The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

Today’s guest is Kai Wu, founder and CIO of Sparkline Capital, an investment management firm applying state-of-the-art machine learning and computing to uncover alpha in large, unstructured data sets.In today’s episode, we’re talking about two topics that are important for investors to understand in 2022 – intangibles and innovation. Kai shares how he uses machine learning to track things like brand equity, human capital, network effects, and IP to measure the intangible value of each firm (and how he implements this through his ETF, ITAN). Then he shares why his research leads him to believe value is not dead.   Finally, we talk about his most recent paper about investing in innovation, a popular investment theme that’s under scrutiny as of late. Kai shares why he believes the current drawdown is not driven by pure innovation but by a selloff in expensive unprofitable stocks.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Interested in sponsoring the show? Email us at Feedback@TheMebFaberShow.com-----Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more. -----Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Chris Bloomstran, President & Chief Investment Officer of Semper Augustus.In today’s episode, we touch on a lot. Chris shares why the best investors are those who can pivot, why a good business doesn’t equate to a good stock, and what lessons he learned from buy and sell decisions he’s made over the years.Then we dive into his thoughts on Berkshire and Warren Buffett to get you prepared for the annual meeting this weekend. He shares his expectations for the company and stock moving forward and why he believes Berkshire is well positioned for the energy transition we’re experiencing today.And don’t think we could get through the episode without touching on some of Chris’ “Twitter Audits” from the past few years.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Today’s episode is sponsored by MUD\WTR. MUD/WTR is a coffee alternative that supports your morning ritual without all the anxiety and jitters of coffee. Get your starter kit and free frother at mudwtr.com/meb and use code FABER for 15% off.-----Interested in sponsoring the show? Email us at Feedback@TheMebFaberShow.com-----Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more. -----Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Ben Rollert, co-founder & CEO of Composer, a platform for investing in and building quantitative investment strategies for free in an easy to use, no-code solution.In today’s episode, Ben shares what led him to start a new company in the midst of COVID mania in April 2020. He shares an overview of Composer and the different trading strategies they give you access to, including ones by the likes of Swensen, Dalio, Buffet, Markowitz, and yes, even me. We touch on how ease of mixing and matching some of these strategies, who the early users have been, and what future expansion into things like crypto and options may look like. As we wind down, we talk about his fundraising journey and what it was like to get investments from firms like First Round, Not Boring, Basecamp and Draft Ventures.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more. -----Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Neil Dahlstrom, the archivist and historian for John Deere and author of Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture.In today’s episode, business wars hits the farm! Neil’s book is a case study on the evolution of the tractor industry and it’s importance during a time the world was experiencing a global plague, World War & food shortages. We touch on all the major players, including a young Henry Ford. We even walk through he different strategies each company took around pricing and distribution.  As we wind down, we touch on the future of the industry with things like autonomous tractors and drone technology.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----This episode is sponsored by AcreTrader. AcreTrader is an investment platform that makes it simple to own shares of farmland and earn passive income, and you can start investing in just minutes online. For more information on how to become a farmland investor through their platform, please visit acretrader.com/meb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Marc Chaikin, a 50-year Wall Street veteran and the founder of Chaikin Analytics. In today’s episode, we start by discussing Marc’s early career and what led him to have an approach today that combines both fundamentals and technicals. We hear about some of the 20 factors that make up his model and how it urged him to buy Overstock and Wayfair early in the pandemic. Then, Marc walks us through what industries he’s bullish on today, including energy, financials, and aerospace and defense.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----This episode is sponsored by Masterworks. Masterworks is opening the doors to top-tier, blue-chip art investments to everyone. Visit masterworks.io/meb to skip their wait list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Dylan Grice, co-founder of Calderwood Capital, a hedge fund boutique specializing in orthogonal, niche and capacity-constrained hedge-fund strategies. He’s also the author of Popular Delusions, one of my favorite financial newsletters.In today’s episode, we kick it off by talking about the end of duration and the headwinds that long-duration assets like stocks, bonds, private equity and real estate face going forward. That leads us to talk about why Dylan loves the idea of the cockroach portfolio and what a creature that’s survived over 350 million years can teach us about portfolio construction.As we wind down, we talk about some esoteric strategies, including mortgage prepayments, cat bonds, uranium and energy (both of which he wrote about a few years ago) and even SPACs.Dylan was kind enough to share a few of his letters from Popular Delusions, so be sure to check the links below:• The Death of Duration• The Cockroach Portfolio• March Edition of Popular Delusions-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Sponsor: Today's episode is sponsored by The Active Share podcast. If you’re seeking the less obvious and are curious about the ever-changing world and how it affects investing, The Active Share podcast is for you. Hear thought-provoking conversations with thought leaders, company executives, and William Blair Investment Management’s own analysts and portfolio managers as they share unique perspectives on investing in a world that’s always evolving. Listen to The Active Share on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or TuneIn or visit here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gio Valiante, a top performance coach, discusses the importance of balancing mastery and ego orientation, handling fear and anxiety, and the significance of process and commitment in achieving peak performance. He also explores the psychology of attachments, letting go of attachments, and shares insights from working with top athletes and professionals in sports and investing.

In this Mebisode, Meb reads his article titled “How I Invest 2022” which is an update to a piece he originally penned during the pandemic in 2020. You’ll hear how Meb invests his own money and how that’s changed in the past two years.  -----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Today’s episode is sponsored by MUD\WTR. MUD\WTR is a coffee alternative that supports your morning ritual without all the anxiety and jitters of coffee. Get your starter kit and free frother at mudwtr.com/meb and use code FABER for 15% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest today is Ivy Zelman, CEO and co-founder of Zelman & Associates, a leading housing research firm. She was recently named to Barron's 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance and gained notoriety leading up to the Great Financial Crisis when she pounded the table the market was overheated, even asking Toll Brothers CEO Bob Toll “which kool-aid are you drinking” on a 2016 earnings call.In today’s episode, we start by going back to 2008 and hearing what led her to be one of the few housing bears. Then we get into the housing market today, which she describes as euphoric and bonkers. She explains why poor demographics and lack of affordability due to rising rates lead her to think the market is over-extended today.We also get her thoughts on other important trends effecting the housing market today: the entrance of iBuyers and Wall Street firms, why she doesn’t think housing demand is as high as other analysts, and the impact of supply chain issues.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Today’s episode is sponsored by MUD\WTR. MUD/WTR is a coffee alternative that supports your morning ritual without all the anxiety and jitters of coffee. Get your starter kit and free frother at mudwtr.com/meb and use code FABER for 15% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Paul Kim, co-founder and CEO of Simplify Asset Management, an ETF provider focused on helping advisors build better portfolios.   In today’s episode, Paul kicks it off by giving us an overview of Simplify and the firm’s focus on long volatility ETFs that either generate income or hedge downside risk. We discuss the ability to use options in the ETF structure, an idea Paul and his team have embraced to create convex strategies.After looking back at Paul’s time at Pimco, we dive into some of his strategies. We touch on strategies that hedge bonds and stocks and even Simplify’s thematic health care ETF that gives 100% of the proceeds to charity.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeFor detailed show notes, click hereTo learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com-----Sponsor: Today's episode is sponsored by The Active Share podcast. If you’re seeking the less obvious and are curious about the ever-changing world and how it affects investing, The Active Share podcast is for you. Hear thought-provoking conversations with thought leaders, company executives, and William Blair Investment Management’s own analysts and portfolio managers as they share unique perspectives on investing in a world that’s always evolving. Listen to The Active Share on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or TuneIn or visit here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices