The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

In episode 219 we welcome our guest, Sir Paul Collier. In today’s episode, we’re talking economics and capitalism. We kick things off by covering some instances of the derailment of capitalism. We go all the way back to the mid-1800s to Bradford England’s industrial rise, the ensuing health crisis, and how capitalism responded. We walk forward to talk about the divide between metropolis and provincial cities, and the new class divide. We discuss psychological and economic issues facing what professor Collier refers to as, “left behind countries.” We then shift to a thoughtful discussion of prescriptions to these problems, and the factors that need to work in harmony to create common purpose. All this and more in episode 219 with Sir Paul Collier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 218 we welcome our guest, Adam Karr. In today’s episode, we’re talking stocks and investment process. We cover Orbis’ investment philosophy, and the relentless focus on companies trading at a discount to intrinsic value through a bottom-up analysis process. Adam offers thoughts on the current environment and why he thinks this looks more like the .com bubble, rather than the aftermath of the global financial crisis. We get into some of the opportunities in the market today and discuss emphasizing companies with balance sheet strength and thinking in terms of long-term, normalized earnings power. All this and more in episode 218 with Orbis Investments’ Adam Karr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 217 we welcome our guest, Mary Wheeler, Founding Managing Director of BioRock Ventures. In today’s episode, we get into biotech and venture capital. We cover Mary’s deep background that ultimately influenced her investment focus on biotech. We cover her fund, BioRock Ventures, investing in biopharma startups, her core investment criteria, and keeping an eye out for companies serving unmet need areas. We touch on some key differences between biotech focused VC investing vs. other areas of VC. Mary even shares some insight into a company in her portfolio that has focused resources on potential COVID19 applications. All this and more in episode 217 with BioRock Ventures’ Mary Wheeler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 216 we welcome our guest, David Samra, a managing director of Artisan Partners and founding partner of the Artisan Partners International Value Team. In today’s episode, we discuss David’s background and what led him down the path of value investing. We cover the characteristics that drive Artisan’s framework and investment process. With the recent market selloff in mind, we walk through some industries that are offering value right now, from travel and leisure to energy, and where Artisan has been deploying cash. As the conversation winds down, we talk high-level about the asset management industry and deploying value strategies. All this and more in episode 216 with Artisan Partners’ David Samra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 215 we welcome our guest, David Chan, COO and a founding team member of FarmTogether. We discuss the FarmTogether platform and making farmland investing more accessible. We cover farmland as an asset class, some history about the fragmented nature of farmland ownership, and the relatively small 2-3% ownership stake that is in institutional hands. We cover the broad models of farmland ownership, and a real-world example of how a deal actually works on the FarmTogether platform. As we get deeper into the conversation, we hear some thoughts on sustainability and the role regenerative agriculture can play in reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint. All this and more in episode 215 with FarmTogether’s David Chan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 214 we welcome our guest, Jake Gibson, founding partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures. We discuss startup investing in the world of fintech. We get into some of the opportunities going forward, from disruption in products, user experience and distribution models, to how some non-fintech companies may be able to start leveraging the fintech infrastructure to integrate financial services into other products. We touch on the next wave of fintech, banking as a service, and a future that may evolve into a far deeper set of automated financial services that greatly reduce friction and improve the experience for the consumer. Stay tuned to the end to hear some detail about Jake’s new fund, focused on pre-seed and seed stage fintech companies. All this and more, in episode 214 with Jake Gibson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 213 we welcome our guest, David Sanderson, founder and CEO of Reelgood. We get into David’s frustrating experience of juggling multiple streaming services and how that ultimately led him to launch Reelgood. We talk about the buildout of the product and how important data management and processing is to product implementation. Later on, we chat about the bet he and his company made on fragmentation in the streaming market, and one of the greatest challenges he has faced with his company. Don’t miss this great episode with Reelgood founder and CEO, David Sanderson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 212 we welcome our guest, Eric Satz, the founder and CEO of AltoIRA. Eric shares the frustration he experienced trying to make private investments in his retirement account, and how that led him down the path of solving the problem and ultimately the launch of his company, AltoIRA. We discuss alternative investments and the case for holding them in retirement accounts. We get into the nuts and bolts of how AltoIRA works and where it is going in the future. As we wind down, we chat about having an understanding what is out of your control and shifting focus to doing your absolute best on what you can control. All this and more, in episode 212 with Eric Satz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 211 we welcome our guest, Julie Novack, the CEO and co-founder of PartySlate. We discuss the party planning industry and how PartySlate is bringing something entirely different to the table with its content-rich platform and transparent crediting. We get into the frustration Julie faced logging hours online trying to plan a high-profile cancer research gala, and how that experience ultimately led to the idea behind her company. We talk about the business model, growth plans, and her experience with startup incubator, Techstars. Julie even offers thoughts on the future and some major trends she’s seeing take shape in the event planning industry. All this and more, in episode 211 with Julie Novack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 210 we welcome our guest, Jonathan Treussard, Partner, and Head of Product Development at Research Affiliates. We discuss what’s currently going on in the world around us and how rapidly things are changing. We cover the idea of “nowcasting,” and how it’s different from the type of forecasting and opinion that prevalent, often unhelpful, and sometimes downright detrimental to investment decision making. We talk about Research Affiliate’s stance on valuations, emerging markets looking attractive, and having discipline when it comes to analyzing data to form a sensible guide to forward looking expectations. We get into factor investing, value investing’s underperformance, and the behavioral struggle investors have with it. As we wind down, we chat ESG investing, and hear a candid take on the industry’s approach in helping investors prepare for retirement. All this and more, including some of Jonathan’s thoughts on ESG investing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we welcome our guest, Andrew Schulz, co-founder and CEO of NoiseAware. We discuss the miserable experience that led to the fresh idea behind NoiseAware’s smart sensor and noise-monitoring technology. We get into the product, use case, and the idea that customers can now have hard data on noise levels at their property, empowering them to be proactive if noise is out of hand, or defend against false noise complaints. We talk about building the company out of Dallas and access to resources the team has had along the way, and we even dive into growth potential for the company as they set sights on international markets. Don’t miss this and more in episode 209. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 208 is a Mebisode. Meb reads a recent piece that highlights the data and reality of market drawdowns, underperformance, and some statistics that illustrate that investors may not be prepared to face the reality of how long underperformance can last. Tune in for this and more in episode 208, including how Meb frames his market expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 207, we welcome our guest, Jeremy Yamaguchi, founder of Lawn Love. We kick off the episode by getting into Jeremy’s background as a son of missionaries, starting his first company at the age of 16, and the curious mind and discerning eye for opportunity that has taken him down the path of entrepreneurship. We touch on the void he saw in lawn care and the technology that underpins the Lawn Love platform, driving value for customers and lawn care professionals. In his pursuit of building Lawn Love he started 3 companies only to kill 2 and run with the one that gained the most traction! We also get into a massive personal stride he made in the realization that his startup competitors that seemed to have easy access to networks, capital, and press, didn’t actually have a silver bullet. His takeaway? There isn’t a substitute for the hard work that it takes to build a company. Don’t miss episode 207 and the details on how Jeremy built this company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 206 is a Mebisode. Meb reads a few of his recently penned pieces. He covers the importance of being prepared for market turbulence with an investment plan. He then walks through some core ideas for building and maintaining wealth. He ties these ideas together with a chat on how he invests his own money. He concludes with some thoughts on investing in the time of the Coronavirus. If the markets have you concerned, make sure you don’t miss what Meb has to share to help you stay on track in episode 206. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 205, Meb talks with Cornerstone Acquisition and Management CEO and Portfolio Manager, Derren Geiger. Meb and Derren cover Caritas Funds’ process for investing in onshore US oil & gas mineral rights and royalty interests. They get into sourcing opportunities, some detail on the royalty model, the role hedging plays in managing risk, and the balance of commodity exposure in the portfolio. As the conversation winds down, the pair walk through an actual example of how an acquisition played out, as well as Derren’s thoughts on the energy market. All this and more in episode 205, including Derren’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 204, Meb talks with Foresight Mental Health co-founders Doug Hapeman and Matt Milford. They discuss Foresight’s origin story and the vision Doug and Matt had to apply technology to radically improve mental healthcare. They get into the lack of technology adoption by psychiatrists that exists today, and what it took to build a fully integrated model from scratch to serve patients and healthcare providers. The group even covers the patient and healthcare provider experience with Foresight and using data to drive a new standard of care. All this and more in episode 204, including Doug and Matt’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 203, Meb talks with ZiffyHomes co-founder and CEO, Sanchal Ranjan. Meb and Sanchal discuss the story behind ZiffyHomes and how Sanchal and his co-founder are finding an edge in technology to offer a more uniform platform to improve home rental utilization and experience. The pair touch on the current state of the Indian home rental market and the opportunity ZiffyHomes is addressing right now. They get into competition and what it takes to grow in this industry. While this company is experiencing incredible growth, we walk through some challenges the team has faced and even some lessons learned along the way. All this and more in episode 203, including Sanchal’s Y Combinator journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 202, Meb talks with Vanguard’s global chief economist and the global head of Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, Joe Davis. Meb and Joe get into the broad framework of Vanguard’s research, and some depth on the thinking and process involved. They walk through some current thoughts on a few different asset classes and the Vanguard Capital Markets Model. The pair cover Vanguard’s most recent outlook, and their projections that offer an average return differential for non-US equities of roughly 3-4% vs. US equities. Stay tuned to the end of this great conversation as Joe discusses the concept of the “Idea multiplier,” a fresh way of thinking about the evolution of knowledge and innovation. All this and more in episode 202, including Joe’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 201 is a Mebisode. In this episode, you’ll hear Meb discuss his favorite research pieces on international investing from 2019. He covers diversification through the lens of company revenue exposure, international stock dividend yields, and valuations. All of this and more in episode 201, including some of Meb’s favorite investment resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 200 has a radio show format. We cover a variety of topics, including: Coronavirus – how investors should be thinking about shocks CalPERS firing managers Venture capital and power laws Knowing what you own There’s this and plenty more in episode 200. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 199 we welcome our guest, Peter Livingston. Peter and Meb spend some time on Peter’s background and his experience as an engineer and a founder. They then dive into venture capital investing and Peter’s thoughts on the corporate VC model. That leads right into Peter’s early investment experience in private companies and trying to raise a fund of his own. Peter explains that trying to raise a fund led him to a unique place and a perspective on the traditional VC model that ultimately was the origin behind his firm, Unpopular Ventures. He spends time explaining why he feels the syndicate model is superior to the VC model, and the rapid pace of growth he’s experienced since launch. Meb then asks Peter to get into some of the investments he’s made. As the conversation winds down, Peter touches on his thoughts for the future. All this and more in episode 199. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 198 we welcome our guests, Rabi Gupta and Satwick Saxena. Rabi and Satwick walk through the early days of EvaBot and how the pair started the company accidentally as a way to improve their networking efforts in Silicon Valley. As a result of some feedback, they launched their company, EvaBot. They discuss building the product from an idea, and deciding that a bot was the solution that would make the product work paired with some additional automation in their operations. Meb follows with some questions on EvaBot’s target market. Rabi and Satwick discuss traction in the real estate and mortgage industries, but feel there are other verticals that offer use cases for EvaBot. The conversation then transitions into the company’s experience with funding. The pair get into their seed round in 2017 and the growth they experienced after that round which served as validation of product market fit. As the conversation winds down, Rabi and Satwick dive into the process behind sourcing all of the great gift products they offer. All this and more in episode 198, including a can’t miss offer at the end of the episode from Rabi and Satwick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 197 we welcome our guest, Rick Rule. Rick and Meb start with Rick’s background in natural resource investing and Rick getting into his outlook for resources and precious metals. Meb and Rick dive into some of the forces that he sees influencing gold and precious metals prices including negative yielding sovereign bonds, US budget deficits, and potential reversion to the mean for precious metals investing market share. Rick then covers some interesting statistics Sprott has observed in investor interest in natural resource investing. The conversation then shifts to commodities and natural resources more broadly. Rick talks oil and uranium followed by some practical thoughts on portfolio implementation. All this and more in episode 197, including Rick’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 196 we welcome our guest, Minnie Ingersoll. Minnie and Meb start the conversation by getting into venture capital investing and the nature of investing in early startup companies focused on software and data. They get into Minnie’s firm, TenOneTen Ventures and some of what goes into the process of evaluating potential investments. Minnie covers some companies she and her team are particularly excited about. The conversation then shifts to discussing the VC presence and growth in LA. Minnie then moves on to discussing more about the investing process, covering some of the criteria the TenOneTen team think is important to see in founders they are working with, including, the entrepreneur being aligned with the belief that there’s a billion-dollar outcome. All this and more in episode 196, including Minnie’s experience as a co-founder and her most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Contributors: Jack Vogel, Paul Novell, Mike Philbrick, Rob Arnott, Aswath Damodaran, Corey Hoffstein, Bob Seawright, Wes Gray, Justin J. Carbonneau, Gary Antonacci, Larry Swedroe, Scott Bell, Jack Forehand, Ray Micaletti, Todd Tresidder, Ben Johnson, and Frazer Rice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 195 is a replay of The Meb Faber Show’s top podcasts of 2019. Guests include Bill Smead, Cam Harvey, and Raoul Pal Hear Bill Smead discuss his firm’s value investing process, his view of the investing landscape, and his thoughts about millennials being in position to drive the economy in the future. Next, dig into Cam Harvey’s 1986 dissertation, his research on inverted yield curves and what that means for economic growth and various asset classes, and some thoughts on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Finally, listen to Raoul Pal and his take on global growth, where he thinks investment opportunity lies, his discussion of “The Doom Loop,” and risks to the global economy. All this and more in our replay of the top podcasts of 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Frazer take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 194 Meb and Doug kick off the conversation about thinking about a family as a business. Doug discusses the idea that people effectively have two businesses, selling labor in the marketplace, and converting income into financial assets. Doug expands on that by covering the family CFO framework, and that the job of the family CFO is much like a corporate CFO in that they must manage risk and liquidity with the family’s balance sheet. The pair also get into entrepreneurship and thinking about the role entrepreneurship can play in wealth generation. Meb and Doug then get into common mistakes people make, such as underappreciation of a long horizon. They then transition into approaching conversations about wealth with Family, starting with acknowledgement that wealth without management, values, and education can be a liability. As the conversation winds down, Meb and Doug cover some ground about Doug’s day job as a private equity investor and some best practices for private equity allocators. All this and more in episode 194, including Doug’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Wes take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 193 we welcome our guest, Chris Brightman. Meb and Chris start the conversation with an evolution of economic and monetary theory over the past decades, and some detail behind Modern Monetary Theory. Chris then expands on inflation, the idea that high inflation is associated with volatile inflation, as well as some ways to protect from high inflation. The pair then get into Research Affiliates’ forward looking asset class return expectations, including, the expectation of a 3.5% real return for the US stock market before any adjustments to valuations and the reality of low and even negative return prospects from fixed income. Chris talks about emerging markets as a potential bright spot. As the conversation winds down, Chris reveals some ways investors can think about implementing the ideas he discusses in the episode, including the literature that shows investors engage in performance chasing, and they’d be far better off taking a buy-and-hold approach to a diversified set of passive instruments. All this and more in episode 193, including a couple of Chris’s most memorable investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Ben take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 192 we welcome our guest, Tim Hayes. Tim and Meb kick off the conversation with an overview of the data driven Ned Davis research process and how the team gains an understanding of what is going on the market. Meb then asks Tim to expand on his current thoughts on the market. Tim covers the potential tactical opportunity in the market and the base case for the US stock market, that it’s in the same secular bull market it’s been in since 2009. He also notes that there is a risk to the bond market and that it’s late in the secular game. The conversation then shifts to discussion about negative yielding bonds. Meb and Tim then touch on the worries Tim is seeing from institutional investors. As the conversation winds down, Tim covers his belief that it is critical to be aware, and constantly watch what relationships are changing in markets to gauge what is relevant. All this and more in episode 192. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Todd take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 191, we welcome our guest, Simon Hallett. Simon and Meb start off the conversation with a run-down of Simon’s firm, Harding Loevner, cover its quality growth investment approach as well as its long-term focus. Simon gives some insights into “short-termism” and what it takes and the incentives in place to keep everyone at Harding Loevner focused on long-term investing. Simon walks through the investment framework at Harding Loevner in detail. From a high level, they care about growth, quality, and price and beyond that, Simon walks through the details and what it looks like as ideas work their way through the process. Next, Simon and Meb get into skill vs. luck. Simon emphasizes the role process plays in skill vs. luck, and the post-investment review he and his team go through to analyze the role skill vs. luck played in the outcome of a position. As the conversation winds down, Simon and Meb touch on behavioral finance, and Simon discusses introducing behavioral aspects to the investment process wherever they can. He mentions he think there is a behavioral edge in any market. All this and more in episode 191, including a discussion about Simon’s football club and his most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 190 has a radio show format. We cover a variety of topics, including: Buying stocks at all-time highs 2010 Fund Manager of the Decade Jim Simons Year-end questions for advisors and brokers There’s this and plenty more in episode 190. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode 189 we welcome our guest, John Parise. John and Meb kick off the conversation with the idea of the family CFO and wealth planning. As John gained experience in financial planning, he investigated the family office model, and he consistently saw a lack of planning. That eventually led him to the foundations that helped him eventually form his firm, Copper Beech. Meb and John then cover to the process of what planning looks like at Copper Beech. John describes the interview, discovery process, and the types of conversations the firm has with families. They then get into some examples of the mechanics of what the planning process really looks like, and some methods to pay zero estate tax. The pair then shift to talking about teaching young generations to handle wealth. As the conversation winds down, John covers some of the major items people can consider to improve their planning outcomes. All this and more, in episode 189 including John’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Ray take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 188 we welcome our guest, Andreas Clenow. Meb and Andreas start the conversation with a hat on what hooked Andreas on trend following, and his book, Following the Trend. Andreas discusses running trend following as a portfolio strategy, not something that is optimal to run on a single market. He talks about some basic fundamentals of trend following, including the premise that it’s about taking a lot of bets on a large number of markets independently. Meb then asks Andreas to get into some detail about risk management and position sizing. Andreas defines the way he thinks about risk, and goes back and forth with Meb about the reality of return expectations and compounding. Meb follows by asking what has changed with his approach over the years. Andreas responds with the idea of realizing it’s about strategy and business, and the business has changed a lot. The conversation transitions into how trend following can fit into an investment portfolio. Andreas offers that the strategy can serve as a core building block of a larger portfolio. He talks about some of the environments where trend following has done particularly well, and the challenge with diversification in equities. As the conversation winds down, Meb asks about Andreas’ new book, Trading Evolved: Anyone can Build Killer Trading Strategies in Python. Andreas describes the book as a guide for readers to build backtests and strategies in the programming language, Python. All this and more in episode 188, including Andreas’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Jack take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 187 we welcome our guest, Kevin Carter. Meb and Kevin start the conversation with some background on Kevin’s career, getting to know Burton Malkiel, and launching EMQQ. Kevin offers some of his thoughts on investing in China, including his initial thoughts about the prominence of state owned enterprises. Kevin mentions that a key component to investing in emerging markets is that it’s about the consumer. He notes that emerging and frontier markets are 85% of the world’s people and almost 90% of the people under the age of 30, the GDP of those people are still growing twice as fast as the rest of the world, and their incomes are growing. Kevin discusses that once he figured out that the indexes that were available to invest in these markets were allocated relatively heavily to the legacy, inefficient, state owned enterprise portion of economies, he got to work on building indexes that were more targeted to capture emerging market growth. Meb and Kevin then discuss the reality of emerging market allocations for most investors today, and talk about the current weights of emerging market indexes and the implications for investors. Kevin gets into launching and running EMQQ, and how the index is constructed. He follows with a discussion on emerging market internet company valuations and the current pace of revenue growth. Meb then poses what he thinks is some of the most common “pushback” he hears about why people can’t invest in China. Kevin addresses some of the arguments he hears for not investing in China, including made up numbers and communism and explains why he doesn’t think there is a lot of merit to those arguments. As the conversation winds down, Kevin covers his thoughts on India, which he thinks is a particularly interesting opportunity from the standpoint of population size and growth. All this and more in episode 187, including Kevin’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Scott take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 186 we welcome our guest, Carter Malloy. Meb kicks off the conversation with Carter’s background in finance and growing up in a farming family. When conducting research on the asset class. He saw attractive returns historically, but there wasn’t a great way for most people to invest in it. That insight spurred the idea for AcreTrader. As Meb and Carter dig a little deeper into farmland, they discuss the return drivers, yield and asset appreciation, and the imbalance of demand vs. supply as a driver of returns. Meb then asks Carter to get into the cycles of farmland investing. Carter covers leverage and cycles. The pair explore the Macro themes that have been in play over the last few years. Carter comments that it has been tough for farmers, and commodity prices have been low. He clarifies that if you separate the farmer from the land owner, the land owner has continued to do great. The pair then get into the ideas behind Carter’s firm, AcreTrader. Carter walks through the inefficient nature of farmland investing, the platform, and the process AcreTrader goes through to bring investment opportunities to market as well as the ultimate vision for the platform. Next, Meb and Carter also get into some examples of additional opportunities for farmland property including potential income opportunities like wind farms, solar farms, and mining that may be available to some properties. As the conversation winds down, Carter lays out his thoughts on how farmland fits with investment portfolios and highlights the role it can play from a wealth preservation standpoint as a noncorrelated asset class in addition to providing protection from inflation. All this and more in episode 186. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Larry take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 185 we welcome our guest, Ben Claremon. Ben and Meb start the conversation with some background on the blog Ben started in school, The Inoculated Investor. From there, the pair move on to discuss Cove Street and the investment process. Ben gets into investing, and what value investing means to Cove Street Capital, bifurcated between Warren Buffett style investing and Benjamin Graham style investing. Next, Ben discusses the investment and portfolio construction process he and the team undergo at Cove Street, including sell discipline applied to fund positions. Ben and Meb get into the outlook for the investment landscape, covering Value investing to opportunities in China, as well as the auto industry. He also discusses some things to avoid. Ben then gets into the importance of proxy statements, and the role corporate governance plays in the investment process. As the conversation winds down, Meb and Ben get into the bogeyman of buybacks and talk about the idea that the focus should instead be on the short-term nature of the earnings cycle. All this and more in episode 185, including Ben’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 184 is a Meb Short. In this episode, you’ll hear Meb discuss the CAPE ratio, flawed logic behind the conclusion that “CAPE doesn’t work,” probabilistic investing, and a global perspective on CAPE. All this and more in episode 184. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 183 we welcome our guest, Ben Inker. Ben and Meb start the conversation with a chat about Ben’s thoughts on markets which include the overriding theme that non-us markets are currently presenting opportunity for investors. Next, Meb asks Ben to get into his thoughts on current valuations and Ben walks through some ideas on high valuations for US stocks and reduced forward looking returns. On the subject of valuations, the pair then discusses interest rates and monetary policy. Ben follows that with an interesting paper he wrote that explored how high profitability has skewed toward large capitalization companies. Ben expands on his thinking about valuations and markets outside the US, the past decade being the worst for value stocks, and being excited about opportunities like emerging market value stocks. He goes further in his discussion by getting into a concept he credits Robert Shiller with, clairvoyant fair value of a stock market, and shares that two pieces of information are critical, the starting valuation of the markets, and the return on capital. As the conversation winds down, Ben and Meb discuss GMO’s benchmark free allocation strategy, and investing with the goal of making absolute money and worrying about absolute risk. All this and more in episode 183, including Ben’s thoughts on hedging currency risk and his most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year when we published The Best Investment Writing Volume 2, we offered authors the opportunity to record an audio version of their chapter to be released as a segment of the podcast, and listeners loved it. This year, we’re bringing you the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3 in podcast format. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers all over the world. Enough from me, let’s let Gary take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 182 we welcome our guest, Larry Hite. Larry and Meb start off the conversation with Larry’s origin as a trend follower, and the parallels to trend following and life. Larry follows with personal challenges he overcame in life, and how he found a path to success through a life lesson, weeding out what he couldn’t do, and include the things that gave him a lot of enjoyment and potentially a lot of money (or both). Next, Larry gets into his start in investing, combing through hundreds of years of data and finding that cutting losses and letting winners run really works. He then transitions into some underlying foundations about how he thinks about trading, including, putting the odds in your favor by creating asymmetrical bets. Meb then talks with Larry about founding Mint, one of the earliest systematic CTAs, and was the first hedge fund to raise over $1 billion. As the conversation winds down, Larry talks about systematic rules, trend following, and making an array of bets. All this and more in episode 182, including concluding thoughts on challenges and resiliency, and Larry’s most memorable investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 181 has a radio show format. We cover a variety of topics, including the new ETF rule: Major brokerage firms dropping ETF trading commissions to $0 New ETF rule Market valuation Trend following Investment Process There’s this and plenty more in episode 181. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 180 we welcome back our guest, Rodrigo Gordillo. Meb and Rodrigo start the conversation with a walk through Rodrigo’s background and his experience growing up in Peru. Rodrigo then gets into his framework for thinking about investing and how that evolved into what he and his team is doing at ReSolve. Rodrigo then spends some time on the knowledge gained by studying and backtesting investment strategies. He stresses the use of “ensembles” rather than isolating single parameters for more robust investment processes. Meb shifts the conversation and asks Rodrigo to talk about ReSolve’s machine learning project. Rodrigo discusses applying machine learning to finance, and how it is a tool, and another element of the ReSolve team’s process. Meb and Rodrigo chat about risk parity, and some of the common misunderstandings that exist, as well as the basic functions of how the strategy works. As the conversation winds down, Rodrigo gets into some research projects on the horizon for ReSolve. All this and more in episode 180. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices