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The Investors First Podcast

Latest episodes

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May 4, 2023 • 47min

Jan van Eck, VanEck: Back to School, A Lesson in Financial History

Today we host Jan van Eck for the second time on the Investors First Podcast. Jan is the CEO of VanEck, a global asset manager with over $57 billion in assets under management, including ETF’s, mutual funds, SMA’s, UCITS and more. Since our first recording with Jan in April 2020, Jan took the initiative to create a financial history course at VanEck during the pandemic. Jan is a brilliant investment professional with a passion for financial history. Beyond VanEck’s work as a pioneer in the asset management business, we wanted to highlight the great work he is doing (beyond managing money) in this episode.    In today’s episode, we speak about Jan’s financial history curriculum, railroads as the first internet of the United States, the philosophical debate continuing between Hamiltonians and Jeffersonians, the concentration of power with ETF’s (and politicization of ESG), predicting the future and much more.    Our host today are Steve Curley, CFA & today’s guest host is Chris Cannon, CFA (Chief Investment Officer, FirsTrust).   Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Apr 6, 2023 • 52min

Rick Bookstaber & Govinda Quish, Fabric Risk - Current State of Banking & Risks of Contagion

Our guest today are Rick Bookstaber and Govinda Quish, co-founders at Fabric Risk, which provides factor-based risk management applications for investment advisors, consultants and family offices. This is the second time we have hosted Rick on our podcast, with this time focused on the current state of banking and the risks of contagion, as well as other risks in public and private markets. We encourage you to listen to our prior episode with Rick to learn more about his background or visit fabricrisk.com to learn more about their professional backgrounds. Hosting today’s episode is Steve Curley, CFA, co-founder of The Investors First Podcast & former President of CFA Orlando. Please enjoy the episode. Follow CFA Society of Orlando on LinkedIn & Twitter @CFAOrlandoFL. You can find every past episode of the The Investors First Podcast at investorsfirstpodcast.com.
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Feb 2, 2023 • 1h 12min

Dan Rasmussen & Bob Elliott - Replicating Private Equity/Hedge Funds in Public Markets

Our guests today are Dan Rasmussen and Bob Elliott. This is the first time both Dan and Bob have shared a podcast stage and they did not disappoint. In today’s episode, we discuss Dan and Bob’s time at Bain Capital and Bridgewater and how that experience led to founding their respective firms. We then discuss the idea of return smoothing in venture capital, whether active management has an edge in this market environment, is alpha just beta waiting to be discovered, the flaws of private market indices, and much more. Our host today is Steve Curley, CFA. Please enjoy the episode. BIO's: Dan is the Founder of Verdad, which is an independent research driven global asset management firm seeking to replicate private equity exposure in public markets. Prior to Verdad, Dan spent time at Bain Capital Private Equity and Bridgewater Associates. In 2017, Dan was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list. Dan earned an AB from Harvard College and a MBA from Stanford. Bob is Co-Founder, CEO and CIO of Unlimited Funds, which uses machine learning to create low cost ETF’s to replicate the returns of classic hedge fund strategies. Prior to Unlimited, Bob was at Bridgewater Associates, where he served on Bridgewater’s investment committee, led Ray Dalio’s personal research team and authored hundreds of Bridgewater’s widely read Daily Observations. Bob holds a BA in History and Science from Harvard. Follow CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL
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Jan 5, 2023 • 47min

Jeffrey Sherman, DoubleLine – 'Sherman Says' His Take on The Fed, Rates, & State of the Markets

Our guest today is Jeffrey Sherman, Deputy CIO of DoubleLine, which manages over $100 billion.  Jeffrey oversees and administers DoubleLine’s Investment Management sub-committee coordinating and implementing policies and processes across the investment teams. He also serves as lead portfolio manager for multi-sector and derivative-based strategies. In today’s episode, Jeffrey shares how he views the investment landscape as we kick off a new year. He touches on inflation, interest rates, and whether or not he expects a Fed pivot. He also shares where he sees opportunity in the market today, specifically in the credit markets. Our co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA, and Colby Donovan, CFA. Please enjoy the episode.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL
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Nov 29, 2022 • 45min

Mark Brewer, Central Florida Foundation: Strategic Philanthropy: Head, Heart & Wallet

Our guest today is Mark Brewer, President and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation. Mark frequently advises private and corporate foundation grantmakers across the region and plays a public policy advisory role on strategy and advisory boards around the state of Florida.   Our conversation on this Giving Tuesday focuses on the role philanthropy in society, best practices on how to be strategic about causes you choose to support, and the major areas of need in Central Florida today.   Our co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA, and Colby Donovan. Please enjoy the episode.    Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL
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Nov 3, 2022 • 58min

David Berns & Mike Taylor, Simplify: Finance for a Cure

Our guests today are David Berns & Mike Taylor. David Berns is Chief Investment Officer & Co-Founder of Simplify Asset Management, which is focused on creating hedge fund and structured product strategies in a liquid, transparent, tax-efficient and low cost vehicle (ETF’s). David has a PhD in Physics from MIT in the field of Quantum Computation. Mike Taylor is Portfolio Manager for the health care strategy at Simplify, which is one of the most unique strategies in the investment management industry, with all net profits donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. He has spent the last two decades managing hedge fund strategies at funds including Millennium, Citadel and Diamondback Capital. Mike holds advanced degrees in Science and Business from the Johns Hopkins University and the William E. Simon School of Business. In today’s episode, we discuss how Simplify was created and how the idea for their health care strategy came together. We then discuss Mike’s hedge fund career, how managing a long only health care ETF differs from hedge fund investing and much more. We recorded this episode in October for breast cancer awareness month and we wanted to highlight the great work Simplify is doing with Susan G. Komen, using finance as a cause for good. This is the first 100% pro bono ETF, with all net profits donated for the benefit of Susan G. Komen Foundation. Our hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA, past President of CFA Society Orlando and co-founder of the Investors First Podcast, and Javier Perez, CFA, also a past President of CFA Society Orlando & Director at Skyview Investment Advisors. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Oct 6, 2022 • 48min

Dr. Sean Snaith, UCF: Florida Economic Update & Predicting Recessions

Dr. Snaith is the Director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting and a nationally recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting. An award-winning forecaster, researcher and professor, Snaith applies academic expertise to solve real-world problems. He has served as a consultant for local governments and multi-national corporations such as Compaq, Dell and IBM.  Snaith holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. Snaith frequently is interviewed in national and regional media and is a sought-after speaker. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Economist and CNNMoney.com and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Network and Business News Network, based in Toronto. Sean correctly called the end of the great financial crisis in June 2009. Prior to that, Snaith was named by Bloomberg News as one of the nation's most accurate forecasters in 2008. In 2007, he was named California’s most accurate forecaster by the Western Blue Chip Consensus Forecast. In this episode, we will talk about the Fed, inflation, and discuss how we are headed for a pasta-bowl recession. We focus the rest of the episode on the state of Florida and potential headwinds to growth such as rising housing costs, supply chain shortages, labor market shortages, and high overall inflation. Last, we discuss ways the state of Florida (and particularly Central Florida) can best position itself for future growth. Our host today is Steve Curley, CFA, prior President of CFA Society Orlando, current board member & co-founder of The Investors First Podcast. Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Sep 22, 2022 • 31min

Zach Conway, Seeds Investor: ESG, Values Based Investing & Bespoke Portfolios

Our guest today is Zach Conway, Founder and CEO of Seeds Investor. Seeds Investor is a new wealth technology platform designed to empower advisors to better understand investors and deliver the personalized portfolios that align. In addition to Seeds, Zach is a Managing Director with the Conway Wealth Group, a private advisory firm based in Parsippany, New Jersey. Prior to the Conway Group, Zach served as Editorial Manager at Standard & Poor’s. Zach is a contributor to Forbes, Founder of the Leader Board and Co-Founder of the Life & Health Network. Zach earned his bachelors degree from Gettysburg College. In today’s episode, we discuss current headwinds in ESG, actor Adrian Grenier’s involvement with Seeds Investor, tailored portfolios with values based investing and eliminating Fund/ETF wrappers from client conversations with direct investing. Our host today is Steve Curley, CFA, board member & past President of CFA Society Orlando, as well as co-founder of the Investors First Podcast. Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Sep 8, 2022 • 45min

Andrew Beer, Dynamic Beta Investments: Replicating Hedge funds in an ETF Wrapper

Our guest today is Andrew Beer, Managing Member and Co-Portfolio manager for Dynamic Beta Investments, an investment firm founded in 2012. Over the past decade, Andrew’s singular focus has been to identify strategies to match or outperform portfolios of leading hedge funds with low fees, daily liquidity, and less downside risk. Andrew has been in and around the financial services and hedge fund industry in particular for more than 25 years. In today’s episode, we will discuss Andrew’s journey to starting dynamic beta, democratizing access to hedge fund strategies at a reasonable costs, the benefits of replication and managed futures for portfolios, and building investment solutions to solve for client needs. My name is Frank Garcia and I currently serve as the president of CFA Society Orlando and will be your host today. Please enjoy the episode.   https://www.dynamicbeta.com/ Follow Andrew on Twitter: @Andrewdbeer1 FranklyFinances.com Follow Frank on Twitter: @franklyfinances
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Aug 18, 2022 • 49min

KC Joyner, The Football Scientist: A Buffett/Munger Approach to Fantasy Football

Our guest today is KC Joyner, a fantasy football guru and pioneer of the football analytics revolution, featured on ESPN and The Athletic. He is Founder of the Football Scientist, a data analytics subscription service designed to help you win your fantasy football league. KC left his career in telecom to pursue a lifelong dream of writing a Bill James-style book about football. 19 months later, his detailed tape breakdowns of the 2003 and 2004 season led to the self-publication of Joyner’s groundbreaking book Scientific Football in 2005. Since his first book was released, he has joined forced with the likes of ESPN and most recently the writing team at The Athletic. KC is a nationally published author and his other books include Blindsided, Why the Left Tackle is Overrated and Other Contrarian Football Thoughts. In today’s episode, we discuss KC’s background and how the The Football Scientist publication came to be. We then dive in to the quant approach he uses for fantasy football and how it could help you win your league this year, with several stops in between. Our hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA and Colby Donovan, current board members of CFA Society Orlando. Please enjoy the episode. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Social Media: LinkedIn Post (and Facebook): New episode w/ KC Joyner, Founder of Football Scientist, hosted by Steve Curley, CFA and Colby Donovan. *KC’s background and the research and book that put him on the map *His pursuit of a Bill James style of advanced analytics for the National Football League *Time w/ ESPN, the Athletic & more *How to win your fantasy football league this year, with actionable ideas for this year’s draft Enjoy! Insert link here (and please add KC’s twitter handle to below) Twitter Post: New episode w/ the Football Scientist KC Joyner, his background & the book that put him on the map, his pursuit of Bill James style analytics for NFL, time w/ ESPN, & how to win your fantasy football league this year. Show Notes:thefootballscientist.com (use code “CFA” to save on draft guide)https://theathletic.com/3359667/2022/06/23/warren-buffett-fantasy-football-strategy/

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