Deconstructing Alpha

For the twelve years following The Great Financial Crisis, money market yields had remained close to 0%, and bond yields were consequently repressed.  However, today the entire bond spectrum appears to exhibit different characteristics than when the Fed Funds Rate was 0%.  Instead of low inflation, we have inflation higher for longer.  We currently have an inverted yield curve, where short-term bonds offer higher yields than longer...

In this episode we discuss managing resilient equity portfolios that can endure multiple market environments with Adam Sues of Yacktman Funds.  For those of you who don’t know Yacktman, they have been a pillar of quality focused equity management for the past 30 years.  

Morningstar might classify Yacktman as a large cap value manager, but they are so much more than this arbitrary moniker.  

Want to know more abou...

For institutional investors, First Eagle has long been one of the most revered investment firms in the nation. Their mutual funds have been a pillar of strength in Frontier portfolios, providing consistent performance year after year, for decades, even during some of the most difficult of times. If you ask them how they have been able to achieve this track record, their response will likely be “scarcity” and “persistence”.  What do...

Triumph! What an honor it was to host the famed international investor Rezo Kanovich from the Artisan International Small Mid Growth Strategy.  Frontier has been a long-term investor with Rezo and Artisan, and I was shocked to have been able to interview such an icon of international investing.

We deconstruct the importance of security selection, the opportunities before us, the inefficiencies, and risk aspects of small stock invest...

In this podcast, we interview Max Belmont, Associate Portfolio Manager for the First Eagle Gold fund.  What does First Eagle know about gold?  Well, they just might own more gold than any other private entity in the country.  How much gold can fit in a swimming pool, what is the difference between gold out of the ground and gold mining stocks, what is the role of gold in a portfolio, and how do crypto currencies factor into this en...

To kick things off for 2022, we welcome back to the show Rob Almeida – Global Investment Strategist and Portfolio Manager for MFS Investment Management.  This time around, we recap the highlights and oddities of last year, and address some of the major issues for the New Year.   High asset prices, inflation, the Fed…we address it all in this sprawling synopsis of what the heck is going on in capital markets.

So, go sit in traffic – ...

Can we deconstruct Advisors Alpha?  This is a first. We interview an investment advisor – Brandon Jansma. 

We figured that since most of our listeners are investment advisors, maybe we should interview one.

In this episode, we define Advisors Alpha with Brandon Jansma, whom we believe to be an all-around thought leader and contemplator of finer subjects. We ponder what it is to be an advisor today and venture into what the future of ...

This year, we reported on the current themes of why interest rates are so low, what is going on in China, and whether inflation is transitory or persistent.  However, we have saved one of the biggest issues for last to help prepare you for 2022 – Do Valuations Matter?  With U.S. equity markets so overvalued currently  – if you believe  traditional valuation metrics – we thought it would be prudent to check in with Frontier’s very o...

Regulation is a four-letter word in American politics, but in China, is it business as usual? 

This year, Xi Jinping – the leader of the Chinese Communist Party – passed down a laundry list of regulations that resulted in cascading unintended consequences for businesses and investors alike.  These new regulations address real estate construction leverage, private education, environmental concerns, data privacy, and even screen time ...

Risk managed small-cap equity investing?  How to manage a large small-cap portfolio?   Can underperforming a bull market lead to multiple market environment outperformance?  For how long can poor quality businesses outperform?  Why is the beta ripping Russell 2000 Small Cap Index chock full of non-profitable companies?  

Do these questions sound like “Jumbo Shrimp”?   

We are fortunate enough to address these perplexing topics with G...

Inflation at 5%, 10-year treasury yields at 1.5%, how is that sustainable?  In the post-COVID investment environment of explosive growth coinciding with inflation concerns, it seems implausible that interest rates could remain this low.    

However, for my entire career, investors have decried, “Interest rates are just about to rise, so watch out!”.  But they haven’t.  Interest rates have been declining for 40 years.   

In this pod...

The big macro-economic surprise in 2021 is INFLATION!  The latest CPI-U year-over-year inflation print for the 12 months ending May 2021 is 5%. Regardless of whether the rise in general prices – influenced by the sectors of energy, lumber, or used cars – has been lumpy or not, it does appear that most of us are witnessing pockets of inflation in our lives.  And, inflation is contagious, inflation in one area often spills over into ...

While you may have never heard of Frontier Asset Management, you likely have heard about MFS Funds. They manage about $500 billion in assets, and Rob Almeida is their Global Strategist!  Given that the big story for strategists now is clearly “what the heck is going on with markets”, we quickly devolve from “deconstructing alpha” to all the weirdness that is occurring at the macro level. And, as you know, everyone wants to talk mac...

In this episode, Geremy and Shannen interview Carl Kaufman, Co-President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer of Osterweis funds, but more importantly, manager of the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund. With inflation fears on the horizon - leading to investors' big fear of rising interest rates - talking bonds, interest rates, and inflation couldn’t be more timely. And, who better to discuss this with than Carl ...