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Ludovic Phalippou has spent twenty-five years studying one subject, every day, from every angle. Private equity for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as he puts it.
A Professor of Financial Economics at Oxford's Saïd Business School, he has read the limited partnership agreements, reconstructed the fee arithmetic, testified before the House of Lords, and built the models behind widely cited private-market return assumptions.
He is also, by his own account, not especially popular with the industry he studies.
In this conversation, Jonathan Treussard sits down with Phalippou to work through the actual mechanics of the asset class.
Why private-equity-held companies really are run differently.What leverage does to returns on the way up and on the way down.Why internal rate of return is less a number you can eat than a story you can tell.And what the arithmetic of fees, funding costs, and valuations looks like when you write it out plainly rather than try to "market" it.What holds the conversation together is a single discipline: separating what an investment has returned from what it will, and refusing to let the first quietly stand in for the second.
For more:
Wealth, Empowered — the free newsletter: wealth-empowered.beehiiv.comLearn about Jonathan and Treussard Capital Management: treussard.comA conversation with Jonathan: scheduler.zoom.us/jonathan-treussard-ph-d/intro-callThis podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. The views and figures expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect the views of Treussard Capital Management. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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Conscious Leadership, Curiosity, and Culture by Design — with Kaley Klemp | Treussard Talks (E26)
Most cultures aren't built. They emerge. A founder has an idea, recruits two friends, and the three of them live and breathe the mission until it works. Nobody stops to ask what values they're building on. Nobody writes down who gets to make the call when there's a jump ball. And then the firm grows, the osmosis stops working, and the culture they didn't design starts running the show.
Kaley Klemp has spent her career helping leaders see that clearly — and do something about it. She is the co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership and has worked with organizations from YPO member companies to Research Affiliates, where she and I first met over a decade ago. The conversation that follows is about what it actually takes to lead with intention: in firms, in partnerships, in families, and in the relationship you have with your own wealth.
What We Cover in This Conversation:
Above the line vs. below the line: curiosity and responsibility vs. defensiveness, blame, and rescuingWhy "the need to be right" is a corrosive force in knowledge-based organizationsDecision rights: who gets to make the call, why bottlenecks form around founders, and what gets left on the table when they doWhat co-founder breakups have in common with divorce — and how candor, practiced early and often, is the only real preventionThe Enneagram as a vocabulary for difference: why people who want to be "strong," "safe," and "good" end up in entrenched conflict"If you don't define the money, the money will define you" — and what it means to help clients have that conversation with themselvesDisclaimer: The content of "Treussard Talks" is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Stay Connected
Newsletter — Wealth, Empowered: Subscribe at wealth-empowered.beehiiv.comLearn more: treussard.comThis podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit our website www.treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Eduardo Repetto is the Chief Investment Officer of Avantis Investors, the systematic investment firm he founded in 2019 that now manages more than $125 billion. Before Avantis, Eduardo was Co-CEO and Co-CIO at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where he worked alongside Eugene Fama and Ken French. He holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics from Caltech.
The history of investing has been a slow march from artisanal to systematic. Markowitz gave us the framework. Fama and French gave us the factors. The toolkit Eduardo has spent his career building is what happens when those ideas get implemented at scale — broadly diversified, daily-managed, transparent, and priced to respect the investor. In the industry, we sometimes call it "core and bore." The "bore" is the point.
We also talk about ownership. Avantis sits inside American Century, whose controlling shareholder is the Stowers Institute for Medical Research — an endowment built from the donated shares of a cancer-survivor founder, funding fundamental research that grant cycles rarely sustain. Eduardo describes it as "taking one for society."
And we get into discipline. Liquid wrappers around illiquid assets. Thematic ETFs that turn out to hold the Magnificent Seven in disguise. The behavioral pull to bail in a drawdown. Eduardo's framing — build the expectation of volatility into the journey the way a traveler builds in traffic on the way to the airport — is the kind of anchor a client can actually hold on to in a hard moment.
Eduardo is unhurried, undramatic, and uninterested in selling you on a person. He believes in the process, not in himself.
You'll hear us cover:
Why STEM training is really about building mental models — for markets, for marketing, for any problem worth solvingThe arc from Markowitz to CAPM to the Fama-French factor model, and why "anomalies" are only anomalies if you treat the original framework as gospelWhy factor investing belongs in the middle ground between passive and active — and why "core and bore" is the ambition, not a consolation prizeThe Stowers Institute and American Century: how mission-aligned ownership funds long-horizon medical research in a way the grant system structurally cannotWhy thematic ETFs with "the future of" in the title are often back-test engineering dressed as investingWhat happens when shareholders ask for their money back from a fund holding mostly illiquid assets — and why this is mechanics, not bad luckThe plane versus the bicycle: knowing yourself, knowing what you're trying to accomplish, and matching the vehicle to the destinationIf this conversation is useful to you, the next step is the Wealth, Empowered newsletter — free, published every two weeks, written for people who want to think seriously about markets and wealth without the noise. Subscribe at wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com.
Disclaimer: The content of Treussard Talks is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guest and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Newsletter — Wealth, Empowered: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/
Website: https://www.treussard.com/
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Andrea Eisfeldt holds the Laurence D. and Lori W. Fink Endowed Chair in Finance at UCLA Anderson and is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She received her PhD in economics from the University of Chicago, trained under John Cochrane, Lars Hansen, and Doug Diamond — three names that account for multiple Nobel Prizes between them. Her research covers intangible capital, liquidity, human capital compensation, and what AI is doing to firm values and labor markets.
The accounting data that underlies most factor investing was built for an economy that no longer exists. The companies that dominate markets today run on software, customer relationships, and engineering talent. None of it shows up on the balance sheet the way it should. Andrea has spent the better part of two decades building the tools to correct for that — and the implications are significant.
We also get into liquidity. Why it dries up in bad times. Why that is structural, not accidental. And how the current stress in private credit fits a pattern that goes all the way back to her dissertation.
Andrea is an eternal optimist. Her optimism is grounded in mechanisms, not sentiment.
You'll hear us cover:
Why accounting statements were designed to record transactions, not to serve as portfolio management inputs — and what that means for factor investing todayThe three categories of intangible capital: knowledge, customer, and organization — and how partial non-rivalry creates natural economies of scaleWhy market concentration and pricing power are not the same thing, and why conflating them leads to bad investment thinkingThe task-level research on AI and firm value: how workforce composition predicted abnormal stock returns in the weeks following ChatGPT's release in November 2022The bottleneck model: why the human oversight still required by AI becomes both a constraint on growth and the most highly compensated skill in the economyEquity compensation beyond the C-suite: why ignoring it distorts what we think we know about labor's share of income and firm ownershipEndogenous liquidity: why the greed-fear cycle has a structural explanation — and why liquidity disappears in bad times in ways that are entirely predictable in advanceThe frontier problem: why engineering liquidity from illiquid assets always runs into limits, and why private credit stress is a feature of that pattern, not an accidentIf this conversation is useful to you, the next step is the Wealth, Empowered newsletter — free, published every two weeks, written for people who want to think seriously about markets and wealth without the noise. Subscribe at wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com.
Disclaimer: The content of Treussard Talks is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guest and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Newsletter — Wealth, Empowered: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/
Website: https://www.treussard.com/
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The conventional tools of monetary policy assume the central bank is in charge. What happens when the debt burden gets large enough that it isn't? At some point — and no one knows exactly when — raising rates stops cooling the economy and starts feeding it, because the interest expense on the debt itself becomes a source of stimulus. That's fiscal dominance. It's not a theoretical curiosity. It's the logical destination of a decade of spending without restraint.
Jim Masturzo has been thinking about this carefully. As CIO of Research Affiliates — the firm behind one of the most widely used asset allocation frameworks in the world — he spends his days asking what today's market and economic circumstances imply for the decade ahead. We recorded this conversation on February 25, 2026, days before the US–Iran war began. We weren't talking about the news. We were talking about the structure underneath it. That structure hasn't changed. If anything, it's more visible now.
You'll hear us cover:
Why starting conditions (yields, valuations) matter more than long-run historical averagesHow to think about expected returns without confusing "expectations" for "predictions"The CAPE ratio near 40: what it implies for US equities relative to the rest of the worldDebt, deficits, and the logic of financial repressionFiscal dominance: when higher rates can become inflationary via interest expense dynamicsWhy non-US assets can benefit in a weaker-dollar regimeReal assets and commodities as diversification in inflation-volatile periodsPrivate credit, insurance balance sheets, and where the next fragilities might hideAI, software pricing power, and second-order risks to credit and cash flowsIf this conversation resonates, there's more where it came from. Wealth, Empowered is my newsletter — published twice a month. Just rigorous but accessible thinking about markets and wealth, and what it actually means to manage money with purpose. Written for people who want to understand what's happening, not just be told what to do about it.
Subscribe: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/
More about Treussard Capital Management LLC and how I work with clients at: https://www.treussard.com/
Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Views are those of the host and guest. Consult your own advisor before making investment decisions. Full disclosures: https://www.treussard.com/
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Wall Street is building a trillion-dollar business around slashing the tax bills of wealthy investors. The innovations are real. So are the risks. This conversation is about how to think clearly about both.
Erkko Etula built his career at the intersection of academic finance and institutional practice — MIT, Harvard, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a decade at Goldman Sachs rebuilding the wealth management investment process from the ground up, and ultimately founding Brooklyn Investment Group.
We start where his research started: what broker-dealer balance sheets reveal about risk appetite in the system, and why the overnight repo market remains one of the most important and least-watched corners of finance. We then move to what Erkko spent his Goldman years solving — how to manage a taxable portfolio holistically, treating tax efficiency not as an afterthought but as a structural input from the start.
That work led him to what he considers one of the most consequential innovations in wealth management since the invention of the ETF: tax-advantaged long-short strategies. We get into the mechanics carefully, because the mechanics matter — especially when markets are volatile and the institution renting you balance sheet capacity changes its mind.
What We Cover:
Risk appetite and balance sheets: Why broker-dealer leverage is a better real-time signal of systemic stress than many other economic indicators — and what that research revealed when Lehman collapsed.
The ETF timeline: Mutual funds, ETFs, direct indexing — each step brings taxable investors closer to keeping more of what they make. Where long-short fits in that arc.
Direct indexing 2.0: What happens when you combine tax-loss harvesting with long-short portfolio construction — and why the potential power of that combination is measured in months, not years.
Risk management first: The three-layer framework — benchmark beta, tracking error, concentration risk — and why communicating tail risk matters in this context.
Balance sheet as rented space: Why leverage works until it doesn't, and what that means for investors in these strategies right now.
Building Brooklyn: What Erkko learned leaving Goldman — about humility, team, and the relationship between certainty and disappointment.
Erkko Etula is CEO of Brooklyn Investment Group and winner of the Smith Breeden Prize for Outstanding Capital Markets Research.
Want to go deeper? Jonathan's newsletter Wealth, Empowered. covers markets, wealth, and what it all means for sophisticated families. Free to subscribe at wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com
Treussard Talks is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Visit treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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The Strait of Hormuz was always the thought experiment. The scenario commodities traders ran when they needed a stand-in for the unimaginable. Fifteen to twenty miles of waterway. One fifth of the world's oil. Now it isn't a thought experiment anymore.
Nic Johnson spent years at PIMCO as head of commodities, managing large commodities portfolios. Before that, he was a research fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is one of the more technically grounded people I know on this topic — and a friend. We recorded this conversation two and a half weeks into the disruption. Not to predict what comes next. Neither of us knows. But to understand what is actually happening, and where to look if you want a clearer picture than the headlines are giving you.
What we cover:
The physical reality — how oil moves through the Strait, what limited storage capacity means for exporters, and why strategic petroleum reserves buy weeks, not monthsWhy $100 oil is high but not crazy high — and what the shale revolution did to the long-run marginal cost of productionHow the US, Europe, and more financially fragile economies experience this shock very differently — and what a populist export restriction would and wouldn't actually accomplishThe futures market versus the physical market — why systemic contagion is unlikely, and where localized blowups could still happenThe one indicator worth watching: not the headline spot price, but the oil futures curve — and why the front month and the five-year forward are telling very different stories right nowWhy anyone thinking about reinventing themselves as a commodity trader should understand what variant perception means before placing a single betUnderstanding your wealth requires understanding the world your wealth lives in. This is that conversation.
The content of Treussard Talks is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Stay Connected
Newsletter — Wealth, Empowered: wealth-empowered.beehiiv.comLearn more: treussard.comThis podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit our website treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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In this conversation, Larry Kotlikoff (https://kotlikoff.net/)—Professor of Economics at Boston University, Research Associate at the NBER, and former Senior Economist on Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors—and I go through the current administration's economic agenda one proposal at a time. Not from a partisan lens. From first principles.
What follows is rigorous and at times surprising.
You'll hear us cover:
Why Kotlikoff sees genuine merit in capping credit card interest rates—and what it reveals about the tension between capital and consumer in American financeThe 401(k) proposal to fund home purchases: what it misunderstands about saving, housing supply, and the purpose of retirement accountsTariffs and the capital account: why the trade deficit is a symptom, not the disease—and why tariffs almost certainly can't fix what's actually brokenThe fiscal reckoning hiding in plain sight: why raising every federal and state tax by 25% today still might not be enough—and why the US is in worse long-term fiscal shape than ItalyImmigration and demography: US population growth fell by half in 2025. What that means for labor, capital, and the long-term American economic projectThe Fed, Volcker, and the power of expectationsGeopolitical realignment as economic policy: why the current international moment may be the most consequential—and least understood—economic story of our timeWhy this matters now: Every proposal in this conversation connects back to the same underlying tension—a fiscal system that has been quietly redistributing from young to old for 70 years, suppressing saving, distorting incentives, and mortgaging the future. The individual headlines are symptoms. Kotlikoff keeps bringing us back to the diagnosis.
And understanding your wealth requires understanding the world your wealth lives in. This is that conversation.
Disclaimer: The content of "Treussard Talks" is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Stay Connected
Newsletter — Wealth, Empowered: Subscribe https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/Learn more: treussard.comThis podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit our website www.treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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In this conversation, Vineer Bhansali—Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Harvard, former PIMCO portfolio manager, and founder of LongTail Alpha—and I explore why the tails of the distribution are where both some of the most misunderstood risks and opportunities reside. We connect the mechanics of options pricing, market structure changes, and risk management to the decisions that actually restore clarity and control for sophisticated investors.
You'll hear us cover:
Why diversification alone may not protect you when correlations converge (2022, Liberation Day 2025)The hidden dynamics driving call option mispricings in today's markets (passive flows, buybacks, gamma imbalances)How zero-DTE retail option trading can be rational—and what it reveals about wealth inequalityCurrency markets as early indicators of multi-decade macro realignmentVolatility as a tradable asset class and why options are "on sale" for building portfolio resilienceThe ultra-marathon mindset: never get forced out of the gameWhy "the only thing worse than not having insurance is to think you do when you don't" (Bob Merton)Why this matters now: We're potentially exiting a 30-year regime of falling rates, low volatility, and credible central banking. In that new world, the strategies that worked—passive diversification, stocks-and-bonds—may not be enough. Bhansali offers a physicist's lens on probability distributions, market microstructure, and the practical tools for building portfolios that survive and compound through regime change.
Disclaimer: The content of "Treussard Talks" is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
Stay ConnectedNewsletter — Wealth, Empowered: SubscribeLearn more: treussard.comBook an intro call: scheduler.zoom.us/jonathan-treussard-ph-d/intro-callThis podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit our website www.treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.
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In this episode, I sit down with Mike Green—Chief Strategist at Simplify Asset Management and one of the most rigorous thinkers on market structure today.
We start with Mike's journey from Wharton to small-cap value, through Canyon Partners during 2008, to correctly predicting the XIV collapse in 2018, and eventually co-founding Simplify where the firm now manages $12 billion across 30 strategies.
From there, we dig into two slow-burning crises that most people are getting wrong: how passive investing is reshaping market mechanics in ways that can't be sustained, and how we've systematically mismeasured economic precarity over the last 60 years.
These aren't separate stories—they're symptoms of the same problem: asking systems to do things they weren't designed to do.
You'll hear us cover:
ON PASSIVE INVESTING AND MARKET STRUCTURE:
The critical flaw in Sharpe's 1991 "Arithmetic of Active Management": passive funds trade continuously as cash flows in and out, making them perpetually active systematic strategiesHow the Pension Protection Act of 2006 accidentally created a market where over 100% of marginal capital became "passive"—and why regulators couldn't act due to regulatory captureOver 50% passive by market cap in US equities, and the physics predict accelerating volatilityWhy contributions (tied to income) and withdrawals (tied to asset values) create an unstable dynamicThe fundamental mistake: we changed markets from pricing capital to providing retirement security—incompatible objectivesThe seeds of its own destructionON AMERICA'S HIDDEN PRECARITY CRISIS:
How Mike stumbled onto the poverty line calculation and "felt sick" when he understood what it meantThe 1963 origin: families spent 1/3 of budgets on food, so HHS tripled the USDA minimum food budget to define poverty—then locked that number in placeThat same food budget now represents 5-7% of household expenditures, not 33%—making the poverty line meaninglessThe real number: for a family of four in Caldwell, NJ, the inflation-adjusted equivalent isn't $32K—it's $140KThe "valley of death": benefit cliffs where earning more makes you functionally poorerWhy childcare became the single largest budget item for young families—and what disappeared when informal support networks collapsedWhat we've forgotten: capitalism requires redistribution for system sustainability and provisioning the next generationThe connection to markets: when we can't afford crashes because retirement security depends on asset values, we've painted ourselves into a cornerON INTELLECTUAL HONESTY:
Why taking time off with no risk on the table is essential for seeing systems clearlyWhat Earl Thompson taught me at UCLA: don't trust the "intellectual cartel"Why Mike's analysis isn't left or right—it's about hard-coding numbers in 1963 and watching the world change around themTHE BOTTOM LINE:
Markets weren't designed to provide retirement security—they were designed to price capital. We've grafted a social insurance system onto a capital allocation mechanism, and both are breaking under the strain.
Mike's work matters because he's doing what few others will: following the math wherever it leads, even when it's uncomfortable. This conversation is about understanding the actual rules of the game—not the ones we wish existed, but the ones that actually govern outcomes.
If you want to understand why markets feel unstable and why economic anxiety persists despite "strong" headline numbers, this episode explains the mechanics.
Disclaimer: The content of "Treussard Talks" is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
STAY CONNECTED:
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Learn more: treussard.com.
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In this episode, I sit down with Devin Shanthikumar—faculty at the UC Irvine Merage School of Business and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies—to talk about how real-world market outcomes are shaped.
We start with Devin’s path from UC Berkeley (engineering and computer science) to a PhD in finance at Stanford, and how the early-2000s dot-com boom and bust shaped the questions that became the foundation of their research.
From there, we dig into what happens when smart people make painful investing mistakes—not because they lack intelligence, but because they don’t understand the incentives embedded in the financial system.
We also zoom out to what AI means for the future of work and learning, and what that might imply for the next generation.
You’ll hear us cover:
Why Devin’s research became “behavioral finance” through a simple question: what mistakes are people making, and why?What individual investors often miss about sell-side analyst incentives.How analysts balance multiple audiences at once: institutional clients, individual investors, and the companies they cover (and the role that access plays).The “two tongues” idea: why analysts’ recommendations and earnings forecasts can reflect different constraints and objectives.What changes when investing commentary moves into more disintermediated, online spaces, including the risk of echo chambers.Devin’s working paper on financial blogs, and why engagement in comment threads can sometimes push people toward more moderate views.What Devin is studying now about AI’s impact on analyst research, including why analyst work is a powerful setting to study AI (clear, measurable outputs and outcomes).Early evidence on how AI can improve analyst performance: accuracy, speed of updating, and handling complex filings.A surprising finding: rather than forcing consensus, AI may enable analysts to be bolder, especially where human judgment matters most.How Devin approaches teaching and curriculum in the AI era, including the importance of foundational knowledge, critical thinking, and building real human community.A candid concern about the AI age: fewer entry-level roles, and what that means for the development ladder over time.Disclaimer: The content of “Treussard Talks” is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Fifty years explaining economics to America with Paul Solman | Treussard Talks (E16)
Paul Solman (PBS NewsHour, eight Emmys, five Peabodys) has spent half a century translating markets and economics for millions. But this conversation isn't about predictions or portfolios. It's about how to think when you can't know what's coming.
The Three-Body Problem of Everything
Paul frames it plainly: the U.S. economy is 330 million moving parts changing their minds constantly. Financial markets multiply that complexity exponentially. Trying to predict any of it with certainty? Impossible. But that's not surrender — it's realism.
The alternative to prediction isn't paralysis. It's strategy. Paul walks through his framework: costs versus benefits, current and prospective, with full acknowledgment of uncertainty and unintended consequences.
The Conversation
Economics as decision-making. Why the transaction costs of worry matter as much as the financial costs of preparation. How Russian immigrant parents, family tragedy, and being a "pathological explainer" converged when nobody understood economics in 1973.
Paul shares four practices he actually follows for staying sane when the world feels overwhelming — including why he doesn't watch TV news despite working in television for 50 years. We discuss the non-profit American Exchange Project, sending high school seniors to entirely different American communities. Why small acts of human kindness compound. Why there's more good in the world than bad.
Why It Matters
Financial media trains you to want certainty. But nobody actually knows what happens next. The sophistication isn't pretending otherwise — it's building strategies that work across multiple scenarios while maximizing what you get from every moment you're alive. The framework scales. The humility matters. The human connection isn't soft — it's foundational.
This conversation won't forecast where markets end 2025 or 2026. It will show you how a legendary journalist thinks about life, decision-making, and what matters after 50 years explaining the inexplicable.
Subscribe to the newsletter Wealth, Empowered at treussard.com
This content is for informational and educational purposes only. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Tax Planning and Estate Governance with Frazer Rice | Treussard Talks (E15)
In this conversation, Frazer Rice—author of Wealth Actually—and I cover two distinct, if related, topics. First, what H.R. 1 really changes for high earners, business owners, and wealthy households. Second, what a holistic framework for estate planning and family governance looks like for ultra-high-net-worth families.
You’ll hear us cover:
Part I — H.R.1: what’s changed and how to planWhat “permanent” really means in tax law and why policy drift still mattersPTET: the workaround made durable and why it favors owners over W‑2 earnersQBI/Section 199A: who qualifies now and the expanded income bandwidthQSBS/Section 1202: 3–5 year milestones, per‑issuer limits, and avoiding status “poisoning”Estate and gift exemption at $15M per person and practical implicationsPart II — A framework for UHNW estate planning and governanceStart with a living balance sheet: assets, ownership, liquidity, and document inventoryGovernance over documents: roles, backups, and why “oldest sibling as trustee” often failsPre‑mortems and disaster recovery: the first 14–30 days playbook after a major eventCoordinating income tax, capital gains, and estate tax across states with diverging regimesCulture, values, and communication so wealth supports purpose rather than conflictWhy this matters:
We cover H.R.1's tax provisions because you need to understand the rules. But if you think tax optimization is the hard part of estate planning, you may be optimizing the wrong variable.
Frazer Rice has spent years working with ultra-high-net-worth families. His observation: wealth gets destroyed more often by family dysfunction, bad governance, and institutional knowledge gaps than by tax inefficiency.
So yes, we decode PTET, QBI, QSBS, and estate exemptions. You'll understand what changed and who benefits. But we spend equal time on what matters even more for the long run: building governance structures that work under stress, staffing roles with the right people (not just the oldest sibling), and creating disaster recovery playbooks so a family crisis doesn't become a catastrophe.
Disclaimer: The content of “Treussard Talks” is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Tax strategies sold as "alpha" often obscure their actual mechanics — and the investment risks you're taking to get the tax benefit.
Brent Sullivan — "Tax Alpha Insider," formerly on PIMCO's trading floor and Parametric's quantitative team — decodes what's really happening beneath the marketing slides. For founders with embedded gains, executives navigating concentrated positions, and investors tired of advisors who dazzle with complexity rather than deliver clarity, this conversation cuts through the noise.
The Framework That MattersBrent establishes the hierarchy up front: tax belongs after risk, return, diversification, and cost — not before them. In other words: "Don't let the tax tail wag the investment dog."
Too many advisors lead with tax benefits because they're compelling, then reverse-engineer the investment justification. This conversation does the opposite — we start with what these strategies do, then examine whether the tax advantages justify the risks.
What We Cover:ETF tax efficiency demystified: How in-kind redemptions move taxable events "outside the box" — the actual mechanics, not the marketing magic.
Section 351 in-kind seeding: The path from concentrated positions to diversified portfolios without triggering capital gains, including the 25/50 diversification tests. Spoiler: if 100% of your wealth is in a single stock, this isn't your solution.
Tax-aware long/short overlays: Margin rates, borrow costs, short rebates, haircuts — why these are investment strategies first with tax benefits as byproduct. Understanding this prevents expensive surprises when financing terms change overnight.
Box spreads as synthetic borrowing: How they work, borrowing vs. lending mechanics, and the dangers of DIY'ing this unless you understand American vs. European options, collateral haircuts, and four-legged options execution.
Dark-case thinking throughout: What breaks when markets dislocate, counterparties prioritize self-preservation, and the "temporary pain" you need to be prepared for. Not fearmongering — the adult conversation about sizing exposure appropriately.
Why This MattersThe industry has productized sophisticated tax strategies. But productization doesn't eliminate complexity — it just hides it.
The stakes for investors with meaningful embedded gains:
Avoidable taxes triggered by strategies you didn't fully understandHidden costs in financing terms that change when you need stability mostInvestment risks dressed up as tax solutionsExecution mistakes from attempting sophisticated trades without professional knowledgeCounterparty exposure to institutions whose crisis priority is self-preservation, not your portfolioWho Should ListenThis is for investors who:
Have concentrated positions or embedded gains requiring sophisticated navigationWant to understand mechanics, not marketing promisesRecognize that sophistication means knowing what can go wrongIf you want reassuring generalities about tax alpha, this isn't your episode. If you want to understand the engineering behind these strategies so you can make informed decisions, this is exactly where to start.
This conversation with Brent modeled what escaping the Wealth Management Industrial Complex looks like: mechanics over magic, clarity over complexity, understanding over being sold to.
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Explore your specific situation: For concentrated positions, embedded gains, or wealth complexity requiring more than education — schedule a complimentary strategic session. We'll review your situation and determine if family office-level thinking without classic institutional conflicts makes sense for you.
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Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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In this conversation, Harbor Capital Advisors President and CIO Kristof Gleich and I dig into how to find true skill in managers, why the ETF wrapper changed the game, and how to build more resilient portfolios in an inflation‑prone world. We connect the mechanics and psychology of investing to the decisions that restore clarity and control for sophisticated investors.
You’ll hear us cover:
How to separate signal from story in manager due diligence, including cultural “tells” and hard no’sThe multi‑manager model: partnering with specialist boutiques vs. building in‑houseActive ETFs 101: what changed in 2019, and why the wrapper can lower cost and improve tax outcomes if used wellMechanics that matter and operational oversight as investor protectionSystematic vs. discretionary edges and how to assess eachPsychology traps: performance chasing, timing mistakes, and setting risk so “I didn’t sign up for this” shouldn’t happenWhy commodities may be underowned given today’s regime and what role they can playWhy this matters now: Many investors still judge strategies by headline returns or brand names, not by process quality, alignment, and measurable sources of edge. In a world of rolling inflation shocks and fiat‑currency stress, getting structure right — manager selection, vehicle choice, fee drag, and tax handling — compounds more than hot dots.
Disclaimer: The content of “Treussard Talks” is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Fear, Not Risk: Rethinking the Equity Premium with Rob Arnott and Ed McQuarrie | Treussard Talks (E12)
In this conversation, Rob Arnott (Founder and Chairman, Research Affiliates) and Ed McQuarrie (Professor Emeritus, Santa Clara University) examine why fear—of loss and of missing out—better explains asset pricing than traditional “risk” frameworks. We connect the mechanics and psychology of investing to help sophisticated investors restore clarity and control over portfolio decisions.
You’ll hear us cover:
Why 20th‑century returns were a potential outlier and what 19th‑century data says about the equity premiumFear vs. risk: separating downside aversion from fear of missing out and why CAPM’s symmetry breaksWhat challenges “Stocks for the Long Run” as a belief system, and what drives long‑horizon returnsFactor investing through a fear lens: value, size, and morePractical portfolio design: Tobin’s two‑fund separation, where TIPS might fit, and limits of target‑date fundsInvestor behavior in cycles: when fear of loss dominates vs. when FOMO dominatesWhy this matters now: Many investors implicitly assume an ever‑present equity premium. If fear is the true driver and premiums vary with cycles and starting yields, portfolio choices and client guidance might need to adapt, as historical patterns suggest that investor sentiment can influence market cycles and premiums.
Disclaimer: The content of “Treussard Talks” is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. All investments carry the potential for loss, including the loss of principal. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Alternatives, Diversification, and Investor Agency with Jane Buchan | Treussard Talks (E11)
In this conversation, Jane Buchan — CEO of Martlet Asset Management, co‑founder of PAAMCO (which grew to $32B AUM), former Dartmouth finance professor, and longtime CAIA leader — and I dig into what “alternatives” really are, how the space has evolved, and how disciplined due diligence restores clarity and control for sophisticated investors.
We link market mechanics with investor behavior to focus on practical choices that drive outcomes.
You’ll hear us cover:
A working definition of alternatives and how they mature from frontier to mainstreamGlobalization, rising correlations, and why diversification still earns its keepPrivate equity vs. hedge funds: leverage, long/short mechanics, and capacity limitsPrivate credit and direct lending: floating‑rate reality, regulatory arbitrage, and default plumbingDue diligence in practice: separate accounts, custody risk, and aligning control with ownershipBubble talk without the hype: being roughly right long‑term vs. perfectly timedInvestor psychology in alts: expectation setting, story risk, and staying powerBuilding the pipeline in finance and the power of asking better questionsWhy this matters now: High-net-worth investors face more products and stories than ever. Clear mechanics, sober risk management, and true diversification — not magical thinking — are what preserve agency over outcomes.
Disclaimer: The content of “Treussard Talks” is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult with their own financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclosures, visit treussard.com.
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Defining FinTech with Michael Imerman, Ph.D. | Treussard Talks (E10)
Join Jonathan Treussard, Ph.D. for a thoughtful conversation with Michael Imerman, Ph.D. — Professor of Finance at UC Irvine and author of The Economics of FinTech (2025). They define what truly counts as FinTech, map the ecosystem across verticals and horizontals, trace the post‑GFC innovation cycle, and separate durable signal from hype across AI, cloud, and blockchain. They also explore inclusion, alternative data, and fairness in credit decisions, and close with teaching, purpose, and the skills that create day‑one value in finance.
Key Highlights
What FinTech Really IsA clear definition that holds up in portfolios and policy, distinguishing finance‑adjacent tech from true FinTech.
The FinTech MapVerticals from payments, digital banking, lending, and digital wealth to PropTech and InsurTech. Horizontals like risk, valuation, and regulation. Enablers include AI, cloud, distributed ledgers, and a forward look at quantum computing.
After the GFCHow cycles of hype, shock, and regulation shift risk and activity, and why technology firms moved from vendors to direct financial service providers.
AI’s Breakout and Quantum’s HorizonWhat is driving adoption today, what’s realistic, and why quantum could matter over a five‑to‑ten‑year window.
Blockchain Beyond CryptoPragmatic applications like secured lending and collateral tracking that improve market plumbing and controls.
Inclusion and RiskThe promise and pitfalls of alternative data and AI in credit, including proxy variables and fairness challenges for regulators.
Teaching and PurposeBridging industry and classroom to build in‑demand skills and create day‑one value in finance.
Why It Matters for Sophisticated InvestorsPurposeful wealth management demands context. Understanding how technology, incentives, and regulation reshape intermediation and credit helps investors separate durable innovation from “solutions in search of a problem,” position capital with prudence, and stay aligned with long‑term goals.
Subscribe to Wealth, Empowered — practical, candid insight at the intersection of technology, markets, and purposeful wealth management. Built for operators, founders, and families who want clarity and control.Subscribe: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com
DisclaimerThe content of Treussard Talks is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of Jonathan Treussard and guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult their own financial advisors before making investment decisions. Visit www.treussard.com for additional disclaimers.
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When History Meets Markets: Geopolitics, Civility, and Capital with David Kotok | Treussard Talks (E09)
Join Jonathan Treussard for a thoughtful conversation with David Kotok. David’s decades of experience as CEO, CIO, and investor, along with his deep interest in history and geopolitics, provide powerful lessons for investors navigating uncertain times.
Key HighlightsThe Grocery Store MBA
David shares how ten years working in his family’s grocery store instilled practical lessons in humility, service, and human connection—arguably as valuable for leadership and decision-making as any advanced degree.
Why Studying History Still Matters
Drawing inspiration from Churchill, David emphasizes the importance of understanding history not just for context, but for insight into cycles of war, peace, and global economics—and how those play out in today’s markets.
Financing Conflict in the Modern Era
Jonathan and David dive into the economic realities of modern warfare—how governments fund defense through borrowing rather than taxation, what that means for inflation, and the long-term consequences for future generations.
Civility in an Uncivil Age
In a profession where many stay silent, David underscores the importance of being direct yet civil, candidly highlighting risks and trade-offs rather than hiding behind consensus. It’s a reminder of how leadership, whether in finance or public discourse, requires integrity and courage.
The Investor’s Takeaway
From debt-fueled defense spending to the inflationary implications of geopolitical conflict, this episode connects the dots between history, policy, and capital markets. For seasoned professionals and families managing wealth across generations, David’s perspective illustrates why disciplined analysis, humility, and long-term thinking matter most.
Why It Matters for Sophisticated InvestorsDavid Kotok’s career and worldview reinforce timeless wisdom: successful wealth management is not just about beating benchmarks but about understanding context—how human behavior, history, and geopolitics shape the economic risks and opportunities we face today. These insights are especially relevant for business leaders, families, and professionals who must position capital with both prudence and purpose.
If you enjoyed this episode and want access to thoughtful, unfiltered insight at the intersection of wealth and human behavior, subscribe to my free newsletter, Wealth, Empowered. Every two weeks, you’ll gain practical wisdom tailored for investors committed to long-term vision and purposeful wealth management.
Sign up here: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/
Disclaimer
The content of Treussard Talks is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of Jonathan Treussard and his guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult their own financial advisors before making investment decisions. Visit www.treussard.com for additional disclaimers.
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Economics That Matters: From Academic Theory to Real-World Solutions with Larry Kotlikoff | Treussard Talks (E08)
Join Jonathan Treussard for a lively conversation with Larry Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics at Boston University, influential policy thinker, and longtime mentor. In this episode, Jonathan and Larry look back on the defining moments that shaped Larry’s career—from the early days at Penn and Harvard to the turbulence of academic politics and his groundbreaking work in fiscal and intergenerational accounting.
Learn more about Larry's Maxifi Planner here: https://maxifiplanner.com/
Key Highlights
Choosing the Road Less Traveled
Larry shares how he was torn between law school and economics, and how encouragement from mentors like Steve Ross set him on an unexpected path to Harvard and an entire career driven by curiosity and creativity.
Academic Hurdles and Speaking Your Mind
Larry talks about the challenges he faced at top universities, including getting pushed out of positions after making waves with his research. He talks about why being authentic and asking tough questions matters— even when it means not always fitting in.
Making Public Policy Count
Larry explains how his work at the Council of Economic Advisors and his research on fiscal and intergenerational accounting grew from a desire to have real impact on society, not just on academic debates.
Finding Value in Nonlinear Careers
The discussion highlights the unpredictable nature of meaningful work—how taking risks and accepting setbacks leads to a more rewarding journey, especially in a field where playing it safe is the norm.
Mentorship and Lasting Culture
Jonathan credits Larry’s personal style and independent thinking for helping create the world-class economics department he experienced at BU. They reflect on how true leadership is about building a culture where others can thrive.
Why It Matters for Sophisticated Investors
Larry’s story is a reminder: real leadership, whether in academia or finance, means taking risks, embracing setbacks, and staying true to your own vision. This episode offers lessons in creativity, resilience, and the importance of asking big questions, tailored for business leaders, families, and professionals committed to purposeful wealth management.
If you enjoyed this episode and want thoughtful, unfiltered insight at the intersection of wealth, purpose, and strategic thinking, sign up for my free newsletter, Wealth, Empowered. Every two weeks, you’ll get practical wisdom and commentary for business leaders, professionals, and families looking to align their wealth management with long-term vision and personal values.
Sign up here: https://wealth-empowered.beehiiv.com/
Disclaimer
The content of Treussard Talks is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed are those of Jonathan Treussard and his guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Treussard Capital Management or its affiliates. Listeners should consult their own financial advisors before making investment decisions. Visit www.treussard.com for additional disclaimers.
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