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Insightful Investor

The Insightful Investor is a weekly podcast hosted by Alex Shahidi, Co-CIO of one of the nation’s leading RIAs. In a conversational, “fireside chat” format, Alex interacts with some of the world’s premier investors and business icons to share market insights rarely found elsewhere. While many investors echo common sentiments, our “insights” include concepts that we believe are counterintuitive, widely misunderstood, or underappreciated. With over two decades of experience managing billions of dollars in client assets, Alex offers unique access to some of the industry’s top thinkers. He has authored two investment books and contributed to leading journals, and he consistently ranks among the elite financial advisors by Forbes and Barron’s. As an independent and innovative voice, Alex offers a fresh take on investing. We invite you to tune in and would love to hear your feedback. https://insightfulinvestor.org/
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Episodes

#78 - Leonard Kleinrock: Internet Creation, AI Future

Dr. Leonard Kleinrock, a distinguished professor of computer science at UCLA, helped invent the Internet and supervised the sending of its first message in 1969. In this episode, he shares stories from those early days, reflects on the evolution of the Internet, and discusses what the rise of AI means for the future of technology and society.

Jul 08, 20251 hr 39 minEp. 78

#77 - Charlie Ruffel: Asset Management Industry Evolution, Alternatives

Charlie is founder, Chairman and Managing Partner of Kudu Investment Management and a board director of Charles Schwab. Drawing on decades of experience as a financial journalist, asset management executive, and private equity investor, he shares unique insights shaped by viewing the industry from multiple angles. In this episode, Charlie discusses the evolution of the industry and the growing role of alternative investments.

Jul 01, 202557 minEp. 77

#76 - Jeff Huber: Innovation, Google, GRAIL, Triatomic

Jeff is the founder of Triatomic Capital and former Google SVP. He shares lessons from building Google Maps, Ads, and Gmail, founding GRAIL for early cancer detection, and leading transformative teams. Jeff discusses his vision for backing “century-defining” companies and offers insights on leadership, innovation, biotech, and building companies that change the world.

Jun 24, 20251 hrEp. 76

#75 - Liz Ann Sonders: Investing Principles, Inflation, Instability, Diversification

Liz Ann is the long-time Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, with over 25 years at the firm and frequent appearances on CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and CBS News. She shares insights on the core principles of investing, the challenges of maintaining discipline, and the impact of economic and policy uncertainty. We discuss inflation trends, market cycles, portfolio construction, diversification, and how investors can navigate today’s rapidly changing environment.

Jun 17, 202545 minEp. 75

#74 - Alan Waxman: Sixth Street, Leadership, Outlook

As Co-Founding Partner and CEO of Sixth Street, Alan has guided the firm from its founding to a leading global investment firm — an achievement that followed his early success as one of Goldman Sachs’ youngest-ever partners. He offers an inside look at Sixth Street’s investor-first approach and shares his perspectives on today’s investment landscape.

Jun 10, 20251 hr 4 minEp. 74

#73 - Greg Sharenow: Inflation History, Outlook, and Hedging

Greg is Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at PIMCO, one of the world’s largest asset managers. He leads the firm’s commodity and real asset strategies. Greg discusses the forces driving inflation, how investors can navigate today’s evolving macro environment, and why diversification is essential when hedging inflation risk.

Jun 03, 202549 minEp. 73

#72 - Damien Bisserier: Bridgewater Lessons, Advising Families, Diversification

Damien is my long-time business partner and the other Co-CIO of Evoke Advisors. He brings a unique perspective shaped by his journey from advising some of the world’s largest institutional investors at Bridgewater to working with wealthy families and smaller institutions. Through this transition, Damien has gained firsthand experience with a wide range of investment approaches and priorities.

May 27, 202551 minEp. 72

#71 - David Rutherford: Navy Seal Mindset, Embracing Fear

David is a former Navy SEAL, SEAL instructor, and CIA contractor who has become a motivational speaker, performance coach, and founder of the Froglogic Institute. In this episode, David shares powerful lessons on embracing fear, building resilience, and developing a SEAL mindset-offering actionable insights for investors, business leaders, and anyone striving for peak performance.

May 20, 20251 hr 7 minEp. 71

#70 - David Powers: Wasatch Culture, Market Cycles, Long-Term

Dave is Senior Portfolio Manager at Wasatch Global Investors, a $25B equity manager based in Salt Lake City (as of 3/31/25). He discusses Wasatch’s collaborative culture, lessons learned from navigating market cycles, and the discipline behind a long-term investment approach.

May 13, 202555 minEp. 70

#69 - Bob Louzan: Asset-Based Lending, Downside Protection

Bob is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at WhiteHawk Capital Partners. He explains how their creative asset-based lending approach is designed to deliver downside protection while navigating the unique risks and opportunities of lending to middle market companies.

May 06, 202547 minEp. 69

#68 - Andrew Sheiner: Private Equity, Selectivity, Discipline

Andrew is Founder and CEO of Altas Partners, which is a Toronto-based private equity firm that manages over $10B (as of 3/31/25). Andrew shares insights about why a concentrated, quality-focused approach can deliver superior results in private equity, how disciplined risk management and patient capital drive value, and the significance of partnering closely with management teams.

Apr 29, 20251 hr 11 minEp. 68

#67 - Soo Chuen Tan: Long-Term Equity Investing

Soo Chuen is the founder of Discerene Group, a $2.5 billion investment manager (as of 12/31/24) specializing in fundamental, contrarian, long-term value investing in global equities. He shares insights into his unique investment approach, which emphasizes patience, structural moats, and significant margins of safety.

Apr 22, 20251 hr 18 minEp. 67

#66 - Jason Illian: Leadership, Legacy, Principles

Jason is co-founder of Highmount Capital and former Managing Director of Koch Disruptive Technologies. He discusses core principles like legacy, integrity and curiosity, his innovative approach to growth equity investing, and the importance of building meaningful relationships.

Apr 15, 202559 minEp. 66

#65 - Julian Brigden: Macro and Market Outlook

Julian, Co-Founder of Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, discusses global macroeconomic trends, challenges facing the U.S. dollar and U.S. stocks, and why the next decade may diverge significantly from the last decade.

Apr 08, 202557 minEp. 65

#64 - Katie Koch: Effective Leadership

Katie, CEO and President of TCW, shares her journey from Goldman Sachs to leading a major investment firm. She offers insights on leadership, balancing career and family, and her perspectives on investing, including alternative investments. No testimonial or endorsement was intended by means of this material, and no compensation was paid for this appearance. This material is for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any ...

Apr 01, 20251 hr 2 minEp. 64

#63 - Paul Podolsky: Art and Science in Investing

Paul is the founder and CIO of Kate Capital. He shares insights from his career as a Bridgewater strategist, author, and content creator, discussing his investment framework, the art and science of investing, and his views on inflation, market trends, and geopolitics.

Mar 25, 20251 hr 3 minEp. 63

#62 - Jeffrey Gundlach: Big Picture Outlook

Jeffrey is the founder, CIO and CEO of DoubleLine Capital. He shares insights on the shifting economic landscape, from rising interest rates to inflation volatility, and their implications for investors. Jeffrey also offers his perspectives on national debt, portfolio diversification and valuations.

Mar 18, 20251 hr 10 minEp. 62

#61 - Jonathan Ruffer: Financial History, Market Cycles, Outlook

Jonathan is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Ruffer, a London-based investment firm focused on absolute returns. Jonathan shares his unique insights on financial market history, long-term cycles, and his market outlook, drawing on nearly five decades of experience.

Mar 11, 20251 hr 10 minEp. 61

#60 - Josh Kanter: Legacy Building, Family Owner’s Manual

Josh is the Founder and CEO of leafplanner and Principal at Josh Kanter Wealth Advisory Services. Drawing on his nearly 25 years of experience managing his family's single-family office, Josh shares insights on legacy building, creating a family "owner's manual," and illuminating common pitfalls wealthy families face when raising children.

Mar 04, 202555 minEp. 60

#59 - Bob Prince: Portfolio Engineering, Psychology of Investing

Bob serves as Co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, where he has helped shape the firm’s investment processes and strategies for nearly four decades. Bob shares insights on how to engineer an efficient portfolio framework and delves into the psychology of investing and how to practically apply these principles in the real-world.

Feb 25, 20251 hr 10 minEp. 59

#58 - Richard Orlando: Wealth Psychology & Legacy

Richard is the founder of Legacy Capitals and author of Legacy and Love Your Clients . He explores the human side of wealth and delves into family dynamics, generational challenges, and strategies for preserving legacies.

Feb 18, 202555 minEp. 58

#57 - Jeff Gardner: Investment Philosophy, Outlook

Jeff spent nearly three decades at Bridgewater Associates, rising from research roles to Partner and Head of the Portfolio Strategist Group before departing at the end of 2023. He brings deep insights into market dynamics, investor psychology, risk assessment, and investment frameworks drawn from his extensive experience at one of the world's most renowned hedge funds.

Feb 11, 20251 hr 11 minEp. 57

#56 - Adam Katz: Activist Investing Insights

Adam is the CIO of Irenic Capital Management, a hedge fund he co-founded after eight years at Elliott Management. In this podcast, he shares his perspective on activist investing, particularly in smaller companies. Drawing from his experiences at Elliott and Irenic, Adam offers insights into risk management, market inefficiencies, and the evolving landscape of activist investing.

Feb 04, 202557 minEp. 56

#55 - Lawrence Golub: Private Credit Evolution

Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of Golub Capital, a leading alternative investment manager specializing in private credit and direct lending, that he launched in 1994. In this podcast, Lawrence shares deep insights into private credit markets and his pioneering approach to middle-market lending, offering a nuanced perspective on the industry's challenges and opportunities.

Jan 28, 202550 minEp. 55

#54 - Cliff Asness: Quant Investing, Market Inefficiency

Cliff is a Founder, Managing Principal and CIO at AQR Capital Management. As a pioneering quantitative investor, he provides listeners with a unique blend of academic rigor and practical wisdom about understanding modern investment challenges and explores a counterintuitive thesis that markets are becoming less efficient over time.

Jan 21, 20251 hr 22 minEp. 54

#53 - Andrew Rubinstein: Healthcare Industry, Biotech Investing

Andrew is co-founder of Oberland Capital, a healthcare investment manager with $3.5 billion in assets (as of 11/30/24). In this episode, he shares valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities across the U.S. healthcare industry, with a focus on biotech as a driver of innovation. Tune in to explore the evolving landscape and discover key investment opportunities from this industry expert.

Jan 14, 202543 minEp. 53

#52 - David Chene: Non-Sponsor Backed Private Credit

David is the co-founder and co-portfolio manager of Kennedy Lewis, an alternative investment firm specializing in credit strategies with over $17 billion in AUM (as of 11/13/24). David shares valuable insights into non-sponsor backed lending and provides an overview of the private credit landscape.

Jan 07, 20251 hr 4 minEp. 52

#51 - Alex Shahidi: Top 10 Insights of 2024 (Part 2)

As we wrap up 2024, I'm excited to highlight the top 10 insights from this year's episodes, ranked from 10 to 1. These insights are presented in two parts: insights 10 through 6 were released last week, and today, we reveal the top 5 insights.

Dec 17, 202446 minEp. 51

#50 - Top 10 Insights from 2024 (Part 1)

As we conclude 2024, I’m excited to highlight the top 10 insights from this year's episodes, ranked from 10 to 1. We’ll present these insights in two parts: this episode will count down insights 10 through 6, while the final episode of 2024 will reveal the top 5 insights.

Dec 10, 202454 minEp. 50

#49 - Mike Odrich: PE, Operational Value Add, A&M

Mike is a Managing Partner and Founder of A&M Capital Partners, which is a private equity firm that manages $5.9B of total commitments (as of 9/30/24). In this episode, Mike shares valuable insights on how to add value to companies through operational improvements, leveraging the unique partnership with A&M Consulting.

Dec 03, 20241 hr 12 minEp. 49
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