CFA Society of Orlando.  In today’s episode, Cameron talks about her overall view of the markets. She touches on value, emerging markets, alternatives, and why she’s keeping a close eye on the Bank of Japan going forward.  Our co-hosts today are Chris Cannon, CFA, and myself, Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guests today are David Lau and Wade Pfau. These two individuals have been collaborating for quite some time to solve retirement income puzzles for investors. David has been doing it with DPL, bridging the gap between low cost insurance and Fee Only wealth management firms. On the other hand, Wade has been approaching retirement solutions from the academic lens with rigorous research.    In today’s episode, we discuss the potential blind spot in Fee-Only wealth management firms as it relates to insurance and annuities, whether insurance and investments should be comingled and the concept of the outsourced Chief Insurance Officer. We break down the cost of certain products and discuss the puzzles that David and Wade are trying to solve for retirees seeking stable income sources. We also discuss if Ken Fisher is a fiduciary, what products should exist that don’t currently exist, recreating your grandparents pension with lower cost products and whether long term care insurance products are cost efficient for retirees.    Wade will receive the award as the most resilient guest of the Investors First Podcast, as he was kind enough to join us while on a trip in Japan and even experienced two earthquakes while recording the episode.    Our host today is Steve Curley, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.   Follow CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL   Social Media:   LinkedIn Post (and Facebook): New episode w/ David Lau, DPL & Dr. Wade Pfau, RISA, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA.    *Breaking down a commission free insurance product *The challenges of market volatility and homemade dividends in retirement *Credit risk associated w/ the implicit guarantee in insurance products *Is Ken Fisher a fiduciary?   Enjoy!   Twitter Post: New episode w/ David Lau & Dr. Wade Pfau, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA. We break down commission free insurance products for Fee-Only Advisors, the challenges of homemade dividends for retirees with total return approaches, whether Ken Fisher is a fiduciary and the concept of the Outsourced Chief Insurance Officer.   https://www.dplfp.com https://risaprofile.com https://retirementresearcher.com/ https://www.mcleanam.com/ https://www.theamericancollege.edu/our-people/faculty/wade-pfau

In today’s episode, we host Wes Gray, CEO of Alpha Architect. Founded in 2010, Alpha Architect is a research focused quant firm that put themselves on the map offering value and momentum factor exposures, but it doesn’t stop there. Wes and his group have evolved to offer advanced tax strategies in the form of ETF’s, separately managed accounts (SMA’s), and ETF white-labeled services. Wes has an incredible bio that starts with humble beginnings growing up on a ranch. He later becomes a Captain in the US Marine Corps followed by earning his MBA & PhD studying under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama at the University of Chicago.    This episode is centered around investments and tax minimization, starting with why Wes moved to Puerto Rico a few years ago. We discuss his bio and his mission for Alpha Architect & ETF Architect. We focus the rest of the episode on tax efficiency for asset owners, starting with white labeling ETF’s, creative conversions to ETF’s, whether direct indexing is currently oversold, post ESOP investment strategies, box spreads as an alternative to T-Bills and more.    Hosting today’s episode is myself Steve Curley, CFA & guest host Frank Garcia, CFA.    Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn.   Social Media:   LinkedIn Post (and Facebook): New episode w/ Wes Gray, CEO of Alpha Architect, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA & Frank Garcia, CFA.    *PR Act 60 (Preferred Tax Status for Puerto Rico Residents) *Bio/Mission if Alpha Architect & ETF Architect *White labeling ETF’s & creative ETF conversions *Direct indexing, oversold? *Box spreads as an alternative to T-Bills *Post ESOP investment strategies   Enjoy! Insert link here   Twitter Post: New episode w/ Wes Gray, CEO of Alpha Architect & ETF Architect. We discuss everything tax, from PR Act 60, to his firm’s mission & focus on tax efficient investments, white labeling ETF’s, creative ETF conversions, direct indexing being oversold, box spreads instead of T-Bills & more.    Show Notes:  Alpha Architect: https://alphaarchitect.com/about ETF Architect: https://etfarchitect.com/ Box spreads: https://alphaarchitect.com/2023/05/box-spreads-an-alternative-to-treasury-bills/ March for the Fallen: https://alphaarchitect.com/mftf/ Democratize Quant: https://alphaarchitect.com/democratizequant/ How to Start an ETF: https://alphaarchitect.com/2021/11/how-to-start-an-etf-resources-and-faq/