The Blunt Dollar

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Oktay Kavrak, Director of Communications and Strategy at Leverage Shares, a leading provider of exchange-traded products (ETPs). With over a decade in the financial industry and a CFA charter under his belt, Oktay shares a wealth of insights into the evolving world of ETPs, including how they’re reshaping modern investing.

We explore everything from the rise of active ETPs to the ...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, we sit down with Tom Idzorek, CFA, Chief Investment Officer for Retirement at Morningstar and one of the most influential voices in modern financial planning. With a career spanning decades and awards like the Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence under his belt, Tom has consistently pushed the boundaries of how we think about portfolio theory, human capital, and retirement planning.

We d...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with François Trahan, one of the most respected macro strategists on Wall Street.

François is a Hall of Fame-ranked Institutional Investor strategist, former head of macro research at Bernstein, BCA, and Wolfe Research, and founder of the Macro Research Institute, a program training investors to understand real-world macroeconomics.

But this isn’t just about big call...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer of State Street Global Advisors, who oversees over $4 trillion in assets. 

With 41 years of experience in finance, Lori brings unmatched depth to the conversation, from leadership and risk management to indexing, AI, and the future of investing.

We explore how institutional investors influence markets, the evolving ro...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Wylie Tollette, Chief Investment Officer of Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. 

Wylie oversees over $160 billion in multi-asset portfolios and has spent his career bridging investment strategy, operations, and leadership, from CalPERS to Franklin Templeton.

But this isn’t just a CIO talking markets. This is a conversation about trust, transparency, and the...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Sébastien Page, Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price, where he oversees over $500 billion in assets and leads a global team of investment professionals.

But today’s conversation isn’t about markets. It’s about leadership, psychology, and what makes people thrive under pressure.

We dive into Sébastien's latest book, The Psychology of Leadership, and unp...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Eric Sim, former UBS Managing Director turned author, educator, and personal branding expert. 

Eric’s journey is anything but typical. He started helping his father at a hawker stall in Singapore and rose to one of the top roles in global banking. Then he pivoted again to build a personal brand that reaches millions on LinkedIn.

We talk about:
📈 How Eric bu...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with David Blanchett, Head of Retirement Research at PGIM and one of the most respected voices in financial planning. 

From his early start as a certified financial planner at 21 to becoming a go-to name in retirement income research, David has spent his career challenging outdated assumptions and building better models to help people retire smarter.

We get into why ...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Byron Gilliam, market strategist at BlockWorks and the writer behind one of the most engaging daily newsletters in finance. Byron spent 25 years trading global equities across financial hubs like Frankfurt, London, Paris, and New York before making the jump into crypto.

We talk about what led him to shift from trading to writing, how explaining crypto to traditional finance profes...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Patrick DeBattista, CFA, CPA, and financial educator, who is on a mission to democratize financial knowledge. With over 200 workshops delivered across Europe, a growing social media presence, and a leading role in Malta’s national initiative on financial education, Patrick is redefining how people approach money.

We dive deep into the financial literacy crisis, why only ...

Imagine working 32 years at Bloomberg.

Now picture shaping how millions of professionals consume financial news.

Now imagine:

↳ Working closely with Mike Bloomberg.
↳ Leading AI-driven initiatives before AI was even a buzzword.
↳ Pioneering the integration of Twitter into the Bloomberg Terminal.

That’s Ted Merz, CFA.

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar podcast, we dive into his j...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I'm joined by Reda Farran, a seasoned finance professional with over 12 years of experience in the industry. 

From his early days as a sell-side analyst to his current role at Finimize, where he simplifies complex financial concepts for retail investors, Reda has seen firsthand how markets and investing have evolved.

We dive deep into:

1) The democratization of finance and how retail investors...

In this episode of The Blunt Dollar, I sit down with Anthony Cheung, Chief Content & Culture Officer at AmplifyME, podcast host, and finance educator, to talk about his journey from a small-town upbringing in a rest home to a career navigating high-stakes financial markets. We get into his early days as a trader, the lessons he learned from working alongside old-school finance pros, and how he now helps students break into the ...