Excess Returns

Conservative investing has a reputation for being boring. But our guest this week deploys a conservative approach that is far from that. We speak to Dave Wright of Sierra Investment Management. Sierra uses a unique trend following approach to manage its portfolios and mitigate risk. We discuss the current state of markets and the outlook for stocks and bonds as well as unique methods to manag...

Michael Mauboussin is one of the most insightful long-term thinkers in the investing world. For decades, his research has taken deep dives into markets, valuation and how we can all become better long-term investors. He is currently Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global.  We talk to Michael about a wide range of topics, including factor investing, the dangers of simple valuation...

There is a perception many have that the market is rigged in favor of corporate insiders. And there is certainly justification for that perception. In this episode we take an in depth look at the issue with Wharton professor and insider trading expert Daniel Taylor. We start with the basics, including how insider trading is defined and the laws that govern it. Then we dig deep into his research an...

In this episode, we speak with O'Shaughnessy Asset Management's Ehren Stanhope about his excellent research paper "The Great Inflation, Factors, and Stock Returns." We discuss the history of inflation and the major regime changes that have occurred throughout history and what we can learn from them to help evaluate the current inflationary picture. And we look at how different factors and ass...

In this episode we take a deep dive into technical analysis with Andrew Thrasher, founder of Thrasher Analytics and portfolio manager at the Financial Enhancement Group. We look at the major tools that technicians use and the methods they utilize to apply them. We go through a real world example using the S&P 500 to see how these tools are put into practice. We also cover his excellent paper "...

Asset pricing models have evolved significantly over the past several decades. From the Capital Asset Pricing Model to Fama and French's 3 Factor Model to their more recent 5 and 6 Factor Models, academic research has continued to work to improve our understanding of what drives stock prices.  But our guest this week thinks asset pricing models might need a revolution more than evolution.&nbs...

We are currently in a very interesting time for investors. We have experienced a run in equities following the 2020 decline that many did not think was possible. We have seen unprecedented fiscal stimulus and many are worried about inflation. And despite all of that, bond yields remain very low. This week we take a look at all the major asset classes and how we can make sense of the current situat...

Momentum was a factor that many academics were very reluctant to embrace. Our guest this week, Sheridan Titman, helped to change that with his 1993 paper " Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency" that he co-wrote with Narasimhan Jegadeesh. In this interview, we discuss both his original work on momentum and what he has learned since. We also cover hi...

Inflation is probably the most talked about topic in investing today. Some think it has become a major problem. Others (including the Fed) think it is transitory. While still others think we are headed for a repeat of the 1970s or even hyperinflation.  But many of the opinions on both side are not informed by the facts. So we wanted to do an episode where we started with the basics to help us...

This week we talk to Ritholtz Wealth CFO Bill Sweet. Bill has had a very unique career, which started serving our country in the military and also included a stint in his family's tax business prior to his work at Ritholtz. We talk about the lessons Bill has learned in his career and how others can benefit from them. We also take an in depth look at the Biden tax plan and cover the major points in...

Value investors currently love emerging markets. Whether you look at projections from GMO or Research Affiliates or any of the other major firms who look at expected returns, you will see a much more favorable outlook for emerging markets than the US. But there is another side of the emerging markets story that has little to do with traditional value investing. There is also a significant growth s...

The 60-40 portfolio has been a solid long-term performer for investors. It has worked in bull markets. It has also held up well in deflationary shocks. But with expected returns for both stocks and bonds well below their long-term averages and inflation potentially on the horizon, many have questioned whether it still makes sense. In this episode, we look at the future of the 60-40 portfolios and...

Many factor investors tend to use similar approaches. You will typically see some value and momentum in their strategies. You will also likely see some quality, and maybe even some low volatility. Our guest this week has a more unique approach that is both more granular and dynamic than the typical factor approach and utilizes many unique factors outside of those traditionally used by factor inves...

After years of struggle, it seemed like the big rebound value investors had been waiting for was upon us in the wake of the 2020 bear market. But recent months have seen a return to the dominance of growth, which has many investors believing value's rebound was nothing more than a head fake. This week, we are joined by GMO Head of Asset Allocation Ben Inker to discuss the recent quarterly letter h...

With bonds yields near all time lows and stock valuations near all time highs, the future returns of the 60/40 portfolio don't look promising. This has led many investors to move up the risk curve in an effort to boost their returns. But that increased risk also comes with an increased chance of significant problems in future market drawdowns.  This week, we talk to two guests who have come u...

Our guest in this episode is Gregg Fisher of Quent Capital. Gregg was a pioneer in factor investing and the founder of Gerstein Fisher, which he grew to over $5 billion in assets before selling it in 2016. We discuss Greg's current strategy, which seeks to bring a factor-based approach to investing in innovation. We also cover his extensive research on factor investing, including the future outloo...

Buying stocks of high quality companies is something investors are almost universally attracted to. But the details of how to define quality, and the reasons why it works can be more complicated to understand. In this episode, we look at the different ways to define quality, the arguments for why it works, and how it can be incorporated into an investment strategy.  We hope you enjoy the disc...

Valuing factors can be a confusing process. Not only are there are different factors to look at, there are also many ways to define them and a variety of different approaches to look at their valuation. In this episode, we look at what factor valuation can tell us and examine our process for valuing factors in detail. We also look at the current valuation of all the major factors.  We hope yo...

When many investors think about dividend investing they think about buying the highest yielding stocks. But investing in quality companies that are growing their dividends can in many ways be a superior approach. This week, we talk to Ryan Kruger of Freedom Day Solutions about their approach for finding high quality dividend payers. We also cover a variety of other topics including the two most im...

Conviction is probably the most important thing in investing. Regardless of the investment strategy you utilize, the ability to stick with it during the challenging periods is required to achieve its potential. But conviction can also sometimes be a bad thing. It can lead us to see certainty where it doesn't exist. It can also lead us to discount valid arguments against our investment approach.&nb...

Many investors tend to think growth and momentum investing are highly aligned with each other. But as we have seen recently, with many momentum funds making an aggressive move into value, they also can be very different. In this episode, we talk to Randy Watts, Chief Investment Officer at O'Neil Global Advisors and Jeremy Schwartz, Global Head of Research at WisdomTree about an interesting strateg...

This week we bring back our first repeat guest on the podcast. And we can't think of a better person to have back than our good friend Tobias Carlisle. When Toby originally came on the podcast, we were in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, the market was down, and value stocks were struggling badly. Since then, the situation has substantially improved both in the economy and in the stock market. W...

Investors tend to either invest in passive funds or operate at the other extreme and use active strategies that select individual stocks. But there is a case to be made for a strategy in the middle of those two that focuses on sectors. Sector investing allows investors to make active bets without the idiosyncratic risk that comes with picking individual stocks.  In this episode, we cover sect...

Factor timing seems so sensible on the surface. The idea of adding exposure to out of favor factors appeals to investors' desires to buy low and sell high. But the reality is much more complicated than that. In this episode, we look at what the academic research shows about factor timing and some different approaches to building investment strategies that time factors.  We hope you enjoy the...

Investors love dividends. They like them for their potential to beat the market. They like them for the income they provide. Some even like them because of their perceived safety. But the reality of all of those things is a little bit different than the common perception. When you look at each of the benefits that buying high yield stocks provides, you will typically find that there is a better wa...