The Meb Faber Show

In episode 299, we welcome our guest, Sundeep Ahuja, a three-time founder-turned-investor, who's currently a General Partner at Duro Ventures, Climate Capital, and DVC. In today’s episode, we start by hearing about Sundeep’s entrepreneurial journey, then dipping his toe in angel investing by making his first investment into Goodreads. Then he shares the differences of using Angel List syndicates and rolling funds, and the benefits of each. We touch on why Sundeep decided to devote his investment career to help solve climate change. He explains what areas currently look attractive, why he places a lot of emphasis on the founder when making an investment decision, and how he thinks about valuations. As we wind down, we talk about specific companies he’s invested in, from food delivery to gaming companies. All this and more in episode 299 with Climate Capital’s Sundeep Ahuja.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 298, we welcome our guest, Boris Wertz, the founding partner of Version One, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on backing mission-driven founders. In today’s episode, we’re talking all things marketplaces. Boris’ knowledge of marketplaces is unrivaled. He started one of the first marketplaces in the late 1990’s and recently released the third edition of A Guide to Marketplaces, a must-read for anyone interested in the business model. We start by going all the way back to the early days of eBay and then talk about how marketplaces have evolved over time, most recently with crypto and the blockchain. Then we dive into one of the hot topics of 2021: non-fungible tokens (NFT’s). Boris shares some broad thoughts on NFT’s and touches on one of his portfolio companies, Dapper Labs, which is behind NBA Top-Shot. All this and more in episode 298 with Version One’s Boris Wertz.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 297, we welcome our guest, Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, a non-profit organization working to increase access to financial education by providing its curriculum and professional development at no cost to schools. In today’s episode, we start the episode with the current state of K-12 personal finance education in the U.S. Then we hear how teaching a personal finance class in a school inspired Tim to start Next Gen Personal Finance in 2014. He shares the curriculum they provide to teachers for free, why the 43,000 teachers that are registered on the Next Gen platform are the champions to get personal finance mandated in schools across America, and how he utilizes arcade games to engage kids ranging from K-12.  As we wind down, we hear about what Tim calls Mission 2030, which is to get every student who graduates high school to complete a one-semester personal finance course.  All this and more in episode 297 with Next Gen Personal Finance’s Tim Ranzetta.  Learn more about yo

In episode 296, we welcome our guest, Jason Hsu, founder and chairman of Rayliant Global Advisors.  In today’s episode, we get an update from Jason on the Chinese stock market and hear how it differs from the U.S. Then we talk about his new ETF, which gives investors a way to allocate to China A-Shares. He explains why the A-Shares are a great place to seek outperformance due to the large amount of retail involvement. Jason then addresses some of the most commonly cited risks for investing in the Chinese stock market, including accounting issues and the presence of so many state-owned-enterprises.  As we wind down, Jason gives his take on the recent developments with Ant Financial and Jack Ma.  All this and more in episode 296 with Rayliant Global Advisor’s Jason Hsu.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 295, we welcome our guest, Jacob Rubin, founder and Managing Member at Philosophy Capital Management, which focuses on value and distressed credit.  In today’s episode, we start by discussing Jacob’s windy road to end up where he is today, including a stint under Jerome Simon at Lonestar Capital Management. Then we dive into his investment philosophy, which can be described as old school value in a new school world. He shares how he uses pattern recognition to his advantage, how credit and equity investing help one another, and the thesis for some of his top holdings.  As we wind down, Jacob explains how he thinks about the short-side of the portfolio and tells the story of why watching a TikTok video led him to immediately cover a short.  All this and more in episode 295 with Philosophy Capital Management’s Jacob Rubin.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 294, we welcome our guest, Dan Rasmussen, founder of Verdad Advisers, a global investment firm that provides a public market alternative to private equity. In today’s episode, we start with an update on Dan’s private equity replication thesis and hear about the rise of private credit in the past few years. Then we dive into his recent paper on emerging markets crisis investing. While buy and hold investors in emerging markets have experienced higher volatility for disappointing returns, Dan believes learning to navigate these EM crises can provide the ability to reap excess returns. He walks us through the differences between global and idiosyncratic crises and what performs best between both debt and equity in each case. All this and more in episode 294 with Verdad Advisers’ Dan Rasmussen.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 293, we welcome our guest, Ted Seides, host of the Capital Allocators podcast and author of Capital Allocators: How the world's elite money managers lead and invest. In today’s episode, we go all the way back to Ted’s early days working under the great David Swensen at Yale to hear what makes him one of the most respected Chief Investment Officer’s in the world. Then we move on to his famous bet with Warren Buffett and hear how the real winner of the bet was the collateral set aside for the duration of the bet. After touching on what the Chief Investment Officer job entails and sharing the insights he’s learned from speaking with some of the top managers in the world, Ted shares how he invests his own money. We talk about Bill Ackman’s fund, SPACs, and even some crypto.  All this and more in episode 293 with Ted Seides.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 292, we welcome our guest, Tom Barton, famed-short seller and founder and President of White Rock Capital.  In today’s episode, we start with taking a look back at one of Tom’s tweets from September, which said that GameStop was a misunderstood short, and hear why he thought so back then. We also touch on the differences between shorting based on valuation versus because the company is a fraud. Then we turn to what he mostly focuses on these days: biotech and gene-therapy companies. We hear about his brutal two-year experience as an activist and what he learned from the experience.  As we wind down, Tom walks us through some companies he likes in the biotech space, and even shares a SPAC that looks attractive to him at the moment.  Please enjoy this episode with the White Rock Capital’s Tom Barton.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 291, we welcome our guest, Ron Lieber, the Your Money columnist for The New York author of the book, The Price You Pay for College. In today’s episode, we’re talking about what Ron describes as the biggest financial decision your family will ever make: paying for your child’s college tuition. We begin with some background as to how the sticker price of college has soared over the past few decades. Then Ron explains what merit aid is, how it can save you tens of thousands of dollars, and how schools are using it to compete with other schools for prospective students. Ron walks us through some of the best ways to start preparing for this big expense and why he believes you should talk to your son or daughter before they enter high school about all the factors impacting this important financial decision. As we wind down, Ron explains what policy suggestions he’d love to see implemented to help fix the student debt crisis. All this and more in episode 291 with The New York Times’ Ron Lieber.    Learn m

In episode 290, we welcome our guest, Bill Smead, the Chief Investment Officer for Smead Capital Management. In today’s episode, Bill explains why he believes the market is undergoing a tide change. He starts with a look back on the 2000 tech bubble and uses Cisco as an example of why it’s important to separate a good business from a good stock. After talking about parts of the market he doesn’t like, we move on to the parts he finds attractive, including home-builders, energy, suburban mall REITs, and financials. As we wind down, Bill touches on the antitrust case for big tech and what the investment implications may be. Please enjoy this episode with Smead Capital Management’s Bill Smead.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 289 is a Mebisode. In this episode, you’ll hear Meb put today's stock valuations into historical perspective. He addresses the claim that stock valuations should be high because bond yields are low and then looks at what conditions were present at the start of the best ten-year stock returns in history. Finally, he provides some thoughts on what investors could do to handle the current market environment. All of this and more in episode 289. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 288, we welcome our guest, Doug Pugliese, the Head of 1042 QRP Solutions at Alpha Architect, where he manages the firm’s qualified replacement property investment strategies practice. In today’s episode, we’re covering Doug’s best idea: employee stock ownership plans. ESOP’s are a niche but incredibly attractive way for a business owner to sell their business for both themselves and the long-term viability of the company. The episode starts with a broad overview and then dives into the inner workings of an ESOP sale. Doug explains how the tax benefits of a 1042 election allow the owner to defer capital gains tax and even invest the proceeds into a portfolio of blue chip stocks. As the conversation winds down, Doug shares why ESOP’s may be an ideal way for middle market private equity companies to exit investments. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with Alpha Architect’s Doug Pugliese. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 287, we welcome our guest, Jonathan Hsu, the co-founder and General Partner at Tribe Capital, a venture capital firm focused on using product and data science to engineer N-of-1 companies and investments. In today’s episode we're talking about using a quantitative approach to venture capital investing in a way that hasn’t been done before. Jonathan us through his background, with stops at Facebook and Social Capital. Then we hear how Tribe Capital leverages their data science capabilities to assess the product-market fit of companies to invest from the seed stage to late stage. Jonathan explains how this process led him to invest in both Slack and Carta. As we wind down, we learn about the firm’s co-invest vehicles, which allow others to access their deal flow. All this and more in episode 287 with Tribe Capital’s Jonathan Hsu. This episode is sponsored by Masterworks. Masterworks is opening the doors to top-tier, blue-chip art investments to everyone. Use Promo Code “MEB” to skip their 15,000 pers

In episode 286, we welcome our guest, Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and Chief Investment Strategist of GMO.  In today’s episode, Jeremy begins by talking about the current market, which he believes will be recorded as one of the great bubbles of financial history. He puts this bubble into historical perspective by comparing it to the Japanese, technology and housing bubbles. Then he addresses the commonly cited argument that low interest rates justify high stock valuations. Next, Jeremy explains why he is so bullish on venture capital and has allocated almost 60% of his foundation to the asset class, making it, as he says, one of the most aggressive portfolios in the philanthropic world.  As we wind down, Jeremy explains why he is so passionate about addressing climate change through his foundation, and why China is ahead of the U.S. to address the issue.  Please enjoy this episode with GMO’s Jeremy Grantham.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 285, we welcome our guest David Marcus, the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Evermore Global Advisors, where he manages the Evermore Global Value Fund. In today’s episode, we’re talking about David’s best idea: special situations in Europe. David’s been investing in Europe for almost his entire career and thinks now is the best opportunity for special situations he has ever seen. First, he explains what it was like for him to watch legendary investor Michael Price navigate the 1987 crash. Then David explains what led him to start Evermore Global and the firm’s investment philosophy. He touches on the different types of special situations he focuses on, including spinoffs, restructurings, and breakups, and why activism, catalysts, and cheaper valuations make Europe especially attractive. As the conversation winds down, David talks about some of his current holdings and the benefits of investing in family-owned businesses. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with Evermore Global

In episode 284, we welcome our guest, Michael Gayed, a Portfolio Manager at Toroso Investments, where he runs two tactical, risk-on, risk-off strategies. He’s also the publisher of the Lead-Lag Report. In today’s episode we’re talking about how to use indicators to decide when to go risk-on, risk-off. Michael explains how he came to focus on risk management early in his career and has kept that mentality since. He walks us through how he uses the utilities sector as an indicator for when volatility is going to spike, which worked well in 2020, helping him return over 70% in his ATAC fund. Then he takes us through his award winning paper on lumber and gold, two seemingly uncorrelated commodities that actually work well together to serve as a strong indicator for inflationary or deflationary conditions. As we wind down, he explains how often he assesses these signals and what they are showing as we start 2021. Please enjoy this episode with Toroso Investment’s Michael Gayed. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi

In episode 283, we welcome our guest, Brian Barish, the President and Chief Investment Officer at Cambiar Investors, a relative value firm focusing on out-of-favor companies with strong fundamentals. In today’s episode we’re talking all about value investing. Brian explains his evolution as a value investor with a comparison to the evolution of the NBA. He covers the two tenets he uses, taking an underwriting approach to evaluating a company and assessing the capital discipline over time. Then we hear about a couple of names in his portfolio and what he expects the recovery to look like in 2021. As we wind down, we take a look around the globe to hear where he sees value and hear what he thinks about the possibility of negative interest rates. Please enjoy this episode with Cambiar Investor's Brian Barish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 282, we welcome our guest, Salem Abraham, President of Abraham Trading Company and a legend within the trend following and managed futures space. In today’s episode we're talking with Salem about a lifetime of trend-following. Salem explains how a chance meeting with Turtle Trader Jerry Parker was his first encounter with ideas he would build his career on. We talk about the importance of risk management and diversification by utilizing assets other than equities. Then he explains how his relationship with the late Boone Pickens led to a foundation that had such good returns that he opened it up to the public and runs to this day. We touch on asset classes ranging from the dollar, bitcoin, farmland, and even trailer parks. As we wind down, we hear how hedge he put on in February turned $200,000 into $6 million in 37 days, returning 30x his money. All this and more with Abraham Trading Company’s Salem Abraham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 281, we welcome our guest, Adrian Helfert, Director of Multi-Asset Portfolios for Westwood Group, where he leads Westwood’s multi-asset strategies group, which includes Westwood’s Income Opportunity and Flexible Income strategies, as well as Westwood’s Global Convertibles and Fixed Income strategies. In today’s episode, we’re taking a look at all asset classes. Adrian explains what he seeing in the world, from fixed income to equities and TIPS. We talk about how to earn income in a low interest rate environment through MLP’s and REIT’s, and why TIPS are an attractive insurance policy against high inflation. Then Adrian guest explains his view of the energy sector, gold miners, and the impact of low rates on growth stocks. As we start to wind down, we talk about Westwood’s unique approach to fees. Please enjoy this episode with Westwood Group's Adrian Helfert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 280, we welcome our guest, Matthew O’Connor, co-founder of AdQuick, the first true marketplace for out-of-home advertising, providing end-to-end tools to improve the out of home buying experience for media owners, brands, and agencies. In today’s episode we’re talking about part of the advertising industry that often isn’t talked about: out-of-home. Matthew walks us through his background, with stops at Instacart and Amazon, and explains why the struggle to advertise on billboards while at Instacart gave him the idea for AdQuick. Then he explains the early days of the company, which included building out both sides of the platform while trying to entice investors and top talent to join AdQuick. We hear how the company is providing data to advertisers in a way that hasn’t been done before and why direct-to-consumer brands are embracing billboard advertising. As the conversation winds down, Matthew tells us the story of Reddit co-founder & AdQuick investor Alexis Ohanian, who used the platform to do