Victor Haghani — co-founder of Long-Term Capital Management and founder of Elm Wealth — joins host Mike Wallberg, CFA, to discuss the ideas behind his book The Missing Billionaires: A Guide to Better Financial Decisions. Using the "missing billionaires" puzzle as a starting point, Haghani explores why so many investors struggle with risk sizing, how our instincts often sabotage long-term results, and why dynamic asset allocation makes more sense than sticking to static rules.
Listen now to learn how understanding "how much" to invest can be the key to lasting financial success.

Risk expert and author Richard Bookstaber joins guest host Genevieve Hayman, senior researcher at CFA Institute, to explore why traditional financial models often fail to capture the real dynamics of markets. Drawing from decades of experience — from hedge funds to the US Treasury — Bookstaber unpacks how human behavior, feedback loops, and network effects shape systemic risk and market crises. The conversation delves into how complexity science, agent-based modeling, and new AI tools can help investors build resilience and rethink how risk is managed.
Listen to the episode for insights on navigating today's interconnected financial landscape, and read Genevieve's recent report, Reframing Financial Markets as Complex Systems, available at https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/reports/2025/reframing-financial-markets-as-complex-systems.

Barbara Stewart, CFA, returns to The Enterprising Investor to share findings from her latest Rich Thinking study, based on candid conversations with 54 people across the globe. This year's central question—"What's the smartest thing you ever did?"—unlocks an inspiring range of stories about personal and professional transformation.
From a Singaporean ballet dancer who defied expectations, to an Argentine executive who discovered the Japanese concept of ikigai, to an Australian entrepreneur who rebuilt his life after addiction, Barbara explores how risk-taking, mindset shifts, career pivots, and geographic leaps often lead to unimagined success. With trademark warmth and insight, she illustrates how the boldest moves can become the smartest decisions.
Listen to the full episode for powerful, real-life stories—and explore the Rich Thinking summary on the Enterprising Investor blog for even more global insights.

Michael Falk, CFA, a partner at the Focus Consulting, applies the lessons he learned as a competitive baseball pitcher to investment teams and discusses the importance of creating a sell discipline for losers and winners in an investment portfolio, his many writing projects, and living with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
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►Transcript: https://cfainst.is/3loZLxT

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Topics discussed:
2:10 Michael's love for baseball and lessons to learn from the sport
4:33 Becoming a better listener
8:05 Sell discipline
11:11 When to retire and succession planning
15:17 Michael's article, Everything You Want to Know About Investing
18:30 Michael's new paper on stakeholder capitalism
21:25 Bitcoin: how should investors be thinking about cryptocurrencies
25:30 Michael's thoughts on blockchain technology
27:28 Michael's clinical trial
34:28 Embracing vulnerability
38:08 Flight or invisibility?

Related articles and links:

Everything You Need to Know About Investing
https://www.iwmonitordigital.com/iwmonitor/november_december_2020/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1652473&app=false&cmsId=3881786#articleId1652473

Crypto Dreamin'? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
https://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2020/06/16/crypto-dreamin-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Michael S. Falk, CFA, on Safety Nets, Trampolines, and Opportunity Equality
https://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2020/09/15/michael-s-falk-cfa-on-safety-nets-trampolines-and-opportunity-equality/

Drug May Extend A.L.S. Patients' Lives by Several Months, Study Finds https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/health/ALS-treatment.html

Brené Brown's TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iCvmsMzlF7o

John Hodgman on This American Life ep.178
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/178/superpowers/act-one-0

HBR video "Five Whys"
https://hbr.org/video/2189146765001/5-whys

HBR article The Contradictions That Drive Toyota's Success
https://hbr.org/2008/06/the-contradictions-that-drive-toyotas-success

This American Life ep. 178: Invisible Man Vs. Hawkman

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/

Find Michael here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlfalk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/msfalk?lang=en

Find Lauren here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren- foster/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

Connect with the Research Foundation:
RF Showcase page: https://lnkd.in/e66zSKD
Download and share RF content (free to all): https://lnkd.in/emhTTi5

Herman Warren, Africa Director for The Economist Corporate Network, discusses the economic and social impact of Covid-19 on sub-Saharan Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, the outlook for the continent post-pandemic, whether the commodities boom will turn into a supercycle, the role of China, and what Africa can expect from the Biden administration.

Andrew Lo discusses his various fields of expertise and research with Anastasia Diakaki. Professor Lo's most recent work in healthcare finance, more timely than ever, serves as the starting point for a conversation covering the COVID-19 pandemic, machine learning applications in biopharma, artificial intelligence and the interpretability of machine learning results in the finance industry. When it comes to preparing for the future, we ask Andrew Lo: "Do we all need to become computer scientists?"

Topics discussed:

1:30 - Professor Lo's philosophy and approach in health care finance sector

2:43 - Applications: what are the implications of these tools?

4:51 - Lo's view on the pandemic and the acceleration of some processes

6:41 - Machine learning applications and health care

8:58 - Successes and improvements to algorithms in practice

10:57 - Computer science – the new life skill to have

13:24 - Machine learning algorithm used in the investment process

15:25 - Are your current students more comfortable with science skills?

16:55 - AI and human intelligence

Related articles and links:

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/

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Find Andrew here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwlo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewWLo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Find Anastasia here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiadiakaki/?originalSubdomain=uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anastdiakaki

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-foster/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

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Episode #451 Investing in Esoteric Assets

Rishi Ganti, CFA, founder of Orthogon Partners, a private investment fund focused solely on esoteric assets, explains why he searches for what he calls esoteric assets and why this is the area where investors should be hunting for opportunities.
Episode Transcript: https://cfainst.is/3pvys5u
Topics discussed:
2:32 - City living nowadays
4:35 - "The come-to-Jesus" moment
8:47 - What conceptions we might have wrong and what led Rishi to the Orthogon path
14:33 - More about Orthogon
17:04 - What is an esoteric asset?
21:40 - Opportunities discovered
25:52 - The intensive process of surfacing opportunities
32:58 - What ray of sunshine has some from the pandemic?
35:18 - What would you bring on a NASA flight
37:15 - Flight or invisibility, which would you choose?
Related articles and links:

Institutional Investor: https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1phwnq5888jf2/Why- Modern- Finance- Is- Ruining- the- World

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/
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Find Lauren here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren- foster/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

Episode #450 How to Make Smarter Decisions about Money

Paul Sullivan, author of the Wealth Matters column for The New York Times and the Money Game column in GOLF Magazine, discusses why it's important for financial advisers to discuss money scripts with clients and for families to talk to their children about money. A lifelong golfer, Paul also shares anecdotes from some of the legendary pros, as well as a few things he learned after writing more than 500 columns about money.

Episode Transcript: https://cfainst.is/3u2Dzh3

Topics discussed:
2:00 - Launching Wealth Matters column in the financial crisis
4:13 - Lessons gleaned over 500 columns
5:42 - Paul's; favorite column
7:54 - Why do we have an aversion to talking to kids about money?
11:00 - Strategies for helping people talk about money
13:17 - Money scripts
16:00 - Paul's writing process and how he keeps finding ideas
18:49 - Flops and mistakes in behavioral finance
21:30 - Richard Thaler and The Thin Green Line
24:54 - Clutch and Tiger Woods
27:58 - Writing for Golf Magazine
30:48 - Paul's favorite golfing character and his favorite golfing story
33:06 - Ray of sunshine question
33:48 - NASA question
34:45 - Flight vs. Invisibility

Related articles and links:

NYT Wealth Matters https://www.nytimes.com/column/wealth-matters

Paul's favorite column's:
Somebody's Watching ... and Ready to Sue https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/your-money/05wealth.html

A Bespoke Perfume Doesn't Come Cheap https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/your-money/designing-personal-perfumes.html

The Green Line Secrets https://www.amazon.com/Thin-Green-Line-Secrets-Wealthy/dp/1451687257

Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don't https://www.amazon.com/Clutch-Excel-Pressure-Paul-Sullivan/dp/1591844290

Golf Magazine: https://golf.com/contributor/paul-sullivan/

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/
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Find Lauren here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-foster/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

Find Paul here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sullivanpaulj/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sullivanpaul?lang=en

Dirk Willer, a managing director and global head of emerging market strategy at Citi and co-author of Trading Fixed Income and FX in Emerging Markets: A Practitioner's Guide, discusses the outlook emerging market economies amid the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, what to expect from China, and his guide to trading foreign exchange.

At CFA Institute LIVE 2025, returning guest Mark Higgins, CFA, sat down with guest host Lotta Moberg to explore the rise—and risks—of private credit. With a historical perspective and a sharp eye for market cycles, Mark challenges the prevailing optimism, drawing parallels to past investment booms and offering a compelling case for greater caution. He also examines the expanding role of consultants and questions common assumptions in portfolio construction. A must-listen for anyone navigating the complex terrain of private markets.

Episode Transcript: http://static.3playmedia.com/p/files/5653820/threeplay_transcripts/16847103?format_id=46&project_id=18442&format=pdf

Topics discussed:
2:00 – How optimistic are you for the new year?
3:20 – John's approach at Acadian
6:51 – Building culture
11:29 – How to get involved in quantitative investing
13:44 – John's opinion on drivers of value's recent underperformance and conditions for a comeback
18:01 – Acadian's approach to value investing and how John's Quant skills help compete with other value managers.
20:32 – Does your approach look to leverage a common theme across asset classes? Or are you looking to diversify by exploiting different causal factors?
20:09 – Acadian's ESG philosophy.
27:11 – Lesson's learned over three decades at Acadian that are helpful to understanding the current environment
32:00 – Ray of sunshine question: what is one positive long-term change that you hope to see as a result of the pandemic?
34:03 – NASA question: what one item would you bring on a long flight to space?
35:29 – Flight or invisibility? Which superpower would you choose?

Related articles and links:

This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/

Acadian: https://www.acadian-asset.com/

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/
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►Email us for comments, questions, or appearance requests:Take15podcast@cfainstitute.org

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Find Lauren here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-foster/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

Find John here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chisholm-cfa-6459547

Twitter: https://twitter.com/johndchisholm?lang=en

Acadian: https://www.acadian-asset.com/about-acadian/leadership

In this episode #447, Troy Prince founder of Wall Street Bound discusses how his organization is creating pathways of success for urban youth through careers in finance, despite the many challenges they often face.

Episode Transcript:
http://static.3playmedia.com/p/files/5648975/threeplay_transcripts/16831037?format_id=46&project_id=18442&format=pdf

Topics discussed:

1:23 – Background about yourself and Wall Street Bound
3:34 – Inner city youth: what are the biggest roadblocks that keep them from finding positions within investment management?
5:30 – Diversity: how do we get employers and investment management to value this underserved part of the talent pool?
7:06 – Stories or examples on how have you been able to help these young people and get them positions within investment management?
9:39 – Credentialing: Ways you have helped your students get credentialing to move into investment management.
11:49 – Current status of diversity in the industry
15:53 – Hiring people from diverse backgrounds: What do employers do to find talent, valuable talent in the inner city?
17:52 – Skills that you are recommending helping students and/or young people so they can better compete for positions in the industry?
23:43 – How would you like to see the investment management industry evolve over the next 5 to 10 years? And what do you think they should focus on first?
26:37– What is the best way to find good inner-city talent?

Related articles and links:

Wall Street Bound: https:///www.wallstreetbound.org info@wallstreetbound.org

CFA Institute members and charterholders Professional Learning Tracker https://cpd.cfainstitute.org/
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►Email us for comments, questions, or appearance requests:Take15podcast@cfainstitute.org

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Find Lauren here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-foster/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenfosternyc

Find Troy here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyaprincecaia

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wallst_bound?lang=cs

Listen to our quick 20-second trailer to find out what our show is all about. Enjoy short interviews with the greatest thinkers in investments, economics, and many other related financial industry topics.

Subscribe at here or https://take15audio.libsyn.com/. 

Episode #444. Fran Skinner, CFA, CPA, discusses the importance of identifying your "A-game" so you can improve performance in all aspects of your work, tips on how to take advantage of virtual networking sessions to expand your network, and much more.

Episode #442. Dr. Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of pymetrics, a company that uses neuroscience and AI to improve the accuracy, fairness, and diversity of hiring, discusses how hiring is broken and why soft skills are key for accurate and fair talent matching.

Episode #441. Marko Papic, a partner and chief strategist at Clocktower Group and author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future, takes listeners on a geopolitical tour that starts with his constraints-based framework and continues through the recent US presidential election to US-China relations, Brexit, the Middle East, and Russia.

Episode #440. It has been 20 years since the last major antitrust case in the US, and with the recent bi-partisan investigation, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook are now seemingly in the government's crosshairs. Join us with founder of SGH Wealth Management's Sam G. Huszczo, CFA, CFP as we explore the historical parallels of Microsoft's antitrust case and the potential investment opportunities this uncovers in Big Tech.

Andrew Ang—former BlackRock executive, Columbia professor, and advisor to Sarawak's sovereign wealth fund— explores the intersection of personal journey and professional insight in modern investing. From the severe value investing drawdown between 2018 and 2020 to the strategic comeback post-COVID vaccine announcements, Andrew unpacks lessons from one of the most turbulent financial periods in history. He also discusses how investors can build resilience into their portfolios, the nuanced role of crypto assets, and the growing importance of tax-efficient strategies in long-term wealth building. Listen in for a thoughtful discussion that blends research, practical guidance, and a global perspective on today's investment landscape.

This podcast is sponsored by Fintool. Fintool is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools designed for modern fundamental research. Check them out at https://fintool.com/

In episode #439, David Knox, senior partner at Mercer Australia and the lead author of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, discusses the characteristics that make up a good pension system.

Episode #437. Renowned financial market historian William N. Goetzmann of the Yale School of Management takes the audience on a fascinating journey that spans stock market bubbles and lessons for today's investors to interplanetary finance.

Episode #436. Heidi Ridley, CFA, co-founder of Radiant ESG, discusses why she believes ESG is probably the single most important change to asset management, her journey from CEO of Rosenberg Equities to launching her own firm, and what it takes to build a strong organizational culture.

In episode #435, Randall Kroszner discusses central bank responses to COVID-19, the impact of lower rates on savers and plan sponsors, the toolkit to deal with future crises, and a way forward for bailouts of insolvent firms.

Episode #434. In a wide-ranging and frank conversation, Michael Falk, CFA, a partner at the Focus Consulting Group, discusses the one question every investor must answer right now, how to take investment teams from good to great, what he believes to be the progenitor behavioral bias, and his diagnosis with ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's disease.

In episode #433, Sandy Rattray, CIO of Man Group, discusses whether the VIX is a fair estimate of volatility, building a work culture for data scientists and machine learning experts, and the role of technology and data in investing.

In episode #432, Maria Wilton, CFA, discusses the 2020 CFA Institute/Mercer co-branded Global Pension Index. Who is responsible for providing retirement income: the government or individual? What are the features of a good government pension scheme?

Internet and related technologies have been creating data like never before. Jumps in computing power and competition have made it increasingly difficult for active managers to get an edge through traditional data sources. Episode #430 provides an overview of the fast-changing canvas of data and alternative sources of alpha.

Episode #429. Neil Govier, CFA, talks to Ken Siazon and Manish Sharma, CFA, both from Southeastern Asset Management, about the outlook for APAC equity markets, value investing, investment opportunities, and the likely speed of recovery from COVID-19.

Eric Hanno, CFA, is co-head of Apollo Global Management's Apollo Aligned Alternatives (AAA) strategy. He and host Mike Wallberg, CFA, discuss the current market dynamics for semi-liquid investments amid high levels of uncertainty and volatility in public markets. Eric shares insights on consumer and business confidence trends, the impact of tariffs, and the overall energy in Apollo's offices. With a focus on how investors can effectively allocate semi-liquid assets into their portfolios, this episode provides valuable perspectives for navigating today's investment landscape. Tune in for expert insights from a leader in private equity.

This podcast is sponsored by Fintool. Fintool is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools designed for modern fundamental research. Check them out at https://fintool.com/

In episode #428, Clare Flynn Levy, founder & CEO of Essentia Analytics, discusses common behavioral errors and how to mitigate them, where alpha is lost and found, and what investors can do to build decision-making resilience.

In episode #427, Melissa Cook, CFA, founder and managing director of African Sunrise Partners LLC, dispels some of the biggest misconceptions investors have when considering Africa and makes the case for investing in the continent.

In episode #426, Anne Walsh, CFA, chief investment officer for fixed income at Guggenheim Partners, discusses risks and opportunities in global bond markets, Guggenheim's investment process, and why investment management is a high calling.

In episode #425, we invited Scott West, the Head of Invesco Consulting and Lisa Kueng, their Director of Creative Campaigns, to get a better understanding of the actions that investment professionals can take right away to build trust with clients and how investment professionals can harness language to help grow, keep, and optimize their businesses.

In episode #424, Jan van Eck, president and CEO of Van Eck Associates Corporation, discusses his outlook on gold and China, the firm's approach to launching ETFs, five things to know about former US president Ulysses S. Grant, and much more.

In episode #423, John Tobin, CFA, explains why he believes the death of dividends is greatly exaggerated and shares advice on how investment analysts can deal with the daily information overload.

In episode #422, Sean Stannard-Stockton, CFA, president and CIO of Ensemble Capital, shares why conviction in an idea is one of the most under-appreciated elements of a successful investment process and also one of the most critical.

In episode #421, Stephanie J. Creary, assistant professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the RACE framework she created to help employees initiate workplace conversations about race.

In episode #420, Lutfey Siddiqi discusses his thoughts on the convergence of stakeholder capitalism and investors' desires for more sustainable investing while touching on the subject of trust and whether investee companies have truly embraced long-term sustainability. Lutfey expands on this conversation in a recent blog he has written which can be found at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/07/09/covid-19-makes-inclusion-a-strategic-imperative-for-companies-and-investors/

In episode #419, Jon Stein, CFA, the CEO and founder of Betterment, discusses the past and future of the online adviser, and the building of financial fortitude and resilience required by an uncertain environment.

Dan Boston, Lead Manager of Polar Capital's International Small Company Fund (PCSCX), shares his perspective on why international equities may be poised for a resurgence. The conversation unfolds amid sharp market volatility following President Trump's announcement of sweeping new tariffs. With global markets down significantly, Dan and Mike explore the broader implications for asset classes including U.S. treasuries, oil, and international stocks. Tune in for a timely discussion on where global opportunities may lie in today's unsettled investment landscape.

This podcast is sponsored by Fintool. Fintool is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools designed for modern fundamental research. Check them out at https://fintool.com/

In episode #418, psychiatrist Richard L. Peterson, CEO of MarketPsych, a behavioral economics consultancy, discusses sentiment analysis and fear as a driver of decision-making. He also shares tips for managing stress and anxious clients.

In episode #417, Arden O'Connor discusses how financial advisers can recognize potential addiction issues with clients and shares effective communication strategies and resources for helping clients and families in sensitive situations.

In episode #416, Sam Stubbs, founder and managing director of Simplicity, talks to Neil Govier, CFA, about the impact, positive or negative, that COVID-19 will have on the changes taking place within the finance industry and its impact on investor trust.