The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

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 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 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

Alec Lucas, a senior analyst at Morningstar's Manager Research Services, dives into the intricacies of geographical diversification. He explains how relying solely on a company's domicile can mislead investors, revealing mismatches between revenue sources and country classifications. Using examples from Philip Morris to Millicom, he highlights the significance of revenue-based analysis. Lucas also discusses the effects of market caps on international revenue exposure and shares insights on home-country revenue biases, making a compelling case for more nuanced investment strategies.