1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. This is Masters in 2 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: Business with Barry Ritholts on Bloomberg Radio. 3 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: Strap yourself in for another good one. Sander Gerber, CEO 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 2: CIO of Hudson Bay Capital. What a fascinating background he has, 5 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 2: starting in philosophy and ending up on the floor of 6 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 2: the American Stock Exchange as an equity options trader. That experience, 7 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 2: those two things combined to really create a kind of 8 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 2: unique perspective on the world of markets, on the world 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: of risk, and on the world of models. You know, 10 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 2: I've used the George Box quote a million times. All 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 2: models are wrong, but some are useful. And the way 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 2: Gerber goes about using models is very much along the 13 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 2: George Box lines, which is, not only are we going 14 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 2: to assume that models are wrong, but we want to 15 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 2: create our own models to be able to identify when 16 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 2: they're going to be at a great variance to what's 17 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 2: going on in reality, and then how to position ourselves 18 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 2: to take advantage of it. They're less directional traders than 19 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 2: they are arbitreasures. Hudson Big Capital runs a dozen different 20 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: strategies and they're all quite fascinating. Everything from risk, arb 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 2: to private credit and real estate in the first quarter 22 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five, where volatility spikes and a lot 23 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 2: of people's expectations are dashed. Their models do really well. 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,919 Speaker 2: I find his depth of knowledge and his technical expertise 25 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 2: to be absolutely fascinating. I think you'll find him to 26 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 2: be fascinating also, with no further ado, my conversation with 27 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 2: Hudson Bay Capitals Xander Gerbert. So let's start a little 28 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 2: bit with your background bachelors and humanistic philosophy and an 29 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 2: MBA from Wharton Finance. What was the career plan? 30 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 3: Well, actually, I was good at math, so I first 31 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 3: entered the Wharton School undergrad. I don't have an MBA 32 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 3: from Wharton. And then when I was at Wharton, I 33 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 3: didn't think I was getting an education, so I decided 34 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 3: to transfer into the College of Arts and Sciences, so 35 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 3: I got two degrees. Concurrently, I picked up a degree 36 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 3: in philosophy. Humanistic philosophy. I wanted to understand the development 37 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 3: of thought, how we got to where we are in. 38 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 2: Society, epistemology or something more specific. 39 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 3: It was moral philosophy, generally, starting with the ancient Greeks 40 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 3: through the existentialists. I think that I used my philosophy 41 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 3: background much more than my finance background, because it really 42 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 3: gives you a different view on the world. When I 43 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 3: was at Wharton colleg Andrew Krieger came in nineteen eighty 44 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 3: seven to speak. He had majored in Sanskrit Eastern philosophy 45 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 3: and then he got his MBA at Wharton and he 46 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 3: was the leading FX trader at Banker's Trust. And he 47 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 3: spoke about how his philosophy Eastern philosophy helped him understand 48 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 3: the markets. That you might feel very convicted the markets 49 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 3: should go a certain way, but the markets have their 50 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 3: own mindset and you have to accept what the markets have. 51 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 3: And it helped him emotionally to trade better because he 52 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 3: realized that mother market was going to be right, and 53 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 3: so it was from his philosophy background that he was 54 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 3: able to reconcile that with him with his beliefs in 55 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 3: terms of where markets should go, and it helped him 56 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: to be a better trader. 57 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 2: That I definitely can see that. You know the concept. 58 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 2: I don't know if I'm stealing this from Zen Buddhism, 59 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 2: but it's the water flows, but the rigid tree breaks 60 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 2: in the storm, and it's very similar to, hey, that's 61 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 2: an Eastern way of saying, why are you finding the 62 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 2: trend exactly? 63 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 3: And so, you know, when I was in college, I 64 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 3: really didn't know much about the markets. And as I 65 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 3: told you, I still I had entered first the Wharton School, 66 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 3: so I was still getting my degree there, but I 67 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 3: was really focused on the philosophy. And you know, people 68 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 3: think the philosophy is not so practical, what are you 69 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 3: going to do with it? And here the top FX 70 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 3: trader in the world came and said, this is what 71 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,039 Speaker 3: you should be doing. So it was it was sort of, 72 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 3: you know, ratification of what I was studying. 73 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 2: Huh. I think you're the first person who I've ever 74 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 2: spoken to who said, yeah, the Wharton School of Finance 75 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 2: at University of Pennsylvania not a great education. Isn't it 76 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 2: really true that most of our education, or at least 77 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 2: for a lot of people, you're just self taught. Schools 78 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 2: will give you a curriculum and here's the reading list, 79 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 2: but it's up to you to kind of learn whatever 80 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 2: there is to learn. 81 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 3: I think it's a good point. You know, the Wharton 82 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 3: School is arguable the finest finance school, but finance is 83 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 3: a technical discipline, and I wanted to understand the world. 84 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 3: And I think that you can only go a certain 85 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 3: degree using that background. And it's true. Then in order 86 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 3: to I think, upgrade yourself, you've got to be able 87 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 3: to develop the capacity to self learn, to take in 88 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 3: from the environment around you, to enable yourself to grow 89 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 3: your skill set to your experiences through working with others. 90 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 3: And that's something we try to incorporate within Hudson Bay 91 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 3: is the ability for people's careers to develop, and it 92 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 3: is something that you have to rely on self learning 93 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 3: and within college in certain disciplines. In college, like in philosophy, 94 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 3: a lot of it is you know, discovery, self discovery, 95 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 3: and other disciplines there is no self discovery. So I 96 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 3: think it is important to the humanistic background. 97 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 2: So you come out of of Wharton and University of Pennsylvania, 98 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 2: you start your career on the floor of the American 99 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 2: Stock Exchange as an equity options market maker. That had 100 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 2: to be a fascinating experience, especially nineteen nineties and two thousands, 101 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 2: that was a hot period and option trading. Tell us 102 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 2: a little bit about that experience. 103 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 3: Well, actually, when I graduated Penn I had been I'd 104 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 3: clerked on the floor of the Philadelphia Options Exchange in 105 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 3: nineteen eighty seven, and I liked it. But my parents 106 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 3: had spent all this money to send me to a 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 3: fancy school. They had taken out a home equity loan 108 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 3: to pay for my college tuition. So I thought to 109 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 3: be a muslely floor trader would be disrespectful. So I 110 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 3: went to Banning Company for two years, and I was 111 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 3: in management consulting for two years. It was boring, but 112 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 3: I did learn something from it, and then I came 113 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 3: to the floor of the AMEX. 114 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: Wait before you jump to the AMEX. Aside from learning 115 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 2: that being was boring, what else did you learn? 116 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 3: I learned how people can work together in good conscious 117 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 3: with dedication and still muck things up. Because what we 118 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 3: would do is we would parachute into places like British Airways, 119 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 3: Montreal Trusts, uh CIA Industries, and we were like the 120 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 3: external strategic planning and we would They would put young 121 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 3: people like me, and we'd sit next to people and 122 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 3: interview them and figure out why projects went to muck. 123 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 3: And I understood from that that well meaning people can 124 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 3: still muck things up because they don't have an appropriate 125 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 3: guide frame or appropriate leadership. Or they're not so like 126 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 3: little things can take projects astray. 127 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 2: So what was it that drew you to the floor 128 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 2: of the well? 129 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 3: I enjoyed the Philadelphia floor, and also I was I 130 00:07:54,800 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 3: always liked games, and so I and I had a 131 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 3: talent I thought for trading, and so I went to 132 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 3: the the AMEX. Someone gave me it was like eleven 133 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 3: hundred dollars a month as a stipend, and I kept 134 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 3: roughly half the profits. And there was no training. They 135 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 3: just threw me there very in the deep. 136 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 2: End of the pool. Whoever doesn't drown. Hey, you can grab. 137 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 3: Exactly right, exactly right. And it took me from July 138 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 3: of ninety one till December of ninety one. I made 139 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 3: five hundred dollars profit. Not for me, five hundred dollars. 140 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 3: Trading had a split which I had to split. Yes, well, 141 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 3: actually because I had a draw, I didn't get anything. 142 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 3: But then the next year I took off and it 143 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 3: turned out that I did have a knack fort I 144 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 3: was able to understand the volatility of the market. Is 145 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 3: usually we're vol traders, and I did something that was 146 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 3: two things that were novel on the floor. The first 147 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 3: is I understood that you have to break down your 148 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 3: volatile exposure month by month, which back then was unusual. 149 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,719 Speaker 3: In other words, people had these models that would give 150 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 3: you one volatility exposure across the entire portfolio. And I 151 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 3: realized that julys and earnings month, and August is a 152 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 3: beach month, so you can't use those two months to 153 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 3: offset each other. And so I was able to jerry 154 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 3: rig the models that were early then to be able 155 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 3: to look at my VEGA exposure month by month. That was, 156 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 3: believe it or not unusual. And the second thing that 157 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 3: that's early nineties is yes, that was ninety one, ninety two. 158 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 2: Okay, all these things we kind of take for granted. 159 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 2: I know, right at one point in time, you wonder 160 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 2: why it's become so increasingly difficult to beat the broad index. 161 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 2: It was a ton of inefficiencies, that's right, that's right. 162 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 3: And it was a great edge for me to come 163 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 3: to that realization. And maybe it was because I had 164 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 3: studied the models at the Wharton School. We had broken 165 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 3: them down, and I understood that the models are only 166 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 3: as good as the inputs. And a lot of people 167 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 3: back then were doing spreads in their head and the 168 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,559 Speaker 3: other group were using these canned models that would give 169 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 3: you one volatility exposure across you know, the entire model. 170 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 3: And the second thing that I realized was that you 171 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 3: need to combine fundamentals with the technicals of the models. 172 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 3: In other words, the models assumer normal distribution of returns, 173 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 3: but when you get into some kind of event, it's 174 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 3: no longer a normal distribution returns. It's you know, the 175 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 3: stock's either going to go up a lot or down 176 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 3: a lot. That's a barbell distribution, right as opposed to 177 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 3: normal distribution. And so by looking at events and when 178 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 3: they're going to happen and breaking down the VEGA exposure 179 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 3: month by month, that gave me an edge that I 180 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 3: was able to exploit. Do you find vega for listeners 181 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 3: who are Vega is the volatility So of the an 182 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 3: option has premium, and that premium is the extra amount 183 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 3: you pay for the right to have limited loss and 184 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 3: unlimited gain. And so that premium, that value of that 185 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 3: option to exercise or not exercise with limited loss, goes 186 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 3: up and down in value based upon the degree of movements. 187 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 3: So when something's moving around a lot, that has a 188 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 3: lot more value. So premium value goes up when things 189 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 3: are not moving a lot, premium value goes down, and 190 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 3: so by trading this range of volatility up and down, 191 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 3: which is in part dependent on what's happening with the 192 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 3: fundamentals of the stock, you were able to grab edge. 193 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 2: So these are really second or third level derivatives. It's 194 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 2: not the underlying value. It's the increase in value of 195 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,959 Speaker 2: the option and then within that the range and the 196 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: variability of that increase in option value. That's what you 197 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 2: were trading. 198 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:58,439 Speaker 3: Yes, and you know it's really not complicated. I mean 199 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 3: Wall Street tries to make things much more more complicated 200 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 3: than they are, but the simple, elegant solution is always better. 201 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 3: So it might sound complicated, but it's really not right. 202 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: And that complexity is a feature, not a bug. You 203 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 2: can sell stuff if it's complicated and hard to understand. 204 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 2: If it's simple, well I think I could do that. 205 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 3: That's right. Wall Street tries to make things more complicated 206 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 3: because it has to justify the sales commission and if 207 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 3: but things really are not so complicated. 208 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 2: So what was your biggest takeaway from your experiences as 209 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 2: a trader? How did it shape how you look at 210 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 2: the world of investing, How did it affect what you're 211 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 2: doing in Hudson Bay today. 212 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 3: Well, I really was grounded by that three and a 213 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 3: half years of watching every tick on the stock. You know, 214 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 3: and you're you're geographically limited on the floor. You can 215 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,679 Speaker 3: only trade at the post that you're standing by. 216 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 2: Like physically in space, your physically heether to that trading 217 00:12:59,040 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 2: thing exactly. 218 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 3: And there are even rules that you had to do 219 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 3: most of your trading in that geography, so you couldn't 220 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 3: move around a lot. And what it taught me is that, 221 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 3: you know, like a trading post, a strategy goes in 222 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 3: and out of favor, and if you want to be 223 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 3: able to make money in all markets all the time, 224 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 3: you have to develop a toolkit that can go beyond 225 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 3: one particular strategy. So you need to have multiple strategies 226 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 3: to develop persistent profitability. The other thing that I learned 227 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 3: was that you can make the right decisions and still 228 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 3: lose money. I had plenty of time where looking back, 229 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 3: it was the right decision, but the markets thought differently, 230 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 3: and so you always have to be worried about what 231 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 3: can go wrong. And risk is not about not losing money. 232 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 3: Risk management is not about not losing money. Risk management 233 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 3: is about unexpectedly losing money. In other words, when you're 234 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 3: evaluating a situation, you should know what is your reason 235 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 3: worst case downside. Now there's always the black swan that 236 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 3: maybe you can't figure on, but you should. But risk 237 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 3: management is always about understanding what could go wrong and 238 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 3: quantifying what could go wrong. 239 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 2: So I want to unpack what you just said, because 240 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 2: it's filled with goodness. First, you're referring to your approach 241 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 2: is Hey, we're really more process focused than outcome focused, 242 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 2: because if you have a good process, even if you 243 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 2: get a bad outcome, it doesn't matter. Probabilities will eventually 244 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 2: work in your fay. 245 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 3: Exactly right. 246 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 2: That's number one. But then the part two, which I 247 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 2: think a lot of investors overlook, is and a risk 248 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 2: management component that if the worst case happens, we still 249 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 2: survive and lift to trade another. 250 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 3: That's right, exactly right. And so at Hudson Bay, I 251 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 3: created the deal code system, uh. 252 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 2: Deal code system. 253 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 3: Yes, so at the time, well, I left the floor 254 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 3: beginning of ninety five and started deploying just the money 255 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 3: I'd earned on the floor in an off floor trading account. 256 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 3: And I would develop a strategy and hire someone else 257 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 3: to run it and develop another strategy and hire someone 258 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 3: else to run it. And as I was having other 259 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 3: people manage basically my trading account, I realized I had 260 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 3: to scale my risk profile that I developed on the 261 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 3: floor over multiple risk takers, and I needed to do 262 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 3: it in a manner that would produce persistent profitability. So 263 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 3: at the time, we were trading a lot of risk 264 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 3: garbitrage deals, so we called it a deal code, and 265 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 3: a deal code is just a numerical moniker that we 266 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 3: put on each trading idea within the book, and that 267 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 3: enables us to focus in on how is that trade hedged, 268 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,280 Speaker 3: what's the risk riskiness? How much could that trade lose 269 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 3: in a reasonable worst case scenario, and it gives us 270 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 3: a batting average, so we can under stand is a 271 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 3: portfolio manager winning more ideas than they lose so to 272 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 3: be persistently profitable. I think it's not just about winning 273 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 3: more dollars than you lose. It's about winning more ideas 274 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 3: than you lose. 275 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 2: So let's talk a little bit about Hudson Bay's strategy. 276 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 2: You've been managing outside capital across a variety of asset 277 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 2: classes and strategies. Tell us talk about some of the 278 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 2: key strategies and what has been the drivers of making 279 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 2: those strategies successful. Well. 280 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 3: As I mentioned, I wanted to be able to make 281 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 3: money in all market environments, so you need a tool 282 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 3: set to do that. So our strategies are equity long 283 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 3: short converts, credit, event merger, volatility trading. 284 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 2: This isn't just I'm going to buy the S and 285 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 2: P five hundred and put it away for a decade. 286 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 2: You're active traders, and you're really looking to take advantage 287 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 2: of situations where you have a fairly good idea of 288 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 2: what the outcome is going to look like. It's not hey, 289 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 2: this is open ended. Usually you're pretty confident in here's 290 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 2: what our range of potential outcomes are. 291 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 3: I think that, especially in today's world, you have to 292 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 3: understand what your edge is versus the machines. And a 293 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 3: machine can calculate risk based on historical precedent, but a 294 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 3: machine cannot calculate risk based upon some kind of uncertainty 295 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 3: due to some kind of event, callous or change that's 296 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 3: coming up because it's new. So the machine doesn't have 297 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 3: the ability to calibrate for something that's new. And so 298 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,199 Speaker 3: generally across all our strategies, that's what we're focused on, 299 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,880 Speaker 3: is we're focused on event callous change. How can we 300 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 3: profit off of that in a way that machines cannot. 301 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 2: So that's the fundamental criticism of models. All models assume 302 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 2: that the world in the future is going to look 303 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 2: like the world in the past. Risk management is what 304 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 2: happens if the world doesn't look like out at. 305 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 3: Us precisely, And that's why we don't use the standard 306 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:05,440 Speaker 3: risk management models. I actually created a statistic, the Gerber statistic, 307 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 3: that helps to understand diversification between our deal codes, between 308 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 3: our investment positions. A lot of our competitors are tied 309 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:19,879 Speaker 3: to factor based modeling, which ultimately, underneath it is reliant 310 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:24,639 Speaker 3: on regression analysis. Regressions. Our straight line fits through normalized 311 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 3: sets of data, and human relationships don't file straight lines, 312 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 3: and certainly market relationships don't file straight lines. So using 313 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,640 Speaker 3: that as the underpinning of a risk management system is 314 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 3: just incorrect. And so we've created a whole different structure. 315 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 3: As I said, we've used since nineteen ninety eight, and 316 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 3: I think that's given us the ability to weather storms 317 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 3: and profit from it in ways that our competitors can. 318 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 2: So let's talk a little bit about the Gerber statistic. 319 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 2: You had this validated by Harry Markowitz, the creator of 320 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 2: modern portfolio folio theory. Tell us about that collaboration and 321 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 2: break down the Garberg statistic a little bit. How do 322 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 2: you guys actually use it? 323 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 3: So, because of my distrust of models, based upon my 324 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 3: experience on the floor, in particularly the guts of the models, 325 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 3: I never believed in the correlation statistic, that correlation is predictive, 326 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 3: and this was I thought one of the underpinnings of 327 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 3: modern portfolio theory that you look at the expected return 328 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 3: of the stock, the expected variants of the stock, and 329 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 3: the covariance of correlation between the different components of a portfolio. 330 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 3: And at the time, you know, we used the deal 331 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 3: code system and on Wall Street the banks were telling 332 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 3: me this is nonsense, but don't even talk about it 333 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 3: with investors. And then in eight when everyone lost money 334 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,719 Speaker 3: and we made money, I realized we were doing something different. 335 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 3: And then I had the idea. Because of course I'd 336 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 3: studied about Harry in modern portfolio theory. Everyone in finance has. 337 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 3: He won the Nobel Prize. I decided, you know what, 338 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 3: I'm going to go out to see him to see 339 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 3: what he thinks about the Gerber statistic, and at the 340 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 3: time it wasn't called the Gerber statistic. But a friend 341 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 3: of mine said, gee, you really should file a patent 342 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 3: on this before you see Harry, and so I did, 343 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 3: and I had to name it something, so I called 344 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,400 Speaker 3: it the Gerber statistic. And we now have I think 345 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 3: we just got our sixth patent on our process for diversification. 346 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 3: So I got to see Harry in San Diego. Lovely guy. 347 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 3: He welcomed me, and we're walking. He liked to walk 348 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 3: along the beach and I said, Harry, you know, I 349 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,120 Speaker 3: don't think that correlation's predictive, and Harry said, you're right. 350 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 3: I said, no, no, Harry, you don't understand it. I don't 351 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 3: think that because it's one of the base foundational bases 352 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 3: for what She won the Nobel Prize in Modern portfolio theory. 353 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 3: Said Harry, I don't think that historical correlation has relevance 354 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 3: to the future. And he said, you're right. And it 355 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 3: turns out that in his nineteen fifty two paper that 356 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 3: sets forth modern portfolio theory, he said that correlation should 357 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 3: be determined by the judgment of practical men. In other words, 358 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 3: the stock analysts should think what will be the relationship 359 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 3: going forward, not to mind the past, but be forward looking. 360 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 3: But in the nineteen sixties, as computing power increase, people said, oh, 361 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 3: we can mind the statistic, this row statistic correlation, and 362 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 3: then we can plug it into the model as correlation. 363 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 3: He meant correlation in a semantic sense, not in a 364 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 3: mathematical sense in terms of using in his model. So 365 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 3: he actually said that the deal code system uses his system, 366 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:45,640 Speaker 3: the modern portfolio theory system. He said that there's three 367 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,359 Speaker 3: legs to his system. And so because we use limited loss, 368 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 3: because we seek to diversification through hesing on the own, 369 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 3: because we seek to win more than we lose in 370 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 3: each investment idea, he said that is accordance with his system. 371 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 3: But in any way, we we've written several papers together 372 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 3: on the Gerber statistic within modern portfolio theory and have 373 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,360 Speaker 3: demonstrated that you get better performance with less risk by 374 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 3: replacing historical covariance with the Gerber statistic. And Harry and 375 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 3: I actually we only had really one disagreement, and the 376 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 3: one disagreement was on factors. There's all these you know, 377 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 3: factor methodologies, and Harry believed that only one factor matters 378 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,679 Speaker 3: for portfolios, and I think two factors matter, so and 379 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 3: so that, but the other twenty three factors we both 380 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 3: agree are complete nonsets. 381 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 2: So if you look at the fomb of French model, 382 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 2: which started out as two or three factors and then 383 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 2: became five fact. 384 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 3: And then grow and grow. If you speak to the 385 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:51,959 Speaker 3: research departments of bar Axioma, they'll tell you that thirty 386 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 3: four to forty percent of a stock price movement can 387 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 3: be explained by factors. 388 00:22:57,480 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 2: Okay, so that's third, let's. 389 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 3: Roll it a and of that third, eighty five percent 390 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 3: of that third can be explained by the first five factors, okay, 391 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,719 Speaker 3: which means giving credit to five, which that's bar Naxioma 392 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 3: tells you eighty five percent of the forty percent can 393 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,959 Speaker 3: be explained by five factors, which means the other twenty 394 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 3: factors explain the fifteen percent of forty percent of the words. 395 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 3: Six percent of a stock price movement can be explained 396 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 3: by twenty one factors, right, meaning which is complete. You know, nonsense, 397 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,959 Speaker 3: but no, if you lever a portfolio up, you know 398 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 3: ten times, all of a sudden, that six percent looks 399 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 3: like it's sixty percent, but it's all complete nonsense. It's 400 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 3: numerical mumbo jumbo. It's part of the whole Wall Street 401 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 3: pizazz that is not based on reality. But you know 402 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 3: it sells. 403 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,120 Speaker 2: So so I want to guess the two factors. If 404 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 2: I had a guess, I'm going to rely on a 405 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 2: paper by Wes Gray of Alpha Architect and guess it's 406 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 2: value and momentum. But I'm curious what you feel. 407 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 3: Well, actually, Harry thought it was market. I think his 408 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 3: market and section. 409 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 2: So is market and sector. But are those really factors? 410 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 2: Do we really The. 411 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 3: Whole idea of factors is kind of like, you know, 412 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 3: a little nonsense. It's like beta, you know, like market 413 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 3: we think of as beta. It's now been called a factor. 414 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 2: So oh, I never really thought of beta as a factor. 415 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 2: It's just it's, hey, if you do nothing, you get 416 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 2: But that's market, you know, So huh, that's really it. 417 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 2: So you're looking at the sector it's in and the 418 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 2: overall market as the two driving facts. 419 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 3: I think those are Now it's true that momentum, value, 420 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,399 Speaker 3: these other things are relevant today because everyone else has 421 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 3: glommed onto it, because we have so many statistical, process 422 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 3: driven strategies that try to trade momentum. You know, buy cheap, 423 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 3: sell expensive. It pushes everything in line. And this is 424 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 3: what I found on the floor using models to trade options, 425 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 3: that the models would push the the values of the 426 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 3: options into alignment in accordance with the model because everyone's 427 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 3: using the same model, and so the same thing is 428 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 3: true in the broader market because everyone's using basically the 429 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,399 Speaker 3: same factor models. It pushes things in alignment, which works 430 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 3: in normal market environments. But when things you know, have 431 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,640 Speaker 3: a dislocation, it no longer works, which is why people say, oh, 432 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 3: our risk model broke down or whatever, because these aren't 433 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 3: really risk models. 434 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: Now. 435 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 3: It's one thing to use a model to trade because 436 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,400 Speaker 3: the model's telling you something is some expensive or cheap. 437 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 2: And relative to history. 438 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,119 Speaker 3: Right, And if something's always cheap, you just adjust the model. 439 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 3: So there's a validity to that. But that's different than 440 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,120 Speaker 3: using the same model for risk management. Risk management, again, 441 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 3: is about avoiding unexpected loss. 442 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 2: Huh. That's really interesting. So when I started on a 443 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,440 Speaker 2: trading desk, one of the things that I was always taught, 444 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 2: which I never contextualized as a factor, is, hey, what's 445 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 2: driving the stock? Well, the stock is only a tiny 446 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 2: part of it. The stock is twenty percent, the sector 447 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,680 Speaker 2: is thirty percent, and half is the market. So you 448 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:15,679 Speaker 2: could be the greatest stock in the world. If the 449 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 2: market's going down, it doesn't matter, and it could be 450 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 2: a really good stock. But if it's in a terrible sector. 451 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 2: You know, the metaphor was always great house in a 452 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 2: crappy neighborhood is a crappy house. You're really putting that 453 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,679 Speaker 2: into the context of these are the broader factors that 454 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,200 Speaker 2: are affecting that single holding. 455 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,159 Speaker 3: That's right, that's right. And you know, in our at 456 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 3: Hudson Bay, we seek to produce the alpha. So it's 457 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,639 Speaker 3: true that the market is moving the stock, but we 458 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,160 Speaker 3: try to pick stocks that outperform the market or pick 459 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 3: shorts that will go down more than the market. So 460 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 3: we seek to focus on the alpha provision. 461 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:58,800 Speaker 2: So let's talk about something related to this. A paper 462 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,760 Speaker 2: you published, environment eats culture for lunch. It sounds like 463 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 2: the environment is what the market's doing with the sector is, 464 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 2: but give us a little detail about. 465 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 3: Well, actually, I mean that that paper was related to 466 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:17,240 Speaker 3: the human aspect, not the market. So Peter Drucker came 467 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 3: up with this idea that culture eats strategy for breakfast 468 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 3: that corporate culture is actually more important than corporate strategy 469 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 3: for the success of a firm. I think there's a 470 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,359 Speaker 3: lot to that that, you know, the way people work 471 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,639 Speaker 3: together in an organization. But I've always thought that this 472 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 3: corporate culture thing is nonsense. If you have people try 473 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 3: to describe their corporate culture, they cannot articulate it, right, 474 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 3: you know, like what's the corporate culture here at Bloomberg, 475 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:46,360 Speaker 3: you know, like. 476 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 2: Fun data driven? It's all about data, So you come up. 477 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 3: On data driven. It's not a culture. Data driven is 478 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,480 Speaker 3: a process. But I'm talking about what's the human aspect 479 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 3: of it? What's what's the human culture. 480 00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 2: I'm the wrong person to ask that, right. 481 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 3: Because because no one can really describe corporate culture, what 482 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 3: you can describe as an environment. What is the environment 483 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,679 Speaker 3: that people work within? And I kind of learned this 484 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 3: at Band and Company because Baine was described as this 485 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 3: like fun loving place, everyone has fun. And then when 486 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 3: I was there, two guys died on the locker bee 487 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,800 Speaker 3: crash and Bill Bayn had milked the esop and so 488 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 3: the company almost collapsed. When I was there, they fired 489 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,639 Speaker 3: half of my class, not me, They fired all the 490 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 3: incoming MBAs and it was the avarice of Bill Bain 491 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:36,280 Speaker 3: that nearly collapsed the firm. We're talking back in nineteen 492 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 3: eighty nine to ninety. 493 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 2: So the corporate culture was with pacious greed, well did 494 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 2: you know, and almost destroy. 495 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 3: It was inauthentic. And when people try to describe culture, 496 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,640 Speaker 3: they can't. And so what I wanted to do was 497 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 3: to describe an environment. What is the environment that you 498 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 3: want to work within? And you know when you speak 499 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 3: to when you speak to people on other firms, what's 500 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 3: your corporate culture? What's your value statements? Usually these things 501 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 3: go on and on and on. No one can really 502 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,719 Speaker 3: remember all the value statement. If you can't remember your 503 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 3: value statement, it has no value. 504 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 2: I'm going to imagine that twenty two twenty three when 505 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 2: all the big firms were saying, we want our employees 506 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 2: back in the office. We don't want any more remote work. 507 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 2: It's a matter of corporate culture. How did you think 508 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 2: about that? Was this a legitimate demand and is it 509 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 2: not so much corporate culture? But we want an environment 510 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 2: where people are in the office working together. Is that legit? 511 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 3: I hate going to the office and seeing people not there. 512 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 3: I think that people should work together. On the other hand, 513 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 3: You can't force these things. You can't force independent thinking, 514 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 3: you can't force collaboration. You can have an environment that 515 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 3: engenders it, and so we try to have an environment 516 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 3: that engenders it. So it's my opinion that people who 517 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 3: come to the office are going to succeed more than 518 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 3: people who don't. Now, I understand that, you know, the 519 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 3: commute is a hassle and sometimes people, you know, want 520 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 3: to take the day off, and so you know, our 521 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 3: standard is two days in the office. Many teams have 522 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 3: a third day, but a lot of people. Usually people 523 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 3: are in our office three to five days a week. 524 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 3: But we don't force it. If once you force people 525 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 3: to be in the office, I think you're losing this 526 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 3: spree de corps. We want people to want to work 527 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 3: at Hudson Bay. If they don't want to work at 528 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 3: Hudson Bay, they should go elsewhere. But to force people, 529 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 3: I think, you know, for high performers, I don't think 530 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 3: that's the way to engender the right environment. 531 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 2: And environment beats culture for work because the work environment 532 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 2: is more important than some statement that nobody remembers. Correct. 533 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 2: So you guys have let's talk a little bit about 534 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 2: independent thought. You guys have done pretty well. When the 535 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 2: expert's wrong. You throw five, seven, eight, and nine. You 536 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 2: were notably up in years where most people were down. 537 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 2: Again in Q one of twenty twenty, you guys did 538 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 2: really well all periods of big market turmoil. I don't 539 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,480 Speaker 2: know what you were doing in two thousand and one two, 540 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 2: but I'm imagining the same approach held true. How do 541 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 2: you think about these periods? Are they truly black swans 542 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 2: or are they things that, with the right approach to 543 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 2: risk management, are create opportunities. 544 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 3: Again, people are trying to assess risk based upon some 545 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 3: kind of parametric distribution with you know, standard deviation movements, 546 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 3: and I think that's just nonsense. The markets don't work 547 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,800 Speaker 3: like that. So our system enables us to weather all 548 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 3: market environments through the deal code system by ignoring those 549 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 3: parametric The Gerber statistic, which is the basis for the 550 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 3: work with Harry, is a rank order statistic because it 551 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 3: recognizes the failures of parametric normal distributions. And what we 552 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 3: do is we set a threshold because a lot of 553 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 3: data is noise in the markets. If the S and 554 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 3: P moves by ten basis points, it doesn't communicate to 555 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 3: you how the S and P affects other things. Yet, 556 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,400 Speaker 3: and all these statistical models, they're including every single data 557 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 3: point because if you don't include every single data point, 558 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 3: then in the matrix math you have a divide by 559 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 3: zero issue. So they're forced in all these correlation statistics, 560 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 3: these regression analyses to include every single data point. With 561 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 3: the Gerba statistic, we are able to create thresholds where 562 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,840 Speaker 3: we ignore data below a certain degree of movement, and 563 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:55,800 Speaker 3: so that enables us to focus on Everyone wants meaningful relationships, right, 564 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,719 Speaker 3: So this is how we're able to focus on meaningful 565 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 3: relationships within the market. 566 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 2: You know, we talked a little bit about sub prime 567 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:06,960 Speaker 2: real estate and how the models it wasn't even that 568 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 2: they broke. They were so poorly constructed they were destined 569 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 2: to fail. You know, if you build a house really poorly, 570 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,920 Speaker 2: you don't need an earthquake. Eventually, it's just going to 571 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 2: collapse under its own weight. But I have to ask 572 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 2: you some questions about real estate because Hudson Bay has 573 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 2: been increasingly invested in private credit and real estate. You've 574 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 2: done a number of major refinancings in and around New 575 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 2: York City. Six twenty Avenue of the America's is tell 576 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:37,000 Speaker 2: Us a little bit about the work you're doing at 577 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 2: Hudson Bay with private credit and real estate. 578 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:47,479 Speaker 3: Well, we saw beginning with the the transitory higher rates, 579 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 3: which we thought was nonsense, right. We saw that rates 580 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:55,160 Speaker 3: were going to be higher for longer, and we had 581 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 3: believed that the market had been anchored in this idea 582 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 3: of ultra low rates, which was really a manipulation of 583 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 3: the monetary system. So we started thinking about what's the 584 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,880 Speaker 3: implications of that, and came to the notion that the 585 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 3: banking system would be under stress. And what's the implication 586 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,359 Speaker 3: of the banking system under stress. Well, that means that 587 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 3: they can't extend loans in the same way, you know, 588 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 3: corporate as well as real estate. So we started staffing 589 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,919 Speaker 3: up in those areas to take advantage. And now I'm 590 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,319 Speaker 3: convinced that the there's now going to be a structural 591 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,080 Speaker 3: shift in credit provision in the US economy, that the 592 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,600 Speaker 3: banks are no longer going to be the mainstay for credit. 593 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:44,040 Speaker 3: And that's because the government has effectively guaranteed our banking system, 594 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 3: which creates moral hazard. We have on the order of, 595 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,320 Speaker 3: you know, forty three hundred banks in the United States. 596 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 3: It's a lot, especially when you compare it to Canada 597 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 3: that's got the big you know, handful, and you know 598 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 3: when you deposit money in the bank, that bank is 599 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 3: lending it out long. 600 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 2: And fractionally reserving it. So it's ten to one, whatever 601 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 2: the precise the leverage there using. 602 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 3: So I think that the whole fractional banking system notion 603 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,319 Speaker 3: is challenged, particularly in the idea of the ease of 604 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:26,360 Speaker 3: information transparency among depositors coupled with the necessity for government 605 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 3: guarantee and moral hazards. So private credit firms like ours 606 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,400 Speaker 3: people invest in Hudson Bay and they know it's not 607 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:38,320 Speaker 3: a bank account, and that gives us license to deploy 608 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 3: the money in ways that are appropriate, and so we 609 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,359 Speaker 3: began staffing up in those areas. And now in real estate, 610 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 3: for instance, we have teams that work in real estate equity, 611 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:56,280 Speaker 3: in CMBs, distress CMBs, and direct provision of real estate credit. 612 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,799 Speaker 3: And as part of the core vet you've Hudson Bay. 613 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 3: These teams work together, which give us a better understanding. 614 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,000 Speaker 3: It's a great advantage to have equity teams working with 615 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 3: credit teams, particularly all real estate's local It gives us 616 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:16,399 Speaker 3: a much better understanding of the asset that we're looking at. 617 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,399 Speaker 2: Huh, that's really kind of interesting. You know, Ever since 618 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 2: the financial crisis, some of the new regulations and bank 619 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 2: regulations directly led to the rise of private equity, private credit. 620 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 2: You know, some of the forecasts are over the next decade, 621 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:37,720 Speaker 2: this blows up to a thirteen trillion dollar asset class. 622 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:40,759 Speaker 3: I think we're in the third inning, early early days here, Yeah, 623 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 3: I think so. 624 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 2: And it it feels like it's been so big because 625 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:48,440 Speaker 2: we started with practically nothing in that space, and the 626 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 2: first couple of trillion dollars felt like, oh, my goodness, 627 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:55,719 Speaker 2: is just so much capital washing over this. But this 628 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:00,600 Speaker 2: seems to have happened in the past where woll banks 629 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,920 Speaker 2: and brokers kind of move up market, they create a 630 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:08,240 Speaker 2: void in the space they left, and private money rushes 631 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:11,000 Speaker 2: in to fill that void. Is that what's going on 632 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,720 Speaker 2: with private credit and real estate? 633 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,759 Speaker 3: Well, it's still early in that. I think it's a 634 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 3: golden age for real estate credit. The banks are not 635 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:23,080 Speaker 3: able to they don't have the capital now to lend, 636 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 3: and so there's it's open season. 637 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,399 Speaker 2: Huh. Really really interesting. So how do you identify opportunities 638 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,400 Speaker 2: in the real estate space. It seems like there are 639 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 2: so many buildings that are half empty, and yet it's 640 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:43,400 Speaker 2: a slow motion train wreck because most of their tenants 641 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 2: have ten or longer year leases and they're just slowly 642 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 2: starting to recognize unless you're a super A class building, 643 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 2: even A buildings are having a hard time attracting renewals 644 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 2: and tenants. How you identify these and how far along 645 00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 2: the repricing of commercial real estate or at least offices 646 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 2: do you think we are? 647 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 3: Well, those are big questions. And I'm from Annaburg, Michigan, 648 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,799 Speaker 3: and I saw how in Detroit, Detroit was going to 649 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:21,920 Speaker 3: be called the museum to the desolate city because downtown 650 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:25,720 Speaker 3: Detroit went empty when they built the Renaissance Center. Everyone 651 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:29,120 Speaker 3: moved to the Renaissance Center and left these empty, huge 652 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:32,799 Speaker 3: buildings in Detroit. And you see aspects of that now 653 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 3: where the A buildings, the new buildings are attracting very 654 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 3: high rents and buildings in other areas are you going empty? 655 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 3: So to understand what's going on, you really have to 656 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 3: understand the asset, and so that's why it's important to 657 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:54,480 Speaker 3: have teams from different disciplines being able to understand the asset. Obviously, 658 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:58,239 Speaker 3: looking through the rent rolls and understanding you know, the 659 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 3: weight to average lease, but also understanding the macro environment. 660 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,719 Speaker 3: You know, are things growing And we have so much 661 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:09,920 Speaker 3: uncertainty now going on, not just because of work from 662 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:14,200 Speaker 3: home with Zoom, but also the longer term implications of 663 00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:16,880 Speaker 3: AI and what's that going to mean for the workforce 664 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:20,799 Speaker 3: and even cities like New York City. It's possible that 665 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 3: we're not going to need the same number of junior lawyers, 666 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 3: junior accountants, junior bankers. 667 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,359 Speaker 2: So I've heard some people discuss AI as a tool, 668 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:32,720 Speaker 2: and it's not that you're going to lose your job 669 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,560 Speaker 2: to AI, but you're more likely to lose your job 670 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:40,880 Speaker 2: to someone working with AI. Is that a fair assessment 671 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,799 Speaker 2: or is it just still way too early to take. 672 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 3: I think we still don't know. I think AI is 673 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,840 Speaker 3: the greatest change in my lifetime, bigger than the Internet. 674 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:53,279 Speaker 3: I think so, yeah, really yeah, because the ability for 675 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,640 Speaker 3: natural language processing goes far beyond what I thought was possible. 676 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,400 Speaker 3: You know, I studied linguistics a bit in college. The 677 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:05,400 Speaker 3: whole idea of how we form language is a fascinating subject. 678 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:07,840 Speaker 3: And now the computer is able to be coachent in 679 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:14,280 Speaker 3: their responses, We've you know, kind of approaching hard AI 680 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,280 Speaker 3: in a way that I did not think was possible, 681 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:18,520 Speaker 3: and it's only going to get better. 682 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,440 Speaker 2: Let me push back a little bit. And I'm not 683 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:28,319 Speaker 2: necessarily saying I believe this, but so I've had this 684 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,360 Speaker 2: conversation over and over again with a number of different people. 685 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,279 Speaker 2: How are you using AI in your daily work? What 686 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:40,839 Speaker 2: are you finding? And someone who hosts a different podcast said, 687 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:47,080 Speaker 2: they created this really interesting set of prompts with AI 688 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 2: to get an answer to how to do certain things, 689 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,080 Speaker 2: and the first time they got the answer, they were 690 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,960 Speaker 2: really impressed. Oh my god, this is a genius insight, 691 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 2: and look how smart this is and how it it 692 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:03,720 Speaker 2: figured out exactly what I needed. And then they asked 693 00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,680 Speaker 2: a different question with a different subject kind of got 694 00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:10,600 Speaker 2: the same answer, and it was like, oh, this is 695 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:16,720 Speaker 2: a party trick. This isn't really intelligence. It just looks 696 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:20,880 Speaker 2: like intelligence, and even though it's getting better, it's still 697 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:26,080 Speaker 2: kind of dumb relative to it impresses us. But once 698 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:28,680 Speaker 2: you peer behind the curtain and see the wizard is 699 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:32,920 Speaker 2: just a man, you figure out this is less what 700 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:37,000 Speaker 2: it purports to be in more like a very useful, 701 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:38,160 Speaker 2: clever trick. 702 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:40,319 Speaker 3: I was thinking of a Wizard of Oz also while 703 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 3: you were while you were saying that, But I don't 704 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:44,520 Speaker 3: think there's a guy behind the curtain that's giving the answers. 705 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:48,000 Speaker 3: That's why I think that it helps with the junior 706 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,280 Speaker 3: analysts that you have to check anyway, and it certainly 707 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:56,279 Speaker 3: speeds up the research process in ways that were not 708 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:59,160 Speaker 3: possible before, for sure, and it's only going to get better. 709 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:02,319 Speaker 3: And it may makes mistakes, but the junior analyst makes 710 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:05,960 Speaker 3: mistakes also. I mean, I've used it for things my 711 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,399 Speaker 3: lawyers probably will hate me, but sometimes when I've had 712 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:12,320 Speaker 3: a discussion with the lawyers on how to express something 713 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,320 Speaker 3: in a document, to all ask AI the question. It 714 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:17,719 Speaker 3: will give me a range of possibilities and enables me 715 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:20,480 Speaker 3: then to be more on a level playing field with 716 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:22,400 Speaker 3: my lawyers who have had a lot more experience than 717 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:25,480 Speaker 3: I have. But it has enabled me to bring to 718 00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:28,440 Speaker 3: the discussion insights that we might not have thought of. 719 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:32,320 Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought up the attorneys, because a judge 720 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:37,320 Speaker 2: just sanctions a lawyer for using AI and in certain 721 00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:45,440 Speaker 2: of his answers, and this unfortunate tendency to hallucinate. I 722 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 2: don't think the problem was that he used AI to 723 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,920 Speaker 2: help him in research. He didn't double check it, and 724 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,480 Speaker 2: he failed to disclose that AI was plathiness. 725 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:57,440 Speaker 3: You know, it's just plain laziness. The the AI is 726 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:00,799 Speaker 3: good for the junior person, and I think as implications 727 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:02,839 Speaker 3: for the workforce, you know, what is the workforce going 728 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:07,600 Speaker 3: to look like? Given that, maybe we don't need the 729 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:12,920 Speaker 3: same failans of junior accountants, junior lawyers, junior bankers. 730 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:15,640 Speaker 2: How do you become a senior account lawyer, banker if 731 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,239 Speaker 2: you're never a junior It's a tough question. So let 732 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:23,600 Speaker 2: me give you an opportunity to update your twenty twenty 733 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:28,440 Speaker 2: one piece in investing. Don't short human judgment? Do you? 734 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:29,759 Speaker 2: Are you still holding that for you? 735 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,520 Speaker 3: Absolutely? I mean we are in the human judgment business. Really, 736 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:40,000 Speaker 3: we are trying to beat the machines. We do that, 737 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:45,680 Speaker 3: as I said, through understanding uncertainty, events, catalysts, and change, 738 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:49,880 Speaker 3: and I think ultimately human judgment is superior in the machines. 739 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:52,160 Speaker 3: I hope we won't go into a Hell two thousand 740 00:43:52,239 --> 00:43:56,440 Speaker 3: type situation that human judgment will always be superior. You 741 00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:00,239 Speaker 3: wouldn't want to have a machine be the a in 742 00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:04,360 Speaker 3: the United States. How could a machine possibly make those decisions, 743 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:08,279 Speaker 3: you know. So obviously human judgment will always be there, 744 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:11,560 Speaker 3: and I don't think that we're at a terminator type, 745 00:44:11,719 --> 00:44:14,919 Speaker 3: you know, situation, but there are certain experts that say 746 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,400 Speaker 3: that ultimately that's where we'll go. I mean, I do 747 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:20,160 Speaker 3: know that in the military, you know, the idea of 748 00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:24,279 Speaker 3: robots creating robots is a real idea, and it very 749 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:31,520 Speaker 3: might well change battlefield dynamics. But I believe that certainly, 750 00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,680 Speaker 3: at this point in time, the human capacity to ingest 751 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:41,840 Speaker 3: a mosaic of information and to make the right decision 752 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:46,640 Speaker 3: is superior. If you take a chessboard, the machine can 753 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:49,280 Speaker 3: beat the master, but if you put an extra bishop 754 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,799 Speaker 3: on the board, the machine can't deal with it, right, 755 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,759 Speaker 3: And I think that's the paradigm. And life does not 756 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:00,160 Speaker 3: mimic a chessboard, you know. Life mimics the chessboard with 757 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:04,320 Speaker 3: extra pieces being put on randomly, and it's that randomness 758 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:06,520 Speaker 3: that I don't think the machines will be superior than 759 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,839 Speaker 3: human judgment. Now, it might appear at times that the 760 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,520 Speaker 3: machine can beat the human, but I think ultimately the 761 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:16,160 Speaker 3: human judgment is superior, and so our business is based 762 00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:17,920 Speaker 3: on human judgment. 763 00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:21,920 Speaker 2: You mentioned the wartime usage of AI. There was a 764 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,399 Speaker 2: pretty big article I don't remember. I want to say 765 00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:28,120 Speaker 2: the Times, not the journal, that figured out that in 766 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:33,240 Speaker 2: the Ukraine Russian War, which started out as a conventional 767 00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:38,759 Speaker 2: bombardment between tanks and mortars and anti tank weapons, over 768 00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:43,359 Speaker 2: the past six twelve months, seventy percent of the casualties 769 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:49,600 Speaker 2: have been drone AI warfare driven, and it's very much 770 00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:52,640 Speaker 2: a brave new world. It's not like the old world 771 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:58,080 Speaker 2: of warfare. What it sounds like you're suggesting with AI 772 00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:01,640 Speaker 2: is that they're both code developed, that you'll still have 773 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:06,680 Speaker 2: humans driving the process, but AIS become an increasingly large 774 00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,680 Speaker 2: part of it, regardless of whether we're talking about warfare, 775 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:12,879 Speaker 2: business or investing. I don't want to put words into 776 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,319 Speaker 2: your mouth, but is that a fair way to assess that. 777 00:46:15,719 --> 00:46:17,880 Speaker 3: I think so. I mean, I think that the humans 778 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,640 Speaker 3: always have to be on top of the machines. Machines 779 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:24,040 Speaker 3: have a lot of latitude, both to produce themselves as 780 00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:28,040 Speaker 3: as well as to target. You know, the markets are 781 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:32,600 Speaker 3: different because the markets follow a behavioral dynamic. The evaluation 782 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:36,759 Speaker 3: of risk versus reward is something that I think a 783 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:38,919 Speaker 3: machine cannot do in the same way the human can. 784 00:46:39,360 --> 00:46:43,640 Speaker 2: So given some of the volatility we've been seeing in 785 00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:48,680 Speaker 2: the first quarter of twenty twenty five. Has that changed 786 00:46:48,719 --> 00:46:52,640 Speaker 2: how you're looking at your models, how you're viewing your 787 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:55,839 Speaker 2: approach or is it, Hey, this is just another one 788 00:46:55,880 --> 00:46:57,640 Speaker 2: of those things that comes along and we have to 789 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,000 Speaker 2: be able to trade through. 790 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:04,680 Speaker 3: We actually like the dislocation because the dislocation proves the 791 00:47:04,719 --> 00:47:05,359 Speaker 3: models are wrong. 792 00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:09,360 Speaker 2: Well, I know you guys don't release public performance numbers, 793 00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:13,440 Speaker 2: but I know you're doing much better than your benchmark 794 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:17,280 Speaker 2: this quarter. Volatility is your friend. Is that what you're saying? 795 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:21,840 Speaker 2: Because volatility disrupts traditional models and you're a non traditional model. Correct. 796 00:47:22,239 --> 00:47:25,879 Speaker 2: So I know you've worked with Harry Markowitz. What other 797 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:29,600 Speaker 2: academics and what other institutions have you worked with? 798 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:33,240 Speaker 3: Well, at Imperial College London, there's further work being done 799 00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:37,440 Speaker 3: on the Gerber statistic and incorporating it. The idea of 800 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:43,320 Speaker 3: thresholding data and ways to do it to For instance, 801 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:46,440 Speaker 3: if you want to understand the significance of a stock 802 00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:50,000 Speaker 3: price movement, maybe you should exclude days where there's very 803 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:53,000 Speaker 3: low volume and only include days when there's high volume. 804 00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:56,279 Speaker 3: There's a variety of ways to incorporate it. 805 00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,000 Speaker 2: I know, I only have you for a limited amount 806 00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:02,360 Speaker 2: of time. Let me jump some of my favorite questions. 807 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:04,800 Speaker 2: I ask all of our guests, what are you watching 808 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,359 Speaker 2: or listening to? With? What's keeping you entertained? 809 00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,160 Speaker 3: Recently I streamed Eastern Gate? 810 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:11,320 Speaker 2: Oh really? 811 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:13,440 Speaker 3: Which is I saw in the New York Times. It 812 00:48:13,600 --> 00:48:18,640 Speaker 3: was this spy thriller series on the conflict between Poland 813 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:22,279 Speaker 3: and Belarus, and I wanted to understand the dynamic between it. 814 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,239 Speaker 3: So I thought I'd get a little entertainment and understand 815 00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:29,160 Speaker 3: something I couldn't pick up here. And it's a little slapstick, 816 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:29,960 Speaker 3: but I think it's worth it. 817 00:48:30,239 --> 00:48:33,480 Speaker 2: Eastern Gate. Yes, did you happen to watch any of 818 00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:38,320 Speaker 2: Fouda when that was just the most heart wrenching stuff 819 00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:39,839 Speaker 2: to watch? It's so stressful. 820 00:48:40,200 --> 00:48:42,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, and pretty realistic. 821 00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:46,440 Speaker 2: Very realistic. Let's talk about mentors who helped shape your career. 822 00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:49,880 Speaker 3: I gotta give a lot of credit to Dave Patrice. 823 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:53,800 Speaker 2: Who I know that name, who really. 824 00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:57,840 Speaker 3: Helped me get into shape. And he was on my 825 00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:03,920 Speaker 3: case every day, the diet, the working out. We're workout partners, 826 00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:08,400 Speaker 3: and I was thirty five forty pounds heavier, uh huh, 827 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:12,279 Speaker 3: and he got me to recognize they needed to get 828 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:13,880 Speaker 3: in shape. I thought I was in shape, but I 829 00:49:13,920 --> 00:49:15,680 Speaker 3: wasn't in shape. I think I think a lot of 830 00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:17,960 Speaker 3: people think they're doing okay when they could do a 831 00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:20,360 Speaker 3: lot better. And he taught me I could do a 832 00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:22,880 Speaker 3: lot better. And I think it's affected me overall, my 833 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:29,359 Speaker 3: mental acuity, my mood, my stamina. I really give him 834 00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:29,920 Speaker 3: a lot of credit. 835 00:49:30,239 --> 00:49:32,640 Speaker 2: You mentioned books earlier. What are some of your favorites? 836 00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:33,760 Speaker 2: What are you reading right now? 837 00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:37,480 Speaker 3: One book that I really enjoyed, which was long, was 838 00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:40,520 Speaker 3: Walter Isaacson's book on Elon Musk, which I read before 839 00:49:40,680 --> 00:49:43,040 Speaker 3: the election, and it made a big impact on me 840 00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:46,319 Speaker 3: because I believe in questioning the experts, but must takes 841 00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:50,440 Speaker 3: it to a different level. He's questioning metallurgical properties that 842 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:54,120 Speaker 3: were well grounded in science and engineering, and he's saying, 843 00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:57,440 Speaker 3: why does that have to be? And oftentimes he was 844 00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:02,760 Speaker 3: right that the established can census regarding properties of medals 845 00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:03,560 Speaker 3: was wrong. 846 00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:07,040 Speaker 2: M really really interesting. Any of the books you want 847 00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:07,359 Speaker 2: to mention? 848 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:12,839 Speaker 3: I read The Melting Point by Frank Mackenzie recently. He 849 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:16,560 Speaker 3: was the head of Scentcom and he talked about what 850 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:22,520 Speaker 3: it was like to lead Sentcom and he also had 851 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:25,040 Speaker 3: a MA He measured in English, and he thought that 852 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:28,040 Speaker 3: his English background to be a commanding general was very 853 00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:32,440 Speaker 3: helpful because I helped him to articulate better and to 854 00:50:33,600 --> 00:50:36,280 Speaker 3: form consensus, you know, among his colleagues. 855 00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:41,279 Speaker 2: Really really interesting. Our final two questions what sort of 856 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:44,560 Speaker 2: advice would you give to a recent grad interested in 857 00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:49,920 Speaker 2: a career in either filling the blank, investing options trading, 858 00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:54,239 Speaker 2: multi strategy management. What advice would you give to them? 859 00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:59,320 Speaker 3: I think it's, you know, across all certainly service occupations, 860 00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:02,560 Speaker 3: is you got to be will beat the machines, and 861 00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:06,920 Speaker 3: to do that, you need to be independent thinker. You 862 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:10,080 Speaker 3: need to go against the grain, question the experts. You 863 00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:12,719 Speaker 3: need to be able to do that. You need ab 864 00:51:12,719 --> 00:51:16,880 Speaker 3: to work with other people, to learn from them, to 865 00:51:16,920 --> 00:51:19,920 Speaker 3: expand your horizons, to expand the mosaic that you can 866 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:22,600 Speaker 3: bring to your independent thinking. And you got to be 867 00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:26,080 Speaker 3: able to respect your colleague. So I think that those 868 00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:28,760 Speaker 3: three things are a real guideposts for people. 869 00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:32,280 Speaker 2: This goes back to your corporate culture, which your environment, 870 00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:38,200 Speaker 2: corporate environment, my bad, your corporate environment, think independently, collaborate 871 00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:41,840 Speaker 2: and respect the individual. Correct huh? And our final question, 872 00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,200 Speaker 2: what do you know about the world of investing in finance? 873 00:51:45,239 --> 00:51:47,960 Speaker 2: Today would have been useful when you were first getting 874 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:50,440 Speaker 2: started in the early nineties. 875 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:54,280 Speaker 3: I think that you know everything you learn in business 876 00:51:54,320 --> 00:51:58,040 Speaker 3: school or economics, you can just throw out the window 877 00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:03,359 Speaker 3: economics and of science. People try to portray economics as 878 00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:06,960 Speaker 3: a science, and it simply is not. And so all 879 00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:10,960 Speaker 3: the notions that we brought up regarding money supply, you know, 880 00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:13,080 Speaker 3: Milton Freem would be turning over in his grave. Even 881 00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:17,480 Speaker 3: though these principles might have some grounding, It's not scientific, 882 00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:20,920 Speaker 3: you know. This is this is not a natural science. 883 00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:25,200 Speaker 3: It's a behavioral science, and it's based upon how people 884 00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:28,680 Speaker 3: interact with each other. And I think that that appreciation 885 00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:32,799 Speaker 3: leads to the notion that oftentimes the academy or the 886 00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:40,040 Speaker 3: experts try to profer things that everyone everyone seems to 887 00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,200 Speaker 3: believe one way, and you think, how could I be right? 888 00:52:42,239 --> 00:52:44,880 Speaker 3: Because everyone believes one way because this is what they 889 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:47,600 Speaker 3: studied in school, and if the authorities say it's that 890 00:52:47,640 --> 00:52:51,719 Speaker 3: one way. And I think that as you go through 891 00:52:51,760 --> 00:52:54,920 Speaker 3: life and you age, you realize that the Ivory Tower 892 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:57,400 Speaker 3: isn't always correct. In fact, a lot of times the 893 00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:01,560 Speaker 3: Ivory Tower doesn't have the real life experience, and so 894 00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:02,520 Speaker 3: they're flat out wrong. 895 00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:07,480 Speaker 2: I'm trying to remember where I'm stealing this quote from 896 00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:11,160 Speaker 2: Science Advance's One Funeral at a Time. The same is 897 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:16,839 Speaker 2: true with other things that Dick Thaylor said. Rather than 898 00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:20,560 Speaker 2: wait for the rest of economics to catch up with 899 00:53:20,640 --> 00:53:23,600 Speaker 2: behavioral finance, I'm just going to teach it to the 900 00:53:23,920 --> 00:53:29,160 Speaker 2: younger generation and it'll infiltrate much more quickly than waiting 901 00:53:29,200 --> 00:53:34,440 Speaker 2: for all of my peers to accept it. Really really fascinating, Sander. 902 00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:37,200 Speaker 2: Thank you for being so generous with your time. We 903 00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:41,160 Speaker 2: have been speaking with Sandra Gerber. He is CEO and 904 00:53:41,440 --> 00:53:46,399 Speaker 2: CIO of Hudson Bay Capital. If you enjoy this conversation, well, 905 00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:48,399 Speaker 2: be sure and check out any of the previous five 906 00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:51,960 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty we've done over the past eleven years. 907 00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:57,320 Speaker 2: You can find those at iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Bloomberg, wherever 908 00:53:57,400 --> 00:54:01,359 Speaker 2: you find your favorite podcast. And be sure and check 909 00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:05,439 Speaker 2: out my new book How Not to Invest The Ideas, 910 00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:10,520 Speaker 2: numbers and behavior that Destroys Wealth out today wherever you 911 00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:13,799 Speaker 2: find your favorite books. I would be remiss if I 912 00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:15,759 Speaker 2: do not thank the correct team that helps put these 913 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:20,120 Speaker 2: conversations together each week. John Washerman is my audio engineer. 914 00:54:20,239 --> 00:54:24,440 Speaker 2: Ana Luke is my producer Sean Russo is my researcher. 915 00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:29,000 Speaker 2: I'm Barry Ritholtz. You've been listening to Masters in Business 916 00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:35,440 Speaker 2: on Bloomberg Radio