The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

Yale finance professor William Goetzmann discusses 5,000 years of financial history with Meb Faber, tracing the origins of compound interest, corporations, bonds, and stock market bubbles from ancient Babylon to modern markets. Goetzmann argues that financial innovation has been essential to civilization's development, and draws parallels between historical speculative manias and modern phenomena like NFTs and SpaceX. He concludes with insights on behavioral finance, long-term investing, and the resilience of equity markets through historical crises.

Meb Faber joins a podcast during Berkshire Week in Omaha to discuss investment philosophy, global diversification, shareholder yield, and the ETF industry. He argues that Warren Buffett's public advice to invest in the S&P 500 doesn't reflect how Buffett actually invested, and that a more sophisticated, globally diversified approach is optimal. He also covers behavioral finance pitfalls, the importance of tax efficiency, and the proliferation of ETF products.

Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, discusses his bullish market outlook with a S&P target of 7,700 for 2026, while warning of potential mid-year turbulence tied to a new Fed chair. He covers topics including oil market dislocations, sentiment survey distortions, crypto adoption, and the success of his Granny Shots ETF.

PIMCO's CIO of Non-Traditional Strategies Marc Seidner argues that fixed income offers one of the best investment setups in years, with high-quality intermediate-duration portfolios yielding around 7%. He expresses concern about economically sensitive credit sectors, private credit deterioration, and the K-shaped economy, while advocating for global diversification across bonds, equities, and real assets.

Sam Hartzmark, a finance professor at Boston College, discusses widespread misconceptions about dividends, particularly the 'free dividends fallacy' where investors mistakenly believe stock prices don't drop when dividends are paid. He explains how this misunderstanding drives irrational investor behavior, distorts markets, and is exploited by financial product providers. The conversation also touches on sustainable investing research and prediction markets.

Will Guidara, former co-owner of 11 Madison Park and author of 'Unreasonable Hospitality,' discusses the distinction between service and hospitality, arguing that intentional and creative relationship-building is the greatest competitive advantage available to any business or individual. He shares practical frameworks for building hospitality cultures, including systemizing graciousness, empowering employees, and learning from unexpected industries. He also previews his companion Field Guide, which translates the 'why' of his first book into actionable 'how' steps.

Alex Rubalcava and Paul Bricault discuss the current state of software companies amid AI disruption, their venture fund Amplify LA's pre-seed investment strategy, and how AI is transforming enterprise software through increased productivity and workflow automation. They share specific examples of portfolio companies leveraging AI and discuss which types of software businesses are most vulnerable to displacement.

Owen Lamont and Randy Cohen discuss the problems with private equity's volatility smoothing practices and present the concept of 'liquid private equity' - using public markets to replicate private equity strategies through factor investing. They also explore their 'best ideas' research showing that managers' top-conviction picks significantly outperform.

Van Simmons, president of David Hall Rare Coins and co-founder of PCGS, discusses the current state of collectibles markets, particularly rare coins and sports cards. He explains how the market is bifurcated between high-end rare items that remain strong and common items that have lost value due to oversupply.

Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's Chief U.S. Equity Strategist, discusses his concept of 'rolling recessions and recoveries,' argues we're in a new inflationary regime similar to the 1940s-50s, and explains why he favors small caps and equal weight strategies over market cap weighted approaches in 2025.

The discussion explores tax optimization strategies, particularly 351 ETF exchanges for concentrated positions, with experts Wes Gray and Brent Sullivan analyzing the regulatory landscape and various tools for tax-efficient investing. They examine the complexities of tax-managed portfolios while addressing misconceptions about these strategies being 'tax dodges' rather than legitimate deferrals.