Superinvestors and the Art of Worldly Wisdom

#28: Michael Oliver On Why Momentum Is Truth In Markets

Michael Oliver has been studying markets for over four decades but it was the 1987 stock market crash that became his "aha!" moment and converted him to what he calls "momentum structural analysis." It was his early work in the area that prepared him for that massive decline in stock prices and the success of its forecasting ability that gave him the confidence to pursue it full time. Many technical analysts like to say, "price is truth," but to Michael price can be deceiving and it's only by isolating the momentum in the market that reveals the truth about the underlying trend. In this episode, Michael shares the details of his unique research and analysis process and discusses how his foundation in political philosophy ended up leading him to it. He also reveals what it says about the current market and economic environment and how it eerily rhymes with some earlier times in his career. For links and notes related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#27: Diego Parrilla On The Perpetual Search For Extreme Optionality

Diego Parrilla has been eerily prescient in calling major turning points in a variety of markets over the past several years. Back in 2014, he published The Energy World Is Flat in which he detailed the coming crash in the price of crude oil and the various dynamics that would ensure such an outcome. Oil prices subsequently fell more than 70% over the next couple of years. In August of 2017, he published a new book titled, The Anti-Bubbles, in which he laid out the case for a rise in volatility across a number of markets. Just a few months later, the short volatility ETF complex blew up and in spectacular fashion amidst a record run higher in the VIX Index. In this interview, we delve into Diego's unique background and how it helps him to see things differently than most on Wall Street. Diego also shares the details of his research process and the original inspiration behind these investment theses. Finally, we discuss the current state of the global markets and why he believes gold is set to shine in the near future. For notes and links related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#26: Erik Townsend On The Intersection Of Distributed Ledger Technology And Global Macro Investing

Erik Townsend is unique in the investing world for his deep expertise in two seemingly disparate fields: security technology and macro investing. This rare perspective gives him extraordinary insight into the intersection of the two and how they are likely to affect global markets in the future. In his new book, Beyond Blockchain, Erik discusses these trends in great detail, covering the history of money, the rise of the dollar as the world's reserve currency and the origin and evolution of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Moreover, he imagines a future world order, not dominated by cryptocurrency, but enabled by the technology underpinning it and advanced by powerful macro trends already at work in the markets and global politics today. In this episode, Erik discusses why cryptocurrency, backed by cypherpunks and their acolytes, is doomed to fail at its primary purpose yet digital currency, backed by sovereign nations and inspired by the innovations developed by the crypto community, is destined to succeed in its place while displacing the dollar's global hegemony along with the massive implications of these developments for investors around the world. For notes and links related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#25: Jonathan Tepper On The Single Most Important Question Investors Should Be Asking Right Now

Have we entered a new era of sustainably high corporate profit margins or will they revert over time to more normal historical levels? This is the single most important question equity investors should be asking today and nobody has done more work on this topic than Jonathan Tepper. Formerly, an equity analyst at one of the most successful hedge funds on the planet, then a prop trader at one of the largest firms on Wall Street, Jonathan today runs Variant Perception, an institutional research service. He also recently published a new book, The Myth of Capitalism, his survey of the profit margin phenomenon and its consequences for investors and citizens alike. In this episode, we discuss the social and economic consequences of increased consolidation and regulatory capture in corporate America and what it means for markets going forward. Jonathan also shares the unique and tragic experiences of his formative years and how they inspired both a strong work ethic and a deep desire to make a difference. For links and notes related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#24: Fred Hickey On Trusting In Your Own Research And Experience

Fred Hickey has been writing The High Tech Strategist, a monthly investment newsletter, for over 30 years. Over that time, he has developed an intensive research process focused on the tech sector that gives him extensive familiarity with dozens of individual companies within it along with unique insight into the broader economy. In this episode, Fred discusses what his research routines look like on daily and monthly basis and how his writing discipline has helped him become a better investor. He also tells the story meeting legendary investor Sir John Templeton near the peak of the dotcom mania and what he learned from that poignant experience. In addition, we discuss how he has incorporated a macro approach into his micro-focused investment discipline and why he chooses to spend so much time in Costa Rica these days. For notes and links related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#23: Jerry Parker On Finding Your True Calling In Life And The Markets

Jerry Parker began his career as an unfulfilled accountant looking for something more inspiring to do with his life. After getting rejected for several traditional jobs on Wall Street he responded to an ad looking for a handful of people eager to learn how to trade. It would soon turn out those early rejections were an incredible blessing in disguise because if he had been accepted to any one of them he would have likely missed out on the opportunity to learn from one of the true legends of finance. In the early 1980's, Richard Dennis hired Jerry and a handful of other prospective "turtle" traders and taught them the strategies that made him one of the most successful traders in the history of the Chicago markets. After managing money with Dennis for several years, Jerry went on to start his own firm and has been trend-following professionally for over 30 years now. In this conversation, he reveals what he believes helped him stand out among more than 1,000 candidates in the turtle program, what it was about trend-following that spoke to him and what about it should appeal to the average investor. He also explains how the average investor should go about implementing trend-following in her own portfolio. For links and notes related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#22: Ben Hunt on the Unparalleled Power Of Narrative in the Financial Markets

W. Ben Hunt, Ph.D. looks at the financial markets through a truly unique lens. With an extensive background in political science, game theory and history, Ben came to the financial markets relatively late in life. But it's precisely this wandering path to the world of investing that gives him rare insight into what drives asset prices and how these forces change over time. In this conversation we discuss how investors as a group play the "common knowledge game" and how Ben views these trends through what he terms a "narrative machine." Ben also shares his views towards the current trends of rising inflationary pressures, the backlash against big tech and much more. For links and notes related to this episode visit TheFelderReport.com.

#21: Grant Williams on the Value Of Surrounding Yourself With Brilliant People and Just Listening

Grant Williams cut his teeth in the world of finance during one of the greatest speculative manias in history. As a prop trader at one of the largest firms in Tokyo, he had a front row seat to the epic Japanese twin bubbles in equities and real estate in the late-1980's which endowed him with a healthy skepticism towards herd behavior in the financial markets. Eventually, he would go on to a serve in similar roles in nearly all of the world's largest financial centers but not before he learned what he believes to be one of the most important lessons in the investing game: simply surround yourself with brilliant people and just listen. Today, he does this full time for RealVision where his long-form interviews with some of the greatest minds in the industry are produced and aired. He also shares much of what he learns through this process in his nearly decade-old publication "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...." In this conversation, we discuss some of the parallels between the bubbles of the past and the bubbles in today's markets, his evolution as a trader and how it was shaped by his careful listening to so many brilliant people over the years and much more.

#20: Eric Cinnamond on ’The Rapidly Increasing Inflationary Environment’

Eric Cinnamond has been called, “the godfather of small cap absolute return investing.” From 1998 to 2016 he ran an equity investment strategy that handily beat the 8% average annual return of the Russell 2000 Index. But what’s even more impressive is he did this while holding an average cash allocation of about 40% so his equity performance was roughly double that of the index. In this episode we discuss, in the words of Lincoln Electric CFO Vince Petrella, 'the rapidly increasing inflationary environment' and how it is currently affecting Corporate America, investors, the economy and monetary policy. For notes and links related to this conversation visit TheFelderReport.com.

#19: Simon Mikhailovich on the Ultimate Insurance Policy: Gold

Simon Mikhailovich emigrated from the Soviet Union at the age of 19 with his family and just $100 in a suitcase. After putting himself through college he began a career in finance. Eventually, he found himself at the leading edge of the development of the financial derivatives that would be at the center of the great financial crisis. Upon successfully navigating those rough investing waters, he turned his attention to effectively hedging risk in an era of mass financialization. Today he manages the Tocqueville Bullion Reserve, a limited partnership focusing on the efficient ownership of physical gold. In this conversation, we discuss the end of the great debt super cycle, its implications for both financial assets and real assets and how gold represents the ultimate insurance policy during this time of growing uncertainty. Visit TheFelderReport.com/podcast for links and charts related to this episode.