Pods & Recs: No. 128
Today we have two must-listens on the current macro environment, an episode on the evolution of angel investing with the CEO of AngelList Venture, and Cal Ripken Jr. on his mentality during his career.
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Business
***Must-Listen*** Alpha Exchange: Jay Pelosky, Co-Founder and CIO, TPW Investment Management. This is a must-listen episode on the macro environment from someone who is bullish on the world ex-U.S. After talking about his early career at Morgan Stanley and navigating multiple EM crises, he dives into the current state of the market, led by low rates, tech-dominance, and the upcoming election. He thinks countries that have handled the virus will have better economic activity and therefore outperform, which leads him to be significantly overweight non-U.S. stocks. He also thinks long-term rates will rise and is long cyclicals and value. He finishes by touching on multiple other global factors, including the U.S. vs. China, the impact of the Fed, and why he thinks the 2020’s could be the decade of Europe. [August 21, 2020–1 hour] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
So now if you’re negative you’re fighting the Fed, you’re fighting the fiscal policy makers, and not just in one country but globally, and you’re fighting the global scientific community. I don’t think that’s a winning fight.
***Must-Listen*** Top Traders Unplugged: 07 Global Macro Series ft Campbell Harvey. Another great episode on the current global environment with Campbell Harvey, who’s known as the inventor of the yield-curve indicator. Harvey offers a really positive outlook for the future, which he thinks will be driven by advances in technology and blockchain’s ability to tokenize assets. He addresses the fact that we’ll never know if the inverted yield curve last year would have resulted in a recession had COVID not occurred. He also talks about his research into the impact of inflation on different asset classes and what will perform well. He finishes with the future of blockchain and digital currencies and how technology will reshape the world by unleashing human capital and improve economic growth, especially for emerging markets. [August 19, 2020–1 hour, 9 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
I believe that technology will deliver a surge, in particular in emerging markets that will spill over into developed markets. The increased productivity will be striking. We will not be working 40 hour weeks in the future.
The Pomp Podcast: #366: Avlock Kohli on AngelList Rolling Funds. This is a really interesting episode on the evolution of angel investing and AngelList’s ability to remove friction and decrease costs. Kohli is the CEO at AngelList Venture and talks about the evolution of AngelList, with each iteration of their product offering making it easier and cheaper to be an angel investor. Their conversation focuses on their newest initiative, rolling funds, which are essentially a venture firm built through software that allows capital to be adjusted over time. Kohli thinks the future will be solo capitalists raising funds based on their personal brand which will cause more competition between Seed and Series A investors. [August 21, 2020–57 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
Infinite Loops: Tyrone Ross: Giving Back, Empowerment, and Gratitude. Ross is always a great listen about the need for financial education in the U.S. — not just for people who have financial advisors, but for lower income people who don’t have access to the same financial advice others have. He explains his project to help offer financial literacy to schools around the country and finishes with talking about his excitement for bitcoin and blockchain to help lower income people improve their financial well-being. [August 20, 2020–1 hour, 7 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker
The Phil Bak Podcast: John Bartlett: Investing in Infrastructure. Great niche episode on infrastructure and utilities investing with John Bartlett, President of Reaves Asset Management. He explains what factors drive performance in the space (rates, weather & taxes), the need for more infrastructure spending in the U.S., and their focus on achieving low double digit returns with a low beta. He also talks specifically about the current landscape around utilities investing, the correlation of utilities with the low volatility factor, and the potential impact from future inflation and a tax change if Biden wins in November. [August 17, 2020–36 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
The Rest
A Bit of Optimism: Quiet Service with General Stan McChrystal. Simon Sinek hosts General Stan McChrystal who was the Commander of The Joint Special Operations Command under President Obama. They talk about the importance of service in one’s life, the need for more quiet humility in life, and why he focuses on leading a life of quiet service. [August 3, 2020–28 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Website Link
It’s hard to have those things that which we do jointly better than we do individually work unless people feel responsibility for their part of the task.
Finding Mastery: Cap Ripken Jr. on Why You Control Your Life’s Narrative. I can’t imagine an athlete having a better mental makeup than what Cal Ripken Jr. describes in this episode. He talks about what drove him toward excellence, how he handled pressure and self-doubt, how he remained calm during exciting moments like playing in the World Series in his second season, and having pride in his pursuit for greatness and streak of playing 2,632 consecutive games over more than 16 years. [August 5, 2020–1 hour, 38 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
If you measured your success on ‘I have to be the best player in the league’ that was a losing battle. I just wanted to be the best player that I could be.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Books
Avlock Kohli (CEO, AngelList Venture):
Shahraab Ahmad (Chief Investment Officer, Decca Capital):
Russ Rausch (Partner, Vision Pursue):
Neil Strauss (Author, Journalist):
