The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

In episode 234 we welcome our guest, Harin de Silva, president and portfolio manager for the Wells Fargo Asset Management Analytic Investors team. In today’s episode, we’re talking factors and long/short investing.We discuss factors as anything that can help explain return, and the all-important task of assigning weights to factors in portfolio construction. We get into short selling, and some of the challenges that need to be carefully navigated, from risk management to asymmetric return distributions, to the cost of borrow.As we wind down, we cover the appetite institutions have for factor investing and how they seem to be a lot more interested in general, however, they’re less willing to pay for strategies they can get cheaply.All this and more in episode 234 with Harin de Silva. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 233 we welcome our guest, Lisa Rich, managing partner of Hemisphere Ventures and founder and COO of Xplore. In today’s episode, we’re talking about tech and the front lines of space exploration.Lisa walks through her background as an entrepreneur, and her transition as an investor with Hemisphere Ventures as she saw the emerging case for frontier technology. We talk through some interesting case studies of a few portfolio companies, from Axiom Space, building the world’s first commercial space station, to PlanetIQ, focusing on satellite-borne, state-of-the-art sensors to collect data to improve weather forecasting, space weather prediction, and climate analytics. We then jump into her own space company, Xplore.We chat about space as a service and commercial capabilities, as well as development of their spacecraft, Xcraft. We dive into milestones that include working with NASA on version 4.0 of the Xcraft, planned to travel to the solar gravity lens focal region as the fastest spacecraft ever built in human history.All this and more in episode 233 with Lisa Rich. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 232 we welcome our guest, Luis Perez, Founder of Remoov. In today’s episode, we’re getting organized. We’re talking about taking the work off your hands of removing all of that unwanted clutter.We discuss the idea that was prompted by the observation of inefficiency in the college move-in, move-out process. Luis took it upon himself to store outgoing students’ items over the summer, and sell them to incoming students in the fall. He found a market and traction, and today he’s running and growing this model with Remoov. We discuss operations and trying to find efficiency in this capital intensive business through technology and innovative processes.We get into the logistics of entering new markets and targeting demographics such as baby-boomers that are likely to be downsizing. We talk about how the COVID pandemic has impacted the business, and the ‘on-your-feet’ thinking that led to Remoov opportunistically connecting with downsizing businesses.All this and more in episode 232 with Luis Perez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 231, we welcome our guest, Julian Klymochko, founder and CEO of Accelerate Financial Technologies. In today’s episode, we’re talking liquid alts and democratizing alternative strategies that have been tapped by the world’s largest institutions for decades.We get into the current state of liquid alts and hedge funds, and the standardization and commoditization that has come with increased competition. We talk about merger arbitrage. Julian offers a story about a 2014 trade that went awry when he was running his first hedge fund, adding color to some of the mechanics and risks inherent in the strategy.We key in on private equity, dig into the lack of mark-to-market appraisal of holdings, and how this strategy can be replicated in public markets. As we wind down, we discuss the opportunity in the future for flows to work their way from complex, high fee alternatives, into low-cost liquid alts.All this and more in episode 231 with Julian Klymochko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 230 we welcome our guest, Ryan Lupberger, Co-Founder and CEO of Cleancult. In today’s episode, we’re talking cleaning. Sustainable cleaning products to be exact.We talk about Cleancult’s origin story, zero waste packaging, and products that actually work. We discuss getting involved with Parallel 18, a Puerto Rican accelerator that was essential to network building, and tapping into the strong pharma, science, and the R&D community that Puerto Rico has to offer.We dig into the journey of iterations on product and packaging, and the ‘aha’ moment and decision to offer soap refills in milk cartons, the challenge that idea posed, and the custom machinery and technology that helped make that a reality.All this and more in episode 230 with Ryan Lupberger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 229 we welcome our guest, Evan Brandoff, Co-Founder and CEO of LeagueSide. In today’s episode, we’re talking about targeted, local marketing through youth sports organizations.Marketing through youth sports has been going on for a long time, many have played on teams with local sponsors, or have noticed a favorite local business sponsoring a team. Evan talks about evolving that model to offer automated execution through a technology platform that delivers sponsorship of local youth sports to regional and national brands.We discuss the “aha” moment that led to the founding of LeagueSide, and the evolution of the business. We get into the impact COVID has had on the viability of youth sports leagues, and some of the tactics they are using to navigate these difficult times from a business standpoint and to support youth sports.All this and more in episode 229 with Evan Brandoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode of the Cambria Fund Profile Series, Meb discusses the Cambria Tail Risk ETF (TAIL). Meb walks through the S&P 500’s move from it’s all time high on February 14th 2020 to it’s recent low on March 23rd 2020 that resulted in a decline of 33.7% in just 20 days. He poses the question: “Is there any way an investor might have been able to mitigate this decline in his or her portfolio?” He then makes the case for the Cambria Tail Risk ETF (TAIL), a fund engineered to help guard against significant market drawdowns. As the episode winds down, Meb poses this scenario: “Is the stock market back on solid footing today? No one has a crystal ball. If I told you a year ago, that unemployment would jump from low single digits around 4% to over 15% today, that Fed interest rates would fall from 2.5% to near zero today, that gold would be up massively, stock volatility would be up, and oil would crash down over 50%, and yet, despite all of this, stocks are up. Would you believe me? Most would not.” All this and more in this Cambria Fund Profile Series episode, featuring the Cambria Tail Risk ETF (TAIL). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 228 we welcome our guest, Danilo Santiago, founding partner of Rational Investment Methodology. In today’s episode, we’re talking stocks and investment process. We take a deep dive into Danilo’s fundamental process that is, to a large extent, automated by programs he developed over many years. We chat about circle of competence, and why Rational focuses on a quasi-static group of about 60 companies, and has done so for over a decade. We even walk through a case study, and talk about how Danilo thinks about the long and short side of his book. All this and more in episode 228 with Danilo Santiago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 227 we welcome our guest, Alex Smereczniak, Co-Founder and CEO of 2ULaundry. In today’s episode, we’re talking about re-thinking the laundry and dry cleaning business.Alex cut his teeth in the business with a student-run startup at Wake Forest. We get into what he saw with existing startup models trying to scale the laundry business, and why he thought the model needed to be approached in an entirely different way.We discuss scaling the business and 2ULaundry’s differentiating factors of pick up and delivery scheduling, vertical integration, and launching in markets where there is little competition, but room to scale.As the conversation winds down, we cover what 2ULaundry has done to navigate during the COVID-19 pandemic.All this and more in episode 227 with Alex Smereczniak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 226 we welcome our guest, Vineer Bhansali, CIO of LongTail Alpha. In today’s episode, we’re talking current markets and tail risk hedging.We get into what has been going on in markets, and talk about asymmetric portfolio construction. We discuss recent market liquidity, and how it is the worst Vineer has seen in his career.We cover tail risk hedging, and walk through some examples of how to implement, and how different techniques fare in various environments.All this and more in episode 226 with Vineer Bhansali. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices