
Educational Alpha
Listen in on conversations with host Bill Kelly and an eclectic group of guests within the world of finance. Hear about their professional or personal journeys, career and life advice, and perspectives on the industry. There’s always more to the story …
Latest episodes

Jul 5, 2023 • 26min
S1: Conversation with Christine Bourron, Founder, Pi-eX
In this episode, Bill interviews Christine Bourron, the founder of Pi-eX, a company that tracks the public auction market data in the art industry. The episode covers various topics, including fractionalization, NFTs, investing in art, and the democratization of access to products. Christine outlines Pi-eX’s methodology for creating an auction market index and the challenges of investing in art.

Jun 28, 2023 • 34min
S1: Convestion with Randy Cohen, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School
In this episode, Bill catches up with Randy Cohen, a seasoned educator who has taught investments and alts at Harvard Business School for 25 years. Randy dives into the current state of education and how the pace of technological change is disrupting the job market, leading to stress on educational institutions to keep up with new demands. He also explores the use of AI technology in education and recommends a book that predicted the invention of the iPad - Amazon Unbound by Jeff Bezos. This insightful discussion easily shifts to his thoughts on entrepreneurship and how private equity can add value to public markets. Listen in!
Links:
CAIA - Educational Alpha - https://caia.org/content/educational-alpha-podcast
HBS - Alternative Investments course - https://online.hbs.edu/courses/alternative-investments/
Dangerous Vision Podcast - https://www.mabvi.org/resources/dangerous-vision/
Field X course - https://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/6333.html

Jun 21, 2023 • 25min
S1: Conversation with Stacy Havener, Founder and CEO of Havener Capital
In this episode, Bill catches up with Stacy Havener, founder and CEO of Havener Capital. They discuss the importance of storytelling in the asset management industry and how it can shift the focus from asset gathering to creating value for clients while also diving into how the biases, norms, and outdated ways of thinking can be the antagonist in a story and how it's crucial to understand the client's hopes and dreams. Listen in!

Jun 14, 2023 • 25min
S1: Conversation with Stuart MacDonald, Chairman of Aaro Capital & Managing Partner at Bride Valley Partners
In this episode, Bill catches up with industry titan, Stuart MacDonald, Chairman of Aaro Capital. Stuart’s wealth of experience from over 30 years across top-tier global investment companies; his deep expertise in capital raising across alternative investment management and bankable technologies; his service on varied non-profit boards, and hosting the award-winning alternative investment radio show, The Naked Short Club, makes for an insightful and fascinating conversation. Listen in!

Jun 7, 2023 • 23min
S1: Conversation with Fiona Frick, Founder and Managing Partner, Circe Invest
In this episode, Bill talks with Fiona Frick, founder of Circe Invest and expert on investment allocation and sustainability issues. With over 30 years of experience in asset management, including 12 years as a CEO, Fiona is recognized by the financial industry as one of the most influential women in European finance. Dedicated to creating bridges between the finance industry, sustainability, and academia, she is a respected speaker on economics, financial markets, investment allocation, and the growth of sustainable finance. Listen in!

May 31, 2023 • 32min
S1: Conversation with Hossein Kazemi, PhD, CFA, Professor of Finance, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts and Senior Advisor, CAIA Association and FDP Institute
In this episode, Bill sits down with colleague Hossein Kazemi, Professor of Finance at the University of Massachusetts and Senior Advisor to CAIA Association and the Financial Data Professional Institute, to understand the new chatbot from OpenAI that is inspiring awe, fear, and stunts – ChatGPT. Hossein defines what the “G”, the “P”, and the “T” stand for, and the power and limitations of the tool that is even more advanced than we think. Listen in!

May 24, 2023 • 26min
S1: Conversation with David Lee Kuo Chuen, Professor, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
In this episode, Bill catches up with David Lee Kuo Chuen, professor of social sciences at Singapore University whose professional career could be described as a “diverse portfolio”. From his early days as a hedge fund manager, to researching bitcoin, crypto, and blockchain technology, to an educator of fintech and social impact, David’s career spans decades of continuous movement toward the forefront of investment and technology. Listen in!

May 17, 2023 • 26min
S1: Conversation with Mario Therrien, CFA , Head of Investment Funds and External Management at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
In this episode, Bill talks with Mario Therrien, Head of Investment Funds and External Management at CDPQ, a global investment group based in Montréal. The conversation spans from Mario’s insight on how working with a pension fund provides him with a deeper sense of the impact of generating alpha. Mario expresses how he strives to leave the industry in a better place than when he started. Listen in!

May 9, 2023 • 25min
S1: Conversation with Jennifer Murphy, CFA, founder and CEO of Runa Digital Assets, LLC and Alex Botte, CFA, CAIA, Head of Client & Portfolio Solutions at Runa Digital Assets, LLC
In this episode, Bill catches up with two guests from the digital assets space, Jennifer Murphy, Founder & CEO of Runa Digital Assets and Alex Botte, Head of Client & Portfolio Solutions at Runa. It’s no secret that the evolution of the “Web” has transformed our world. Its first phase, Web 1, opened the unprecedented availability of information, and Web 2’s interactive social and mobile applications created some of the world’s most powerful networks and most valuable companies. Listen in to hear how Jennifer and Alex believe digital assets to be the start of Web3.

May 3, 2023 • 23min
S1: Conversation with Stefania Di Bartolomeo, Founder, Physis Investment
In this episode, Bill hears from Stefania Di Bartolomeo, Founder of Physis Investment and self-described “Quant Humanist”. Early on, Stefania became the youngest impact investing fund manager in Europe. Since then, she has worked to fill the need for a “different” level of transparency to answer the next “big question” – How do we measure the impact of money on the planet? Listen in!