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The Contrarian Investor Podcast Posts

Season 2, Episode 19: Picking Spots in Volatility, Interest Rate Markets, With Chris Nicholson

Published June 16, 2020

Hedge fund portfolio manager Chris Nicholson joins the podcast to discuss his outlook on volatility, interest rates, and other markets.

Forecasting these assets has become increasingly problematic in recent years, but there are a few things Nicholson looks to in an effort to identify opportunities for arbitrage.

Content:

  • U.S. equity prices are determined largely by two axes (3:40);
  • Inflation expectations have been, well, inflated. This speaks for the relative value of certain bonds (7:03);
  • What drives inflation anyway? (11:38);
  • Where to look in currencies (19:05);
  • Nicholson’s Number One recommendation for investors: take the cheap borrow. Where to put it is the question (21:40);
  • Sometimes being contrarian is not the smart move. This may be one of those times, at least in FX markets (23:38);
  • China and the yuan versus the Japanese yen (29:24);
  • Equity markets in the U.S. and Japan (33:06);
  • The portfolio manager’s concern about a second wave of COVID (35:40);
  • Other issues that could be catalysts in 2020 (40:39);
  • How to trade these views (46:18);

For more information on the guest:

Not intended as investment advice

MoreSeason 2, Episode 19: Picking Spots in Volatility, Interest Rate Markets, With Chris Nicholson
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Contrarian Calls, Revisited: Chris Stanton’s Prediction for a 20% Drop in the S&P 500

Published June 15, 2020

Chris Stanton, chief investment officer at Sunrise Capital, this January said a market correction was long overdue. With risk seemingly everywhere, Stanton predicted a drop of 20% in the S&P 500 by the end of the first quarter, or March 31.

“Rest assured, we’re heading for a correction and I would argue it’s going to be terrifying when it comes,” Stanton said in the Season 2 premier.

The S&P 500 was around 3,300 at the time of Stanton’s statement.

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Season 2, Episode 18: The Methods of a Short Activist Hedge Fund

Published June 9, 2020

With Gabriel Grego, Quintessential Capital Management

Gabriel Grego of Quintessential Capital joins the podcast to discuss his short activist strategy.

Grego finds three or four “high conviction” ideas to trade a year. His process is exhaustive but straightforward, though few managers have the stomach to replicate it. The reasons for this are discussed in the second half of the podcast.

Content:

  • How it all starts. Finding the right target is crucial. Grego’s focus on “extreme corporate catastrophic situations” (1:39);
  • Some of the typical “red flags” to look for (3:43);
  • Trendy industries are often clusters for fraudulent behavior. COVID-19 is the most recent example (6:01);
  • Narrowing the target list and creating a thesis (10:37);
  • The final step: “boots on the ground” research (16:46);
  • Background on the guest (21:57);
  • Activist shorting is “scary stuff” (25:38);
  • More terrifying than being a paratrooper? (27:29);
  • Background on QCM’s fund and current exposure (30:28);
  • How QCM has dealt with the events of 2020, including a rare (and successful) attempt to time markets in March (34:05);
  • Chinese companies traded in the U.S. look “very very interesting,” though Chinese fraud is “a different beast” (42:14).

More Information on the Guest:

Not intended as investment advice.

MoreSeason 2, Episode 18: The Methods of a Short Activist Hedge Fund
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