The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

Our guest is Vinesh Jha, founder and CEO of ExtractAlpha, an independent research firm dedicated to providing unique, actionable alpha signals to institutional investors.In today’s episode, we’re talking all things quant finance and alternative data. Vinesh walks through his background at StarMine, which built a Morningstar-esque company for equity research, and then dives into what he’s doing today at ExtractAlpha. He shares all the different ways he analyzes alternative data, whether it’s looking at sentiment and ticker searches or using natural language processing to analyze transcripts from earnings calls. Then he shares whether or not he thinks alternative data can help investors focused on ESG.  As we wind down, we touch on ExtractAlpha’s merger with Estimize and the ability to crowd source financial intelligence.-----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 The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's radio show is with Meb Faber, Justin Bosch & Colby Donovan. We cover Meb’s experience investing in startups, including: Why Meb started investing in startups His process for sizing investments The importance of making an investment plan if you want to invest in private companies Meb’s biggest wins Listener questions! Resources:Journey to 100xHow I Invest 2022Meb's Deals  Episodes with founders Meb's invested in Episodes with VC's and Syndicate Leads-----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

Eric Crittenden, Chief Investment Officer of Standpoint Asset Management, discusses the potential impact of inflation on portfolios and the benefits of trend following. They also explore navigating the nightmare scenario of poorly performing stocks and bonds, the effectiveness of diversification and trend following strategies, successful portfolio diversification, the importance of having a written plan for investing, and the guest's recent interests and book donations.

In today’s episode of the Cambria Fund Profile Series, Meb discusses the Cambria Value and Momentum ETF (VAMO). Meb walks through the strategy, which provides exposure to stocks focused on value and momentum metrics, while having the ability to tactically hedge the equity portfolio with strict risk control methods that are completely systematic. He looks back at the fund’s underperformance prior to 2021, and sheds light on the strategy’s headwinds in recent years. As the episode winds down, Meb offers some notes from a recent Cliff Asness paper on why the setup for value is as attractive today as it’s been over the past 50 years and explains why he’s excited about this strategy going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 388, we welcome our guests, Scott Lynn and Masha Golovina, the CEO and Head of Acquisitions for Masterworks, the newly minted unicorn that’s providing everyone the ability to invest in top tier blue-chip art.In today’s episode, we start with an update since we first talked with Masterworks back in late 2020. We hear how the company has become the largest art buyer in the world, spending about $45 million per month with over 320,000 investors on the platform. We talk about some trends impacting the art market like inflation and NFTs. Then we spend some time on the acquisition process of paintings. We walk through the difference between buying paintings at auction and private markets and which factors have the greatest impact on prices over time.This is unlike any episode Masterworks has done before!-----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 The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 387, we welcome our guest, Whitney Baker, founder of Totem Macro, an EM macro consultancy and hedge fund advisory boutique.In today’s episode, Whitney shares her flows based macro lens for looking at the markets, one she honed at famed shops like Bridgewater and Soros Fund. She says we’re experiencing a cyclical and secular regime change that the market has yet to adjust to.Then Whitney shares why she believes the US is in an once-in-a-lifetime bubble…and at the same time have a once-in-a-generation value opportunity in broad sections of EM. We touch on the implications of this for both foreign and domestic markets and hear where she sees opportunity. Whitney shared one of her recent research pieces which are normally only for a select number of the world’s most sophisticated investors, so be sure to check it out here. It – is – fire.-----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 The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 386, we welcome our guest, John Arnold, arguably the best natural gas trader of all-time and now one of the largest philanthropists in the US, giving away almost half a billion dollars a year. In today’s episode, we start with John’s rapid rise at Enron and later launching his own fund, Centaurus Advisors, which posted eye-popping returns and led him to become the youngest billionaire in the US in 2007. We talk about the mindset that helped him become a successful trader, and even touch on the time he took the other side of Amaranth Advisors in a famous trade.Then we hear why, before the age of 40, he decided to wind down his fund, focus solely on philanthropy, and commit to giving away most of his fortune during his lifetime. We talk about some of the problems he’s tackling around public finance, election reform and health care, and hear what has surprised and frustrated him along the way.-----Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTubeCheck out Meb's Deals for discounts from a lot of companiesFor 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

In episode 385, we welcome our guest, Jeff Shaw, founder of Underground Cellar, a new way to discover, buy, and store limited edition wines.In today’s episode, we’re talking to one of the most passionate, gritty, and determined entrepreneurs around. Jeff begins by explaining where he got the idea to gamify the wine buying process. He shares how the company works – the process of buying the wine, the upgrade algorithm, and the logistics of storing the wine.Then we hear how Mark Cuban turned him down multiple times, and leveraged that to get an investment from Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran. We talk about the experience of going through Y Combinator, raising money from Jason Calacanis, and what lies ahead for this fast growing startup.  As a special offer for listeners of the show, visit Undergroundcellar.com and use the code MEB to get $100 off your first order of $150 or more.-----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 The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 384, we welcome our guest, Robert Cantwell, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Upholdings and portfolio manager for the Compound Kings ETF.In today’s episode, we’re talking to the first person to convert a hedge fund into an ETF and invest in a private company through an ETF. Robert shares why he chose to do the conversion and some benefits of the ETF structure, including transparency, taxes and even short lending to generate income.Then we get into his ETF, ticker K-N-G-S. We talk about Robert’s philosophy for running a concentrated portfolio of companies that he defines as compounders. We hear his thought process for analyzing a company and he uses Facebook as an example.As we wind down, we touch on the Chinese Internet stocks and how investors should think about geopolitical risk when investing abroad.-----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 The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 383, we welcome our guest, Mike Dudas, founder and General Partner of 6th Man Ventures, which focuses on investing in Web3 infrastructure and the metaverse. His previous experience at Disney, Google and Venmo gives him a unique perspective on these areas.In today’s episode, we have a primer on Web3 from someone who’s deploying over $100 million into the space over the next few years. We start with an overview of stablecoins and their role in Web3. Then we get into NFTs and how they relate to DAO’s – decentralized autonomous organizations. We even hear how Mike helped launch LinksDAO, which raised over $10 million in 48 hours with the goal of creating one of the world’s greatest golf clubs.As we wind down, we hear about some existing portfolio names and why Mike is bullish on the metaverse. (0:39) – Intro (1:24) - Welcome to our guest, Mike Dudas (2:29) - Early career at Disney, Google and Venmo (9:14) - Working for Paxos (12:30) - Overview of Web3 (15:49) - Overview of stablecoins & their importance (25:45) - Overview of NFTs (29:36) - Mike’s involvement with LinksDAO (40:20) - The possibility of a DAO buying a professional sports team (45:45) - The focus of his firm, 6th Man Ventures (49:25) - Some cool companies he’s invested in (55:23) - The biggest thing he wants to see come to fruition in 2022 (57:59) - Learn more about Mike; Twitter @mdudas; 6thman.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-----Today’s episode is sponsored by The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Join today and get access to quarterly CAPE ratios, an excel quant backtester and the entire research library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices