Is China investable? If so, how do you go about it? What are the basic ground rules?
Recently, I spoke to an American fund manager living in the UK whose life has been intertwined with China since he was a young boy.
Rufus Frazier has a long career investing in emerging markets, and he believes China offers some of the best investment opportunities available anywhere in the world.
In a fascinating discussion, we cover the macro backdrop to China and the perceived risks, such as the Taiwan issue, property rights and the historically poor returns from Chinese equities over the last couple of decades, when its economic growth has been so strong. What are we missing about this disconnect, and why might this be changing?
Rufus explains why the scale and structure of China’s market makes stock picking essential, he talks about the things to look for as well as the sectors and stocks to avoid.
For example, China’s Uber, Didi, seems fine, but its huge battery manufacturer with a dominant global market position, CATL, is more problematic.
Finally, Rufus puts the opportunity for Chinese equities into its broader EM context. Where are the other “hot” emerging markets? In his view, mainly in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Now comes the bit where I remind you that none of what you are about to hear is investment or any other kind of advice, but just for your information and hopefully enjoyment. Please take professional advice before investing a penny of your money into these crazy markets.
And with that, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Rufus Frazier.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Charlie Morris is an investor, entrepreneur, and advocate for hard assets.
Charlie has 27 years of experience in fund management, with a reputation for actively managing multi-asset portfolios.
Charlie was previously the Head of Absolute Return at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he managed $3bn of assets.
He writes research for private clients, providing actionable model portfolios that cover equities, bonds, commodities, and other alternative assets.
Having discovered gold in the early 2000s, Charlie was an early entrant into the Bitcoin rabbit hole. In 2013, Charlie founded ByteTree, which he initially intended to be the “Bloomberg for Bitcoin”.
However, he was unable to find a workable revenue model. With start-ups, being early is just another way of being wrong.
In 2022, he launched a Bitcoin and gold ETF (BOLD SW). A fund that remains unauthorised in the UK, albeit available to sophisticated investors on other European exchanges.
As Charlie says, he developed BOLD as a new take on the traditional 60:40 portfolio.
He identified a valuable low level of correlation between its constituents, Bitcoin and gold, which he has exploited to deliver impressive results.
Towards the end of this chat, we trade thoughts on the latest UK microcap craze for Bitcoin treasury companies, which Charlie believes is unsustainable and just the result of regulatory arbitrage.
And before we get going, here's the bit where I tell you that none of what you are about to hear is investment or any other kind of advice, but just for information and hopefully entertainment purposes only. You should take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
With that, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Charlie Morris.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
https://bold.report/
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/bytetree.com?utm_medium=trustbox&utm_source=Mini
https://www.bytetree.com/the-multi-asset-investor/
Charlie Morris is an investor, entrepreneur, and advocate for hard assets.
Charlie has 27 years of experience in fund management, with a reputation for actively managing multi-asset portfolios.
Charlie was previously the Head of Absolute Return at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he managed $3bn of assets.
He writes research for private clients, providing actionable model portfolios that cover equities, bonds, commodities, and other alternative assets.
Having discovered gold in the early 2000s, Charlie was an early entrant into the Bitcoin rabbit hole. In 2013, Charlie founded ByteTree, which he initially intended to be the “Bloomberg for Bitcoin”.
However, he was unable to find a workable revenue model. With start-ups, being early is just another way of being wrong.
In 2022, he launched a Bitcoin and gold ETF (BOLD SW). A fund that remains unauthorised in the UK, albeit available to sophisticated investors on other European exchanges.
As Charlie says, he developed BOLD as a new take on the traditional 60:40 portfolio.
He identified a valuable low level of correlation between its constituents, Bitcoin and gold, which he has exploited to deliver impressive results.
Towards the end of this chat, we trade thoughts on the latest UK microcap craze for Bitcoin treasury companies, which Charlie believes is unsustainable and just the result of regulatory arbitrage.
And before we get going, here's the bit where I tell you that none of what you are about to hear is investment or any other kind of advice, but just for information and hopefully entertainment purposes only. You should take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
With that, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Charlie Morris.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
https://bold.report/
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/bytetree.com?utm_medium=trustbox&utm_source=Mini
https://www.bytetree.com/the-multi-asset-investor/
Back in April, I had the chance to talk with three people who are at the business end of UK-based boutique fund managers. The funds they help run and develop have all been featured in previous episodes.
Jamie Carter of Variis is a veteran of the boutique landscape, having helped form Oldfield Partners. He is now CEO of a London partnership developing an emerging markets strategy aimed largely at US endowments. The Variis CIO, Leila Cardouche, in an episode from October last year, illustrated the huge potential that an actively managed EM strategy offers.
Ed Hugo partners with Alyx Wood at Kernow Asset Management, where they are having success running a long/short UK equity strategy. Alyx last appeared on the pod in November 2023 to discuss why it might be a good idea to invest in the UK.
Meanwhile, Jackson Wray joined Dowgate Wealth in a business development role for its two UK value strategies, Onward Opportunities, a pro-active microcap strategy managed by Laurence Hulse (also last on the podcast in November 2023) and Cape Wrath, a concentrated UK deep value fund managed by Adam Rackley (who appeared in Market Capitulations and Narrative Shifts in June last year). Jackson was previously a professional rugby player with Saracens before retiring in 2023, and he draws some interesting comparisons between the worlds of competitive sport and asset management.
All the funds these guys work on have managers with successful track records, but what are the issues when it comes to setting up, complying with the regulations, growing AUM, and how do they deal with things when the going gets tough, not according to plan?
These are the thoughts of three people who live and breathe these issues, and it is a fascinating discussion with some interesting pointers for anyone considering setting up themselves.
Ed says you need to be mad, Jamie says the regulators could do more to help, and Jackson stresses the importance of being honest with yourself and your teammates.
For full disclosure, I have investments in the Kernow Equity Fund, Onward Opportunities, and the Cape Wrath Fund.
And before we get into it, here’s the bit where I tell you that none of what you are about to hear is investment advice, but purely for your information and hopefully entertainment. You should take personal, professional financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
Please enjoy my conversation with Jamie, Ed and Jackson.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Back in April, I had the chance to talk with three people who are at the business end of UK-based boutique fund managers. The funds they help run and develop have all been featured in previous episodes.
Jamie Carter of Variis is a veteran of the boutique landscape, having helped form Oldfield Partners. He is now CEO of a London partnership developing an emerging markets strategy aimed largely at US endowments. The Variis CIO, Leila Cardouche, in an episode from October last year, illustrated the huge potential that an actively managed EM strategy offers.
Ed Hugo partners with Alyx Wood at Kernow Asset Management, where they are having success running a long/short UK equity strategy. Alyx last appeared on the pod in November 2023 to discuss why it might be a good idea to invest in the UK.
Meanwhile, Jackson Wray joined Dowgate Wealth in a business development role for its two UK value strategies, Onward Opportunities, a pro-active microcap strategy managed by Laurence Hulse (also last on the podcast in November 2023) and Cape Wrath, a concentrated UK deep value fund managed by Adam Rackley (who appeared in Market Capitulations and Narrative Shifts in June last year). Jackson was previously a professional rugby player with Saracens before retiring in 2023, and he draws some interesting comparisons between the worlds of competitive sport and asset management.
All the funds these guys work on have managers with successful track records, but what are the issues when it comes to setting up, complying with the regulations, growing AUM, and how do they deal with things when the going gets tough, not according to plan?
These are the thoughts of three people who live and breathe these issues, and it is a fascinating discussion with some interesting pointers for anyone considering setting up themselves.
Ed says you need to be mad, Jamie says the regulators could do more to help, and Jackson stresses the importance of being honest with yourself and your teammates.
For full disclosure, I have investments in the Kernow Equity Fund, Onward Opportunities, and the Cape Wrath Fund.
And before we get into it here’s the bit where I tell you that none of what you are about to hear is investment advice but purely for your information and hopefully entertainment. You should take personal, professional financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
Please enjoy my conversation with Jamie, Ed and Jackson.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
I recently had another chance to talk to Substack’s No. 1 financial commentator, Doomberg, as he dialled in from his chicken coup in flyover country.
It has been some 15 months since we last spoke, a time when Rishi Sunak was Prime Minister and Joe Biden was President.
Much has happened subsequently in areas of energy policy, energy markets, politics, and global trade and conflict. And I was keen to catch up.
Doomberg utilises his expertise in understanding our fundamental and complex energy requirements and how they impact the broader macro and geopolitical landscape. And, as usual, he does not pull any punches in his well-reasoned views.
We discuss the rise of populism and the long-term outlook for energy supply and demand. In particular, how the additive energy requirements of AI might counterintuitively lead to much lower oil prices. It’s all to do with the unique economics of US shale and AI’s enormous demand for US natural gas.
Doomberg also offers a no-holds-barred view of the outlook for post-Ukraine war Europe, including the need for political realignment and an explanation of why sanctions fail.
Whatever you think of his views, it is hard to fault the reasoning of his logic, but of course, none of what you hear is advice of any kind and is only for your information and entertainment. As always, you should take personal financial advice prior to investing a penny of your money into these crazy markets.
And with that, please enjoy my conversation with the green chicken, Doomberg.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
I recently had another chance to talk to Substack’s No. 1 financial commentator, Doomberg, as he dialled in from his chicken coup in flyover country.
It has been some 15 months since we last spoke, a time when Rishi Sunak was Prime Minister and Joe Biden was President.
Much has happened subsequently in areas of energy policy, energy markets, politics, and global trade and conflict. And I was keen to catch up.
Doomberg utilises his expertise in understanding our fundamental and complex energy requirements and how they impact the broader macro and geopolitical landscape. And, as usual, he does not pull any punches in his well-reasoned views.
We discuss the rise of populism and the long-term outlook for energy supply and demand. In particular, how the additive energy requirements of AI might counterintuitively lead to much lower oil prices. It’s all to do with the unique economics of US shale and AI’s enormous demand for US natural gas.
Doomberg also offers a no-holds-barred view of the outlook for post-Ukraine war Europe, including the need for political realignment and an explanation of why sanctions fail.
Whatever you think of his views, it is hard to fault the reasoning of his logic, but of course, none of what you hear is advice of any kind and is only for your information and entertainment. As always, you should take personal financial advice prior to investing a penny of your money into these crazy markets.
And with that, please enjoy my conversation with the green chicken, Doomberg.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Joe Bryan is a former investment bank derivatives trader turned sports betting entrepreneur who, during lockdown, went down the proverbial Bitcoin rabbit hole.
After Joe exited the company that bought his sporting odds business last year, a friend invited him on a weekend away. Each guest had to prepare a short talk to lead a discussion on a topic of their choice. Joe chose Bitcoin; it was his passion and his specialist subject.
However, it's a big subject and he didn’t know where to start. So, assuming no prior knowledge, he told a story explaining why Bitcoin exists and what it fixes. He called his presentation, “What’s the Problem?," and Bitcoin was deliberately not mentioned until the last slide.
The success of his pitch encouraged him to make a video, and earlier this year, Joe launched What’s The Problem? on YouTube and X.
The film tells the story of two identical countries with perfect economies and perfect money, save for the existence of a big red button only for use in case of emergency in the country run by Fiatello.
For the avoidance of doubt, the big red button equates to a central bank and today’s monetary policy. In so doing, Joe explains the wide range of common societal problems that stem from fiat money. These include loss of trust, obesity, family breakdowns, addiction, wealth inequality, and, of course, inflation.
Joe leads his audience to the door of the Bitcoin rabbit hole. He wants to spread the word because, as he sees it, Bitcoin is inevitable; everyone will find it in their own time, but eventually everyone will get drawn in, and they will own it at their own price.
Joe is a Bitcoin Maximalist who points to the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as evidence that there is no stopping this train.
Of course, he could be wrong, and as always, what you are about to hear is not investment or any other type of advice. It is for your critical evaluation and is only for your information and entertainment. Always do your own research and take professional advice tailored to your own requirements before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
And with that, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Joe Bryan.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Joe Bryan is a former investment bank derivatives trader turned sports betting entrepreneur who, during lockdown, went down the proverbial Bitcoin rabbit hole.
Having exited from the company that bought his sporting odds business last year, a friend invited Joe on a weekend away. Each guest had to prepare a short talk to lead a discussion on a topic of their choice. Joe chose Bitcoin, it was his passion and his specialist subject.
However, it's a big subject and he didn’t know where to start. So, assuming no prior knowledge, he told a story explaining why Bitcoin exists and what it fixes. He called his presentation, “What’s the Problem?," and Bitcoin was deliberately not mentioned until the last slide.
The success of his pitch encouraged him to make a video, and earlier this year, Joe launched What’s The Problem? on YouTube and X.
The 40-minute film tells the story of two identical countries with perfect economies and perfect money, save for the existence of a big red button only for use in case of emergency in the country run by Fiatello.
For the avoidance of doubt, the big red button equates to a central bank and today’s monetary policy. In so doing, Joe explains the wide range of common societal problems that stem from fiat money. These include loss of trust, obesity, family breakdowns, addiction, wealth inequality, and, of course, inflation.
Joe leads his audience to the door of the Bitcoin rabbit hole. He wants to spread the word because, as he sees it, Bitcoin is inevitable; everyone will find it in their own time, but eventually everyone will get drawn in, and they will own it at their own price.
Joe is a Bitcoin Maximalist who points to the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as evidence that there is no stopping this train.
Of course, he could be wrong, and as always, what you are about to hear is not investment or any other type of advice. It is for your critical evaluation and is only for your information and entertainment. Always do your own research and take professional advice tailored to your own requirements before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
And with that, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Joe Bryan.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
During periods of global economic uncertainty and heightened financial market volatility, it is worth considering how investors should think about risk when constructing their portfolios.
To this end, I was delighted to have the chance to talk recently to David Dredge at Convex Strategies in Singapore. David not only understands risk, but he also delivers his great insights in a highly entertaining way.
He spends his time immersed in understanding sources of risk and developing strategies that mitigate their impact.
He does this by embracing convexity, which is buying pockets of cheap volatility as insurance against negative outcomes in conditions of uncertainty.
When should investors do this? He says, just like insuring your house, always.
He has strong views that contradict the accepted assumptions behind Modern Portfolio Theory, which he calls Sharpe World, which, in his view, falsely equates risk with volatility.
David is full of anecdotes and illustrations of the risks investors assume in markets regulated to a Sharpe World and operated by what he calls, Rational Accounting Man.
This episode is probably the most challenging one I have edited. We spoke for nearly two hours, and I could have happily gone on for longer.
I thought about making it two episodes, but maybe take a break, if you can draw yourself away and come back to it.
I've listened to this one a few times already, and I keep hearing new gems.
As ever, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice. I hope you find it as entertaining and informative as I did, but this should not be used as the basis of an investment decision. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, David Dredge.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
During periods of global economic uncertainty and heightened financial market volatility, it is worth considering how investors should think about risk when constructing their portfolios.
To this end, I was delighted to have the chance to talk recently to David Dredge at Convex Strategies in Singapore. David not only understands risk, but he also delivers his great insights in a highly entertaining way.
He spends his time immersed in understanding sources of risk and developing strategies that mitigate their impact.
He does this by embracing convexity, which is buying pockets of cheap volatility as insurance against negative outcomes in conditions of uncertainty.
When should investors do this? He says, just like insuring your house, always.
He has strong views that contradict the accepted assumptions behind Modern Portfolio Theory, which he calls Sharpe World, which, in his view, falsely equates risk with volatility.
David is full of anecdotes and illustrations of the risks investors assume in markets regulated to a Sharpe World and operated by what he calls, Rational Accounting Man.
This episode is probably the most challenging one I have edited. We spoke for nearly two hours, and I could have happily gone on for longer.
I thought about making it two episodes, but maybe take a break, if you can draw yourself away and come back to it.
I've listened to this one a few times already, and I keep hearing new gems.
As ever, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice. I hope you find it as entertaining and informative as I did, but this should not be used as the basis of an investment decision. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.
Please make sure you are subscribed to enjoy my conversation with the maverick, David Dredge.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
I have always been interested in founder-led companies. Entrepreneurs and family-run companies often have unconventional attitudes to risk and return. They often back themselves to take operational risk. They tend to be more innovative. You could say that they are more prone to being maverick. But also, you could say that they are more cautious and mindful of capital preservation and the value of staying in the game for the benefit of future generations.
Investing to capture the founder-led effect is a way to achieve an asymmetric return, with better downside protection in tough times and higher upside returns in good times. Sounds great in theory, but how do you go about it in practice?
In this episode, I chat with a Chinese Australian who invests globally in founder-led companies.
Lawrence Lam has run the Lumenary Global Founders Fund since 2017. As the name suggests, his process attempts to identify companies that are run for the long term and have the founder effect.
So, what is the founder effect, and how can investors determine whether a management team has this elusive characteristic?
Well, Lawrence has helpfully written a book called "The Founder Effect - The Three Pillars of Success in Founder-Led Companies." It’s a great read if you are trying to understand good long-term management decisions and how to spot them.
This is a fascinating conversation with someone who loves what he does and scours the world’s stock markets to find his secret formula at work.
We learn how he balances the less correlated world for opportunities to buy founder-led companies that offer good value, why China offers a great way to diversify a portfolio, how BYD is poised to become the next Toyota, and how meeting management might useful for understanding if the company is likely to do well next quarter, but not so useful for understanding whether it will compound for you over the next couple of decades.
As Lawrence says, he looks for the long-term track record of key decision-making, simple organisational structure, skin in the game, and close alignment with shareholders.
As always, none of what you are about to hear is financial or any other type of advice. It is hopefully entertaining and informative, but what you hear should not be used as the basis for an investment decision. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets. And with that …
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Lawrence Lam.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
I have always been interested in founder-led companies. Entrepreneurs and family-run companies often have unconventional attitudes to risk and return. They often back themselves to take operational risk. They tend to be more innovative. You could say that they are more prone to being maverick. But also, you could say that they are more cautious and mindful of capital preservation and the value of staying in the game for the benefit of future generations.
Investing to capture the founder-led effect is a way to achieve an asymmetric return, with better downside protection in tough times and higher upside returns in good times. Sounds great in theory, but how do you go about it in practice?
In this episode, I chat with a Chinese Australian who invests globally in founder-led companies.
Lawrence Lam has run the Lumenary Global Founders Fund since 2017. As the name suggests, his process attempts to identify companies that are run for the long term and have the founder effect.
So, what is the founder effect, and how can investors determine whether a management team has this elusive characteristic?
Well, Lawrence has helpfully written a book called "The Founder Effect - The Three Pillars of Success in Founder-Led Companies." It’s a great read if you are trying to understand good long-term management decisions and how to spot them.
This is a fascinating conversation with someone who loves what he does and scours the world’s stock markets to find his secret formula at work.
We learn how he balances the less correlated world for opportunities to buy founder-led companies that offer good value, why China offers a great way to diversify a portfolio, how BYD is poised to become the next Toyota, and how meeting management might useful for understanding if the company is likely to do well next quarter, but not so useful for understanding whether it will compound for you over the next couple of decades.
As Lawrence says, he looks for the long-term track record of key decision-making, simple organisational structure, skin in the game, and close alignment with shareholders.
As always, none of what you are about to hear is financial or any other type of advice. It is hopefully entertaining and informative, but what you hear should not be used as the basis for an investment decision. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets. And with that …
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Lawrence Lam.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Things are changing in global markets. There are noticeable shifts taking place. The world’s capital is rotating. As always, many factors are at work, but we might be witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift away from US assets, which have recently dominated global capital allocations.
Global investors are diversifying their portfolios.
That is why I was keen to host this episode.
David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management and a seasoned emerging markets investor joins me for a fascinating discussion with Sean Peche, the manager of The Ranmore Global Equity Fund.
Sean recounts how he honed his value investing credentials at Orbis after qualifying as an accountant in South Africa and before launching Ranmore in London in 2008.
Sean has a first-hand take on how capital flows have shaped equity values and built up today’s imbalances.
While relative value is not sufficient reason for capital to flow, it is a necessary pre-condition. Sean says there are now multiple reasons investors, typically fully loaded in the US market, want to recycle their capital.
He talks about how he looks for value, why he has recently moved overweight in the UK, why emerging markets have many developed market characteristics, and why he doesn’t meet the management of the companies he invests in.
As he says, he can best objectively determine the effectiveness of management by watching what they do, not necessarily by listening to what they say.
Sean delivers a master class on the principles of value investing combined with an acute sense of how the world is changing and how best to load up on asymmetric risk opportunities that will likely operate in his favour as we confront an unforecastable future.
Now, please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Sean Peche ..
Brought to you by Progressive Equity
Things are changing in global markets. There are noticeable shifts taking place. The world’s capital is rotating. As always, many factors are at work, but we might be witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift away from US assets, which have recently dominated global capital allocations.
Global investors are diversifying their portfolios.
That is why I was keen to host this episode today.
David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management and a seasoned emerging markets investor joins me for a fascinating discussion with Sean Peche, the manager of The Ranmore Global Equity Fund.
Sean recounts how he honed his value investing credentials at Orbis after qualifying as an accountant in South Africa and before launching Ranmore in London in 2008.
Sean has a first-hand take on how capital flows have shaped equity values and built up today’s imbalances.
While relative value is not sufficient reason for capital to flow, it is a necessary pre-condition. Sean says there are now multiple reasons investors, typically fully loaded in the US market, want to recycle their capital.
He talks about how he looks for value, why he has recently moved overweight in the UK, why emerging markets have many developed market characteristics, and why he doesn’t meet the management of the companies he invests in.
As he says, he can best objectively determine the effectiveness of management by watching what they do, not necessarily by listening to what they say.
Sean delivers a master class on the principles of value investing combined with an acute sense of how the world is changing and how best to load up on asymmetric risk opportunities that will likely operate in his favour as we confront an unforecastable future.
Now, please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Sean Peche ..
Brought to you by Progressive Equity
During the pandemic, an Argentinian economist called Javier Milei began to make a name for himself on TV panel shows for his wild libertarian ideas and idiosyncratic, abrasive delivery. Milei raged against politicians of all persuasions, always prepared to outrage his opponents and entertain his audiences.
By 2021, he had become a congressman, denouncing the political class as useless parasites who had never worked and thought only of self-enrichment. He assured his electorate that he would kick these criminals out. He didn't seek to lead lambs, he told them, but to awaken lions, and the lions he awoke were younger people attracted to his unique combination of in-depth economic knowledge and flamboyant shock-jock delivery.
While other politicians and the mainstream media depicted him as a performative clown, Milei had taught economics for twenty years and published over fifty academic papers. Unlike most academics, Milei was a showman, playing drums for a Rolling Stones cover band. He was an evangelist who sold out increasingly large venues, lecturing his audiences about the workings of the price mechanism, the moral justification for capitalism, and the crime of collectivism while raising a sense of moral outrage.
The coincidence of Argentina's economic cycle of despair with Milei's arrival as a chainsaw-wielding showman, backed up by the deep conviction that he knew the solution to his country's woes, unexpectedly led him to the highest office in the land in less than a year. Last December, he became Argentina's 59th president. He won the largest number of votes and the largest percentage of votes recorded in any election since the transition to democracy, but it came with only a minority position in the legislature.
This left him with an enormous challenge in executing his reforms, but despite this, his first year in office has been largely successful. Unanswered are the questions as to whether Milei's remedies will prove sustainable, whether this time will differ from all the other times, and whether he can end Argentina's era of missed opportunities. Can he continue painful reforms while remaining sufficiently popular to complete the project?
I spent a few days in Buenos Aries in early November to learn more about this man and the libertarian experiment he was implementing. I met several people there, including Robert Marstrand, an author and investor who writes the investment stack OfWealth.
Robert has a background in investment banking and has lived in Argentina for 16 years. He was very generous with his time and explained the opportunity for Argentina and how investors might like to think about this Maverick nation with its maverick president.
Please enjoy our conversation about Argentina and its maverick president.
Have you ever wondered how fund managers deliver a successful long-short strategy?
David Seaman of Alpha Cygni Investment Management recently joined me for a conversation with Richard Stuckey, the manager of the Ennismore Global Equity Fund, about managing such a strategy in smaller global companies.
In this fascinating chat, Richard discusses different approaches to shorting equities and how they involve different approaches to risk management at the stock and portfolio levels. He outlines a couple of examples of stocks he and his team have successfully shorted that turned out to be deceptions.
We then discuss two long positions he recently added to his portfolio. Genus, a UK–listed animal genetics company, Genus and Paradox Interactive, a Scandinavian-listed games publisher
Richard then discusses the geographic spread of his fund and how to think about market inefficiency driven by the rise of the mega-cap tech stocks, passive investment and meme-driven markets.
And… importantly, how to adapt investment strategy in a market that can remain inefficient for a long time.
This is a masterclass in the often counterintuitive art of managing an absolute return strategy in a volatile and illiquid asset class.
While not for everyone, it can offer downside protection in choppy markets while providing long-term exposure to quality compounding equities.
I must remind you that this is only for information purposes and is NOT investment advice. The views expressed in the podcast are personal to the contributors and do not represent Progressive Equity's views.
Please enjoy our conversation with Richard Stuckey.
Made possible by Progressive Equity.
In this episode, Progressive’s legendary technology analyst, George O’Connor, joins me in a conversation with Mark Blandford, the online betting pioneer and founder of Sporting Bet.
Always interested in horse racing and betting on horses, Mark moved from traditional bookmaking into the emerging world of the internet in the late 1990s, building Sporting Bet into a high-growth AIM company, later acquiring US-facing Paradise Poker.
Things changed suddenly in the US online gambling market in 2006, and Mark eventually left Sporting Bet to focus on his racehorses and his family office.
In 2002, Mark was named AIM Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2015, his horse, Next Sensation, won Cheltenham.
Mark has also had several winners as a venture capital investor and has several strategic public company investments. His wide-ranging portfolio includes interests in NASDAQ-listed Gambling.com and the UK-listed small-caps Gaming Realms, B90 and Good Life Plus.
Among his private investments, Mark has stakes in platform, payment, ag-tech, and ed-tech businesses.
He discusses his interest in quantitative analysis, improving operating efficiencies and working with entrepreneurs who are prepared to listen and take advice.
This is a fascinating conversation with many lessons and reminders of how technology can change industries AND how a changing regulatory environment can create radical uncertainty and existential risk. Mark talks openly about his eventful journey from a traditional bricks-and-mortar bookmaker to a seasoned VC and investor.
I must remind you that none of what you are about to hear is investment advice, but it is solely for your information and entertainment. Please take professional advice before investing your money in these crazy markets.
Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Mark Blandford.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity
Dominic Frisby is an author, comedian, singer-songwriter, voice-over artist, self-taught financial commentator and the creator of the popular Substack, The Flying Frisby.
The main pillar of Dominic’s investment philosophy is based on gold and Bitcoin, and he has written extensively about both.
He was an early adopter of real asset protection, writing a book on the role of Bitcoin ten years ago.
I wanted to get his view on the role of real assets in investment portfolios and how investors might like to consider protecting their capital from fiat currency debasement.
Dominic didn’t disappoint and added plenty of thoughts on politics, the prospects for liberty and some valuable health tips for the over 50s. Have you tried hanging from a high bar? It works for me.
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Dominic Frisby.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
Dominic Frisby is an author, comedian, singer-songwriter, voice-over artist, self-taught financial commentator and the creator of the popular Substack, The Flying Frisby.
The main pillar of Dominic’s investment philosophy is based on gold and Bitcoin, and he has written extensively about both.
He was an early adopter of real asset protection, writing a book on the role of Bitcoin ten years ago.
I wanted to get his view on the role of real assets in investment portfolios and how investors might like to consider protecting their capital from fiat currency debasement.
Dominic didn’t disappoint and added plenty of thoughts on politics, the prospects for liberty and some valuable health tips for the over 50s. Have you tried hanging from a high bar? It works for me.
Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick, Dominic Frisby.
Brought to you by Progressive Equity.
