The Meb Faber Show

In episode 276, we welcome our guest, Craig Wichner, Founder of Farmland LP, a leading investment fund that generates returns by converting conventional commercial farmland to sustainable farmland. In today’s episode we learn the ins-and-outs of farmland as an asset class. Farmland has been an asset that’s been inaccessible for most people and Craig is trying to change that. We learn what piqued his interest in farmland and get an overview of the company, which now manages over 15,000 acres and $175 million in assets. He walks us through how the company manages the farms they acquire, focusing on both capital appreciation and increasing profits over time. We even talk about why owning an organic farm can serve as a hedge against a weaker dollar.   As we start to wind down, Craig offers suggestions to policy makers on how to encourage inexpensive and environmentally friendly practices for farmers. All this and more with Farmland LP’s Craig Wichner! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 275, we welcome our guest, David Lau, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DPL Financial Partners, a firm focused on the distribution of financial products geared toward the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and fee-based advisory channels.  In today’s episode, we’re talking all about annuities. Annuities are often thought of as being too expensive and a bad product for clients, but David explains how his firm is changing that by removing the commission, which lowers the cost by 80%. We get into the benefit of annuities, which offer tax deferred accumulation and income generation, while also taking risk management into account. David explains how RIA’s are using annuities for clients and why they make sense in a world with rates so low around the globe.   As we start to wind down, we hear about the future plans for the firm, which include building out their suite of offerings and eventually offering a direct-to-consumer product. Please enjoy this episode with DPL Financial Partners’ David Lau.

In episode 274, we welcome our guest, Mitch Baruchowitz, a Managing Partner at Merida Capital Holdings, a private equity firm targeting fundamental growth drivers underpinning the rapid development of the cannabis industry. In today’s episode we’re talking about investing in the cannabis space. We hear what piqued Mitch’s interest in the cannabis space and what the process was like to get a cannabis license in Connecticut and build and operate a 65,000 square foot facility. Mitch explains what led him to start Merida Capital and how he knocked it out of the park with his investment in the unicorn GrowGen. We chat about what types of investments he looks to make and what the impact of COVID and 2020 elections have had on the space. As we wind down, Mitch shares why he launched a SPAC in 2019 before the craze began and what that process was like. Please enjoy this episode with Merida Capital Holdings’, Mitch Baruchowitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 273, we welcome our guest, Adam Moelis, co-founder and CEO of Yotta Savings, which allows users to save money, earn over 2x the national average in interest and get weekly chances to win additional prizes up to $10 million through weekly random number drawings In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to use behavioral psychology to encourage American’s to save. We start with a somber look at the average American’s financial picture. Then Adam explains the history of lottery or prize-linked savings accounts and why the idea was mostly banned in the U.S. until 2015. He discusses the experience of going through Y Combinator’s first remote batch and then explains the lottery program, which offers users a chance to win between ten cents and ten million dollars. As we wind down, we hear about the company’s’ experimentation with customer acquisition with influencers and why they’ve focused on the social aspect of the app. Please enjoy this episode with Yotta Savings’, Adam Moelis. Learn more about your

In episode 272, we welcome our guest, Tobias Carlisle, founder and managing director of Acquirers Funds, where he serves as the portfolio manager of the firm’s deep value strategy. In today’s episode, we’re covering Tobias’ best idea: small cap and microcap value. Value stocks have underperformed but Tobias thinks now they offer a great risk/reward. He walks us through historical data and research from the past 200 years and why that leads him to believe value will outperform going forward. We compare the current setup to prior periods when value underperformed in 2000 and even talk about some of his favorite holdings. As we wind down, he touches on shorting the market and how it provides protection for long positions if the market falls over. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with Acquirers Funds’ Tobias Carlisle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 271, we welcome our guest, Gary Zimmerman, Managing Partner of Six Trees Capital LLC and Founder of MaxMyInterest, a software platform that allocates individuals’ cash among their own bank accounts so that they earn the most interest possible while staying within the limits for FDIC government-deposit insurance. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to actually earn some interest on your cash. Most banks today provide little to no interest and our guest has created a company that gives you a way to maximize your interest on deposits. Gary explains how trying to solve this problem for himself actually led our guest to start the company in 2013. We talk about how it works and why banks offer the Max platform a preferential rate, with the top rate on the platform right now at 85 basis-points, while most online banks are offering 25-60 basis-points. As we start to wind down, we hear Gary’s thoughts on the potential for negative interest rates, how banks are positioned, and why the product has bee

In episode 270, we welcome our guest, Terri Spath, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Sierra Investment Management, where she's responsible for market and economic analysis, portfolio allocation, investment strategy and building client solutions.  In today's episode, we're talking about her rules based approach to investing. Terri talks about Sierra Investment Management's different funds, including their tactical junk bond fund and their muni-bond fund. She gets into the benefits of applying a trend following approach to her strategies, what she's seeing across different asset classes, and why she's bullish on municipal bonds and South Korea.  As we start to wind down, Terri offers ways to implement some of these ideas with your own portfolio, whether it's with the equity or fixed-income portion. Please enjoy this episode with Sierra Investment Management's Terri Spath.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 269, we welcome our guest, Scott Lynn, the Founder & CEO of Masterworks, the first company to allow investors to buy shares representing ownership of great masterpieces by artists like Warhol, Monet, and more. In today’s episode, we’re getting into the ins-and-outs of the art market. It’s been around a long time, but investing in it hasn’t been widely accessible. Scott launched a business that has set out to change that. He takes us through some history and the evolution of the market. We discuss constructing a data set to formally analyze returns of the asset class, and what he and his team learned from the process. Scott talks about the interesting opportunity the art market offers from an investment standpoint, and specifically, what segments and artists the Masterworks team keeps their eye on. Please enjoy this episode with Masterworks’, Scott Lynn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 268, we welcome our guest, Doug Ludlow, the co-founder and CEO of MainStreet, a startup making it easy for businesses to access government incentive programs. In today’s episode, we talking Doug’s best idea: unclaimed money for small businesses and startups. Every year the federal and local government have incentives that go unused and MainStreet’s platform is helping businesses access these and save around $75,000 per company! Doug updates us on MainStreet’s progress since we first heard from him earlier this year. He even have an exciting announcement on the company expanding their offering by almost doubling the available credits that companies have access to. As the conversation winds down, Doug provides some real examples of companies who have saved a large amount of money using their platform. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with MainStreet’s Doug Ludlow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year we brought listeners the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3, in audio format, right here on the podcast. Listeners loved it, so we’re running it back again this year with The Best Investment Writing Volume 4.  You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers from all over the planet.   Enough from me, let’s let Tyler take over this special episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 267, we welcome our guest, Edward Altman, professor at the Stern School of Business at NYU. In today’s episode, we’re talking corporate bankruptcy, high yield bonds and credit risk analysis. We talk to Professor Altman about the Altman Z-Score Model, which he created in 1968 to predict bankruptcies. He discusses the record high debt levels companies had at the end of 2019 right before COVID hit the U.S. and what he’s seen this year with a large number of billion dollar bankruptcies. He also touches on the jump in the rate of zombie companies around the world. As we start to wind down, Professor Altman explains why he is bullish on high quality junk bonds and why the happiest moment of his career was testifying in front of Congress in 2008 advocating bankruptcy for GM. All this and more in episode 267 with NYU’s Edward Altman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 266, we welcome our guest, Kiyan Zandiyeh, Chief Investment Officer for Sturgeon Capital, a leading frontier markets investment boutique focused on technology-enabled businesses that offer a product or service which solves an unserved, acute pain point for a large addressable market. We’re covering Kiyan’s best idea: frontier markets. With the U.S. markets near all-time highs, investors may want to look around the globe for other opportunities and frontier markets offer a unique risk/reward. Kiyan walks us through the current landscape and what countries he’s most interested in. He covers the most common risks investors need to be aware of, and why he’s focused on private companies utilizing technology in the ecommerce and enterprise SaaS spaces. As we wind down, he walks us through a couple real examples of investments he’s made in countries like Iran and Uzbekistan. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with Sturgeon Capital’s Kiyan Zandiyeh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap

Last year we brought listeners the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3, in audio format, right here on the podcast. Listeners loved it, so we’re running it back again this year with The Best Investment Writing Volume 4.  You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers from all over the planet.   Enough from me, let’s let Martin take over this special episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 265, we welcome our guest, Rusty Vanneman, Chief Investment Officer for Orion Advisor Solutions. In today’s episode, we’re talking asset management programs and markets. We talk to Rusty about the state of the industry for turnkey asset management programs, which effectively allow advisors to break out on their own with built-in back office support and a suite of investment options. He gets into direct indexing, and why these customized solutions carry unique advantages for investors in areas like ESG implementation and tax-loss harvesting. Rusty shares his thoughts on markets and some reasons to maintain a bullish attitude. As we start to wind down, we dig into balance, global diversification, bonds, and getting creative to manage portfolio risk moving forward. All this and more in episode 265 with Orion’s Rusty Vanneman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 264, we welcome our guest, Sammy Courtright, co-founder of Ten Spot. In today’s episode, we’re talking about workforce engagement and solving some of the problems with distributed teams. Sammy tells us the backstory of Ten Spot and the re-branding process they’ve gone through to focus on technology to help the company streamline and scale. She explains the business model, how important it is with the modern workforce to make sure teams are engaged and connecting, and how Ten Spot is bringing engagement to the table. We discuss what’s on the horizon for the company, including some thoughts on international expansion. As the conversation winds down, Sammy shares the difficulty of navigating 2020, which not only includes trying to run the business, but extends to securing critical funding.  All this and more in episode 264 with Ten Spot’s Sammy Courtright. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 263, we welcome our guest, Julian Klymochko, founder and CEO of Accelerate Financial Technologies, a firm delivering institutional caliber ETFs, ranging from absolute return strategies to private equity replication to arbitrage. In today’s episode we’re covering our guest’s best idea: SPAC arbitrage. It’s been a hot topic lately, and we dive into what the world of SPACs and SPAC arbitrage is all about. Julian offers a nice walk through of what a SPAC is and how the mechanics work. We cover what makes them such a unique vehicle for sponsors and investors alike, and get into the practical steps a SPAC must go through in the process of making business deals. We talk market dynamics, and chat about where the interesting arbitrage opportunities exist for investors. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with Accelerate’s Julian Klymochko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 262, we welcome our guest, Ihor Dusaniwsky, Managing Director of Predictive Analytics for S3 Partners. In today’s episode, we’re chatting all things short-selling. If you are managing money on behalf of others, or even for your own account and don’t know if you are earning money, or even how much, from lending your securities, this is a must listen. We cover the mechanics of short selling, that is, what actually happens when someone sells short a security. Ihor has said Tesla is the longest unprofitable short he’s ever seen. We chat Tesla and its status as the number-one short in the market right now by absolute size. We get into S3, and the unique, and frankly refreshing offering of providing timely, unbiased, stock loan data to investors. As we wind down, we cover some of Ihor’s lessons and takeaways from his time analyzing short interest data. All this and more in episode 262 with S3’s Ihor Dusaniwsky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year we brought listeners the entire volume of The Best Investment Writing Volume 3, in audio format, right here on the podcast. Listeners loved it, so we’re running it back again this year with The Best Investment Writing Volume 4. You’ll hear from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers from all over the planet. Enough from me, let’s let Alec take over this special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 261, we welcome our guest, Mike Lecours, co-founder of fpPathfinder, a firm developing flowcharts and checklists specifically to help advisors navigate complex financial planning questions to be more diligent in their planning processes. We’re covering Mike’s best idea: Checklists for financial advisors. Financial planning is no walk in the park. The rules that guide the advice planners’ offer their clients are always changing. We walk through the value that checklists can add for advisors. Not only can they help answer questions in a thorough, diligent manner, but they stand to offer efficiency gains as well. We get into how advisors are putting them to work, and sometimes even leaning on them to demonstrate what the process and path of advice might look like. As the conversation winds down we talk about evolving the resources into a digital solution to make the tools even more user friendly and integrated into the advisor workflow. Please enjoy this special “Best Ideas” episode with fpPathfinder’

In episode 260, we welcome our guest, Joel Greenblatt, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Gotham Asset Management. In today’s episode we’re talking about real proposals for real problems. We dig into topics that touch everyone in our society. We get into long-term savings, (by the way, nearly half of all working age families have zero retirement savings beyond what they might expect from social security) and discuss a novel tweak to the model that might deliver critical retirement savings for people who may not be in a position to save enough for retirement. We touch on our education system, where the core issues stem from, and how education might be able to be improved for all. We talk about the advantages of being open to immigration, and how a movement of alternative certification might spur an ecosystem that can improve how the workforce prepares for jobs and offer more direct ways of demonstrating technical know-how. Make sure you listen all the way to the end, as Joel covers some high level thoughts about h