Lead-Lag Live

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Kaitlyn Walsh, Wealth Advisor and Equity Analyst , to break down what employees actually own when they receive stock options and why misunderstanding equity compensation can lead to costly mistakes. From incentive stock options and vesting schedules to fair market value, AMT exposure, and record-keeping errors, Walsh explains the decisions that mat...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Luke Lloyd, President and CEO of Lloyd Financial Group , for a candid conversation on markets, mindset, and the economic forces shaping investor behavior. From why retirement is not a finish line but a reinvention, to how AI, government liquidity, and bailouts are reshaping wealth outcomes, Lloyd explains why investors must adapt both financially a...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Aram Babikian, Head of Xtrackers Wealth at DWS, to explore how rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping technology investing and why national security has become a core investment lens. From US–China decoupling and critical technologies to AI, quantum computing, and supply-chain risk, Babikian explains how investors can gain exposure to future-fa...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed sits down with Dodd Kittsley, Co-CIO of Davis Advisors, to discuss why fundamental research and selectivity are becoming increasingly critical as markets transition into a period of normalized interest rates. From Davis Advisors’ 60-year history of “eating their own cooking” to the evolution of active equity ETFs, Kittsley explains how a high-convict...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed sits down with Jay Hatfield, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Infrastructure Capital, to discuss how investors should approach fixed income and equity income strategies for 2026 as markets adapt to a changing interest rate environment. From Federal Reserve rate cuts and inflation trends to credit spreads, preferreds, and equity sector rotation, Hatfield...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Kai Wu, Founder and CIO of Sparkline Capital, to break down how the AI investment cycle is evolving as scrutiny rises and market enthusiasm becomes more selective. From hyperscaler spending and data center economics to market concentration and fading euphoria, Wu explains why investors need to rethink where real AI returns may come from and why the...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors , to break down what the Fed’s latest rate cuts mean for markets, income investors, and portfolio positioning heading into 2026. From a potential melt-up toward 7,000 on the S&P 500 to why preferreds, high yield credit, and small-cap value could outperform as rates fall, Hatfield explains how...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Greg Babij, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Sundial , to explore why traditional buy-and-hold strategies may struggle in a market defined by faster cycles, rising volatility, and structural change. From the rise of zero-day options to the importance of tactical exposure, tail hedging, and trend following, Babij explains how portfolios ca...

Markets sit near record highs even as economic signals send mixed messages, and many portfolios are more concentrated today than ever. In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Alex Shahidi, CO-CIO at Evoke Advisors, to break down what risk parity really is and why traditional frameworks like 60 40 may leave investors exposed. Shahidi explains how growth and inflation cycles his...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Stephen Sikes, Chief Operating Officer at Public , to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming retail investing, brokerage platforms, and portfolio construction. From AI-powered research to custom-built indexes and the rise of agentic brokerage, Sikes explains how new tools are giving individual investors access to capabilities once rese...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Mike Barrasso, Co-Founder and CEO of WealthReach, to uncover one of the biggest blind spots in advisor growth: knowing who is researching you before they ever reach out. From intent data and website visitor identification to compliant AI-driven outreach, Barrasso explains how advisors can stop wasting marketing spend and start engaging prospects at...

Emerging markets are changing fast. Old economy sectors like banks and energy no longer define the space. Instead, growth is being driven by internet platforms, tech enabled consumer companies, and new economy business models reshaping how investors approach EM exposure.  In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Michael A. Gayed, CFA sits down with Brendan Ahern, Chief Investment Officer at KraneShares, to bre...

Short term yields have shifted, liquidity matters more than ever, and investors are rethinking how to manage cash efficiently. In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Aram Babikian to break down the purpose of TRSY, why its structure is different from traditional cash vehicles, and how investors are using it in today’s rate environment. They explore why liquidity, cost, and tr...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Matt Simpson, CEO of Brazil Potash (NYSE: GRO) , to break down how the Autazes project could transform fertilizer security for Brazil and shift the balance of power in global agriculture. From navigating permits and construction milestones to securing long-term offtake agreements for more than 90 percent of expected production, Simpson explains how...

In this special Lead-Lag Live webinar sponsored by GraniteShares , Michael Gayed brings together some of the biggest YouTube creators in the income-investing space for a fresh, free-flowing conversation on weekly dividends, options-based income ETFs, yield strategies, and the rise of “living free from your brokerage account.” Featuring leaders from across the ETF and income-investing world, this s...

Join Michael A. Gayed, CFA, and the OptionsANIMAL team for a conversation about options trading, risk management, and the famous “George Costanza Trade.” In this webinar, they chat about: What the “Costanza approach” really means in trading How professional traders manage risk and avoid emotional decisions High-probability setups explained in simple terms Options strategies that work in volatile m...

International markets are leading and according to DWS’s Aram Babikian, we’re still in the early innings. In part 1 of this Lead-Lag Deep Dive Series, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Aram to explore why Europe and Japan are gaining momentum, what’s structurally different this time, and how two key XTrackers ETFs, HDEF and DBEF, are positioned for 2025–2026. They break down: - Why Europe, especial...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors , to break down what Nvidia’s blockbuster quarter means for mega-cap tech, why markets fade after earnings season, and the implications for dividend stocks, preferreds, and small caps as rate expectations shift. From valuation pressure in momentum names to tightening money supply and the path of...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Alex Shahidi, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Evoke Advisors , to unpack the structural forces reshaping markets — from persistent inflation to weakening growth, rising deficits, and the return of macro volatility. From the limitations of the traditional 60-40 portfolio to the misunderstood mechanics behind risk parity, Shahidi explains how investor...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Seth Cogswell, Managing Partner at Running Oak Capital , to break down Michael Burry’s warnings about depreciation manipulation, inflated AI earnings, and the concentration risk dominating today’s market. From the speed of chip innovation to the widening gap between revenue and AI CapEx, Cogswell explains why valuations at the top of the S&P 50...

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In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed sits down with Cole Wenner from KraneShares to break down the rise of humanoid robots and why the theme is moving from cool demos to real-world deployment. Cole explains embodied intelligence, the labor and aging-population pressures driving demand, and where humanoids are likely to show up first — warehouses, factories, hospitals, and eventually the...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed talks with Henry Greene from KraneShares about how recent changes in US–China trade incentives are improving the outlook for China’s tech sector and why it matters for investors. They discuss the rise of AI in China — including DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen models — and how letting companies train AI on their own data could boost cloud adoption. Henry...

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Steven Rossi , Founder and CEO of Worksport , to break down the company’s clean-energy transformation — including the long-awaited launch of the COR portable power system and the SOLIS solar tonneau cover . Steven explains how COR’s modular batteries, onboard inverter system, and solar integration are designed to create a new category in portable p...

In this episode of Lead Lag Live, I sit down with Brendan Ahern, Chief Investment Officer at KraneShares, to break down the renewed momentum behind emerging markets and the forces driving performance across global tech and e commerce. From valuation gaps and dollar depreciation to sector leadership shifts, Ahern shares how EM growth factors and specifically the KEMQ ETF are positioned to benefit f...