The Wall Street Skinny
What if finance could be fun? Or better yet…entertaining?! Join us, Kristen and Jen, two Wall Street veterans and life long best friends as we break down deals, talk about the news and the markets, and interview industry experts & celebrities. We're not afraid to ask all the dumb questions so YOU can go be smarter in real life. Meet us at the intersection of finance and pop culture --- subscribe today!
Episodes
This week, we’re joined by Paul Dodd, Senior Operating Partner and Head of Go-to-Market Operations at Sixth Street, one of the most respected private credit and private equity firms in the world. This episode is Part 2 of our Business Operations 101 series, and we’re digging into how firms like Sixth Street actually create value inside the companies they invest in. Paul specializes in helping tech and SaaS businesses ...
In this episode, we sit down with Don Kieffer, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and co-author of There’s Gotta Be a Better Way, to talk about what actually makes companies run well. Don has spent decades helping organizations, from Harley-Davidson factory floors to biotech labs, design better systems that unlock real performance. We break down the five-principle framework he developed with his co-auth...
This week on The Wall Street Skinny, we kick off discussing gold ripping to record highs and unpack why that’s happening in a still-high-rate world: sticky inflation keeping real yields muted, central-bank buying, safe-haven demand, and a dash of retail frenzy. We also poke holes in the “25/25/25/25” portfolio meme (equities/bonds/cash/gold) and talk through why allocation can’t be one-size-fits-all—age, goals, and ca...
What does it really mean to be a "quant investor"? How do quantitative strategies fit into a modern portfolio? And what does it take to break into a quant investing career path?
In this episode, we sat down with Stacie Mintz, Head of Quantitative Equity at PGIM (one of the world's largest asset managers, with $1.4tr in AUM). Stacie's team oversees $60bn in quantitative equity strategies, and she joi...
Two days into a government shutdown, we break down what it actually means for markets when key data go dark—like today’s missing non-farm payrolls—and how that uncertainty can ricochet through trading desks, air travel, the SEC/IPO pipeline, and year-end seasonals. We walk through the historical playbook (rates, dollar, risk) and how we’re thinking about positioning when the Fed is flying with fewer instruments.
Then w...
This week on The Skinny on Wall Street, Kristin and Jen tackle three headlines where markets and policy collide. First up: Trump’s call to shift public companies from quarterly to semi-annual earnings reporting. We lay out the real trade-offs—less bureaucracy and “short-termism” pressure for management vs. reduced transparency, potential for more volatility, and what this could mean for big-cap names vs. smaller issue...
The day after the FOMC’s first rate cut of 2025, we sat down with Matt Hornbach, Global Head of Macro Strategy at Morgan Stanley, to unpack what the decision really meant, and what the markets maybe got wrong on first read. Matt talks about the shifting dissenters, how updates to the Summary of Economic Projections present a more complicated picture for the future path of rate cuts, and why Powell’s tone at the presse...
This week on The Wall Street Skinny, we sat down with Gene Tannuzzo, Global Head of Fixed Income at Columbia Threadneedle, right as the Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision hit the wires. We walk through the live market reaction to the Fed’s 25 basis point cut, the dissenting voices on the FOMC, and what this move signals about the central bank’s shifting priorities. For those curious about how policy decisions ripp...
Kristen and Jen dive into the real-life Succession drama unfolding inside the Murdoch family, breaking down the legal battle over the Fox and News Corp trust that controls the family’s Class B super-voting shares. They explain how Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch secured a deal to buy out their siblings at a discount, why dual-class share structures matter for corporate control, and how this settlement resolves questions ar...
Alex Rodriguez is not only one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history, 22 seasons, 14 All-Star selections, and three American League MVP award, but also the founder and CEO of A-Rod Corp. Through A-Rod Corp, he has built a diversified platform across three pillars: sports, real estate, and venture capital. His portfolio spans ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, more than $2 billion inve...
In this week’s episode of The Wall Street Skinny, Kristen and Jen return to one of their favorite formats: dissecting the finance lessons hidden inside pop culture. This time, they take on Moneyball, a Michael Lewis classic that at first glance looks like a baseball story, but in reality is a masterclass in statistics, valuation, and market inefficiencies. Far more than just a sports narrative, Moneyball is about how ...
In this emergency episode of The Skinny on Wall Street, Kristen and Jen dive into the breaking news that President Trump has moved to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over accusations of mortgage fraud. Using this moment as a springboard, they break down the fundamentals of how the Fed works, why its independence is so important, and how politics intersects with monetary policy.
The discussion covers the structu...
In this episode of The Wall Street Skinny, Jen unpacks an overlooked risk brewing beneath the surface of financial markets. Why did Jerome Powell, head of the Fed, deliver such a surprisingly “dovish” speech at Jackson Hole? Jen suggests it may be because he sees this liquidity problem coming.
Looking ahead, Kristen and Jen walk listeners through what to watch: not just whether the Fed cuts rates in September (they si...
This week on The Skinny on Wall Street, Kristen and Jen dive into the resurgence of SPACs and yes, Chamath Palihapitiya, the once-dubbed “SPAC King,” is back with a brand-new deal. We unpack what a SPAC really is, why they exploded in 2020, changes in the new structures and more. From warrants and dilution to sponsor “promotes” and fee double-dips, we break down the mechanics in plain English and debate whether this l...
Worried AI will take your Investment Banking job? There's no avoiding AI these days, so how do you understand it, use it to your advantage, and outperform it in Investment Banking and high finance roles?
We asked our community for their toughest questions about the future of finance careers in the age of AI, and sat down for 30 minutes with former Blackhawk helicopter pilot and 30-year Wall Street vetera...
This week, Kristen and Jen dive straight into the finance headlines with a M&A story: Perplexity, an AI startup valued at $18 billion, has made a $34 billion all-cash bid for Google Chrome. Kristen unpacks why this is virtually unprecedented in dealmaking, explaining how the size mismatch, lack of financing capacity, and Chrome’s not-for-sale status make the offer so unusual. They revisit the AOL–Time Warner merge...
In this episode of The Wall Street Skinny, Kristen and Jen sit down with Professor Emily Oster, a Harvard-educated economist with a PhD and a faculty position at Brown University where her studies focus on approaches to finding causality in observational data, as well as the best-selling author of "Expecting Better", "Crib Sheet", and "The Family Firm". Oster is known for her data-driven ...
In this episode of the unofficial companion podcast to HBO Max's hit show, Industry, hosts Jen and Kristen dive deep into the financial intricacies and dramatic moments of Season 3, Episode 2 titled 'Smoke and Mirrors.'
They kick off the discussion by analyzing the thematic significance of 'Smoke and Mirrors,' tying it to both magic tricks and the episode's plot centered around deception ...
This week on The Skinny on Wall Street, Kristen and Jen are back in full swing with a jam-packed episode covering some of the biggest stories in markets and finance. They kick things off by diving deep into the highly anticipated Figma IPO, which just priced and shocked the market with an incredible first-day reaction. They break down why the IPO was such a blockbuster, how it compares to other historic tech listings,...
In this week’s episode of The Skinny on Wall Street, Kristen and Jen break down the latest wave of meme stock mania and what it reveals about market sentiment. They dive into Opendoor and other “DORK” stocks (Krispy Kreme, Opendoor, Kohl’s, etc.), explaining how short squeezes and retail investor hype have driven massive price swings despite weak fundamentals. The conversation also unpacks the housing market’s current...
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