In this episode, we dive deep into momentum investing, bringing you insights from some of the smartest investors we know. We explore the fundamentals of momentum, breaking down its types and examining the academic research that supports its effectiveness. We discuss why momentum works, looking at behavioral explanations and comparing it to other investment factors. We also share ways to enhance momentum strategies, such as focusing on consistency and combining it with other factors like value an...
Jul 29, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 75
In this episode, we dive deep into practical alternatives to the traditional 60/40 portfolio. We explore various approaches like the Permanent Portfolio, risk parity and return stacking and take a detailed look at how we build alternative portfolios for our clients. We also examine Nomadic Samuel's innovative work on building diversified portfolios using new ETF products. Throughout our conversation, we emphasize the importance of having a systematic process, understanding the risks and potentia...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 74
In this episode, we dive into the key takeaways from our recent interview with Mike Green of Simplify. We explore several important lessons, including the need to be open-minded about new ideas in investing, the potential unintended consequences of passive investing, and the importance of looking beyond market aggregates. We discuss how these concepts apply to the average investor and what they mean in practical terms for portfolio management. We also touch on the double-edged nature of innovati...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 73
In this episode, we take a look back at the first half of 2024 and examine some surprising trends in the economy and markets. We discuss how inflation has remained stickier than many expected, but wage growth has actually outpaced inflation for many workers. We analyze the extreme concentration of returns in the stock market, with a small number of large tech companies driving most of the gains while many stocks have declined. We also explore some unexpected developments in housing, bonds, and f...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 72
In this episode, we dive into the key lessons from our recent conversation with Rick Ferri on the Excess Returns podcast. We explore Rick's approach to simple, low-cost investing and discuss how his insights apply to various investment strategies, including factor investing. We cover topics such as favoring simplicity, the enduring relevance of the 60/40 portfolio, the importance of fees, and looking to history for guidance. Throughout the discussion, we relate Rick's ideas to our own experience...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 71
In this episode, we explore the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, discussing its origins, applications, and limitations. We delve into the importance of considering individual circumstances, market conditions, and the ability to adjust withdrawal rates over time. We also discuss the challenges of unsustainable withdrawal rates and the balance between sustaining one's lifestyle and leaving money to heirs. Throughout the conversation, we stress the importance of financial planning that goes beyo...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 70
In this episode of the podcast, we dive into the world of backtesting investment strategies. We discuss the importance of approaching backtests with a healthy dose of skepticism, as it's easy to create a backtest that looks impressive but may not hold up in the real world. We explore various questions to ask when evaluating a backtest, such as whether it accounts for human emotions, has a sound economic reasoning behind it, covers a sufficiently long time period, and includes periods of struggle...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 69
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we dive into Corey Hoffstein's insightful list of "15 Ideas, Frameworks and Lessons from 15 Years." We explore several key concepts, such as the transformation of risk, the necessity of pain to achieve premiums, and the philosophical limits of diversification. Through a mix of investing and real-life examples, we discuss how these ideas can be applied to both portfolio management and personal decision-making. Join us as we break down Hoffste...
Jun 10, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 68
In this episode we dive into the world of market valuation. We look at the major valuation metrics used to value the market and what they are and are not useful for from an investing perspective. We also look at value spreads, cross country valuations and expected returns and delve into the practical applications of valuation data in financial planning, considering factors such as time horizons, liability-driven investing, and individual circumstances. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATES...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 67
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we delve into a diverse range of listener-submitted investing and financial planning questions with speclal guest Ben Tuscai. We cover the tax efficiency of ETFs compared to mutual funds, the pros and cons of having retirement savings in different account types (Roth, Traditional IRA, taxable), strategies for investing in AI and new technologies, considerations for the current housing market, and the benefits and drawbacks of direct indexing...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 66
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we tackle a range of listener questions, from the recent resurgence of meme stocks like GameStop to the potential impact of the upcoming presidential election on investors. We discuss the role of small trading accounts, the pros and cons of generative AI in backtesting investment strategies, and the significance of value spreads. While we may not have clear-cut answers to every question, we believe that thinking through these complex issues ...
May 20, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 65
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we explore the biggest lessons we've learned throughout our careers in investing and financial planning. We discuss the importance of diversification, the challenges of balancing long-term strategies with changing market conditions, and the critical role of understanding an investor's true risk tolerance. We also discuss the principal-agent conflict, the potential pitfalls of relying solely on quantitative measures, and the necessity of adap...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 64
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we discussed the key insights and lessons learned from our 12-hour live podcast event, "PNL for a Purpose." Throughout the day, we interviewed 24 guests on a wide range of topics, including macro investing, quantitative investing, value investing, and technology. We delved into the importance of being open to changing one's opinion when presented with new evidence, the challenges of navigating the complexities of the current economic landsca...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 63
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we return to our Fact of Fiction framework. We cover a diverse set of investing and financial planning topics that are on many investors' minds. We debate whether inflation can truly be predicted, if legendary investment managers are a thing of the past in today's market environment, and how much emphasis to place on fees and taxes when constructing an investment strategy. Additionally, we dig into the question of whether your house should b...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 62
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we dive deep into the world of trend following investment strategies. We explain what trend following is, discuss the potential benefits such as downside protection during bear markets, and explore some of the challenges involved, including false signals, whipsaw risk, and the difficulty of sticking with the strategy during underperforming periods. We also talk about how trend following can be incorporated as one component of a diversified i...
Apr 22, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we dive into the important topic of withdrawal rates and retirement planning. We discuss how Monte Carlo simulations can help us understand the potential outcomes and risks associated with different withdrawal strategies. We also explore the concept of sequence of returns risk and how it can impact a portfolio's longevity. Additionally, we examine how utilizing different asset classes and employing factor investing can potentially enhance re...
Apr 15, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 60
In investing, there is supposed to be a clear tradeoff between return and risk. Strategies that reduce risk are also supposed to come with a corresponding reduction in return But one factor defies that tradeoff. In this episode, we look at the low volatility factor. We discuss how it is measured, why it works and how it can be used in portfolios. We also examine some popular low volatility ETFs and look at the key criteria investors should look at when evaluating them. We hope you enjoy the disc...
Apr 08, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 59
When we start in the investing world, many of us think building the perfect investment strategy is about data and numbers and theory. We think the strategy that works best on paper will also work best in the real world. But it doesn't work that way. And the main reason is that all of us are not what economic theory would call "rational actors". All three of us owe a huge debt to Danny Kahneman for his groundbreaking research that taught us that. Danny recently passed away and as a tribute to him...
Apr 01, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 58
With the rise of inflation in the past few years, many investors have been paying attention to metrics that they largely ignored for decades. Measures like the CPI and PCE have now become front page news when they are released each month. But despite quoting them all the time, many investors don't understand what goes into them and how they are calculated. In this episode, we try to correct that. We take a deep dive into the metrics that are used to measure inflation and the details behind them....
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Warren Buffett recently released his 2024 annual letter. And this one was a particularly notable one since it was the first since the passing of Charlie Munger. Buffett wrote a beautiful tribute to Munger in the letter and as is always the case also shared many timeless investing lessons. In this episode, we share our biggest takeaways from the letter and the lessons we think investors can learn from it. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES ...
Mar 18, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Academic research can seem inaccessible for many investors. But behind all the complicated concepts and formulas are usually some simple core lessons that all investors can benefit from. In this episode, we are joined by Alpha Architect's Jess Bost to help us pull those core lessons out of the work of Eugene Fama and Ken French. We discuss ten timeless lessons investors can take from their research and look at some simple examples that make them easy to understand. We also look at what it all me...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 55
The top ten companies in the S&P 500 currently represent 35% of the index. Some market pundits have talked about that being a significant risk factor for the market going forward. In this episode, we take a look at the facts to see if those concerns are warranted. We look at how the current level of concentration compares to history, whether the fundamentals of the biggest companies justify their valuations and what it all means for investors. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPI...
Mar 04, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In a recent appearance on the Masters in Business podcast, David Einhorn claimed that the stock market is broken. He discussed how he has adjusted his strategy to reflect his belief that the market doesn't seem to care about fundamentals anymore. In this episode, we take an in depth look at this idea and the facts both supporting and refuting it. We discuss how the rise of passive investing has changed the market, how that impacts fundamental investing and some potential changes fundamental inve...
Feb 26, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 53
In the first episode of our new series, the Intentional Investor, Matt Zeigler sits down with RLS Wealth founder Justin Castelli to discuss his personal mission and the tools he uses to achieve it. They discuss Justin's life planning mission, why he prefers visions over goals, the $1,000,000 check he wrote to his future self and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://www.validea.com/financial-planning-podcast...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 52
We all know risk in investing when we see it. But defining it can be a much bigger challenge. In this episode, we work through the concept of risk from both an investing and financial planning perspective. We discuss the ways to measure it, how active investors can think about it, the importance of considering it in a behavioral context and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://www.validea.com/financial-planning-pod...
Feb 12, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Private equity, private credit and private real estate have traditionally been areas that are reserved for large investors and institutions. But new fund structures are beginning to change that. The question is whether that is a good thing or a bad thing for investors. In this episode, we are joined by Lee Boudouris to tackle that question. We take a detailed look at these asset classes in general, how the evergreen fund structures that have made them more accessible work and the things investor...
Feb 05, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In our first "Fact of Fiction" episode, we tackle some of the questions we have been asked or have seen out in the world recently. We discuss whether stocks and bonds are sufficient in a portfolio, retirement planning, factor investing, whether an AI driven bubble could be coming. why there wasn't a #1 rap song in 2023 and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://www.validea.com/financial-planning-podcast FIND OUT M...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Active ETFs have grown exponentially in recent years, especially in the equity space. One of the big benefits of that for investors in more investment strategies to choose from. The challenge, though, is that is can be hard to filter through them all to find the right strategy for a specific need. In this episode, we try to help solve that problem. We walk through the key criteria we look at when evaluating active ETFs from both and investing and financial planning perspective. We also work thro...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 48
In this episode, we walk through our experience of launching a small-cap value ETF in 2014, running it for 6 years and then shutting it down in 2020. We look at what we learned from the experience and what investors can learn about how ETFs work behind the scenes from our experience. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://www.validea.com/financial-planning-podcast FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VALIDEA CAPITAL ...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Technology booms can lead to massive change in our society. They can also lead to huge profits for investors who invest in them. But those huge gains can also be followed by major losses when they inevitably run their course. There is probably no better way to understand the lessons for investors from these periods than to look at the story of ARK Investments. ARK's flagship innovation ETF generated eye popping returns in the years leading up to 2021. Then it gave many of those returns back as i...
Jan 08, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 46
