Top Podcasts of the Week

Below is our “Top Podcast” list with our curator, Colby Donovan!

Today we have John Hussman with his view of the market, Aswath Damodaran on the recent short squeeze, Jason Zweig on how to remain sane during market volatility, and Sam Harris on the benefits of mindfulness.

Investing

• ***Must Listen*** Superinvestors and the Art of Worldly Wisdom: #39: John Hussman On Navigating One Of The Most Overextended Stock Markets Of All Time. Hussman runs Hussman Strategic Advisers, a value-focused equity shop, and paints an ugly picture of the current market and future returns. He starts by describing his investment discipline, which is based on four things: value focused, monitoring market internals, assessing if the market is overbullish or overbearish, and being cognizant of a full-cycle. He assesses the current market through that lens and says it’s overvalued, overbought and overbullish, projecting 12-year nominal returns -4.4% for the S&P 500. He elaborates on his thesis and explains how he’s evolved as an investor, choosing not to be bearish if speculative behavior is in the market, even if valuations are elevated. [January 27, 2021–1 hour, 22 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• The Business Brew: Tyrone V Ross Jr. — A Powerful Advocate. Ross is one of the best people to listen to about issues that most Americans face. He explains the financial stresses that the lowest income Americans have to endure, such as being unbanked and relying on payday lenders. He pushes back on the narratives that payday lenders are horrible and should be banned because they actually do serve an important need. He also talks about the lack of financial literacy in the U.S. and the need for personal finance education in schools. He’s a powerful speaker and of everything he says, the biggest takeaways are to show empathy for others, don’t pass judgement, and open your mind to what others are going through. [January 15, 2021–1 hour, 41 minutes] Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• The Prof G Show with Scott Galloway: State of Play: GameStop. Galloway is joined by the famous NYU professor, Aswath Damodaran to discuss recent market events. He starts with the r/WallStreetBets and GameStop short squeeze and why he thinks the retail investors will be the ones who pay the most in the end. Then he covers the SPAC craze that started in 2020, why the IPO process is broken, and why he thinks going public via direct listing is best for companies. He finishes by giving advice to those who want to be invested but also want to be cognizant of the risks and elevated valuations. [January 28, 2021–39 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• Infinite Loops: Jason Zweig — Psychology, History & Writing. After a wild week in the market, it’s nice to listen to this sane conversation between Jim O’Shaughnessy and WSJ columnist Jason Zweig. Zweig talks about his research into the mind and how our minds are impacted by investing (as covered in his book Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich). He also explains why smart people make poor investment decisions and why character is the key to being a good investor. Finally, he gives advice on how to set guardrails to prevent yourself from making mistakes with your money, especially during volatile times like now. [January 28, 2021–1 hour, 3 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• Masters in Business: Ron Baron on Investing in Tesla and SpaceX. Baron is the chairman, CEO and portfolio manager at Baron Funds, which is known for its long-term, fundamental, active approach to growth investing and has $49 billion in assets under management. He’s the definition of a long-term investor; his goal is to hold companies for 10–20 years and his portfolio reflects that (he’s held Charles Schwab, Vail Resorts & Choice Hotels since the 1990’s). He talks about these investments, the benefits of having low portfolio turnover (his is single digits per year), and covers some individual investments, including Tesla and some private real estate holdings. [January 29, 2021–1 hour, 26 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

The Meb Faber Show

• The Meb Faber Show: #282 — Salem Abraham, Abraham Trading Company — Managing Risk Starts With Imagining the Unimaginable. Abraham could be the most interesting man in the world. A chance meeting with Jerry Parker led him to a life of trend-following, but he never left the small town of Canadian, Texas. Another friendship with T. Boone Pickens led him to start a foundation that has turned into a fund that’s opened to outside investors. In the episode, he talks a lot about the importance of risk management and diversification, and why he thinks investors are way too overweight equities. At the end, he talks about how a hedge he put on in February turned $200,000 into $6 million in 37 days, returning 30x his money. [January 25, 2021–1 hour, 3 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• The Meb Faber Show: #283 — Brian Barish, Cambiar Investors- In The Digital Age We’re De-Physicalizing Things. Barish is the President and Chief Investment Officer at Cambiar, a relative value firm. He talks a lot about how value has changed over the years and why he’s had to change his investment process (with a fun comparison to how the NBA has changed). He talks some specific names in his book, how he’s positioned as 2021 begins, and what looks attractive to him around the globe. If you’re a value investor, this is a must-listen. [January 27, 2021–1 hour, 13 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

The Rest

• Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman: 79. How to master your emotions, w/Sam Harris. As we’re all navigating COVID-19 and the stresses that come with it, this is a timely episode on why it’s important to take a step back and focus on your mental game. Sam Harris explains how leaders and those in stressful situations have to learn how to handle their thoughts. He explains the benefits of mindfulness for top performers, why establishing a routine is so important to reap the benefits, and how it enables you to truly find and work towards what you want in life. The episode is geared towards founders of startups, but if you replace the work “founder” with “coach”, it’s all the same. [January 26, 2021–40 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

Recommendations Books

Josh Silverman (CEO, Etsy):

1. Grant by Ron Chernow

Phil Libin (Founder, Evernote):

1. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Good investing,Meb Fabertheideafarm.com