The Wall Street Lab (Andreas von Hirschhausen)

Christina Qi serves as Founding Partner at Domeyard LP, among the longest running HFT hedge funds in the world, and CEO of Databento, a unified data discovery platform. She started Domeyard 8 years ago with $1000 in savings. Domeyard trades up to $1 billion USD per day. Her company’s story has been featured on the front page of Forbes and Nikkei, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, NBC, and the Financial Times. Christina is a contributor to the World Economic Forum’s research on AI in finance. She is a visiting lecturer at MIT, including Nobel Laureate Robert Merton’s “Retirement Finance” class since 2014, and and alongside President Emerita Susan Hockfield and Dean David Schmittlein in 2019. Christina teaches Domeyard’s case study at Harvard Business School and other universities.

Christina was elected as a Member of the MIT Corporation, MIT’s Board of Trustees. She was elected Co-Chair of the Board of Invest in Girls in 2019. Christina also sits on the Board of Directors of The Financial Executives Alliance (FEA) Hedge Fund Group, drives entrepreneurship efforts at the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association (MIT SBAA), and serves on U.S. Non-Profit Boards Committee of 100 Women in Finance. Her work in finance earned her a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40 lists. She holds an S.B. in Management Science from MIT and is a CAIA Charterholder.

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

We speak about High Frequency Trading, (Alternative) Market Data, the difference between High Frequency Trading and Quantitative Finance, the use of technology, Giving back and philanthropic efforts like Invest in Girls or 100 Women in Finance. Christina also shares her tips for Time Management, Life, Career and how to make people stay.

Rich Nuzum is President of Mercer’s Investments & Retirement business and a member of Mercer’s Executive Leadership Team. Rich is also the Executive Sponsor for Mercer’s Pride Business Resource Network.

Rich’s prior roles include President and Global Business Leader for Mercer’s Investment Management business and global Chief Investment Officer for Mercer’s Investment Management business.

Rich holds an MBA (with high honors) in analytic finance and accounting from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree (with honors) in mathematical sciences and mathematical economic analysis from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Rich has repeatedly been named to CIO magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential investment consultants and received CIO’s 2017 Industry Innovation Award as Consultant of the Year.

Mercer is the largest investment consultant ranked by worldwide institutional assets under advisement, reporting $15.96 trillion in institutional AUA as of June 30, 2020 and further has Delegated Assets under Management of $304.5 billion USD as of 30 November 2019.

We speak about investment consulting, what needs differently sized asset owners need from an investment consultant. We also talk about finding innovative investment managers, the strategies small, medium, and large asset owners use to outperform relative to their capabilities. We also get into the concept of Outsourced CIOs, the trends in the retirement fund world and of course, we get some career advice.

Mathieu Chabran is Co-founder of Tikehau Capital, a global alternative asset manager with over 30 Billion USD in Assets under Management.  Previously, he worked in the Real Estate Debt Market team of Deutsche Bank in London. He began his career at Merrill Lynch, firstly in Paris within the Principal Investment team, then in London, in the High Yield Capital Market department. He received his education from ESCP Europe.

This episode is about Mathieu's journey as a founder to scaling his alternative investment asset management company across the global. We talk about Private Debt, Real Assets, Private Equity, and Capital Markets Strategy. We cover the importance of people and culture and the effects of covid on the business. And of course we talk about the requirements to grow as an employee and climb the ranks. 

Dan Houlihan is an Executive Vice President and Head of Northern Trust Asset Servicing for the Americas. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Dan spent 19 years in numerous leadership positions across several companies in the investment management, technology, and service space. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) and as a Director on the Advisors Investment Trust. 

We talk about the asset servicing business and its various components like custody, fund administration, investor servicing and outsourced solutions across the front, middle and back office. We touch on trends in the asset management industry in regard to outsourcing and technologies and last but not least about diversity in the banking industry.

Uwe Wystup is the founder and Managing Director of MathFinance, a quantitative finance advisory firm. They specialize in the development of state-of-the art models for trading, sales and risk management. Their focus is on FX options, the volatility surface and structured derivatives. Uwe is also a Professor of Financial Option Price Modeling at the University of Antwerp, Honorary Professor at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, was a Visiting Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Finance.

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

Are you interested in the difference between Plain Vanilla and Exotic Options? Or the difference between Finance and Quantitative Finance? And of course what skills you need to land a job in quantitative finance? Uwe explains the science behind exotic options valuations, how quantitative models get developed and improved upon. Learn how brokers, treasurers, and hedge funds interact in financial markets.

Steven Gerbel is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Chicago Capital Management, a US-based merger arbitrage hedge fund. Steven has over 20 years of experience in hedge funds focused on merger arbitrage and convertible arbitrage markets. Prior to founding Chicago Capital Management, Steven was a general partner at First Capital Management LP, a Chicago-based hedge fund focused on merger and convertible arbitrage, value investing, and distressed markets. Prior to this, Steven traded commodities on the Mid-American Commodities Exchange at the Chicago Board of Trade. He holds a bachelor of science in economics degree from DePaul University.

For the full Show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-07-steven-gerbel-merger-arbitrage-hedge-fund-investing/

In this wide ranging conversation, Steve shares some valuable information for those who aspire to become a hedge fund manager. We touched on a variety of topics, such as the current state of the merger arbitrage industry in the US. Here is how he explained why he believes the merger arb market is bullish:

“For years, merger arb spreads have been effectively priced at three times the risk free rate. And with interest rates going down, our spreads have been contracted and now with interest rates seeming to have bottomed here in the United states, that will cause our profit margin to expend at a rate of three, an if we get some inflation on top of that and an expanding economy, there could be a great wave of merger arb transactions coming in the very near future”

As a manager that focuses on mergers in the financial sector, Steven explained in a very simplistic way the reason why he thinks there will be a wave of mergers in the banking sector in the foreseeable future:

“Why do you we have just under 8000 banks in the United States? If you walk down the street in New York, you see banks in almost every corner in expensive real estate. It just doesn’t make sense. In this electronic environment, less and less people go to their branch office every day to deposit their checks or to get their cash, we all use ATMs.”

 We talked about his greatest trading loss and what he learned from it:

 “I learned my lesson that despite the fact that we had good information and that our information was ultimately right, if the regulators go against you, you lose”

On the topic hiring, he mentioned how much he values honesty in people, as he believes he can teach anyone the tools they need to succeed as a merger arb trader, but one thing he cannot teach them is honesty:

“I am looking for character; I am not really as hung up on credentials”

Finally, he gives a valuable piece of advice to aspiring hedge fund managers who are just starting out:

“Find the smartest person in the segment of the market they are interested in send them their resume and then I would call them every day and drive them absolutely nuts. Let them know that you are ready to dedicate your life to serving them”

And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

As always, if you like what you hear, make sure to sign up to our newsletter and share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And, if you want to be really cool, please leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

The next episode will come out on March 9th, in which we interview Dr. Thomas Bloch, the co-founder of the FinTech robo-advisor company Vaamo.

 To follow us go to: www.thewallstreetlab.com 

And now, the show notes:

• 02:37 – What is Merger Arbitrage hedge fund strategy
• 04:40 – Do you speculate on mergers? “Buy and hope”
• 05:40 – What is the biggest risk of merger arbitrage strategy?
• 07:20 – How do you mitigate these risks?
• 08:10 – Mistakes that Steve made on the way
• 09:40 – How Steve became a hedge fund manager
• 11:05 – Analogy of flying a plane and investing in merger arbitrage strategy
• 13:04 – How long does it take from an investment idea to the actual trade happening?
• 14:50 – Current market landscape for merger arbitrage
• 18:40 – Steve on economic business cycles and crisis
• 21:10 – On the increase in inflows of capital across the merger arbitrage strategy
• 24:05 – Liquid alternatives fund
• 24:48 – Restrictions on mutual fund trades and limitations
• 25:25 – What Steve is looking for when looking at a potential candidate
• 29:00 – Piece of advice to graduates
• 31:10 – Who did Steven look up to ?
• 29:50 – 30-second elevator speech
• 34:15 – Steven’s daily routines and on being engaged
• 37:50 – If you don’t love what you are doing you will not make it in the financial markets
• 39:00 – How does Steve deal psychologically with big loses
• 41:50 – Steve’s favorite books
• 43:00 – The most important thing about getting into the hedge fund industry and who you are competing against

Daniel Crosby is a New York Times Bestselling author with books like “Personal Benchmark”, “The Laws of wealth”, and “The behavioral investor”. He is also the Chief Behavioral Officer of Brinker Capital. He spoke at TEDx in Huntsville and hosts the podcast “Standard deviations”. Daniel holds a PhD in Psychology from Brigham Young University.

We talk about his role as Chief Behavioural Officer, the insights of his several books and how to apply the learnings from behavioural finance in real life. We dive into the psychology of human beings, how investors can stick with their portfolio during difficult times and how to outsmart yourself and other investors. We touch on hedge funds like Long Term Capital Management and Renaissance Technologies and the merits of active and passive investing.

That’s it guys – The Wall Street Lab will be taking a summer break and will be back in a few months with the next season.

“Whoa, what? Why?”, I hear you say.

Do you want good reasons, or the true reasons?

read all about it in the blogpost below: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/update-end-of-season-i/

We will be back soon!

Subscribe to the newsletter on our website to stay up to date!

www.thewallstreetlab.com 

Richard Lucas is an angel investor who is currently involved with close to 20 different companies across a variety of industries. He has made many investments into world-class startups over the years, including deals with startups backed by the likes of Y Combinator. For example, Richard was an early investor in the company Estimote, which won the 2013 Tech Crunch disrupt in the Hardware category. Part of the reason why Richard is such a fascinating person to talk to, is that he is involved in a variety of projects outside of his main work. He is the founder of Cambentrepreneurs, an alumni network for the graduates of Cambridge University and others focusing on entrepreneurship. He is also the license holder of Tedx Kazimierz, which is an independently organized Ted event in Krakow, Poland.

Show notes and links: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-05-richard-lucas-angel-investing/

Our interview with Richard is jam-packed with really great and practical insights into the mind of someone who, in his own words, thinks about the world in terms of problems and solutions. We touch on some of the red flags he looks for before deciding to invest in a business and the importance of building a company with an exit plan in mind:

“If you don’t build a company with an exit in mind, then you don’t really prepare for it.” Richard Lucas

We also discuss the reasons why he has deliberately decided not to exited any of his business, despite having received offers to sell them:

“I’ve never done an exit and that is not because I have never been offered money for my businesses, but it never seemed sensible to take money at 3x or 4x earnings, because 3 or 4 years later you have got the same amount of money if the company doesn’t fail, and you still own it.” Richard Lucas

We also talk about his early experience as an entrepreneur and the lessons he learned, which he openly shares with us. You - yes, you - are lucky for living in an era of information abundance. Don’t take our word for it:

“The great advantage for listeners now is: you can be 19 and or even 10 and listen to this and think: oh, I won’t make the same mistake as Richard Lucas. I am really jealous of you guys for being able to compress all that knowledge”. Richard Lucas

And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And, if you want to be really cool, please leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

The next episode will come out on February 9th, in which we share a great conversation with Dr. Nelson Lacey, the director of exams for the CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst) Association.

Stay tuned!

For more information and to subscribe  visit us at: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Time Stamps:

• 02:15 –Richard explains what is it that he does for a living
• 09:20 –On holding onto the companies in the long run and not liquidating angel investments
• 11:10 – Richard’s first angel investment
• 14:40 – Acquisitions – deal structuring
• 15:50 – Opportunities created by Angel investing
• 17:05 – Difficulties of B2B businesses
• 20:35 – How Richard tacks the developments in the markets of his portfolio companies
• 22:35 – Media Richard Follows
• 24:50 – How Richard Screens investment ideas
• 27:35 – Typical process of Angel Investing and how to approach an angel investor?
• 33:20 –Is working for a start-up an easier life than a typical job?
• 38:30 – Importance of experience of working at Start-ups
• 41:20 – The way to agree on the pre-money valuation
• 43:00 – Richard’s favourite portfolio company
• 45:45 – Company culture and focus in a start up
• 47:00 – On financial success of a business
• 50:35 – Richard on giving advice to his younger self
• 57:07 – Other projects Richard is working on
•  

Links:

• Richard’s Blog – www.richardlucas.com
• Project Kazimierz Podcast – www.projectkazimierz.com
• TEDxKazimierz – www.tedxkazimierz.com
• The Alumni Group for Entrepreneurship Support by/for  Cambridge University  Alumni – https://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/get-involved/find-a-group/cambentrepreneurs
• Krakow Enterprise Mondays – https://www.facebook.com/Krakowenterprisemondays
• Open Coffee Krakow – www.ockrk.co
• Krakow Standup Comedy – www.facebook.com/krakowstandupcomedy
• Wojtek The Soldier Bear – www.facebook.com/groups/wojtekthesoldierbear/
• The Alumni Group for Entrepreneurship Support by/for Winchester College Alumni – https://wintrepreneurs.com/
• The Wojtek Narębski  TEDxKazimierz TEDx talk –  https://youtu.be/WR2kKw3kQEA
• Questions from a potential investor – Richard’s Blog Post – http://richardlucas.com/2013/09/questions-from-a-potential-investor/
• Richard’s Linked in Profile – https://pl.linkedin.com/in/richardhlucas
• Argos Multilingual Blog – http://www.argosmultilingual.com/blog

Some of Richard’s Investments:

• SKK – http://zalamo.com/home/en
• Estimote – http://estimote.com/
• Argos Multilingual – http://www.argosmultilingual.com/
• Unicard . http://www.unicard.pl/
• ISL –  https://isl.pl/
• Syndicate Room – https://www.syndicateroom.com/
• Notatek.pl – https://notatek.pl/
• Vantage Power – http://vantage-power.com/
• Untitled Kingdom – https://untitledkingdom.co/
• Love Krakow – http://lovekrakow.pl/
• Crowdcube – https://www.crowdcube.com/

Dan Rasmussen is the Founder and Portfolio Manager at Verdad, a hedge fund that attempts to replicate privately-equity like returns through investments in publicly listed highly leveraged micro-caps. Before starting Verdad, Dan worked at Bain Capital and Bridgewater Associates. Dan graduated from Harvard summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa and received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is the New York Times bestselling author of American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt. In 2017, he was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

In the episode we talked about:

• Replicating private equity with public equities
• Average private equity deal structures now and then
• Leverage buyout transaction structures in US and Asia
• Controlling for risk and bankruptcy probability
• United States vs Japan market for equities
• Doing research in quantitive investing
• Difference of running big and small funds
• The relationship between interest rates and equities
• Why is Dan bearish on VC
• Properties of small cap companies
• Private equity in emerging markets
• Do MBAs make better CEOs?

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Our guest today is Laurie Menoud. Laurie is a Partner at At One Ventures, a VC that finds, funds, and grows deep-tech startups to catalyze a world where humanity is a net positive to nature. Laurie also joined the board of directors of several Startups, and is a multi board observer. Throughout her career Laurie was a Microbiologist, a Biochemist, and Biotechnologist. She was involved in the characterization of the giant virus, “Mimivirus,” at the French national laboratory, which shed new light on the origins of life and optimized new biological processes for wastewater treatment. All that, before she turned to VC, where she co-founded A DOZEN! deep-tech startups related to computer vision, Natural Language Processing, diagnostics and robotics during her time at SRI International and later as Co-lead of BASF's North America Venture Capital efforts.

In this episode we talk about Deep Tech VC Investments. We learn how to invest in Biotech, robotics, AI, and much more. Laurie tells us how her background in research, biotech, biochemistry and biology has helped her be a better investor. We talk about investments in companies to lead humanity to a state where we are a net positive to nature. We learn about sourcing deep tech investments, doing due diligence, and helping net positive companies grow. 

Toby is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Efficient Frontier Investing, a Swiss financial product engineering firm. He also founded Isla Capital Management, a company that providers bespoke financial Solutions in Asset Management and Advisory Services. Before he was active as as Interim CIO at Status Capital and active in several Roles at Bedrock Group, one of Europe’s biggest Family Offices. 

Toby tells us his approach on getting returns above the efficient frontier by understanding, quantifying and managing risk. Toby takes us through their Investment Process and gives us some great insights into the Private Equity Market in Switzerland. We also talk about the importance of Mentoring, a having good reputation and building trust. Toby didn’t mention it in the episode, but sent me the link to a great TED talk on coaching and mentoring he wanted you listeners to know about. The talk is named “Want to get great at something? Get a coach” by Atul Gawande. The link is of course also in the show notes. 

Alexander Doll is the CEO of Barclays Germany and the Head of Banking for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Prior to his role at Barclays, Mr. Doll served as a Managing Director of Financial Advisory Business at Lazard.  Mr. Doll joined Lazard after eight years with UBS. His previous experience also includes working for Lehman Brothers in New York and Frankfurt.

For the full show notes please go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Have you asked yourself what the best-case scenario for your career would be? I mean, if everything goes extremely well – you get along with your colleagues, you become a well-known and recognized expert in your field, you are being nicely rewarded financially for what you do - what would that look like for you? Will you be a CEO of a company? Or perhaps a successful investor or run your own business?

Regardless of what your answer is, there is one thing we can agree on - to get there, you are going to work extremely hard at it. You must master multiple skills, not only on the technical side of your craft, but also your interpersonal abilities. And, as we have heard from so many previous guests on our podcast, you are going to have to truly love what you do – “do it for the love of the game”, as Steven Gerbel said.

There is one thing that all guests on our show have in common – they have achieved a level of “success” that most of us can only dream of. We believe that, whenever you have a chance to talk to someone who has “been there”, regardless of the field they are in, we should all stop and listen, as we all stand to learn something new from them.

In fact, there is nothing stopping any of us from finding someone we admire and asking for 30 minutes of their attention. These overachievers are usually genuinely nice people who are more than willing to share their wisdom with eager souls looking to grow in their careers. This is exactly what Luke and I do with our interviews – the only difference is that we bring our audio recorder with us. Maybe all you are missing is an audio recorder!

Today is one of those days when we tell ourselves – “we are so glad to have recorded this”. In this wide-ranging conversation, you will get a glimpse at what it is like to be the regional CEO of a global investment bank. You will soon realize that you cannot climb the corporate later at an investment bank if you are not both good with the numbers, but most importantly, good with clients. Mr. Doll also tells us the differences between the M&A markets in Europe vs. the US, what he looks at when interviewing job candidates, and much more.

And now to the show notes!

• 1:40 How Mr Doll explains what he does
• 2:30 The story of how Mr doll started out in finance
• 04:45 How does Mr Doll's typical day look like
• 06:25 current developments in the M&A markets
• 07:50 differences between the investment banking environment in US and EU
• 09:54 What is the most important aspect when analysing an M&A deal?
• 11:40 Specialization, industry experts and their role in investment banking
• 12:55 What has changed the most since Mr Doll started out in investment banking?
• 14:30 How does Mr Doll deal with the information overload
• 16:20 News outlets that Mr Doll follows
• 16:50 Three pieces of advice to the younger self
• 18:50 Favourite mistake
• 19:20 A person who shaped Mr Dolls life
• 20:25 on mentorship
• 21:50 on importance of education and designations
• 23:00 Outside of work what takes the majority of your time?
• 24:50 If you could… What book would you make employees at your company read?
• 25:25 Daily Routines?
• 26:02 What questions would you ask in a job interview?
• 26:30 What is something that you believe to be true that most people do not believe to be true?
• 28:00 Is there anything you would like to leave our audience with?

If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

Stay tuned!

Luke & Leo

P.S: Our next episode will come out on March 6th, in which we cover the topic of interview preparation and career development with Ian Morgan, a former Managing Director of Société Générale turned executive coach focused on helping professionals succeed in the financial services industry.

Clare Flynn Levy, Founder and CEO of Essentia Analytics, a behavioral data analytics service that helps professional investors make measurably better investment decisions. She also sits on the board of several and before founding Essentia, she was active as a fund manager, both for a company she founded herself and big names like DWS.

Clare tells us how data analytics can be used to become a better fund manager by analysing decision patters. She goes into a concept called the alpha lifecycle. We talk about trends in the asset management industry like AI, blockchain, or model delivery.

This week, we had the pleasure to speak to the current (as of July 2019) CEO of the CFA Institute, Paul Smith. In our conversation, we cover some of Paul’s challenges in running the CFA Institute during his almost 5-year tenure, the future of the investment management industry, his vision for the organization, why he thinks it is important to have a mandatory Continuing Professional Development requirement for CFA Charterholders, as well as why he thinks young professionals interested in in investment management should strive to become CFA Charterholders. For more visit: www.thewallstreetlab.com 

Lutfey is a Visiting Professor-in-Practice (IDEAS - "Ranked #1 university-affiliated think-tank 2020") at LSE, the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also is aMember of Scientific Advisory Board at the LSE Systemic Risk Centre. At LSE he is also Co-investigator of the Inclusion Initiative, a Former member of the LSE Court of Governors & Investment Committee.

He is also an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore, where he also is part of the Advisory board of the Centre for Governance & Sustainability. 

Furthermore, Lutfey is a Member of the Global Agenda Council or Global Future Council of the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and on several more boards. 

Previously Lutfey was the Global Head of Emerging Markets (FX, Rates & Credit) and Founding Head of the Knowledge Network at UBS, where he also was a Sustainability Council & Opinion Leader. Before that, Lutfey was the Head of FX Distribution & Corporate Risk Advisory for Asia-Pacific at Barclays Capital and Head of FX Structuring at Deutsche Bank.

In this episode we explore the realm of global risk management and then deep dive into a key ingredient in making financial firms more resilient: inclusion and diversity. Lutfey takes his impressive vita as a baseline to talk about the changing understanding of risk in the context of a global financial institution. We go into leadership and inclusion frameworks firms and leaders can apply to have a more stable setting for risk management. We talk about the short term cost and obstacles of inclusion and diversity, and why it’s worth the initial trouble due to the sustained long term benefits. Lutfey gives advice on what to possibly anchor your career on in the next decade, how to prepare for a global leadership role, and other great tips for professional improvement. 

PART 2 - Mark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Creek Capital Management, a company that provides investment management services to institutions and wealthy families. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, Mark was the President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company, the endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to that, Mark was the Senior Investment Officer for the University of Notre Dame Investment office, where he joined as an Assistant Investment Officer in October of 2003.

We spend a lot of time talking about asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio construction, which are topics Mark is a true expert in. We also spend time discussing what Mark thinks makes a great investor, why he spends so much of his time putting his ideas into paper and sharing it with the world, and why he thinks institutions should include cryptocurrencies in their diversified portfolio.

This interview was broken down into two parts. The first leg of the interview was published two weeks ago.

This is the second part of our two-part interview, so check out the first part of the interview, which was released 2 weeks ago.

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever fine podcasts are published!!

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

Luke, Leo & Andy

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

In this episode, Jan Voss of BLN Capital shares insights on the challenges, rewards, and intricacies of working in the family office space

We discussed:

• What are the complexities of family offices and their various forms (Single Family Offices vs. Multi-Family Offices)?

• How does the role of a family office manager differ from traditional fund managers?

• What is the importance of discretion and trust in family office management?

• How do family office managers balance family interests while maintaining professionalism?

• What is the appeal of working in the family office space in terms of diversity and intellectual stimulation?

More about BLN Capital: https://www.blncapital.com/

More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Bashar Al-Natoor is Fitch Rating’s Global Head Islamic Finance. Bashar is responsible for coordinating all Islamic Finance activities across Fitch’s Sovereign, Financial Institutions, Corporate, Structured Finance, Infrastructure and Insurance teams. Bashar has more than 16 years’ experience in the Islamic Finance market. Prior to joining Fitch, Bashar spent seven years at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in key roles. Bashar graduated with an MSc in banking and financial studies from the Arab Academy for Finance and Banking Science and a BS in finance and banking from Amman University. Bashar is also a Certified Bank Auditor (CBA), a Certified Risk Professional (CRP), a Chartered Market Analyst (FAD-CMA), and a Certified Risk Analyst (CRA).

In this episode, we dig into an entirely new topic that we never covered before with Fitch Ratings’ global head of Islamic finance, Bashar Al-Natoor. We are given an introduction to the Islamic Finance industry, a topic that hasn’t received much attention in the western world. We learn about key Islamic finance terms like sukuk and takaful, as well as learning about the rules that govern Islamic finance and Islamic banking. We talk about the biggest Islamic finance markets, like Dubai, Kuwait and Malaysia. After learning about the basics, we dive into challenges, and opportunities in the market, as well as the future of Islamic finance, including fintech. 

Jörg de Vries-Hippen is the CIO for European Equities at Allianz Global Investors. He has built his career within AGI and has been part of the organization for 25 years since he finished his M.B.A. degree from the Universit of Mannheim in Germany.

In this interview, we cover a wide range of topics such as the skills needed to succeed as a portfolio manager, the importance of both technical knowledge and the communication skills to be able to sell the story to prospective clients, how he handles uncertainty as a central part of his job as a CIO, what he looks for when hiring equity analysist and fund managers, and much more!

For the full show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

• [04:00] The importance of being flexible to change with your organization over time
• [05:00] The difference between working in finance today when compared to 25 years ago
• [06:15] What does it mean to build your career “the hard way”
• [08:00] How long it takes to become a portfolio manager
• [09:45] How we should be using technologies to make us better portfolio managers
• [10:30] The importance of analytical vs. communication skills for an equity analyst/portfolio manager
• [13:30] How does Jörg separate the signal from the noise as a portfolio manager
• [16:30] How does Jörg deal with making prediction mistakes
• [18:30] Jörg’s opinion on the current European equity markets
• [20:00] The importance of being predictable, rather than following the current trend
• [23:00] What to look at when looking at individual investments
• [25:30] Jörg’s opinion on the impact of technology in the asset management industry in the near future
• [27:00] What Jörg looks at when hiring an equity analyst or a fund manager
• [30:00] His opinion on the importance of education and financial designations
• [32:00] The career advice Jörg gives to his own children

If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

Stay tuned!

Patrick Lowry is the CEO and Managing Partner of Iconic Holding. Iconic Holding is a global crypto asset management group that started in 2017 with Iconic Lab, a global crypto VC and accelerator. Iconic also launched a series of crypto asset index vehicles under the Iconic Funds brand. Patrick is also the CEO of Cryptology Asset Group. Cryptology is a Malta based investment company investing in crypto assets and companies around the world with portfolio companies including Block.one, nextmarkets and Iconic. Cryptology is the largest publicly traded holding company for blockchain companies and crypto assets.

Previously, Patrick was an auditor at PwC and worked many years in private equity and in venture capital, most notably for the German stock exchange, Deutsche Börse. He holds an MBA degree, a BS in Finance and Accounting and a CPA license.

In this episode we revisit the crypto space. Patrick walks us through his first experiences in crypto, his view of the crypto winter and how it was to start a crypto company. We speak about institutional adoption of crypto assets, the future thereof, and how some instruments like BTC ETPs are structured. We then go into the widely discussed topic of bitcoin and sustainability of its mining, Elon Musk and his impact, and last but not least, Patrick explains NFTs and their use cases.

Ian Morgan is a former Managing Director at Société Générale who, after over 20 years as an investment banker, decided to become an entrepreneur in order to follow his passion. He is now an  executive coach who provides a tailored coaching service designed specifically for finance industry professionals, in the fields of leadership, career management and interviewing. He is passionate about helping individuals reach new levels of achievement and performance.

for the full show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/ 

If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

[5:00] Ian’s background and all the projects he is involved with at the moment

[6:30] What made Ian quit his job as a Managing Director at a large Investment Bank to start running his own business.

[8:45] Ian describes his experience in resigning from his position as an MD and what the first day of running his own business felt like.

[11:15] What do successful candidates do that unsuccessful candidates generally do not?

[15:00] Cover letter writing strategies

[16:50] Ian shares his thought on networking best practices

[18:30] Practical skills for the job hunt if you did not major in business and finance.

[21:40] Is it too late to start a career in investment banking if you are in your late 20’s / early 30’s?

[23:50] Understanding the fact that interviewers also have cognitive biases and use that to our advantage during an interview

[25:50] The danger of trying to sound smarter that you really are during an interview

[27:50] Is it ok to answer an interview question with “I don’t know”?

[29:50] How much is too much when it comes to preparing for an interview?

[31:50] How do I accelerate my career at an investment bank, once I have a foot in the door?

[34:20] The performance formula

[36:50] Daily routines and habits that can help you become more productive at work

[41:30] Ways to avoid distractions at work

[44:10] The importance of reading; Ian’s book recommendations

[47:50] The importance of a “glass half-full” attitude

[49:10] Where you can find out more about Ian Morgan’s work

Stay tuned!

Luke & Leo

Simon Hirst has spent the majority of is live in various leadership positions within the M&A and Private Equity industries, including 12 years at Lehman Brothers. He also served as a Global Co-Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Commerzbank and as the CEO of a London Stock Exchange listed company. In addition Simon is a co-founder and a managing partner of Tri-Artizan Partners a boutique merchant bank. He is also a visiting professor at some of the top European business schools, such as the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Cass Business School, as well as IE. 

For the full show notes and to subscribe go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-01-mape-simon-hirst/ 

Before this interview, The Wall Street Lab was all but an idea. What changed? Luke decided to e-mail Simon Hirst, without really expecting to receive a positive response. After all, he is a very busy man. Besides, “what is The Wall Street Lab anyway?”, he must have thought. To our surprise, Simon Hirst was very gracious in agreeing to meet us on the next day. We were officially in business! To make a long story short, what you are about to hear is the fruit of that initial hard work (which, by the way, pales in comparison to what we have done since!). We really hope you enjoy the interview and excuse our newbie mistakes! We are really excited to put out this content for all of you and are determined to improve as we go along.

If you like what you hear, it will be really helpful to is if you could leave us a 5-star rating on iTunes, as it really helps spread the word to those who could eventually benefit from the content we are producing.

To find out more and to subscribe to our newsletter visit us at: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

To the show notes:

• The difference between his experiences studying at Oxford and Wharton [05:04]
• His experience working in M&A at Lehman Brothers [06:55]
• Work-life balance (or rather the lack thereof) in M&A [08:01]
• Simon’s definition of a financial crisis [11:10]
• His experience in a turnaround situation of a publicly traded company [12:50]
• Comparison between his experience in M&A and in private equity [14:55]
• Discussion of the value added by private equity firms to businesses they acquire [17:00]
• Advice for people trying to get into private equity [18:25]
• Discussion of technology as a substitute for critical thinking [21:40]
• Characteristics he looks at when hiring prospective job candidates and the importance of the first minute of an interview [22:35]
• How the industry has changed over the years [24:30]
• What he has learned about managing people [25:50]
• The importance of preparing for meetings [27:40]
• The advice he received from Steven Schwarzman [30:50]
• Simon’s view on mentorship [32:50]
• Simon’s career advice to young professionals [36:10]

For more information and to subscribe to our newsletter please visit: www.thewallstreetlab.com  

Christopher (“Chris”) Schelling is the Director responsible for Private Equity investments at Texas Municipal Retirement System (“TMRS”). Prior to joining TRMS, Chris served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Director of Absolute & Real Return at Kentucky Retirement Systems and as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at University of Kentucky, where he taught a class in Alternative Investments. 

He If you are an allocator and want to know more about how some of the best in the business go about vetting their private equity fund managers, this episode is for you! Aside from being a well-known columnist for Institutional Investor, and a guy who makes his passion, deep understanding and curiosity for the profession very evident, Chris takes quite a scientific approach to manager selection. We start our conversation by going through Chris’ career, we move on to discuss the due diligence process at TMRS in more detail, covering topics such as their sourcing funnel, how they sperate the “wheat from the chaff” and their investment their investment approval process. We then get very specific about how Chis and his colleagues at TMRS evaluate one of the 4 P’s of manager selection, the People (the other three being Process, Product and Performance). In fact, Chris wrote a great article for Chief Investment Officer about the topic titled “Psyching out Money Managers”, which you can find here and serves as great background for that discussion. Finally, Chris talks about careers as an allocator and what it takes to succeed in this field.

In such trying times marked loneliness and social distancing, give your friends (and your enemies, who knows?) the gift of knowledge and companionship by sharing this podcast with them.

Also, please don’t don’t forget to take 23 seconds to leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

By the way – don’t take anything said in this episode as investment advice. It is not! We might just as well have made all of this up. Be smart and speak to an investment professional if you are looking for advice. For a full version of the disclaimer, I would recommend you go to the very end of this recording. Luke’s sexy British accent alone will make it all worth it!

Be well and #stayhome!

Luke, Leo & Andy

If you always wanted to have a real and unromantic view on what it takes to be a trader, this is the episode for you. Gerard is Principle at Epitrain, a financial markets, business, and project management training company. He also teaches Trading courses at the National University of Singapore, one of Asia’s most prestigious universities and Singapore Management University. Gerard has been in the realms of trading since 1992, the very early days of trading in Singapore. In the past 25 years, from open outcry to electronic trading, he has seen it all.  With his company he is working closely with universities, large banks, hedge funds, and financial institutions to train their people, help them make the right hires and much more.

Gerard, in his straight and unapologetic manner gave us very interesting insights into financial markets and trading more specifically. He also gave us the harsh truth about being in trading and what it takes to get into trading. We talk about his own experiences, stories from the markets, what he learned about skill and mindset throughout the years and what it really takes to succeed in financial markets.

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast.

You can find out more about Gerard at http://www.epitrain.com or add Gerard on LinkedIn.

He also recommends the book “The old man and the sea” and believes there are two interpretations of the book. And only with one you’ll be successful in Trading. Do reach out to us or him to let us know your interpretation.

1:40 What is Gerard’s background?

5:05 How do you make sure to win more often than you loose?

9:25 What do you do when the premises of your trade are broken?

11:45 what is the difference between trading and investing? And what is the difference between technical and fundamental analysis?

14:35: What makes people trade?

15:10 The unromantic part about trading!

20:10 What skills do you need as a trader?

26:10 How do you test and learn those skills?

31:05 How important is a university degree for trading? A hedge fund hiring example

36:25 What skills are important in an algorithmic trading world?

38:05 Do you have tips for people that want to get into algorithmic trading?

39:50 Algorithmic trading

42:30 last words and Challenge

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Luke, Leo & Andy

Andreas Lukic is the Managing Partner of ValueNet Capital Partners, a Private Equity Firm based in Frankfurt. He is also the honorary Chairman of the Business Angels FrankfurtRheinmain e.V., one of the biggest Angel Investor networks of Europe where he engages to grow the Frankfurt Angel and Venture Capital ecosystem. Andreas has worked in Private Equity, Venture Capital and has been an Angel Investor himself for many years.

We spend a lot of time talking about the difference in Angel Investing, Venture Capital, and Private Equity. We also talk about how the investment process changes in all of the areas and what to watch out for when investing in startups. Other topics we get into are the differences and success factors of a good ecosystem for startups with some examples from Singapore and Frankfurt. 

Oliver Schebela, CFA is the Head of Private Equity Solutions of Bethmann Bank, a traditional German private bank, wholly owned by ABN AMRO. Prior to this, he spent 7 years at FERI Trust, where he started as a Private Equity Manager and worked his way up to Head of Private Equity. In his earlier days (he is still very young), he worked at Credit Suisse and at Commerzbank.

For the full show notes and to subscribe go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-02-oliver-schebela-cfa-private-equity-fund-investing/ 

This is a special episode for us. Not necessarily for the great conversation we had with Oliver, but for what it means to this journey Luke and I have embarked on. Back in the day when starting The Wall Street Lab was just an idea, we used to grab coffee and talk about who could potentially be guests on the podcast. Oliver was really the first person we thought about! So having the opportunity to actually interview him serves as validation that our idea was really worth pursuing.

As you will notice from the interview, Oliver is a very down to earth, extremely competent and experienced private equity fund manager. During our conversation, we touch on topics such as the difference between direct and fund of fund private equity investing, the pros and cons of working for large companies versus smaller boutiques, his experience studying for the CFA exams, things he looks at when interviewing candidates to work for him, to name a few.

We really hope you enjoy this conversation with Oliver. If you do, make sure rate us on iTunes and follow us on the various social media platforms.

Please see the show notes below:

• The difference between private and public equity [03:30]
• The difference between direct and indirect private equity investments [04:50]
• How Oliver started in finance [07:00]
• The importance of combining theory and practice when starting your career in finance [08:00]
• The early days of private equity in Germany [10:00]
• The pros and cons of working for a large company when compared to boutiques [12:30]
• Different ways to get into private equity [14:30]
• How Oliver selects private equity fund managers [16:30]
• How he is able to read through fund marketing pitches and extract important information from private equity managers [20:00]
• The differences between investing for institutional clients versus investing for high net worth individuals [22:00]
• Oliver’s view on the illiquidity premium received by private equity funds [27:00]
• Oliver’s opinion on the best way to get a head start in private equity [31:15]
• What Oliver looks at when interviewing people to work for him [35:30]
• Oliver’s experience studying for the CFA exams and receiving his charter [40:10]
• His opinion on the importance of having a CFA charter in asset management [42:05]
• Oliver’s suggestion on how to prepare for the CFA exams [44:00]
• What daily activity would he outsource, if he had the chance to [46:50]
• Who are Oliver’s role models [48:10]
• Oliver’s view on the importance of having a mentor [49:30]
• Oliver’s favorite book [50:55]

For more information and to subscribe to our newsletter please visit: www.thewallstreetlab.com

Our guest today is Michaela Walsh. Michaela is an activist, scholar, mentor, educator, and author. She was the Founding President of Women’s World Banking. Women’s World Banking is the global leader in women’s financial inclusion. Prior to that, Michaela served as a Project Director for the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and as a Program Associate with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Michaela also was a pioneer woman manager with Merrill Lynch in Beirut, Lebanon, in the ’60s, and the first woman Partner of Boettcher & Company in the ’70s, and in 1980. 

This episode is a rare one. Michaela at 86 years old has a treasure trove of experience and is a true force of nature. We talk about the founding idea of women's world banking, the issues it wanted to solve, the story how it came into existence. We talk about Michaela’s experience in female financial inclusion and the positive effects of it. We talk about how WWB financed over 100 million women over the years and became one of the most important financial institutions for female empowerment.

In this episode Luis explains to us what Value Investing, Behavioural Finance, and Investing in sports have to do with each other. Luis talks about combining the Value Investing approach with knowledge from Behavioural Finance and how that helps him invest into European Football (Soccer) clubs. He explains his investing approach, idea creation, systems to keep his own emotions in check while gauging the emotions of greed and fear in the market to make successful investments. We deep dive into the financial side of European football and sports in general.

Investors are quick to brag about the impact and network they add to their investments. After all, they know a lot of important people, have access to cash, and an infinite source of knowledge.

Christoph Jost, Founder & Managing Partner at FLEX Capital, isn't one of them. "We come in when the founders have already done the hard part", he says. "They have scaled their business to 1 million EBITDA or 5 million in revenue. It's clearly working already." 

In this episode, Andi and Christoph discuss:

• What bootstrapped founders face when they scale
• How FLEX Capital finds and invests in them
• How FLEX Capital approaches consolidation
• How Christoph moved into Private Equity

More about FLEX Capital: https://www.flex.capital/en/ 

More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Check 0ut these Wall Street Oasis courses: 

Modeling

Elite Modeling Package: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLElite/TWSL/

LBO Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLLBO/TWSL/

Real Estate Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLRE/TWSL/

Interview Prep

Hedge Fund Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLHFInt/TWSL/

Investment Banking Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLIBint/TWSL/

Private Equity Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLPEint/TWSL/

VC & PE

Venture Capital Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLVC/TWSL/

Private Equity Deals Process: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLPEDeals/TWSL/

Hello and Welcome to another episode of the Wall Street Lab Podcast. 

I am currently in the offices of Solactive in Frankfurt. The second in person interview in a very long time. With me is today's guest: Timo Pfeiffer. Timo is the Chief Markets Officer of Solactive and in charge of Research, Sales, and Communications. He joined in 2017 as Head of Research & Business Development, after working for more than 15 years at Deutsche Bank, where he has held various management positions in London and Frankfurt. Most recently, he served as Managing Director in charge of Structured Products distribution in Europe. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Berufsakademie in Mosbach. 

In this episode we explore the world of indices. You all have heard of the biggest indices, use them probably every day, but how much do you know about their origin, creation, administration? This is our topic for today. We look at the life of an index from beginning to end. Who comes up with the idea? How does the creation process work? What are the use cases? How to maintain an index? And in the end, what is the point of termination for an index? We speak a lot about trends and themes, like thematic investing, ETFs, sustainability, and much more. 

Our guest today is Danielle Joseph. Danielle is a Managing Director and leads the Closed Loop Ventures Group platform – the seed and pre-seed investment division of Closed Loop Partners - focused on the circular economy. She is also a Board Member of several companies.

https://www.closedlooppartners.com/team-members/danielle-joseph-2/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-joseph-71790026/
https://www.homebiogas.com/
https://partsmonkey.com/
https://www.solarcycle.us/
https://www.cartercenter.org/
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Peter-Lacy/dp/1349959677
https://www.amazon.com/Waste-Free-World-Circular-Economy-Planet/dp/0593191846
https://www.wastedive.com/

Contact & Disclaimer

If you want to get in touch: contact@thewallstreetlab.com

Disclaimer: Information contained in this podcast constitutes the opinions of individuals and should not be treated as investment, tax, financial or legal advice. We take no responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made in this podcast. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and it does not contain an offer to sell or buy any sort of financial products and should not be treated as advertisement for such. Any copying, distribution or reproduction of this podcast without the prior permission of the creators of the podcast is strictly prohibited.

Kerstin Eichmann and Moritz Jungmann are a part of the Innogy Innovation Hub which is the corporate venture capital arm of Innogy.
The Innogy Innovation Hub and Innogy Ventures are funded by Innogy SE, a leading German energy company with revenue of around €43 billion (2017), more than 42,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe.

Innogy Innovation Hub, is looking to drive game-changing ideas that can revolutionise an existing business model or industry permanently. The key focus areas of IIH include: ‘Machine Economy’, ‘Smart & Connected’, ‘Disruptive Digital’ and ‘Cyber Ventures’. 

In our conversation, we talked about the difference between corporate venture capital and regular VC funds, the emerging machine economy and what it means for business, as well as how startups are integrated into the activities of the sponsor company behind the CVC.

More of the topics we cover in the interview are:

• How does corporate venture capital differ from typical venture capital
• How does your activity with start-ups tie into the activity of Innogy as a whole
• Machine economy and how will it change business as we know it
• Why should start-up chose a CVC over a regular VC investment
• Areas of Focus: ‘Machine Economy’, ‘Smart & Connected’, ‘Disruptive Digital’ and ‘Cyber Ventures’
• How to start a career in corporate venture capital and what skills to acquire

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

Today we're joined by Krista Morgan, a general partner at Stage, an early-stage private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado.

She's also the co-founder of Aelin.ai, an artificial intelligence platform helping small businesses prepare for loans. She's currently a board member of Peak Beverage. 

Krista holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science and a Diploma in Liberal Arts. 

In this interview, we will discuss:

• How Krista and her co-founder founded Stage
• Her experiences running a private-equity firm
• Managing relationships with founders and investors
• Her approach to funding startups and getting returns

More about Stage: https://stagefund.com/ 
More about Krista: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristamorgan/ 
More about Fintalent: https://fintalent.io/

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Peter Chun is the founder of Silverbear Capital, a globally positioned consulting and investment banking firm. Peter Chun has nearly 20 years of International finance expertise. He specialises in corporate restructuring, corporate finance, and M&A. He has worked with and represented companies of all sizes and configurations. He also brings listing experience in Korea, Toronto, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, and in the US, as well as experience in the private equity/ pre-IPO arena.

In our conversation we discuss:

* Asian mergers & acquisitions trends
* The biggest biggest differences in M&A in US / EU and Asia
* The 2020 M&A environment expectations
* The COVID-19 effects on the market and expected outcomes
* US-China-EU trade relations in 2020
* M&A / IB careers in Asia and differences from US / EU

As always, please do not forget to take 17 seconds to leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Be well and #stayhome!

Luke, Leo & Andy

Disclaimer: Information contained in this podcast constitutes the opinions of individuals and should not be treated as: Investment, Tax, Financial, or Legal advice. We take no responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made in this podcast. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and it does not contain an offer to sell or buy any sort of financial products and should not be treated as advertisement for such. Any copying, distribution or reproduction of this podcast without the prior permission of the creators of this podcast is strictly prohibited.

In this episode, Dr. Daniel Crosby shares insights on the behavioral aspects of investing. The conversation covered a range of topics, including the trends of passive and active investing, the biases exhibited by portfolio managers, the impact of recent events like the WallStreetBets phenomenon, and the interconnectedness of personal well-being and financial decision-making. Let's delve into the key takeaways from this enlightening discussion.

We discuss the following topics:

• Passive vs. active investing: Strengths and weaknesses of both approaches.
• Biases in portfolio managers: Managers can exhibit biases they advise against.
• Rise of retail trading platforms: Gamification, easy access, and zero-cost transactions.
• Role of personal well-being: Connection between well-being and financial decisions.
• WallStreetBets phenomenon: Appeal and cautionary aspects of the movement.
• Influence of extreme states: Impact of emotional and physical states on decision-making.
• Overall insights: Understand approaches, manage biases, consider retail trading, and prioritize well-being.
  
  

This week’s episode is a treat to all of the excel geeks out there. We are delighted to share the conversation we had with Joseph Lau, the only 2-time Financial Modelling World Champion at the ModelOff competition. We cover many interesting topics, ranging from his experience competing at the ModelOff competition, common mistakes people make in financial modelling, and tips on how to excel (pun intended) at financial modelling. Besides being a World Champion in his spare time, Joseph is a Director of Project Finance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He is also a Co-founder of Spreadsheet Advantage, which is an Excel add-in designed to help excel users and developers increase their productivity. Joseph has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, a master’s degree in Applied Finance and a PhD in Pure Math.

The topics discussed include:

03:00 – Joseph’s background

04:50 – Requirements for excelling at financial modelling

05:30 –How Joseph got involved in the ModelOff competition

06:15 – How does the ModelOff competition work

10:30 – Joseph’s preparation to compete

12:00 – Joseph’s experience competing at the ModelOff finals

13:00 – How has become a financial modelling world champion changed Joseph’s career

15:15 – Joseph’s tips on how to excel at financial modelling

17:50 – Areas in finance that requires strong financial modelling knowledge

19:00 – How to correct modelling errors

20:00 – The future of financial modelling

21:30 – How Joseph goes about training people in financial modelling

22:45 – Common mistakes in modelling

25:00 – Why Joseph retired from competing

27:15 – Why was Joseph nicknamed Fine Wine

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Today we're joined by Lisa Marchese, Head of Corporate Development of American Express, where she is responsible for all venture investments, joint ventures and M&A activities. Previous positions at American Express include SVP of International Business Development, VP Corporate Development, and VP Strategic Planning Group within the last 20 years. Lisa holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and a bachelor's degree from Barnard College.

This episode is about all things strategic M&A. Buckle up because we'll discuss:

• What Corporate Development / M&A means for Amex
• Lisa's path into M&A
• How Amex identifies great targets
• The path from prospecting to closing great deals
• The importance of integration and how Amex deals with that

The episode is filled with a ton of frameworks and practical tips for M&A practitioners and professionals interested in the space alike.

The Wall Street Lab is brought to you by Fintalent.io - the leading community for M&A and Private Equity professionals. 

Ralf Heim is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Fincite, a digital wealth management fintech and one of the fastest growing startups in Germany currently employing over 60 people. He has a developer background. He has worked for two startups. He started developing database mostly for logistics companies as a freelancer beginning with 16. He very early joined a business intelligence startup and quickly rose in ranks to head the business development and joining the extended management board. After the company called Cundus, was sold, he and his two co-founders started Fincite and managed to develop it into one of the fastest growing startups in Germany. Fincite currently works with large corporates and banks across Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.

In our conversation with Ralf we discussed various aspects of fintechs, roboadvisors and entrepreneurship. Here are a few topics we have discussed:

• How is it to work on projects and implement solutions for large banks and financial institutions
• How does the process of implementation of financial systems for clients look like
• Artificial intelligence in finance and how it ties into delivering new financial solutions
• What do robo-advisors actually do and how are they disrupting the traditional players
• How do the large banks work with fintechs and what do they do to innovate
• How the experience of working with central banks is different from working with private banks
• How does the current fintech environment look like and are we in a fintech bubble
• The Fincite venture arm and how to create new ventures in the fintech space

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke & Leo

Jane Coffey is an experienced financial professional and an executive coach. She has extensive experience in asset management having been the head of equities and executive director as well as an investment professional across various well respected institutions. She is also heavily involved with the CFA institute in the UK.

In our conversation with Jane we discussed various aspects of financial careers, asset management and behavioural finance. Here are a few topics we have discussed:

• How to get into investment banking / asset management
• How ESG affects the investment environment
• How to find a finance career that will fit you
• Investment banking vs asset management
• How to get early financial experience
• How to build out a network in the financial world
• How to make the next step in your financial career properly
• What differentiates a good fund manager from a great fund manager?
• Which education is right for you in the asset management space
• How has the asset management industry changed over the last 30 years

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke & Leo

We are taking a little breather!
Season 2 of The Wall Street Lab podcast is coming to an end. As much as we regret not being part of your commute for the next 3 months, we look back to the interviews we conducted in Season 2 with great satisfaction. As in Season 1, the focus was in finding great guests to share their insights with us about their niche in the finance world with you, which this season included hedge funds, private equity, artificial intelligence, shipping finance, corporate VC, just to name a few. We hope to continue to do that when we return with Season 3 in October 2018.
If you have any particular topics or specific guests you think would be interesting to have on the show, don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@thewallstreetlab.com
As always, if you like the show, please take a few seconds to heave us 5-star review on iTunes, as it really helps us reaching greater audiences.
Stay tuned and enjoy your Summer/Winter!
Luke, Andy & Leo

Dr. Thomas Bloch is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Vaamo, a leading German Robo-Advisory platform. Prior to founding an asset management fintech Dr. Bloch has worked in investment banking for J.P. Morgan for almost 9 years. This unique set of experiences makes our today’s guest an amazing conversation partner as he shares valuable insights as seen from both sides of the table.

In our conversation, we jump from topic as we discuss the history of Vaamo as well as the current fintech environment and the struggles of founding a financial startup. We also get very deep into the way a Robo-advisor company operates and what is required to succeed in this field. For anyone who is planning on founding a financial startup this is a must-listen.

For the full show notes and to sign up for our newsletter go to: www.thewallstreetlab.com 

And now to the show notes:

• 2:00 How does Dr. Bloch explain what he does
• 3:00 Professional background and the story of Vaamo
• 06:50 How did the idea for Vaamo come along?
• 09:00 How was the switch from investment banking to the Fintech space?
• 10:00 Typical day?
• 11:00 Fintech impact on banking
• 13:15 Fintech business environment in Europe in comparison to the US and Asia
• 16:04 What is a Robo-Advisor?
• 19:00 Should I purchase S&P500 or give my money to Vaamo?
• 20:50 Typical customer risk profile questions
• 22:35 Human role in Robo-Advisors
• 23:50 Strategies behind Robo-Advisor investments
• 28:20 The biggest problems Dr.Bloch ran into when launching Vaamo
• 32:10 Best method of obtaining capital for a financial business and how did Vaamo do it?
• 33:10 What is Dr.Bloch’s favourite fintech?
• 34:40 Brexit effect on the startup/finance industry in Frankfurt?
• 36:00 What pieces of advice would Dr.Bloch give to himself when starting Vaamo?
• 37:40 Contact
• 38:05 What would you like to leave our audience with?

As always, if you like what you hear, make sure to sign up to our newsletter and share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And, if you want to be really cool, please leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes. 

www.thewallstreetlab.com

The next episode will come out on March 23th, in which we interview Alexander Doll, the CEO of Barclays Germany and the Head of Banking for the DACH region! Stay tuned!

Stephan Feilhauer is a Managing Director at Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group. Stephan leads Macquarie Capital’s growth equity investment, or investments on the firm’s own balance sheet, in the Infratech sector. Before Macquarie Capital, Stephan was a VP at Deutsche Bank, a Graduate Researcher at MIT, a Financial Economist at The World Bank, and a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Stephan holds a Bachelors of Engineering in Business Finance from University College London and the London School of Economics and a Masters in Engineering and Economics from MIT.

In this episode we speak about principle investing and the differences between investing on a firm’s balance sheet compared to other forms of VC funds. We get into investing in infrastructure and energy technology startups, the process, the decision criteria, the investment instruments and much more. Stephan also shares big trends he’s seeing across the infrastructure tech industry, like responsible investing and growth opportunities in emerging markets.

Dan Kemp is the Chief Investment Officer for the EMEA region at Morningstar Investment Management. Dan has a very interesting background. For instance, he holds a BA in Theology at Kings College in London - we spend quite a bit of time talking about how his non-business background has helped him in his investment career. Prior to joining Morningstar Investment Management, he was a Founder and Partner at Albemarle Street Partners, an investment advisory firm that assists advisors in client risk profiling, fund research, portfolio construction and asset allocation. Prior to that, he was a Multi-Asset Fund of Funds manager at Saltus Partners.

We touch on a wide range of topics such as how to prevent buying at a high and selling at a low, the importance of having an investment process in place that allows for other team members to poke holes at your ideas, while at the same time avoiding Groupthink. Dan was also kind enough to share some of his productivity tricks, what he looks for when hiring a candidate for a job, his favorite behavioral finance books, and much more.

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

 For the full show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/14-dan-kemp-using-behavioral-finance-to-make-better-investment-decisions

My guest today is  Maëlle Gavet, the CEO of Techstars. Techstars is one of the world's largest pre-seed investors, with over 3,300 investments. Maëlle is the Author of “Trampled by Unicorns” and an advocate for Empathetic Tech.

Today is a special episode. I apologize for the noise in the background because we have the pleasure of recording this episode in person at the Web Summit in Lisbon.

Links

More about Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/

More about Maelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maellegavet/ 

More about Fintalent: https://fintalent.io/

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Alina Sychova has more than 18 years of experience in Investment Banking. Currently as the head of capital markets origination at Sova Capital, a UK based Broker specializing in Emerging Markets. Previously, Alina was a managing director and the head of equity Capital markets at Gazprom bank. And before that, the head of ECM origination in Russia and CIS that's the Commonwealth of independent states at City. Alina clan the ranks at Bank of America Merrill Lynch from an Analyst to Director. All those jobs have a strong focus on investment banking for emerging markets across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Alina holds a master's degree in finance from London Business School, a bachelor's degree in finance, and a bachelor's degree in international finance, both cum laude from pyramidal College of New Jersey.

In this episode we deep dive into Investment Banking, more specifically into IPOs. Alina leads us through the entire process a company does from deciding to go public, to the first days of trading on an exchange. We talk about the checklist IPO items, as well as the creative, artistic parts of taking a company public as an investment bank. We explore Investment Banking in Emerging Markets and the differences to developed markets. Alina shares with us her views on industry trends, opportunities for young bankers, especially women interested in IB. Alina also shares  and her own story making career in this male dominated IB world. And of course she gives great advice for young professionals and many jumping off points for a round 2.

Stefan Schuetze & Juan Rodriguez are both part of the board of directors of Finlab AG, one of the first and one of the largest German company builders and investors in the financial services technology sector. Both Stefan and Juan have extensive experience in working in the Venture Capital, Fintech and Startups space. In the conversation we take a deep dive into the topic ranging from venture capital and fintech to blockchain and ICOs. 

Some of the topics we discuss in the interview include:

• How to become a managing director at a VC Fund?
• How top VCs choose their projects?
• What is exciting for a VC in the Fintech/Blockchain space now
• How being a publicly listed company affect decision making of a company
• How to grow a Fintech Company
• What do VCs see in Blockchain technology
• 100 million USD fund to invest in Blockchain EOS projects
• Will ICOs displace Venture Capital?
• What experience or skills do you need to get into fintech / VC space
• What you should never say when pitching a company to a VC

And many more.

Find out more at www.TheWallStreetLab.com

Brett King is a futurist, an Amazon bestselling author, an award-winning speaker, host the globally recognized radio show Breaking Banks, is the Founder and Executive Chairman of neo-bank Moven. He advised the Obama administration on the Future of Banking. Brett has spoken at TED conferences, given opening keynotes for Wired, Techsauce, Singularity University, Web Summit, The Economist, IBM’s World of Watson, CES, SIBOS, and many more. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN, CNBC, BBC, ABC, Fox, and Bloomberg. He previously advised the Obama administration on Fintech policy and advises regulators and bank boards around the world on technology transformation.

This episode is every Fintech enthusiast's dream. We talk about the current state of banking, what is possible, and where banking is headed. And most importantly, Brett gives some advice on how to be part of the future of banking. We talk about different technologies like AI, blockchain, but also soft skills needed to succeed, like having the right mindset. We go over lessons in technology from all around the world, like China

Prof. Oliver Gottschalg is one of the leading researchers in private equity space. He is a an associate professor at HEC Paris but also among other things he is a co-founder and head of research at Peracs, a firm providing analytics and research on private equity investments.

In our conversation with Prof Gottschalg we discussed various aspects of private equity as an asset class, performance measurements in the space as well as various other related topics. Here are a few items we have touched on:

• How to measure performance of private equity funds
• How does bridging affect private equity fund performance
• How to start a career in private equity
• How to clean up private equity performance data?
• Performance persistence in private equity
• Do big private equity funds outperform smaller private equity funds?
• What are some public market equivalents of private equity
• Co-investment opportunities in private equity
• Is performance of private equity funds based on value created?
• How value is created in private equity
• What makes a good GP and LP
  

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Lila Preston is a Partner at Generation Investment Management, and is Co-Head of the Growth Equity platform – Generation’s private equity fund.  Generation was, amongst others, founded by former US Vice President Al Gore. In Addition, Lila serves on the board of several companies. Lila holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from London Business School. 

In this episode we deep dive into the world of ESG and Sustainable Investing. Lila talks about Generation’s investment approach and process, from research, over pipeline building, deal sourcing, to the decision factors. We take you step by step through the process of what it means to invest with impact into Private Equity. Lila also shares some great career advice and the importance of culture in a company. 

Carl Richards has a financial wealth management background and has been working for some of the largest financial institutions out there in various advisory roles. He is best known for being a creator of the Sketch Guy column, appearing weekly in the New York Times since 2010. Carl has also featured on Marketplace Money, Oprah.com and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world.Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his two books, The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money and The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money.

In our conversation with Carl we discussed various aspects of behavioural finance and wealth management. Here are a few topics we have discussed:

• What problems are plaguing the wealth management industry
• How carl advised clients in wealth management
• How to explain difficult finance concepts in a simple way
• Mutual funds vs individual investing
• Behavioural finance and how people typically react to various market situations
• Why are people so bad at picking their investments
• The raise of Robo-advisors and how they disrupt the financial advisors market.
• What would Carl advise to people looking to get into the wealth management field

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke & Leo

#33 David Salem - A Deep Dive into Capital Allocation

This interview is a true master class for anyone interested in capital allocation and manager selection. We had the great pleasure to speak to David Salem, the Co-Chairman of New Providence Asset Management, a firm that provides investment office solutions for endowments, foundations and family offices. David is also a contributor to Epsilon Theory, an online community in which he writes extremely thoughtful articles about investment management and combines it with his passion for the game of baseball.

Before assuming his current post, David served as a Managing Partner at Windhorse Capital Management, which merged with New Providence in 2018. For almost two decades before that, David served as the Founding President and CIO for the Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), a non-profit investment cooperative that managed over $8bn on behalf of more than 700 endowed charities by the time he left.

We discuss many different topics during our conversation, which includes the Yale Model, which then became known as the Endowment Model and why David thinks it may be dangerous for institutions to try to replicate it. We also discuss David’s framework for selecting money managers, what his due diligence process looks like and what he focuses on when meeting a money manager for the very first time.

The topics discussed include:

02:00 – David’s background

06:00 – David’s opinion what it takes to become a great investor

10:00 – The Endowment Model and why David thinks it may be dangerous for institutions to try to replicate it

16:00 – How does David thinks about diversification, as well as his thoughts on how to design an investment program

24:00 – David’s thoughts on how one should account for human biases in the measurement of risk tolerance

33:00 – David’s thoughts on Private Equity and crypto currencies

39:00 – David’s personal process on how to select investment managers

43:00 – Characteristics David looks for (and seeks to avoid) in vetting money managers

49:00 – How does David prepare for a first meeting with a money manager, and what he spends the first meeting on

55:00 – What David thinks about the use of Investment Committee in making investment decisions

59:00 – How does David decide on how when to part ways with managers he has invested in

62:00 – David’s thoughts on mentorship

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Luke, Leo & Andy

Andrew White is the founder and CEO of fundapps, a regulatory technology company founded 10 years ago. He completely bootstrapped fundapps and grew it from a small startup to over 60 people and 9 trillion USD in monitored client assets. The company provides Shareholder Disclosure software to Hedge Funds and other asset owners. Before founding fundapps, Andrew was a managing director at aquin components, a company that was acquired by State Street. 

We start off our conversation by Andrew walking us through the space of regtech, giving us a history of the space, and how the regulation technology industry changed over the years. We talk about the difficulties to adhere to all regulations globally as a Hedge Fund or Asset Owner. 

We then take an unforeseen and interesting turn and Andrew gives us a masterclass in the art of Bootstrapping a startup. This part starts at about minute 30. 

Howard Marks is co-chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management a leading global investment firm with deep expertise in credit strategies, which manages more than $120 billion in assets. Howard is the bestselling author of the two highly influential books: "Mastering the Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side" and "The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor". He is also known for his very insightful investor letters, which has been claimed to be must-read material by many well-known investors, including none other than Warren Buffett. Howard holds a B.S.Ec. degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a major in finance and an M.B.A. in accounting and marketing from the University of Chicago.

“Experience is what you got, when you didn’t get what you wanted” – Howard Marks

In our conversation we discuss:

• How Oaktree experienced raising and deploying capital during the GFC of 2008
• The difference between scepticism and negativism
• The similarities between investing and tennis
• The rise of passive investing
• The importance of being a contrarian
• The mood swings of market participants and how that affects one’s own investment decision
• Why he writes and what has kept him motivated to write even though his letters once were not as popular as they are today
• And much more!

“When I see memos from Howard Marks in my mail, they're the first thing I open and read" – Warren Buffett

"Howard is a legendary investor" – Tony Robbins

As always, please do not forget to take 17 seconds to leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Be well and #stayhome!

Luke, Leo & Andy

P.s. The content of this conversation is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, legal, tax…. advice. You know the drill, right? If you want to listen to the full disclaimer, just skip through the amazing conversation with Howard, and go straight to the end of the episode and you will be highly entertained.

Olaf Danckwerts has spent many years working on ship finance deals for some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the shipping finance and restructuring fields. In our conversation we cover the topic such as: introduction the ship finance field, what characteristics does ship finance as an asset class have and how deals typically look like in that space... Oh and also pirates. 

Topics we cover in the interview:

• Introduction to ship finance and the shipping industry
• How does ship finance compare to real estate and other asset classes
• Who are the major players involved in ship financing
• How does a deal process typically look like in ship financing
• Regulations in the shipping industry
• How does the industry deal with issues like isuch as piracy

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Jacco Minnaar is the Chair of the Management Board and Managing Director of Triodos Investment Management, a globally active, multi-billion Dollar Impact investor. 

Jacco has 25 years of experience in the financial and investment industry. Prior to his current position as Chair, he served Triodos across various positions including Director of Energy and Climate, Fund Manager of Triodos Fair Share Fund, and Regional Manager of Africa and Latin America. Before joining Triodos in 2006, he managed the Financial Markets Development Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the Mekong region. Jacco holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science and is a CFA charter holder.

Jacco explains to us what is Impact Investing and why it is important, how you can differentiate yourself as an Impact Investor. We debunk myths about impact investing and lagging returns by looking at the performance drivers of sustainable investments. We also speak about Triodos’ investment process, the areas they invest in, and how they choose their portfolio companies and strategies. 

Markus Koch is a German Wall Street journalist and entrepreneur. He started trading friends & families money very early and had 70k€ debt at age 17. He then paid back the money by working at Bear Sterns before starting his own journalism company. Markus acted as Economic Advisor for the Web-Series “We, the economy”, produced by Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen and was part of the Introduction of the Hollywood-Blockbuster Wall Street, Money never Sleeps” in Germany.

What does Star Wars, Jazz, or Casanova have to do with Finance? Markus brings Wall Street to retail investors.

This interview provides a very honest and open insight into Wall Street from an Insider’s perspective. Markus shares his opinion on many different topics, ranging from Trading to Politics. We talk about how Markus lost his teachers’ money, started at Wall Street while sleeping on his boss’s couch. We talk about the stories that drive the stock market and what drives Markus to educate retail investors about finance. Markus gives insights into Trading and the traditions of the NYSE trading floor over the years.

Hugo Bongers is the Head of ABN Amro Ventures, the 150 million Euro Corporate Venture Capital fund of Dutch Bank ABN Amro. His mission is to make strategic investments in early-stage (series A and onwards) tech and fintech companies which are relevant for the bank. His job is to scout for innovative companies, invest in them, connect them with relevant stakeholders within the bank. Hugo is on the board of a lot of startups, like solarisbank, penta, crosslend, just to name a view. Hugo has a background in acquisition finance and private equity. Hugo holds Masters degrees in law and economics from Utrecht University.

In this episode we talk about the Corporate Venture Capital arm of ABN Amro. We talk about how Hugo sources his deals, his decision criteria on when to invest in startups. His value proposition to startup founders and how he deals with internal and external stakeholders of the bank. We go into the latest market developments, the recent rise in valuations even in early stages before hitting a positive cash flow. And of course, we give some interesting career advice.

Rob is the CEO of IPC Systems, the leading voice trading company famous for their dealer turrets, which you can find on every trading floor. Previously, Rob was the President of Global Trading at FIS, the world’s largest Fintech and a Fortune 500 company. Before that, Rob was COO of several different companies. Rob recently won the CEO of the Year award.

We speak about the past, present, and future of trading, especially voice trading. We dive into the effects of Covid19 on the trading world, how trading evolved in a working from home environment and how technology enabled this shift. Rob shares his views on leadership, how to become CEO of the Year and how to lead through transformational times. And of course, with such a high profile guest, I ask for some career advice.

Today we have some absolutely non-special guests. We talk to…ourselves.

To celebrate our 50th episode we made our own random episode, talking about our founding story and sharing some background on our professional lives. We also share some of our favourite episodes, books, podcasts, online learning resources and a bunch of nonsense comments. If you expect deep insights into a new financial topic, better wait for the next episode. If you want to know a bit more about us und get some recommendations, please stay and enjoy the episode.

• Andi's journey from banker to entrepreneur
• Why he started Reach.Finance, and what is broken with financial advisory
• How he approached fundraising
• How the podcast helped him with fundraising

We had the pleasure to chat with Iven Kurz, founder and CEO of Evergreen GmbH. Evergreen is a German retirement focused Robo advisor. Before founding his own company, Iven was a total return fund manager for two of the biggest German Private Banks. The total return investing style Iven uses is called Passive Dynamic Investing, which is based on the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Theory and he used for many years. We dive deep into the weeds of this investment form and see why it is being used for retirement saving. Please keep in mind this is not investment advice full disclaimer at the end of the podcast.

The topics discussed include:

03:00 - investment philosophies

04:30 - How Iven got into Total Return investing

07:00 - portfolio insurance investing and what is passive dynamic investing (PDI)

12:30 - deep dive into PDI and Option Pricing theory

17:30 - what is the goal of PDI

23:55 - how does risk work in PDI?

26:40 - PDI for retirement planning and risk

29:00 - risk budgets

32:00 - predicting returns for PDI Investing

35:25 - about long-short total return investing

37:30 - What Evergreen does

40:50 What Evergreen does differently

43:30 - costs and risk premium for robo-advisors

47:20 - PDI and black swan events

50:15 - closing questions

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

  Welcome to The Wall Street Lab!!! That’s it! After months of preparation, including getting used to listening to the recording of our own voices, The Wall Street Lab is finally live! Luke and I are really excited about starting this journey with all of you. We really believe we have put together something special that will hopefully add some value to your careers in finance. So what are we all about? We started The Wall Street Lab to provide you with exclusive insights into the world of finance. We strive to offer you access to practical information that cannot be found in books or articles. In order to do that, we interview top finance experts in the areas of hedge funds, private equity, investment banking, asset management, management consulting, to name a few. To give you a taste of what is to come, we put together a “Trailer” of Season One. We hope you enjoy it and stick around for future episodes!  Feel free to give us some feedback in the comments below! And last but not least, make sure to rate us on iTunes and subscribe to our newsletter on our website! http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Brian Tomlinson, CMT is currently a Global Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Allianz Global Investors. Prior to joining AllianzGI, he spent 7 years at Pimco as a Portfolio Manager. He also worked at other companies well known to most of us, such as Merrill Lynch, Citi Bank, Dresdner Bank and IBM.

for the full shownotes and more go: to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-04-brian-tomlinson-cmt-fixed-income-investing-with-a-global-portfolio-manager/ 

If you are one of those who think fixed income is boing, I can almost guarantee you that you will change your mind after listening to our conversation with Brian. Not only is he extremely good at what he does – and you will hear that when he walks us through the thought process that lead him to position his portfolio to take advantage of both a possible Brexit vote and the Trump election – but he is also very good at making seemingly difficult concepts, such as the effect of negative interest rates in society, very accessible to everyone.

“If you really want to make money, it is not the money that drives you, it is winning and the desire to be right” Brian Tomlinson"

The Information contained in this episode is as of November 2016. 

Now, to the show notes:

• The importance of having an elevator speech [02:00]
• How Brian’s grandfather influenced his decision to get into finance [03:20]
• Brian’s early interest in currencies, interest rates and hedge funds [06:00]
• Brian’s initial disappointment about what is taught at universities [06:35]
• Brian’s view of the global financial markets [07:25]
• How he deals with fear and pain in trading [08:20]
• Trading in, out and around currency positions [11:50]
• The importance of understanding correlations for traders and portfolio managers [13:00]
• How does Brian deal with volatility in his portfolio [14:10]
• What Brian looks at to gauge where future volatility is likely to go [16:00]
• The importance of being a self-learner and having a mentor [18:30]
• How to size trades in which you have a low conviction [22:10]
• How he taught his son Texas Hold’em Poker when he was 6-years old as a way to learn probability [23:17]
• How Brian positioned his portfolio to profit from a possible Brexit vote [25:00]
• His experience on the day Trump was elected [28:45]
• Brian’s advice for university students [31:00]
• Brian’s view of Quantitative Easing and negative interest rates [33:15]
• Brian’s view on the current US economic cycle [37:10]
• Qualities he looks for when hiring people to work for him [40:40]
• Brian’s thoughts on mentorship [43:00]
• What makes fixed income exciting, even in a low interest rate environment [44:15]
• His view on the CFA and other financial designations [48:30]
• Brian’s career advice to young professionals [49:30]
• Brian’s book recommendations [53:00] 

If you have any thoughts on how we can make the podcast more valuable to you, e-mail us at contact@thewallstreetlab.com

Make sure to sign up to our newsletter. We promise not to spam you!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Paolo Sironi is the Author of several books including “Financial Market Transparency” or “Fintech Innovation”. He is a Fintech Advisor for IBM, Fintech Thought Leader, co-host of the podcast “breaking banks europe”, and member of the advisory boards of several companies. In the past, Paolo founded his own fintech startup as a joint venture of German Private Bank Sal. Oppenheim and Fitch ratings. Before that he was working as Director of Risk Management at the large Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo.

We talk about his different books, the insights he gained from his research and how his views developed over time. Paolo shares with us the biology of how humans make investment decisions, the importance of financial market transparency and how banks and fintechs can leverage those insights to succeed in the coming years.

This episode was recorded in December 2019.

Links

Paolo’s website: http://www.thepsironi.com/

Paolo’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepsironi/

IBM: https://www.ibm.com/us-en/?lnk=fcc

Breaking Banks podcast: https://breakingbanks.com/

Fitch Ratings: https://www.fitchratings.com/site/home

Intesa Sanpaolo: https://www.intesasanpaolo.com/

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

Luke, Leo & Andy

Jorge Tavio is the Market Development Director, Wealth EMEA for Refinitiv. Refinitiv is one of the largest market data providers on the planet with more than 40,000 clients in 190 countries. In his current role Jorge is leading the wealth market development team in EMEA. He and his team are connecting the dots between new technology, regulation, new business models and innovative customer experiences. His previous roles included being the Head of Partners and Digital Innovation Continental Europe and several Specialist roles within Refinitiv (former Thomson Reuters).

The episode was recorded in July 2019

With over 20 years of experience in the financial data industry we dig into the history of delivering market data and how the business changed over the years. We learn how market data helps financial institutions to make decisions and powers financial markets. Jorge shares with us the latest trends in technology, the big challenges of all industries, especially the wealth industry and his thoughts on hiring and learning. 

Jorge’s profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-tavio-ascanio/

Refinitiv: https://www.refinitiv.com/en

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

Luke, Leo & Andy

Daniel Faggella is the Founder, CEO, and Head of Research at Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research. He is also a Member of the OECD Network of Experts on AI, a Fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Daniel previously founded Science of Skill, CLVboost, and Black Diamond Mixed Martial Arts Academy, so we have someone with a very specific and similarly broad experience set. Dan also hosts a total of 3 podcast: The AI in Business Podcast, The AI in Consulting Podcast, The AI in Financial Services Podcast. Dan holds a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Positive Psychology and a bachelors in Psychology and Kinesiology with a Minor in business.

In this episode, we get into AI for financial services. Daniel talks about the true distribution of AI funding for banks, how one needs to cut through the tweets and press releases to check where money in AI is actually flowing. We talk about how to research AI use cases, and how to think about investing in AI as a bank. How to think about ROI (Return on Investment) before doing an AI project, and the answer might surprise you: It is not always hard Dollars that might be a project’s true ROI. And of course Daniel gives us a lot of places to further dive into AI for the finance space.

Sven Korschinowski is Partner for Payments and Banking at KPMG, one of the big four auditing and consulting companies. Before that he worked for a long time at Deutsche Bank in various countries. In our conversation we have a wide-ranging conversation from consulting, over fintech, payment, banking, innovation, blockchain, and for the ambitious among you: career advice on becoming a partner at KPMG.

Topics we cover in the interview:

• Introduction and career advice in consulting
• Fintech vs incumbents, what are the chances and weaknesses of both
• How to succeed as a startup
• How much is hype and what is real in the fintech space
• What are the use cases for blockchain and ICOs
• What the german fintech ecosystem can learn from the world

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Howie is the Head of ETF for Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM). Prior to joining LGIM, Howie was the CEO of Canvas, an ETF platform acquired by Legal and General in 2018. Prior to that, Howie trained and worked at Simmons & Simmons in London advising the hedge fund industry. LGIM is with 1.5 trillion USD AuM among the 20 largest Asset Managers in the world.

This episode is all about trends. We talk about thematic investments and the underlying trends. Howie leads us through the thematic investment process LGIM makes with examples like changes in e-commerce. We also talk about the three changes in the asset management industry: Quantitative Analyis, Digitalisation, Regulation. 

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

Financial models are more than forecasts - they're a crucial decision-making tool. And it takes more than Excel-skills to make them impactful.

Our guest today is Ian Schnoor, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Financial Modeling Institute

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Financial Models are vital tools for investment decisions
• What makes a Financial Model great
• What can go wrong when building a Financial Model

Learn more about the Financial Modeling Institute: https://fminstitute.com/ More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/

Most of you are familiar with the CFA designation – the one that makes you lose at least 3 Springs of your life (if you are lucky), your friendships and sometimes your partner. The one that makes you, according to CFA Institute’s statistics, read 8,914 pages of material, study 3,865 equations and take 18 hours of examinations. It is true that studying for it can be a very daunting and time consuming task. But if you are really interested in it (and I am not here trying to convince you to become a CFA charterholder – although I think it is a great thing to do if you are passionate about finance), I think you are going to get a lot out of this episode.

For the full show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/ 

I have been asked many times over the years about tips and tricks on how to improve your chances of passing the CFA exams. So, in this special episode in which we decided to be the ones doing all the talking, Luke and I put together a list 18 points that may improve your chances of being more successful in studying for the CFA exams. I must say that the combination of the points shared during this podcast made a huge difference in my studying attitude and I like to think they have positively influenced my results. Please note, however, that these are tactics that have worked well for me, and may not work so well for others, so pick whatever idea you like most and try to implement it to your mindset.

Also, here is a spoiler alert – if you are looking for tactics and/or ideas on how to tackle specific CFA curriculum material, you will not find any of it here. There are plenty of resources online for that.

If you listened to the episode and still have any questions, feel free to send us an e-mail at contact@thewallstreetlab.com and we will do our best to answer any questions you may have.

Also, while we are at it, If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

Stay tuned!

Luke & Leo

Peter Schwicht is the former CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management EMEA. He held various positions in JP Morgan over the years including being the head of trading for JP Morgan Germany. Currently he is sitting on the board of many companies and continuing to share his expertize. In the interview, we touch on many topics such as: Megatrends in Asset management as well as ESG investing and how regulation impacts the asset management industry.

More of the topics we cover in the interview are:

• Megatrends in asset management
• The raise of passive asset management
• Perspective on ESG investing and social responsibility of financial managers
• Active vs passive asset management
• What can you learn from financial crisis
• How does regulation and governance affect the asset management space
• What impact will MIFID have on asset management
• What is the future of research in asset management
• Small vs big asset management firms in today’s world
• Career advice for getting into asset management
• How to find a mentor

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Michael Berns is Director for AI & FinTech at PwC. Michael has a broad background across blue chip names such as Morgan Stanley & Moody's as well as a range of smaller innovative AI Firms. Michael has been a Mentor and Judge for organizations like Startup Bootcamp, Virgin Money Startup, Cocoon Network, Level 39, MIT Inclusive Innovation Competition and the United Nations World Food Program. Michael is als a guest lecturer at London Business School and Mannheim Business School. Michael holds an Executive MBA from London Business School. 

In this episode we revisit AI in Finance and Banking and we are busting some myths about common misconceptions people have about it’s adoption. We also get into the difference in AI adoption across several regions across the world. We talk about regulation, use cases, and much more. Michael also gives some advice on getting your career path right and resources on how to start with AI.

Michael John (‘MJ’) Lytle is the CEO of Tabula Investment Management, a provider of fixed income ETFs. Tabula aims to bring investors precise credit exposure. He also was a founding partner of Source, a ETF Provider, which as of 2017 is part of Invesco.

He also was a founding partner of Source, a ETF Provider, which as of 2017 is part of Invesco. At Source we was the Chief Development Officer, with specific responsibility for marketing and broader involvement in product creation and design. MJ was also part of Morgan Stanley and BlackRock. 

We talk about a vide variety of topics, including the startup industry, the ETF business, in particular the Fixed Income and Credit ETF business. We deep dive into CDS and the financial crisis and last MJ leaves us with some final tips. 

TWSL MJ Lytle

Intro & Application tips 0 - 12:10

12:10 - 19:53 

Startups, VC, Europe vs. Silicon Valley

19:53 - 27:36

Going deep into ETFs and the ETF Business - the buyers perspective

27:36 - 40:19

Building an ETF startup - the sellers perspective, Credit/ Fixed Income ETFs, The Europe Fixed Income Market and deep dive into bonds

40:19 - 52:35 

Deep dive into credit markets and CDS; excourse to the financial crisis and what is different today

52:35 - end

About making mistakes, books and final tips

Martin is President of FIS Capital Market Solutions business. You might have heard of FIS because of their 43 billion Dollar acquisition of worldpay in 2019, which was the largest acquisition in the Fintech industry to date. FIS is the world's largest Fintech with over 10 billion USD in revenue and over 55,000 employees globally. 

In this role, Martin is responsible for developing and delivering the technology and services that facilitate the movement, management and growth of money and global securities. He joined FIS in 2015 with the acquisition of SunGard, where he began his leadership journey in 1998. Over his 20 years with FIS and its predecessor companies, Martin has held a variety of global operational and strategic leadership positions with increasing responsibility in treasury management, asset management, international distribution and the institutional and wholesale business.Before joining FIS, Martin was a senior manager with the Royal Bank of Scotland, a management consultant at KPMG, and started his career at IBM. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham.

In this episode we focus on the Fintech industry. We explore the impacts of covid on the adoption of new technologies and what tech trends Martin observes and expects for 2021. We speak broadly about technologies like AI, Cloud, mobile, and blockchain. Other topics are the ever more dominating role of technology in a companies operations, innovating at the scale and size of FIS, and creating a culture fit for a rapid changing world. 

Marcus Storr is the Head of Hedge Funds at FERI Trust, a German asset management company and one of the largest investors in Alternative Assets in Germany. Marcus has held various positions in the investment industry over the years, including being a Vice-President for Global Equities at Robert Flemings in London, which is now part of JP Morgan, and a Director of Global Equities at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

For the full show notes and to subscribe go to:http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/episode-03-marcus-storr-hedge-fund-investing/ 

Let me tell you: you are in for a real treat! As you will notice very quickly, not only did Marcus provide us with great insights about the hedge fund industry, but he is also very entertaining and humorous.

During our interview, we touch on a range of topics including different hedge fund strategies, the current state of the hedge fund industry, how to improve your chances of getting hired by a hedge fund manager, and many other very interesting topics.

And now, to the show notes:

01:42 – Start of the Interview

02:05 – What does a Hedge Fund Manager do?

04:03 – How did Marcus get into Investment Banking?

08:37 – Working at a Scottish investment bank

09:05 – How does working in London compare to working in Germany?

11:40 – How does Marcus’ previous Investment banking experience compare to investing into Hedge Funds

13:00 – On moving from London to Frankfurt

14:30 – Investment Banking and “The Work-Life Balance”

17:50 – Best practices for starting out in Investment Banking

20:50 – His thoughts on the CFA Program

21:35 – Hedge Fund Job Interview

24:00 – The Perfect Cover Letter

25:40 – Intensity of working in finance

27:15 – Good body is good for the health

28:40 – Typical day as the Head of Hedge Funds

31:00 – Conversation on the hedge fund performance

33:55 – Fund of funds, direct investing and custom portfolios

36:20 – Great Manager or a great investment strategy? Which is better?

38:20 – How the due diligence process in hedge funds investing looks like?

41:10 – What is the craziest hedge fund strategy Marcus has ever seen?

42:50 – Hedge funds as an exit route for investment banking professionals?

46:30 – Personal routines and questions

We are really interested in your opinion, so if you have any thoughts on how we can make the podcast more valuable to you, e-mail us at contact@thewallstreetlab.com

Stay tuned for our next episode, which will come out in two weeks, on January 12th!

Also, make sure to sign up to our newsletter. We promise not to spam you!

Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner is Head of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management where he analyses implications of blockchain technology on companies and business models.  Prof. Sandner is also member of the FinTechRat – a council for financial technology of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Germany.

In our interview this week we discuss the Blockchain technology and its potential implications. Prof. Dr. Sandner answers all our questions and more regarding the Blockchain and closely related technologies such as smart contracts, digital currencies and other applications of this revolutionary invention. As the conversation continues we jump into topics such as Bitcoin farming, regulatory issues and most recent disruptions in the field. We also discuss how can people and businesses prepare for the arrival and progressive implementation of the blockchain in the financial industry.

For the full show notes and to subscribe to our newsletter go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

And now for the show notes:

• 2:00 – Introduction to the Blockchain and potential applications
• 7:30 – Application of Blockchain in Options trading
• 10:30 – Most exciting technology application in relation to Blockchain
• 12:45 – Why is it called a Blockchain?
• 15:30 – What is the public ledger and what it implies?
• 16:30 – Blockchain and privacy?
• 19:30 – Public and private Blockchains
• 20:25 – Bitcoin as the final digital currency?
• 24:10 – Backing for Bitcoin and digital currencies?
• 26:50 – Can Bitcoin be hacked?
• 29:25 – Blockchain replacing intermediaries in the markets
• 32:10 – How should people adjust for arrival of the Blockchain technology
• 34:30 – Regulatory issues with the Blockchain technology
• 39:30 – How does the Blockchain work on the fundamental level
• 43:20 – Bitcoin farming
• 44:50 – Is there still place for research within the Blockchain space
• 45:40 – Storage of transactions problem
• 48:00 – Why does it take so long for Blockchain to be adopted?
• 50:20 – Credits

If the interview was valuable to you, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter on our website and take a few seconds to leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

Subscribe and stay tuned for the next ones!

Colin Lancaster is a 25-year Wall Street professional. He has run two of the highest profile global macro businesses for the top-performing hedge funds in the world and has worked directly for a number of the icons in the investing world. Most recently he was Head of Global Macro Strategies at Citadel and prior to that he was Head of Global Macro at Balyasny Asset Management. He has managed investment operations in London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Colin is a graduate of Princeton University and is a lawyer by training. Colin is also the author of the book "Fed Up! - Success, Excess and Crisis Through the Eyes of a Hedge Fund Macro Trader". It tells the story of a global macro trader working amidst the greatest market panic we have seen since the Great Depression.

In this episode we talk about hedge funds, and Global macro especially. We get into how the field has changed over the years. We also talk about Colin’s experience about modern financial markets chronicling the men and women who make them move. Can they beat the markets, or will the markets beat them? We further talk about the aspects of repositioning one’s portfolio during a crisis. How does one behave as a trader when the markets crash? We get into Colin's book and the learnings he wants to bring across in writing it. 

Mark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Creek Capital Management, a company that provides investment management services to institutions and wealthy families. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, Mark was the President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company, the endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to that, Mark was the Senior Investment Officer for the university of Notre Dame Investment office, where he joined as an Assistant Investment Officer in October of 2003.

We spend a lot of time talking about asset allocation, manager selection and portfolio construction, which are topics Mark is a true expert in. We also spend time discussing what Mark thinks makes a great investor, why he spends so much of his time putting his ideas into paper and sharing it with the world, and why he thinks institutions should include cryptocurrencies in their diversified portfolio.

This interview was broken down into two parts, so stay tuned for the second leg of the interview, which will be published in 2 weeks.

02:00 – Mark’s Background and his series of “happy accidents”
08:30 – Science Training and why he thinks it is a good background to have for investment professionals
12:00 – Lessons learned from Notre Dame and North Carolina
18:30 – Mark’s view on the endowment model
24:30 – Access vs. Capacity in Venture Capital
29:00 – How much GP Commitment is too much?
33:00 – How Mark assesses new investment managers

This is the first part of our two-part interview. If you like the conversation, check out the second part of the interview, which will be released in 2 weeks (or if you are reading this in the future, you can just go to the very next episode and you will be able to listen to our next conversation).

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on Apple podcasts or wherever fine podcasts are published!!

Please keep in mind this is not investment advice. Full disclaimer at the end of the podcast. 

Luke, Leo & Andy

In this episode, Christina Bresani, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Advisory at William Blair, shares her insights and experiences in investment banking and corporate advisory. She discusses her background, breaking into the industry, and the importance of networking. Christina explains the role of corporate advisory and its responsibilities in mergers and acquisitions, including advising clients on acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, and defending against activists. She emphasizes the changing landscape of friendly and hostile takeovers and the need for valuable relationships with clients. Additionally, Christina highlights the importance of diversity and the initiatives taken by William Blair to support women in investment banking. The episode concludes with her advice to be open to learning, curious, and true to oneself in the industry.

We discuss the following topics:

• Christina's background and journey in investment banking
• Breaking into the industry and the importance of networking
• The role and responsibilities of corporate advisory in mergers and acquisitions
• Preparing for shareholder activism and engaging with activists
• Evaluating defense profiles and best practices in the boardroom
• The current landscape of friendly and hostile takeovers
• The importance of diversity and initiatives to support women in investment banking

After a long summer break The Wall Street Lab Podcast is back! Check out the new trailer. We are kicking off the season 2 on February 15th! We are looking forward to talking to you soon! Find more information at: www.TheWallStreetLab.com

Otavio Costa has been an analyst on Crescat’s investment team for more than five years with a focus on global cross-asset research. “Tavi” built Crescat’s macro model that identifies the current stage of the US economic cycle through a combination of 16 factors. His research has been featured multiple times in financial publications such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal. Tavi is a native of São Paulo, Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Before joining Crescat, he worked with the underwriting of financial products and in international business at Braservice, a large logistics company in Brazil. Tavi graduated cum laude from Lindenwood University in St. Louis with a B.A. degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and a minor in Spanish.

The topics discussed include:

What it is like to be a global macro analyst

What Otavio pays attention to when building macro models

What economic indicators Otavio uses

The current state of the business cycle

Otavio’s view on the US equities market

China, Brazil and precious metals

What steps Otavio took early in his career to learn his trade

Recommendations on how to stay sharp and informed

As always, make sure you share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And don’t forget to leave us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts!

Find out more at https://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

Luke, Leo & Andy

Dr. Nelson Lacey, CFA is a professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. He earned his PhD in finance from the Pennsylvania State University and he also holds the CFA charter. Professor Lacey has been at CAIA since its inception. He has been active in working on the program’s curriculum and examination and became a Director of Exams in 2004. Professor Lacey’s academic work has led to over 50 publications in finance and economics. He is also the co-author of the book Modern Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice.

For the full show notes go to: http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/

The love for knowledge is really one of the main reasons why we started this project. We truly believe that education is not an end in itself, but a continuous journey. As Albert Einstein said, “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death”.

With that in mind, if you look at the financial services world, there are really dozens of exams you can take in order to learn new things and improve your career prospects. Some of them are less well known, but I bet you will be familiar with a few of them, such as the CFA, the FRM and CAIA, to name a few.

For those of you who don’t know what CAIA is, it stands for Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst. And it is a financial designation that focuses specifically in Alternative Investments, such as structured products, commodities, real estate, private equity and hedge funds.

We had the pleasure of interviewing the Director of Exams at the CAIA Association, Dr. Nelson Lacey. What is interesting about this interview is that it does not only cover the CAIA designation on its own. There is an obvious curiosity, especially amongst undergraduate and graduates students in the field of finance and investing, about the benefit of an Alternative Investments designation. When people ask me about CAIA, I tend to naturally gravitate towards comparing it to the CFA designation. Of course, it makes sense, as everyone in our field knows what it is. And that is exactly what Dr. Lacey did during our interview.

If you are thinking about studying for the CAIA exams or are already a candidate, I really believe this conversation will help you. We cover topics such as the growth in the interest in alternative investments in emerging markets, especially in India and China, we discuss some misconceptions that people have about investing in alternatives, how the CAIA curriculum and exam questions are written, and much more.

And now, the show notes:

• [03:00] How Dr. Lacey’s background and how he got involved with the CAIA Association
• [10:00] Comparison between the CFA and CAIA designations
• [11:00] The process of putting together exam questions
• [12:10] How to study for CAIA
• [13:15] How the CAIA Association comes up with a “passing grade” for each of their exams
• [17:15] The difference in the pool of candidates for CAIA vs. CFA
• [21:30] The growth in awareness of financial designations as a function of the development in domestic financial markets.
• [24:00] What are the main reasons why candidates decide to study for the CAIA designation
• [28:00] Dr. Lacey discusses the examination fees for the CAIA exams
• [31:30] A discussion of the CAIA University partnership and scholarship programs.
• [34:30] A discussion of the “Warren Buffett Bet”
• [40:10] A discussion of a common misconceptions about what alternative investments are supposed to do for a portfolio.

As always, if you like what you hear, make sure to sign up to our newsletter and share the podcast with anyone you think might benefit from the information. And, if you want to be really cool, please leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes.

The next episode will come out on February 23rd, in which we interview Steven Gerbel, a Merger Arbitrage Hedge Fund Manager and founder and president of Chicago Capital Management, LP.

Tobias Schulz is an Investment Manager at HTGF. High-Tech Gründerfonds is one of Europe’s biggest venture capital groups and an early stage seed investor focused on high potential high-tech start-ups. Before joining HTGF Tobias has worked as an entrepreneur and has experience in the private equity industry.

In the episode we talked about the following topics:

• How to manage a big portfolio of Startups
• The venture capital market trends
• Europe vs US VC market
• How do startups scale?
• How do VC investment managers make decisions
• How do you get a job as a VC
• Differences between working for PE and VC

Michael O’Sullivan is the author of the book 'The Levelling' - What's Next After Globalisation? He has a blog with the same name. He is a World Economic Forum Global Futures Council member and Forbes contributor. Michael holds a PhD from Oxford and is the former Chief Investment Officer for International Wealth Management of Credit Suisse.

We talk about his different roles, like being an equity strategist and of course his work as CIO for Credit Suisse. We talk about education and Michael lets us in on his career advice, what it takes to succeed in Finance and the skills a CIO needs. We then jump into Michael’s book “The Levelling” and speak about economics, the impact of globalization, the global financial crisis and many more interesting topics.