Enterprising Investor

In Episode #319, Wesley Gray delivers a thorough discussion and analysis of factor investing. Gray explores the limits to arbitrage, making a compelling case for investing using opportunities that others hypothesize should not exist.

In Episode #318, Russell Napier, ASIP, discusses global financial risks. He explores central banking, emerging markets, and global asset allocation. In particular, Napier hones in on the fragility of today's global debt situation and suggests that the present monetary system may not make it.

In Episode #317, Teresa C. Barger discusses her firm's approach to successful emerging market investing. Her approach might be best characterized as influential activism, in contrast with adversarial activism. She tries to work with her target companies to persuade them to adopt practices that she believes will unlock hidden value.

In Episode #316, Randall S. Kroszner, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, discusses his views on fragilities faced by emerging market economies and recommendations to counter them.

In Episode #315, Ming Shu, CFA, partner at Lingfeng Capital and former chief strategist of Ant Financial, shares his thoughts on the subject with us. Ming Shu's unique experience of having worked with many aspects of the FinTech ecosystem makes his views particularly interesting. He will discuss how artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data are finding applications in the areas of consumer finance, wealth management, and insurance in China.

In Episode #314, Jean Brunel, CFA, gives advice and insights for setting up a goals-based wealth management practice.

In Episode #313, Michele Wucker, author of The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Respond to the Obvious Dangers We Ignore, discusses the duress being suffered by the twin paramount institutions of the 20th century, capitalism, and democracy. Wucker provides reasons for why these institutions' wounds are both self-inflicted, and a matter of misfortune. Will the institutions survive until the end of the 21st century? If so, she proposes some important changes that must occur.

In Episode #3012, Larry Cao, CFA, spoke with Robert P. Browne, CFA, EVP and CIO of Northern Trust, about his team's investment process. From quantitative approaches and factor analysis to more fundamental approaches, such as macroeconomic and valuation analysis, Browne shares his perspectives on the pertinent topics and, more importantly, on how to tie them together. Browne also spoke on their market outlook and where they see opportunities in the market. Are equities expensive after the sharp run-ups? Are bonds at risk given the rising interest rate environment in the US? Tune in, and find out for yourself.

In Episode #311, Frank Lu, Director of the Blockchain Department at Ping An OneConnect, a former IBMer, and co-author of the HyperLedger white paper, lays out his view of where the true value of blockchain lies. He will discuss hurdles of blockchain adoption, as well as how the business models may evolve for blockchain. The interview was conducted by Larry Cao, CFA, at the LendIt China 2017 conference in Shanghai.

In Episode #310, Willis Sparks, director of global macro at Eurasia Group, argues that geopolitics is an important subject deserving of the attention of all investment professionals. Sparks believes an understanding of geopolitics is both a source of both alpha and an important consideration in risk management. Additionally, Sparks takes viewers around the globe to discuss the geopolitical hot spots deserving of investors' attention right now.

In Episode #309, Elizabeth Ostrander, CFA, discusses some of the common approaches to managing such concentrated positions, including a recent "stock protection fund" innovation that involves investors pooling a cash buffer to diminish or negate losses over time. Whether the result of equity-based compensation from employment at public companies, or the rewards of a liquidity event borne of entrepreneurial success, concentrated single-stock positions are a relatively common circumstance for wealthy individuals. Clients may prefer to maintain ownership for a variety of reasons, leaving a significant risk management challenge for the advisor.

In Episode #308, Daniel S. Meader, CFA, founder and a managing partner of Trinity Private Equity Group, discusses his firm's investment philosophy.

In Episode #301, Joel Bruckenstein, an expert on applied technology for financial professionals and publisher of Technology Tools for Today (T3), discusses cyber-security, improving the client experience, the rise robo-advisers, what's in store for financial technology in the near future, and more.

In Episode #306, Adrienne Penta, executive director of the Brown Brothers Harriman Center for Women & Wealth, discusses this problem—explaining what women clients want from their financial advisers and how advisers can better serve this important segment of their clientele. Women control more wealth than ever in the United States, tend to outlive men by about 15 years, and make or contribute to 90% of US philanthropic decisions. And yet there is a major disconnect: Many women are not satisfied with what the wealth management industry is offering them.

In Episode #305, Keisuke Ito, CFA, head of investment technology at Mizuho–DL Financial Technology, shares his perspectives. Robo advice is all the rage in wealth management, particularly in developed markets such as the United States. What is the potential for robo advice in Japan and the rest of Asia? Will robo-advisers replace all human advisers, or will they peacefully coexist? And how do such megabanks as Mizuho balance their traditional channels with the robo advice channel?

In Episode #304, Anthony Serhan, managing director of the Asia Pacific Research Strategy at Morning Star, will provide his insights into these important questions that will shape the "future of investment advice." The need and demand for attention toward the end client has never been higher. Investment advice is one of the high impact areas within financial services where this need has been growing. Is the "advice for a fee model" where the end customer decides the fee, the right model? What roles do technology and robo-advisory have to play?

In Episode #303, Mebane Faber, co-founder and chief investment officer at Cambria Investment Management, takes a quantitative approach to investing. In this brief interview, he shares his views on common behavioral pitfalls, active management, shareholder yield, and the exaggerated impact of asset allocation on returns.

In Episode #302, Frank Murtha, co-founder of MarketPsych, a behavioral finance consulting firm, has researched investor psychology extensively to better understand why investors often make irrational decisions. In this interview, Murtha explains how personality affects investing, how important self-awareness is, and how investors can mitigate their behavioral blind spots. He also identifies some of the common traits of successful financial advisers.

In Episode #301, Freya Beamish, a senior economist at Lombard Street Research with extensive knowledge of China and Japan, answers whether Chinese zombie debt provides a threat to the wider economy, if Abenomics is a success or failure, and offers her insights into the RMB/USD exchange rate.

In Episode #300, David Brear, co-founder and CEO of 11:FS, a fintech consultancy, explains why he believes this is the case, what he's most excited about in fintech, and what the future looks like.

In Episode #299, BlackRock managing director and CIO of model-based fixed income strategies, Thomas B. Parker, CFA, describes the three major super-cycles coming to a close and the investment opportunities that exist therein. Also, listen as he provides a very contrarian view about the role of central banks in the current interest rate environment.

In Episode #298, Kristin J. Ceva, CFA, managing principal at Payden & Rygel, briefly discusses how to invest in emerging market fixed income. She specifically addresses the three things you must get right, common fictions, and the biggest obstacles.

In Episode #297, Lucy Kellaway, author and long-time columnist for the Financial Times, talks about her storied career poking fun at management fads, jargon, and the vagaries of office life.

In Episode #296, Larry Cao, CFA, recently sat down with Hao Hong, CFA, chief strategist of Bank of Communications International, and discussed these questions. In The Chinese economy has been the focal point for many investors around the world given its slowing growth. Has the investment-driven growth phase come to an end? Have real estate developers finally come to accept that the "if you build it, they will come" era is finally over? Will supply-side reforms save the day?

In Episode #296, Sallie Krawcheck discusses why it is critical that women invest, why the investment management is lagging when it comes to gender diversity, and what needs to be done to improve diversity across the industry. The US is facing a retirement savings crisis. But if you dig through the numbers, it is, in large part, a women's crisis, says Sallie Krawcheck, founder and CEO of Ellevest, a digital investment platform for women, and the owner and chair of Ellevate Network.

In Episode #295, Larry Cao, CFA, recently sat down with Chris Ryan, managing director and head of the Asia Pacific region for MSCI in Hong Kong, and discussed these questions. This summer, investors anxiously waiting for MSCI's decision on whether to add China. A shares to the MSCI index were met with another disappointment. For the third year in a row, MSCI decided against including China A shares in its popular emerging market index. What are the general criteria a market needs to satisfy for it to be included? What's missing from the China A shares market and what will it take for China A shares to be added?

In Episode #294, Greg Valliere discusses the possible implications of the US presidential election. In particular, he highlights winning businesses and sectors resulting from the election of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

In Episode #293, Leah Joy Zell, CFA, shares the triumphs and tribulations of international small cap investing. Though she has produced an excellent long-term track record, Zell says she doesn't get sucked into predicting market movements. Rather, she focuses on bottom-up analysis supplemented by her deep knowledge of history in local markets. By having the flexibility to roam around the world in search of opportunities, she also feels that the combination of discipline and flexibility gives her firm a distinct advantage.

In Episode #292, we sat down with Yuichi Chiguchi, Head of Multi-Asset Strategies, BlackRock Japan, to discuss the best practices in managing these strategies. He also shared his views on whether long-term investing works in Japan given the slump in its stock market in recent decades and how he and his team are navigating the negative interest rate environment and finding opportunities in the Japanese bond market.

In Episode #290, Kazuhisa Okamoto, CFA, from I-O Wealth Advisors in Tokyo, formerly President of CFA Society Japan and CEO of Barclays Global Investors Japan, offered an explanation from the angle of Japan's deep cultural heritage and, in particular, the "merchants' way" (as opposed to the "samurai's way" that is well known in popular culture), the origin of which traces back to the Endo era.

In Episode #291, Ashby Monk discusses how leading investors are making use of these emergent technologies. Technology has been a force in investment management since the telegraph machine, but recent developments are intensifying the pace of change. As executive and research director of the global projects center at Stanford University, Ashby Monk is a frontline observer of what these changes mean for the world's major investors.

In Episode #288, Energy expert Amy Myers Jaffe walks through the breadth of innovation in the energy markets both in traditional energy sources (e.g., oil) and so-called alternative energy technologies (e.g., solar). Energy breakthroughs have lowered the costs of alternatives dramatically and provide a viable channel for both capital investment and government policy to flow. In particular, Jaffe expects a wave of climate change related policies to push economies more forcefully into alternatives going forward.

In Episode #289, Rupal J. Bhansali, a value investor whose patience and emphasis on risk management has helped set her apart from her peers, draws the important distinction between risk and volatility, addresses the perils of "value traps," and shares other valuable lessons that she has learned over the course of her investing career.

In Episode #287, Dr. Daniel Goleman, best-selling author of Emotional Intelligence and A Force For Good, the Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World, discusses the role of empathy in emotional intelligence and ways emotional intelligence can help finance professionals succeed and be a force for good.

In Episode #286, Investment manager and author Jacques Lussier, CFA, discusses what, other than superior analytical abilities, leads to investment manager outperformance, as well as the proper way of assessing investment manager performance. Hint: a factor-based approach is his preference. Additionally, Lussier discusses the important role that risk management has in driving outperformance, as well as what kinds of clients make for the best kind of client for investment managers.

In Episode #285, Sir Bob Geldof, a businessman, political activist, songwriter, musician, author, and former lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, sat down with John Authers of The Financial Times following the 69th CFA Institute Annual Conference to talk about Geldof's journey from rock star to private equity investor. Amid the topics discussed: What's the case for investing in Africa? Why aren't more investors harnessing the continent's prospects? What about concerns about corruption? And, where in Ethiopia is 8 Miles LLP, the London-based private-equity firm he chairs, finding investment opportunities?

In Episode #284, Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte Frontier Advisory, discusses the coming demand shock for some emerging markets, the relationship between China and Africa, and what needs to happen for emerging markets to divorce themselves from moves in commodities and simple currency fluctuations. The Take 15 Series is a series of short interviews with leading practitioners on timely topics focused on the investment profession.

In Episode #283, Chester Santos, one of the world's foremost experts on memory training and the 2008 USA Memory Champion, discusses why it's important for financial professionals to exercise their memories. Santos reviews the three main principles of memorization—visualization, invoking additional senses, and applying creativity; and offers practical tips on how to become better at remembering people's names.

In Episode #282, Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and founder of Life Planning Partners, tells CFA Institute why it is essential that financial advisers talk to their clients about their health and then walks us through the components of a health care discussion.

In Episode #281, Joshua M. Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, the persona behind the highly successful financial blog, The Reformed Broker, talks about his views on the Obama administration's push for a fiduciary standard for brokers; the story behind his "reformation"; the outlook for fintech; how social media has helped business; and who he considers "must-reads."

In Episode #280, John Kay asks which design principles can financial service providers use for building products that can help investors achieve their goals.

In Episode #279, Borderless markets have made it easier for fund managers to seamlessly invest in equities. Yet, country allocation and local risk factors are among dominant considerations for global fund managers. In this interview, Aswath Damodaran discusses approaches and limitations in equity country selection.

In Episode #278, David Schawel, CFA, discusses the appropriate role for fixed income as investors contemplate the end of a thirty year bull market in rates. Schawel also discusses how professional investors use Twitter and his outlook for Marketplace lending.

In Episode #276, Halla Tomasdottir, Founder and CEO of Sisters Capital, outlines the arguments for a more balanced approach and evaluates the connections to a more sustainable financial services industry.

In Episode #276, Jon Moog at US-based Lizard Investors discusses why international small cap investing should come with a warning label, "Don't try this at home." While opportunities abound for the savvy investor, poor corporate governance, illiquidity, and lax accounting standards are just some of the risks Moog and his colleagues wrestle with as part of their due diligence process. Learn about the importance of "time arbitrage" as well as risks and rewards of international small cap investing in this brief interview with a well-travelled industry veteran.

In Episode #275, Dan Ariely, as he provides a more rational approach to money and opportunity costs. There is a rational or right way as well as an irrational or wrong of thinking about money. As human beings we are prone to thinking about money in the wrong way, but fortunately, there are some things we can do about our irrationality.

In Episode #274, Elizabeth Collins, CFA, of Morningstar explains how investors can generate alpha through the disciplined application of their Moats methodology and fundamental equity valuation principles.

In Episode #273, Ronald G. Layard-Liesching, chairman and founder, Mountain Pacific Group, a firm dedicated to risk management, quantitative finance, and currency investing discusses the current interrelationship of currencies with financial markets, and a particularly troubling scenario for which most investors are unprepared.

In Episode #272, Karin Kimbrough, managing director and head of macro and economic policy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, discusses how central banks' quantitative easing has affected both global economic and productivity growth.

In Episode #271, Will Ortel sits down with an investor, Ron Bruder, who has made the transition in the hopes that others can learn from his journey. Ron Bruder established Education for Employment at the beginning of the century to target the problem of Arab youth unemployment. Since that time, his foundation has spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa and won acclaim from the World Economic Forum, The Guardian, and former US President Bill Clinton. In this interview, Bruder discusses how he chose to dedicate himself to philanthropy, the tools he has found useful, and how philanthropy can influence the future.