Other People's Money with Max Wiethe

Dr. Gio Valiante, performance coach who works with top hedge fund portfolio managers and PGA Tour stars, explains how elite traders think like athletes. He discusses how environment, culture, fear, embarrassment, and ego shape decision making. Short takes cover process-focused risk control, detaching from short-term PnL, and why firm structure changes idea generation.

Nadia Martin Wiggen, Director at Svelland Capital and commodities and shipping specialist. She explains why May is the realistic timeline for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Ships are rerouting and Asia is scrambling for May cargoes. Refining margins and refined‑product hoarding keep a persistent bid under oil. Regional shortages would hit Asia, Australia, and emerging markets hardest.

Learn more about Teucrium’s Soybean ETF (SOYB) here: https://teucrium.com/soyb In this episode of Other People's Money, Max sits down with Chris Morris, President of LandFund Partners, to explore why they believe U.S. row crop farmland is the ultimate hard asset. Chris details how farmland performed as a portfolio diversifier during the Great Financial Crisis and explains why the relative value compared to other regions and essentially free access to 300-years of groundwater them has focusing on the U.S. Mid-South region. He highlights global water scarcity, food security, and inflation as macro drivers for this farmland, but he also argues that rising values and yields from technological improvements and increased demand for non-farming purposes like solar power are how they have delivered S&P 500 beating net returns since 2021. LandFund Partners website: https://www.landfundpartners.com/ Follow LandFund Partners on X: https://x.com/LandFundLP Follow Max on X: https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR X https://x.com/opmpod Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:40 Teucrium SOYB 01:00 Investing in Farmland 04:26 Diversification and Correlation 06:07 Real Assets and New Macro Risks 09:13 Scarcity and Water Thesis 10:48 Protein Demand Multiplier 12:45 How Farmland Returns Work 15:00 AI and Renewable Energy 15:41 Teucrium SOYB 17:02 Community Impact and Ethics 20:21 Who Buys Farmland? 22:47 Why the Mid-South 26:33 Valuation Gap Explained 28:25 Water Rights and Water Scarcity 35:06 Solar Leases Beat Crops 39:23 AI Boosts Farm Profits 42:22 Regenerative Farming and the Three Fs 44:35 Iran Conflict Inputs and Crops 48:26 Subsidies and Rent Security 54:02 Fund Focus and Growth Plans 57:30 Conclusion

Maredith Hannon, Head of Business Development at WisdomTree Digital Assets, leads tokenized fund initiatives at a $100B asset manager. She discusses rapid tokenization growth and WisdomTree’s tokenized product lineup. Conversations cover retail and institutional access, on‑chain utility like payments and DeFi integrations, settlement and liquidity mechanics, and the roadmap for private credit and global use cases.

Steve Novakovic, Managing Director of Educational Programs at CAIA, shares his insights on the shift from strategic asset allocation to the Total Portfolio Approach (TPA). He highlights the significance of CalPERS' recent changes and discusses the evolving landscape of private markets. Novakovic explains how secondary markets are enhancing liquidity for investors and delves into the friction between hedge fund fees and performance. He emphasizes the necessity of educating retail investors about alternatives and looks ahead to exciting CAIA educational initiatives for 2026.

Matt Ober, General Partner at Social Leverage and former Chief Data Scientist at Third Point, dives into the evolving data economy and the impact of AI on investment strategies. He discusses how AI is reshaping data pricing and highlights the emergence of new data sources in the so-called 'degenerate economy.' Ober compares the agility of AI-native firms with traditional incumbents and explains how Social Leverage utilizes data to enhance seed-stage investments. He also shares insights on prediction markets and the commoditization of alternative data.

Yaron Naymark, founder and managing partner of 1 Main Capital, grew a concentrated long-biased fund from startup to institutional scale. He discusses fund growth milestones, handling drawdowns and investor relations, evolving a Buffett-style investment approach, operational upgrades like outsourced COO/CFO support, and a $20M strategic seed from Cannell Capital.

Sam Gaer, CIO of Directional Strategies at Monarq Asset Management and a pioneer in electronic trading systems, shares his insights on outperforming Bitcoin using quantitative strategies. He discusses the implications of recent market volatility and institutional demand for crypto hedge funds. Sam recounts his transition from traditional finance to crypto, emphasizing the importance of relationships in the evolving landscape. He highlights crypto's potential for scalability and offers a comparative analysis of investment strategies between traditional finance and crypto.

James Wang, General Partner at Creative Ventures and author specializing in AI and deep tech investing, dives into the collision of public and private markets. He discusses the challenges of traditional VC metrics and the looming dry powder bubble affecting valuations. Wang offers insights on the future of AI, emphasizing its practical limits and the importance of distinguishing hype from reality. He also critiques fund strategies, urging VCs to focus on meaningful process and team dynamics rather than misleading early performance metrics.

David Stemerman, CEO and co-founder of CenterBook Partners, dives into the challenges facing fundamental long/short equity investing. He highlights the decline in fund launches yet believes in the potential of alpha capture to revitalize this space. David discusses how direct partnerships with single managers can enhance portfolio strategies, while addressing the common criticisms surrounding alpha capture. He also shares insights on how to align manager incentives with allocator needs and the importance of maintaining independence in the investment process.