I met today's guest, Patrick Geddes, almost a decade ago when I was "kicking the tires" at Aperio, the investment management he co-founded. He was kind enough to sit down with me for more than an hour explain the "Aperio approach" to investing and I've been a happy client since. Today, you get the benefit of Patrick's wisdom gleaned from his decades of taking a research-based approach to investing. In this podcast, we explore his entrepreneurial journey from start-up to being acquired by BlackRock for $1.05 billion. As you listen, what will become clear is how energized Patrick is for this next chapter of his career. He will be bringing his passion and commitment to improving investor education. We will discuss his forthcoming book, Transparent Investing, which may be available to teachers in the NGPF community in December (logistics still being worked out). Patrick will also be appearing at an NGPF Speaker Series event on January 20, 2022 with the general release of the book on January 25, 2022. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~2:28 Introduction
2:28~3:57 Early money lessons
3:57~6:24 First job as a teenager and selling trash bags in college
6:24~9:19 Career path to getting into the investing world
9:19~10:58 Experience working at Morningstar
10:58~17:26 How taxes matter when choosing active v. passive mutual funds
17:26~20:15 What the Morningstar star rating tells investors
20:15~23:22 Why past performance does not translate to high future performance
23:22~29:25 On co-founding Aperio Group
29:25~29:54 A word from NGPF
29:54~33:05 First client at Aperio and assuming the role of CEO
33:05~38:20 When tax-loss harvesting works
38:20~42:01 The rise of ESG investing
42:01~43:45 The growth of Aperio
43:45~46:54 Stepping away from the CEO role
46:54~50:44 Writing Transparent Investing
50:44~56:41 Contents and format of the book
56:41~58:20 Creative formats to explain financial topics
“If you’re going to invest in stocks, you are going to go through ugly times. That’s the nature of the beast, you have to acknowledge that and brace yourself for it in advance.”
Neil Irwin looks at the psychology of inflation. (NYT – subscription may be required)
Wages are rising, but don’t seem to be driving inflation. Productivity is gaining too, and is often overlooked. (Ritholz)
The supply chain problem is one big logistics puzzle to be solved. (Vox)
Small businesses are at a disadvantage regarding the supply chain, as big retailers tackle transportation for themselves. (WAPO – subscription may be required)
Investing
GE plans to split into three separate, publicly-traded units. (CNBC)
Johnson & Johnson plans to split into two. (NYT-subscription may be required)
Robinhood had a data breach exposing 7 million users. (CBSNews) (The Verge)
Ben Carlson in A Wealth of Common Sense describes three levels of “FOMO” when it comes to investing.
Did anyone vote on Musk’s selling off Tesla shares? He sold $5 billion. (CNBC) (Reuters)
Crypto
Cryptocurrencies are hitting record highs. What’s up with that? (MarketWatch)
This paper by Matt Huang is a longer read but looks at bitcoin in terms of the attributes of a monetary asset. (Bonus, you get a little history of money too.)
"Like written language, money is a protocol standard with immense network effects. A new monetary asset can only emerge if it better fulfills the core functions of money, and it can overcome the adoption hurdle of a new money. We believe Bitcoin offers a compelling answer to both."
We have all read the doomsday predictions for Bitcoin. The Institutional Investor examines if it is too big to fail.
"With institutional acceptance on the rise and ever larger amounts of capital at stake, there is indeed a hunt for crypto’s Damoclean sword."
As employers struggle to find employees, they turn to financial apps that allow workers to access their earnings daily. Of course, there is a cost (to employees.) (CBSNews)
Starbucks workers in Buffalo New York are voting to unionize. (AP)
Financial Literacy
Ally Financial is getting into the Financial Education space with its game “Fintropolis,” aimed at middle-school aged children. (News Journal)
Other Interesting News
There appears to be a Covid baby boom happening among millennials. (CNBC)
