The Investors First Podcast

Our guest today is Dr. Vincent Milhau, who is a Research Director of the EDHEC-Risk Institute. Vincent is in charge of several research projects at the Institute in the fields of portfolio optimization and asset allocation for institutional and individual investors. Most of these projects are funded by large industry players interested in the latest advances in risk management and asset allocation. His main focus is on goal-based investing or GBI and it is what we focus on in the episode.   Vincent has a diverse academic background that ranges from his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at University of Paris to graduate work in modeling, statistics and finance. He finished his academic studies with his PhD in Finance from University of Nice, where the EDHEC Risk Institute is located.   In this episode, we discuss a variety of topics centered around GBI, with the focus on retirement investing for individuals. Our listeners will receive a primer on GBI, flaws with existing strategies, new ways we can address the retirement problem and more.   Please enjoy the episode.    Our local co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA (President of CFA Society Orlando) & Sebastien Gault, CFA (Member of CFA Society Orlando, who is originally from Nice).   Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL   Links:   Website: https://risk.edhec.edu Papers/Books: Advances in Retirement Investing (2020, Martellini, Milhau) https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/advances-in-retirement-investing/E097D7D585051A8BFCEDE518F40562DC Securing Replacement Income with Goals-Based Retirement Investing Strategies (2020, Martellini, Milhau, Mulvey) https://risk.edhec.edu/publications/securing-replacement-income-goal-based-0 “Flexicure” Retirement Solutions: A Part of the Answer to the Pension Crisis? (Martinelli, Milhau, Mulvey) https://risk.edhec.edu/publications/flexicure-retirement-solutions-part-answer-0   About EDHEC Risk Institute: In 2001, EDHEC Business School created EDHEC-Risk Institute, a premier academic centre for industry-relevant research in investment management, which has developed a portfolio of research and educational initiatives in the domain of investment solutions for institutional and individual investors. The institute, in partnership with industry leaders, boasts a team of permanent professors, engineers and support staff, as well as affiliate professors and research associates. Their collective work has a particularly significant footprint in the areas of risk premia harvesting, retirement investing and sustainable investing. Its philosophy is to validate its work by publishing in international academic journals, as well as to make it available to the sector through position papers, published studies, online courses, on-campus workshops and global conferences. To ensure the dissemination of its research to the investment industry, EDHEC-Risk also provides professionals with access to its website, https://risk.edhec.edu, which has more than 120,000 visitors and is devoted to asset and risk management research, with a focus on investment solutions. Finally, its quarterly newsletter is distributed to over 100,000 readers.  

Bill Brewster, CFA is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Sullimar Capital Group. Bill hosts the popular podcast, The Business Brew, and is also a co-host on the very popular series, Value After Hours, with Tobias Carlisle and Jake Taylor.   In today’s episode, Bill starts by explaining his windy road to be the value investor he is today. Then we spend some time talking about Robinhood and the gamification of the app. Bill shares the tragic story of his cousin-in-law who took his own life after Robinhood incorrectly showed he owed over $100,000 in his account and did not respond to his messages until after he passed. As we see more and more younger individuals start to trade on platforms like Robinhood over the past year, this is a really important conversation to be had.  Finally, we talk about Bill’s personal journey to be open minded and talk with people who have opposing views, and share his conversations publicly through both podcasts he hosts.     Resources Discussed: Freetrade podcast   Today’s episode is co-hosted by Chris Cannon, CFA, and Colby Donovan.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guest today is Mike Welker, CFA, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee at AndCo Consulting.   In today’s episode, we begin with Mike’s background, hearing how playing basketball at Rollins College brought him from Indiana to Central Florida. Mike shares the story of how he joined AndCo soon after the firm was founded in the early 2000’s and what led him to become the majority owner in 2015. Then we dive into AndCo’s consulting business. He shares the profile of a typical AndCo client, how the firm evaluates active managers, and how clients are handling lower return expectations by increasing their allocation to alternatives.     Our local co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA and Colby Donovan. Please enjoy the episode.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guest today is Anthony Scaramucci, founder and Co-Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital. In November 2016, Mr. Scaramucci was named to President-Elect Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee and served as the White House Communications Director for a brief period in July 2017.   In this episode, we discuss his professional journey as a first generation college graduate, then working for Goldman Sachs and becoming a serial entrepreneur. We talk about his brief stint in the White House, lessons learned from the experience and why it’s important to control your ego. Then we hear about what he’s most excited about right now: the SkyBridge Bitcoin fund, which was just approved at the start of 2021, and hear why he’s bullish on the space.   Our local co-hosts today are Steve Curley, CFA and Colby Donovan. Please enjoy the episode.    Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL        

Our guest today is Professor Tamar Frankel, a long-time member of the Boston University School of Law faculty who writes and teaches in the areas of fiduciary law, corporate governance, mutual funds and the regulation of the financial system. In 2013, the Institute for Fiduciary Standard established the annual Frankel Fiduciary Prize in her honor to award individuals who advance fiduciary principles. WealthManagerWeb has named her among the 50 Top Women in Wealth Management. In today’s episode, Tamar explains what led her to spend her career focusing on fiduciary law and what it means to be a fiduciary. We talk about conflicts of interest within the advisory space and what regulatory suggestions she has to help eliminate them. We spend a lot of time around soft topics like trust, honesty and kindness and why we would all benefit more if we focused more on those.   Today’s episode is hosted by Chris Cannon, CFA, Chief Investment Officer at FirsTrust and board member for CFA Society of Orlando. Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Our guest today is Dr. Campbell R. Harvey, who for the past 35 years has served as Professor of Finance at Duke University. Professor Harvey has also served as Partner/Senior Advisor to Research Affiliates, LLC and Advisor to Man Group. He served as Editor of the Journal of Finance from 2006 to 2012 and as the 2016 President of the American Finance Association. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Chicago, MBA from York University and a BA from University of Toronto. Dr. Harvey has published over 125 scholarly articles on a variety of topics and has received many awards, including the following: Most recently, he won the 2020 Quant of the Year Award from the Journal of Portfolio Management. 8 Graham & Dodd Awards/Scrolls for excellence in financial writing from the CFA Institute. 2016 & 2015 Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for Best Article from Journal of Portfolio Management for his research on differentiating luck vs. skill. In this episode, we start by discussing how he got into finance and what he is most famous for, his research on the yield curve indicator (including his time at the University of Chicago under Nobel laureate Professor Eugene Fama), which has continued to be powerful in predicting recessions, including the current one. Further, we cover the risk of low interest rates, the expanding balance sheet of the U.S. Government, PPP loans, using gold as a risk against unexpected inflation, and more. Last, we discuss topics from one of the most popular finance courses in the country, Innovation & Cryptoventures, a class he has taught for the past five years, a course that focuses on the mechanics and applications of blockchain technology.   Please enjoy the episode.  Show host: Colby Donovan & Steve Curley, both board members with CFA Society Orlando. Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Dr. Gio Valiante, a performance coach for athletes and investors, discusses successful traits of his clients and how ordinary individuals can train like athletes to improve professional performance. They explore their journey from coaching amateurs to working with Steve Cohen. They also delve into the psychological effects of playing without crowds, the inspiring story of golfer Camilla Vijaygas, the power of morning routines, and the benefits of hiring an executive coach for performance and balance.

Our guest today is Meb Faber, Founder & Chief Investment Officer at Cambria Investment Management. He also hosts one of the top investment podcasts called The Meb Faber Show.   In this episode, talk about Meb’s quantitative approach to investing, embracing both value and trend following. We dive into one of his funds, $TAIL, and the entire thought process of how, when, and why to hedge your portfolio. We also talk about the benefits of a shareholder yield approach, and why he has started to do some private investing in over 200 companies. As we wind down, we have a fun quick Q&A on why he would describe himself as something other than a quant, why he would love to get in on SpaceX’s cap table, and how he loved the Tim Tebow days with the Denver Broncos. Today’s episode is hosted by Colby Donovan, Corporate Finance Associate at Truist Bank, and co-hosted with Chris Cannon, CFA, Chief Investment Officer at FirsTrust and board member for CFA Society of Orlando. Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL Resources Discussed: Invest With The House: Hacking The Top Hedge Funds Nobody Wants To Invest In Your Sh*t Overview of the $TAIL ETF

Our guest today is Marko Papic, Partner and Chief Strategist of Clocktower Group, an alternative investment management firm based in California. In 2011, he founded BCA Research's Geopolitical Strategy practice, the world's only dedicated investment consultancy focused on political analysis. He also recently wrote the book, Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future. In this episode we discuss why investors need to be cognizant of geopolitics for the first time in 40 years, his framework anyone can use to assess the impact of geopolitics, and what his views are on global assets and relations with a Biden administration.  He explains why the median voter in the U.S. has moved to the left and the impact that will have, and what constraints the government will face over the next two years. Our local co-host today is Steve Curley, CFA, CIO of WaterOak Advisors and current President of the CFA Society of Orlando. Please enjoy the episode.  Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL        

Our guest today is Adam Davidson, the CEO of the podcast company Three Uncanny Four and author of The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century. Adam is known for co-founding NPR’s Planet Money, one of the first and most popular business and economics podcast to this day. Our conversation today focuses on the passion economy and how finance professionals can thrive in the twenty-first century. Adam explains what the passion economy is, why some of the rules (like turning customers away) are counterintuitive but imperative, and what his career advice is to young professionals. He gives real examples of accountants and financial advisors, which he has an entire episode of his podcast dedicated to.  He finishes by touching on his new company, Three Uncanny Four, and the future of the podcast space. Our guest-host today is Frank Garcia, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Resource Consulting Group and Vice President of CFA Society of Orlando. Please enjoy the episode.    For more information on topics covered into the episode, see the information from a16z below: The Passion Economy and the Future of Work 16 Key Metrics for the Passion Economy Podcast: How the Passion Economy Is Redefining Work   Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL