Lead-Lag Live
Welcome to the Lead-Lag Live podcast, where we bring you live unscripted conversations with thought leaders in the world of finance, economics, and investing. Hosted by Melanie Schaffer each episode dives deep into the minds of industry experts to discuss current market trends, investment strategies, and the global economic landscape. In this exciting series, you'll have the rare opportunity to join Melanie Schaffer as she connects with prominent thought leaders for captivating discussions in real-time. The Lead-Lag Live podcast aims to provide valuable insights, analysis, and actionable advice for investors and financial professionals alike. As a dedicated listener, you can expect to hear from renowned financial experts, best-selling authors, and market strategists as they share their wealth of knowledge and experience. With a focus on topical issues and their potential impact on financial markets, these live unscripted conversations will ensure that you stay informed and ahead of the curve. Subscribe to the Lead-Lag Live podcast and follow @leadlagmedia on X to stay updated on upcoming live conversations and to gain exclusive access to a treasure trove of financial wisdom. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn from the best and brightest minds in the business. Join us on this journey as we explore the complex world of finance and investments, one live unscripted conversation at a time. Be sure to like, comment, and share the Lead-Lag Live podcast with your network to help others discover these invaluable insights. Stay tuned for the latest episode of the Lead-Lag Live podcast, and remember to turn on notifications so you never miss a live conversation with your favorite thought leaders. Happy listening!
Episodes
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Melanie Schafer sits down with Michael Mo, CEO of KULR Technology Group (NYSE: KULR), to explore why energy reliability is emerging as the critical constraint behind AI, robotics, drones, telecom infrastructure, and next-generation data centers.
Fresh off CES and following KULR’s newly announced $30M telecom battery supply agreement, Mo explains how high-power, high-safety battery systems are becomi...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Hervé Van Caloen**, Owner and Portfolio Manager at **Mercator Investment Management, to break down why global markets outside the United States are entering a powerful new phase of leadership.
From Japan’s aggressive stimulus and corporate reform push to structural dominance in semiconductors, defense technology, space, and energy infrastructure, Van Caloen explains how capital is ro...
Artificial intelligence is driving one of the largest capital spending cycles in market history, yet most AI investment strategies focus on surface level exposure rather than true innovation. In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Aram Babikian of Xtrackers to examine how AI investing is evolving and why research intensity and patent activity may matter more than headlines.
The discussion breaks down the struct...
Equity Isn’t Ownership: Kaitlyn Walsh on Stock Options, Tax Traps, and the Mistakes Employees Regret
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Kaitlyn Walsh, Wealth Advisor and Equity Analyst, to break down what employees actually own when they receive stock options and why misunderstanding equity compensation can lead to costly mistakes.
From incentive stock options and vesting schedules to fair market value, AMT exposure, and record-keeping errors, Walsh explains the decisions that matter most before, during, and after an...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Luke Lloyd, President and CEO of Lloyd Financial Group, for a candid conversation on markets, mindset, and the economic forces shaping investor behavior.
From why retirement is not a finish line but a reinvention, to how AI, government liquidity, and bailouts are reshaping wealth outcomes, Lloyd explains why investors must adapt both financially and psychologically to a system increa...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Aram Babikian, Head of Xtrackers Wealth at DWS, to explore how rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping technology investing and why national security has become a core investment lens.
From US–China decoupling and critical technologies to AI, quantum computing, and supply-chain risk, Babikian explains how investors can gain exposure to future-facing innovation while acti...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed sits down with Dodd Kittsley, Co-CIO of Davis Advisors, to discuss why fundamental research and selectivity are becoming increasingly critical as markets transition into a period of normalized interest rates.
From Davis Advisors’ 60-year history of “eating their own cooking” to the evolution of active equity ETFs, Kittsley explains how a high-conviction, benchmark-agnostic in...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, Michael Gayed sits down with Jay Hatfield, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Infrastructure Capital, to discuss how investors should approach fixed income and equity income strategies for 2026 as markets adapt to a changing interest rate environment.
From Federal Reserve rate cuts and inflation trends to credit spreads, preferreds, and equity sector rotation, Hatfield explains why income invest...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Kai Wu, Founder and CIO of Sparkline Capital, to break down how the AI investment cycle is evolving as scrutiny rises and market enthusiasm becomes more selective.
From hyperscaler spending and data center economics to market concentration and fading euphoria, Wu explains why investors need to rethink where real AI returns may come from and why the next winners may not be the obvious...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, to break down what the Fed’s latest rate cuts mean for markets, income investors, and portfolio positioning heading into 2026.
From a potential melt-up toward 7,000 on the S&P 500 to why preferreds, high yield credit, and small-cap value could outperform as rates fall, Hatfield explains how investors can navigate a market caug...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Greg Babij, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Sundial, to explore why traditional buy-and-hold strategies may struggle in a market defined by faster cycles, rising volatility, and structural change.
From the rise of zero-day options to the importance of tactical exposure, tail hedging, and trend following, Babij explains how portfolios can be designed to survive growth, rece...
Markets sit near record highs even as economic signals send mixed messages, and many portfolios are more concentrated today than ever. In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Alex Shahidi, CO-CIO at Evoke Advisors, to break down what risk parity really is and why traditional frameworks like 60 40 may leave investors exposed.
Shahidi explains how growth and inflation cycles historically drive long term returns, w...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Stephen Sikes, Chief Operating Officer at Public, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming retail investing, brokerage platforms, and portfolio construction.
From AI-powered research to custom-built indexes and the rise of agentic brokerage, Sikes explains how new tools are giving individual investors access to capabilities once reserved for institutions and what risks ...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Mike Barrasso, Co-Founder and CEO of WealthReach, to uncover one of the biggest blind spots in advisor growth: knowing who is researching you before they ever reach out.
From intent data and website visitor identification to compliant AI-driven outreach, Barrasso explains how advisors can stop wasting marketing spend and start engaging prospects at the exact moment they are actively ...
Emerging markets are changing fast. Old economy sectors like banks and energy no longer define the space. Instead, growth is being driven by internet platforms, tech enabled consumer companies, and new economy business models reshaping how investors approach EM exposure.
In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaffer sits down with Brendan Ahern, Chief Investment Officer at KraneShares, to break down how this transformation...
Short term yields have shifted, liquidity matters more than ever, and investors are rethinking how to manage cash efficiently. In this Lead-Lag Deep Dive, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Aram Babikian to break down the purpose of TRSY, why its structure is different from traditional cash vehicles, and how investors are using it in today’s rate environment.
They explore why liquidity, cost, and transparency are shaping cash dec...
In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Matt Simpson, CEO of Brazil Potash (NYSE: GRO), to break down how the Autazes project could transform fertilizer security for Brazil and shift the balance of power in global agriculture.
From navigating permits and construction milestones to securing long-term offtake agreements for more than 90 percent of expected production, Simpson explains how domestic potash supply could reduce ...
In this special Lead-Lag Live webinar sponsored by GraniteShares, Michael Gayed brings together some of the biggest YouTube creators in the income-investing space for a fresh, free-flowing conversation on weekly dividends, options-based income ETFs, yield strategies, and the rise of “living free from your brokerage account.”
Featuring leaders from across the ETF and income-investing world, this session dives into:
Join Michael Gayed, Melanie Schaffer, and the OptionsANIMAL team for a conversation about options trading, risk management, and the famous “George Costanza Trade.”
In this webinar, they chat about:
International markets are leading and according to DWS’s Aram Babikian, we’re still in the early innings. In part 1 of this Lead-Lag Deep Dive Series, Melanie Schaeffer sits down with Aram to explore why Europe and Japan are gaining momentum, what’s structurally different this time, and how two key XTrackers ETFs, HDEF and DBEF, are positioned for 2025–2026.
They break down:
- Why Europe, especially Germany, is en...
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