1 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:08,240 Speaker 1: Look New Trillions. I'm Joel Webber and I'm Eric bell Chierness. 2 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: So Eric on the show, most of the time we've 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: talked to people in E t F advisors around E 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: t F. We're gonna shake it up a little bit today. Yeah, 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: we're going to talk to somebody who is somewhat of 6 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: a legend from the mutual fund industry and somebody who's 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: got a new venture and it's related to something a 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: word that comes up probably on every single episode. Can 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: you guess what that word is? Active? Close? Alright? Yes, 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: I think all three? Yeah, you're right. His name is 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: Peter Krauss. He's starting a venture called Aperture Investors. He's 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: formerly of Goldman Sachs and most recently he was the 13 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: CEO of Alliance princetein or Yeah. So I mean this 14 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: is a major league person here who knows the mutual 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: fund industry. He's very well aware of the rise of 16 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: passive and the cost obsession going on now in the 17 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: end history, and so he has a solution for the 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: mutual fund side. So this is a little bit about 19 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: can they get it back together, can they stop this 20 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: sort of migration over to low cost passive and we'll 21 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: try to break it down to how this would practically 22 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: work for an investor as well. We're also joined by 23 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: Shannai Basik, who covers finance or finance, depending on how 24 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: you want to say, for Bloomberg News, this time on Trillians. 25 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: The man who hates e t s. Okay, so, Peter, 26 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: you're you've been called the man who hates e T s. 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: Why do you hate et F so much? Well, I 28 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: didn't really say I hated ets the New York New 29 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: York Times. They're trying to get clicks. Yeah, exactly. I 30 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: think e t s are a useful vehicle. But in 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: all things, in the securities market, there's a lot more 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: than what there appears on the front cover. E t 33 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: s are actually rather sophisticated security. They are actually derivatives. 34 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: They aren't really just a package of indie ugual stocks 35 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: or bonds. They're actually a set of promises to buy 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: and sell those securities, will hold those securities over time. 37 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: There are major participants in the marketplace that support that. 38 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: Some of the e t f s are quite liquid, 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: Some of the e t f s are not very liquid. 40 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: Some e t f s have trillions of dollars attached 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: to them, and some ETFs have tens of millions of 42 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: dollars attached to them, and there's thousands of eats if 43 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: that exactly My concern with e t s at the 44 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: time and still is that investors don't really understand their 45 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: construct and they don't really understand the potential risks the 46 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: e t F itself, the liquidity e t F itself 47 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: relies on market participants who actually trade them. But the 48 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: market participants get paid by having a spread between what 49 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: they buy it at what they sell it at. If 50 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: that spread collapses or that spreads not available, where the 51 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: market participants somehow feels that they need a bigger spread 52 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: while the investor is subject to that cost. And we've 53 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: actually had some experience in the market about three years 54 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,559 Speaker 1: ago in August when the SPX or the or the 55 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: standard and Poors ETF separated from the cash market for 56 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: about thirty minutes by a significant amount, something that people 57 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,799 Speaker 1: did not think was going to happen. Having been in 58 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: the markets for a long time, probably now going on 59 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: forty years, things like that just don't happen out of 60 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: thin air. They actually have a rationale, there's actually a 61 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: reason for that, and it's hard to fix because at 62 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: the end of the day, it again relies that liquidity 63 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: relies on market participants, meaning institutional participants, actually having confidence 64 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: to trade those markets at that point in time in 65 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: a very tight bit as spread. If that spread extends 66 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: or goes away, or it gets larger, the cost becomes 67 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: very significant. I don't think investors actually understand that risk. Now, 68 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: for the highly liquid large cap equity markets, that risk 69 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: is less and it's actually reasonably modest. But for bond markets, 70 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: it's actually quite significant, and there's lots and lots of 71 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: money follow high yield e t s for example, and 72 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the high yield e t F S tracking error, which 73 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: is a measure of the cost of that bit as spread, 74 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: its actually quite large. It's sometimes seventy eight basis points, 75 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: almost one percentage point. Well, you wouldn't give up one 76 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: percentage point. That's a lot of money in a you know, 77 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: yield environment of call it five percent for a high 78 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: yield security, that's the yield. So I think investors need 79 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: to understand that better. My whole point was understand the 80 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: e t F better, understand the risks of the ETF better, 81 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: which is a big part of the show, and I 82 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: can literally I can feel Eric wanting to pounds right now. 83 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: So let's just let him ask a question. Well, what 84 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: you're saying about the reliance on the middleman is true. 85 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: You are relying on a lot of these people connected 86 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: to the system market makers to make markets. If they 87 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: don't have all the inputs from the stocks and bonds. 88 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: Like that day on August where some of the stocks 89 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: were halted, they widen their spreads and that's what caused 90 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: the dislocation of the e t F. Now since then 91 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: they've tried to make it to the et F, the 92 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: stocks are not going to have different halting times. So 93 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: I think the e t f s are just downstream 94 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: sometimes from like a rule in the exchange or the 95 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: plumbing as I call it. So that has like can 96 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: when breggsit happened, that did not happen. However, it is 97 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: true you have to trade the e t F. In 98 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: the high yield case, I think that most of the 99 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: money and high yields still goes for mutual funds because 100 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: active mutual funds that's where they really kick butt. In 101 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: the high yield area or bonds in general, I think 102 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: beat h y G So the high yield e t 103 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: F I think is more used as like quick beta 104 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: for traders. Maybe there's some long term money, but for 105 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: the most part, I think investors have figured out that 106 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: you can do better going active in a mutual fund. 107 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: UM But so just two caveats on that, but I 108 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: think both points are very valid. Something interesting, UM, you know, 109 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: in your own research and aperture, you've been in the 110 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: mutual fund industry for so long, but you still see 111 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: something wrong with the mutual fund industry. You've said there 112 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: are too many of them. Can you explain your thinking 113 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: here and what's the idea with aperture, what's the what's 114 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: where did this big idea come from? So um I 115 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: have been operating in the mutual fund industry for a 116 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: very long time, and of course any portfolio manager in 117 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: the mutual fund industry, any portfolio managing the industry, will 118 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 1: say that their objective is to actually perform. That's what 119 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: they would say every day. The problem is the incentive 120 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: structure is actually not set up that way. The incentive 121 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: structure is you're paid based on your asset levels, not 122 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: based on your performance. And that's a fundamental disconnect. And 123 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: over many years, thirty forty years. It led to companies 124 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: being focused on the growth of their assets. I have 125 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: to before you go any farther, I want to ask 126 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: if you said this at any of your prior jobs 127 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: with the table has been flipped over. I did say 128 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: this that many of my prior jobs at the tables over. 129 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: In many cases they did. Now I have been saying 130 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: this for really literally the past three years, um and 131 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: I think what happened is is that we got to 132 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: a tipping point, which was sometime before this, where the 133 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: size of assets under management was so large it became 134 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: difficult to perform. And I spent a lot of time 135 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: investigating long term performance of managers of different types of managers, 136 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: concentrated managers, diversified managers, managers and large cap managers and 137 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: small cap managers outside the United States, and unfortunately, the 138 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: data that's available, which is you know, publicly available to anybody, 139 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: really proves the point that there's no easy way to 140 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: identify a manager that will persistently perform, and on average, 141 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: managers do not perform in access of their fees. And 142 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: that's a really troubling problem. And of course the investor 143 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: in the world has figured that out and in fact, 144 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: they've moved their money from you know, mutual fund assets 145 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: and active management to E t S and passive. And 146 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: I actually think we need et S and passive because 147 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: basic hypothesis is there's too much money being managed actively 148 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: to actually perform. So can you explain your fee structure 149 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: that what does the future look like when so many 150 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: people are going to zero? So if you take the 151 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: prospect that I'm assuming I'm right for the minute, that 152 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: there's too much money being managed actively, you need to 153 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: change the incentive structure. Because if you don't change the 154 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: incentive structure, then people will just keep managing the assets 155 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: because they're paid to manage the assets and they're paid 156 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: to gather the assets. But if you go back to 157 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: basic principles, which is why is the PM there and 158 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,599 Speaker 1: BYM portfolio manager, yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. The portfolio 159 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: manager exists because they want to perform. And if you 160 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: ask a portfolio manager that that is what they would say, 161 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: I'm here to create performance for my clients. If that's 162 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: the basic concept, guess what, let's pay you based on 163 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: that concept. If you don't perform, you don't get paid. 164 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: If you do perform, you do get paid. It seems 165 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: like a fair deal. There's a cap to how much 166 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: you can get paid. Still, there is a cap in 167 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: the US under the the Act rules. There. The the 168 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: SEC view is that we should have performance linked fees, 169 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: and there's performance linked fees include a fulcrum structure which 170 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: creates a cap. But the cap is reasonable and so 171 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:20,239 Speaker 1: if managers hit that cap, they're still possible out performance 172 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: over the cap and the managers performance uh fee. Then 173 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: it's just declined by the certain pro rata amount by 174 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: which the actual excess return exceeds the cap. But just 175 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: a question on this performance fees. This has been something 176 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: been hearing a lot about and on Twitter where a 177 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: lot of I called the gladiator pit of debate with ideas. 178 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: A lot of people will push back on performance fees 179 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: and say, well, the problem with them is it it 180 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: inspires really outrageous bets, reckless behavior, because now you're really 181 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: looking to get as much money as possible, and couldn't 182 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: that really turn out bad for the investor? Right, So 183 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: that's a very good point. And so you need an 184 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: ecosystem in which the performance fee exists. So there's both 185 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: a structure for the performance fee. So point one is 186 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: Our proposition is that there's too much money being managed actively, 187 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: And the reason why there's too much money is there 188 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: too many managers who are paid based on the amount 189 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: of assets they have rather than the performance. If they 190 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: were paid on performance, given their historical performance, they wouldn't 191 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: exist and therefore be less managers and less capacity. More 192 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: money would be impassive, but the managers that did exist 193 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: would perform and produce performance for clients that we're saying 194 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,839 Speaker 1: there's a dinosaur die off that needs to happen. There 195 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: is a dinosaur die off. And people have asked me 196 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: many many times, wouldn't that happen by consolidation, And I've 197 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: said to people, you know, and consolidation in the manufacturing business, 198 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: for example, generally leads to more efficiencies. Consolidation in the 199 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: asset management business, however, is the opposite. When one firm 200 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: buys another, they don't expect the portfolio managers in the 201 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: acquired firm to go out of business. They actually expect 202 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: the portfolio managers to grow. There's no reduction in the capacity. 203 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: In fact, there's a there's an expectation that will it 204 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: will grow. So consolidation is not the answer. The only 205 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: answer I've said sort of uh uh with gallows humor 206 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: is death. You know, then the portfolio manager out of business. 207 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: But another answer would be to change the revenue structure. 208 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: And if you change the revenue structure, then those managers 209 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: who can't perform will be out of business and they 210 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 1: won't carry any money. So put that's point one. Point 211 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: to to go back to Eric's point if I if 212 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: I'm a longer answer, sorry, Point two is all right, 213 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: how do we deal with if you pay people in performance? 214 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: How do we deal with risk taking? Because on the 215 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: one hand, people say, well, I don't like the fact 216 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: that I pay you a fee to try to perform 217 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: and you get it whether you do or you don't. 218 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: I don't like that, But I also don't want to 219 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: pay you a performance fe because I'm worried you'll take 220 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: too much risk. Now, look, you sort of can't have 221 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: your cake and eat it too, But just for the moment, 222 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: let's assume that that's the position. When so what we've 223 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: said at apertures, look, that's a fair point. So number one, 224 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: in the forty act vehicles, the fees are capped, and 225 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 1: so excessive risk taking that is attempting to produce a 226 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,319 Speaker 1: return and excess of the cap doesn't actually pay the manager, 227 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: so they really don't have any real reason to do that. 228 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,959 Speaker 1: But the way we set up the compensation structure is 229 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: quite interesting. So we've said two managers, look, we're going 230 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: to pay you on performance, but half of your compensation 231 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 1: is deferred. You receive that compensation if in the succeeding 232 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,079 Speaker 1: two years you actually produce zero or positive returns for 233 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 1: your client. If you actually produce negative returns for your client, 234 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: you reduce that deferred compensation or potentially lose all of it. 235 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: So that is a very significant impact on how the 236 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: manager takes risk. Now there's a further interesting element in 237 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: the ecosystem. You've heard of high water marks. In the 238 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: head fund industry, firms use high water marks. I don't 239 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: like high water marks they do in gender risk taking 240 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: because what happens in a high water mark is if 241 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: you're down five you have to earn the five percent 242 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: back before you earn any money. That actually makes you 243 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: a risk taker. It take makes you take too much risk, 244 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: And if you actually don't earn the five percent in 245 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: the second year, then you're really swinging for the fences 246 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 1: because you're gonna be you won't have earned any money 247 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: for two years. So we we set the performance every 248 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: year and we use this three year averaging, and that 249 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: deferred compensation is a way to control risk. So it's 250 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: a complicated ecosystem, yes, but I think we've actually addressed 251 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: your concern. You were talking about consolidation being a bad thing. 252 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: It's funny you say that because earlier this year we 253 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: broke that JP Morgan was among um large banks that 254 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: we're looking to buy et F companies. So you know, 255 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: with JP Morgan, with Goldman's Acts becoming massive et F players, now, 256 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: is this a good thing or a bad thing for 257 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,680 Speaker 1: their business models? Well, my proposition is is that we 258 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: need more passive investing vehicles essentially, or more passive providers. 259 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: I don't like the fact, although I think it's gonna 260 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,679 Speaker 1: be hard to change because passive is so benefited by 261 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: scale that between you know, the two large players, three 262 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: large players, State Street, Van Guarden and black Rock, you 263 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: have you know, enormous concentration, and so you have operational 264 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: risk in inside of those firms, which the market completely discounts, 265 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: but there is real risk there. Having said that, investors 266 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: will need to continue to have passive vehicles to allocate 267 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: capital too. And everybody's portfolio should include a substantial amount 268 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: of passive and managers who are paid for performance, who 269 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: actually produce performance. And then over the whole portfolio managers 270 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: clients will actually get performance, which today they're not getting. UM. 271 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: And so I think that JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs getting 272 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: into the t F business just provides for a more 273 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: diversification of the passive vehicles. And that's a good thing. Um. 274 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: And let's talk about this. There needs to be more passive. 275 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: So let me give you the numbers here right now, 276 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: I think the fund industry is about sixteen trillion dollars 277 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: that is passively managed. The rest is active. Obviously that 278 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: swing from a pendulum twenty years ago where it was active. 279 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: Where is that pendulum going to stop, in your opinion, 280 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: where they'll have a nice new equilibrium were active will 281 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: be right sized fifty passive. Great question. I don't know 282 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: the answer, as you would you would expect that that's 283 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: a guess. But um, look we know. One of the 284 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: reasons why I pushed very hard to try to change 285 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: the revenue structure in the industry is that the existential 286 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: question is that if managers were paid fixed fees I eat, 287 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: paid to try as opposed to pay to perform. Over time, 288 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: more and more money would leave the active industry and 289 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: go into the passive industry. And what I was concerned 290 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: about is that you didn't have a level playing field 291 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: between active and passive. Fee structures inactive were just materially 292 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: higher than fee structures in passive and ets. So investors 293 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: were saying, look, I don't get I don't get returns 294 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: net of fees in the active space. I might as 295 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: well just pay less fees and get the market return 296 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: minus the fee. And if you if you looked out 297 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: over a long period of time and said, well, philosophically, 298 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: that means that people would just move from active to 299 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: passive because they're not getting paid anything to be an 300 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: active in fact, their returns are less than what they 301 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: would get in passive. Then you end up with a 302 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: market that's pent passive. And that, of course, theoretically is 303 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: a disaster because now you don't have a capital market 304 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: that actually prices. So I I went down to Washington 305 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: to talk to the SEC and I said and the 306 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: tragicy Department, And I said to them, look, you have 307 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: a philosophical or fiduciary problem. Nobody wants the markets to 308 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: be passive because we will be able to price an 309 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: ip L. That's a really bad thing. And this is 310 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: the largest capital market in the world, and we need 311 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: to be the most robust capital market in the world. 312 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: So what you you're not going to say, as regulators, 313 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:11,959 Speaker 1: we're going to outlaw passive or you can't have more 314 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: than ext percent passive. That's not going to happen. But 315 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: what you can do is create a level playing field 316 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: so that competition allows investors to actually move money into 317 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: vehicles that makes sense to them, and that will create 318 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: a balance in the market. And that was why I 319 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: was pushing the regulators and treasury to think about a 320 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: structure where the base fee was this et F like fee. 321 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:37,959 Speaker 1: Then investors could say, look, I could have either active 322 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: or passive at the same cost, but I have an 323 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: option on the active managers performing. So Derik's question, I 324 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: think passive will continue to grow. It's at thirty today. 325 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: I think it will easily get the fifty. Whether it 326 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: goes beyond fifty or sixty, I don't know. My guess 327 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: is that somewhere in the fifty to six level is 328 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: kind of where it tops out. I think that, uh, 329 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: if you thought about, well, of your sixteen trillion, could 330 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,719 Speaker 1: eight trillion be actively managed? You know, that's a question. 331 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: I don't know, but I do think in ten to 332 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: fifteen years there's going to be at least a trillion 333 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: dollars managed by these performance structors. And you know, the 334 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: old industry isn't going to go away tomorrow. The old 335 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: industry is going to remain for a long period of time. 336 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: By the way, there are managers in the old industry 337 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,360 Speaker 1: that do perform, that do cap their capacity, but they're 338 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: very small number. Is it hard to recruit talent? You're 339 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,440 Speaker 1: pushing down fees across the board? Do people want defer 340 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: and differing compensation? You're telling people they are going to 341 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: get paid less, So what is it like to recruit 342 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: money managers? Well, I'm actually not telling people they're gonna 343 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 1: get paid less. I'm actually telling people if they perform, 344 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: they're going to get paid substantially more, actually substantially more, 345 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: And we pay the managers thirty of the that's a 346 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: significant improvement in the percentage of the revenues that they 347 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: earn relative to industry standards. Let's focus on appertuers, I 348 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 1: can what products are you selling and how much are 349 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: they going to cost? So I can't focus on specific 350 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: products because as you know, there's a registration process, but 351 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: we do expect to have all of our products available 352 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: in both registered investment vehicles, both in the US and 353 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: in Europe and perhaps in Asia over time, as well 354 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 1: as separate accounts for institutions. So what we are our 355 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 1: thesis is that we want these investing vehicles and these 356 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: fees available to anybody who wants to be able to 357 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: participate them, anybody meaning retail investor all the way to 358 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 1: institutional investors. So does that mean mutual fund Yes, that 359 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 1: would mean mutual funds. Act Advisor of funds UH and 360 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: use its funds which are mutual funds in Europe. And 361 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: of course they could be in different vehicles if we 362 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: were in Asia, but for the time being, I think 363 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:54,360 Speaker 1: the U S and Europe's a very big market. Now 364 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,399 Speaker 1: there's a couple, there's I think at least one e 365 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: t F that has a folk groum fee. Why not 366 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 1: do this in the e t F structure is because 367 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: you don't want to show your holdings every day, or 368 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: specifically because of what you talked about earlier, not like 369 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: the trading aspect. Why a mutual fund because clearly, you know, 370 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: people are all kind of thinking et F right now. 371 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: I wouldn't want to be where the money is going. 372 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,000 Speaker 1: So it's a very interesting question, Eric, very interesting question. 373 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: I hope you're ready for the response embracing Okay, well 374 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 1: we'll see so. Um. Along with the idea that I 375 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,159 Speaker 1: wanted to change the revenue structure of the market, I 376 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: also think that the structure of the mutual fund and 377 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: the pricing of the mutual fund meaning NAV at the 378 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: end of the day, is an anachronism. I mean, we 379 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,399 Speaker 1: have that structure because it's seventy years old, not because 380 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: we would design it that way. Today, we can price 381 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: a mutual fund all day long. What stops a mutual 382 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: fund from being priced all day long like a security answer? Nothing, 383 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,479 Speaker 1: just the rules. So one of the things that I 384 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: think the industry needs to do is to recognize that 385 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,679 Speaker 1: continuous pricing for mutual funds is actually very healthy for 386 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: invest sters. If you continuously priced mutual funds, what's the 387 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 1: difference shereet of mutual fund and in e t F 388 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 1: Exactly nothing excepted in the mutual fund case, we actually 389 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: are not disclosing the positions to the street and allowing 390 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: the street potentially to disrupt the pricing value that the 391 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: investor keeps because the securities are known only to the investor. 392 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 1: So I think one of the things that has to 393 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: happen in the next year or so is the sec 394 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: needs to examine continue to examine the possibility for continuously 395 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: trading mutual funds. If you continuously traded mutual funds as 396 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,920 Speaker 1: a security that was listed in the New York Stock 397 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: Et Change, you could tomorrow take sixteen trillion dollars and 398 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: turn them into e t s, the only difference being 399 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: the tax treatment, which is a biggie for a lot 400 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: of people. It's about the tax treat of capital gains. 401 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,479 Speaker 1: Let's talk about the tax treaming. There is no reason 402 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: on Earth why e t f s should have deferred 403 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: taxes and mutual fund should pay taxes every year. The 404 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: only reason why it exists is that e t f 405 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: s were dreamt up a long time after Earth the 406 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,719 Speaker 1: I R S built the code. The fact that inside 407 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: and E t F every transaction is treated is a 408 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,360 Speaker 1: light kind exchange is kind of a silly thing. You're 409 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,719 Speaker 1: shooting so many arrows at your fort right now. Mutual 410 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,880 Speaker 1: funds should not pay tax eating now you're you're gonna 411 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,879 Speaker 1: be You're gonna be dead by the time i'm Mutual 412 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: funds should not pay taxes, and E t F s 413 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: it should avoid paying taxes. There should not be a 414 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: subsidy running between mutual funds and ets. They both should 415 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: be treated the same. Right In other words, eat Mutual 416 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: funds are kind of double taxed. When you sell it, 417 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: you get taxed, and you also get taxed for doing nothing. 418 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: You're saying, kill one of the taxes in the mutual 419 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 1: fund to make it even with the E t F. 420 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: To be precise, mutual funds are not double tax Mutual 421 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,479 Speaker 1: funds are taxed in two ways. You're not double taxed. 422 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: You're taxed as gains and losses occurred during the course 423 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: of the year and distributions occur in the year, and 424 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: then you are taxed with your adjusted basis relative to 425 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: your sale value. The E t F the same thing happens, 426 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: but it's all deferred, so there is it's a timing difference. 427 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: It's actually not a permanent difference. It's a timing difference 428 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,160 Speaker 1: between when you pay the tax. But there's no earthly 429 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: reason why the e t F should not pay that tax. 430 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: If the I R S wants to increase its revenues, 431 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:16,400 Speaker 1: which I would think they do, given that the government's 432 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: going to post i think latest reading eight billion dollar deficit, 433 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: they ought to tax et S and there's no reason 434 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: why they shouldn't other than the sort of silly rule 435 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: that existed well before you created an e TF for 436 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 1: just fell down. Well, no, I actually completely understand that 437 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,639 Speaker 1: point of view. From the mutual fund side, it's not fair. 438 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,920 Speaker 1: In fact, the tax efficiency of an et F was 439 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,479 Speaker 1: a happy accident, as Kathleen Mori already told, didn't mean 440 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: to do that. It was just a nice byproduct. And 441 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 1: it turns out that for some people that's the number 442 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 1: one benefit. For others it's maybe two or three. But 443 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 1: it certainly adds to this whole like basket of advantages 444 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: that has helped the ETF. So so I agree with you. 445 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 1: I've actually analyzed this in great detail because I'm actually 446 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: intellectually interested in it. So the e t F is 447 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: the greatest to state vehicle in the world. If you 448 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:03,880 Speaker 1: buy the e t F and die with it, it's 449 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: a step up in basis you never pay the tax. 450 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: That's a terrific opportunity. The number of people to take 451 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: advantage of that is less than point one percent. E 452 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: t F holding periods, you know, are within one to 453 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 1: two years, maybe three years max. The benefit that that 454 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: holder is getting is the net present value of the 455 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,120 Speaker 1: tax payments over that time period at today's interest rates. 456 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,359 Speaker 1: It's the minimus. People think it's an attractive thing. It 457 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: really doesn't pay that much, but it is a marketing 458 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: pitch that e t F organizations use a happy accident. 459 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:36,440 Speaker 1: It's nice to say to somebody, why don't you take 460 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: advantage of the happy accident? The fact that mutual funds 461 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: pay taxes. That's just the facts. That's fine. There's another 462 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: interesting issue. If you force the e t F to 463 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 1: actually pay taxes, their costs would actually go up because 464 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: they'd actually have to account for the ten forty to 465 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: get sold that gets sent to you each year, So 466 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: there's also a cost differential. That's actually the thing that 467 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,119 Speaker 1: bothers me the most. It's not so much a act 468 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,200 Speaker 1: is because the net present value is a small number. 469 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: It's the fact that the mutual fund structure has to 470 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: actually account for that taxation every year, send out information 471 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 1: to their constituents, their mutual fund holders. They pay attacks, 472 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 1: the e t F doesn't pay that, and then the 473 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: e t F says, my fees are lower. But that's 474 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: that's what really bothers me. Yeah, and Mike Tyson's punch out. 475 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: You're the guy who's like days in the corner right now. No, 476 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,520 Speaker 1: I mean this is something wrong with the t F. Yeah. 477 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: I just think this is an inequality in the system 478 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: that needs to be addressed. Listen, I call this the 479 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: fighting spirit on Twitter. I'm amazed that how few people 480 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: are out there pushing back on this sort of raw, 481 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: rob passive thing. I like it. This is good debate. 482 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,639 Speaker 1: This is what people need. It's there. There aren't that 483 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: many people on the active side who are fired up 484 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,640 Speaker 1: like this. It's it's odd. But I have one quick 485 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: question though, in terms of your funds, right, you have 486 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: equity Right, let's say we talk about an equity fund. 487 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: One thing that's coming up a lot lately is active share. 488 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: So the amount of the portfolio that say, isn't in 489 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: the benchmark. How much you need exposure are you getting? 490 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: Do you plan to have a high active share, which 491 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: I assume you would if you're on a performance fee, 492 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,879 Speaker 1: and thus, how would you use it in a portfolio 493 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: as like a ten percent add on to a low 494 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,199 Speaker 1: cost passive core or you look into sell funds that 495 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,120 Speaker 1: would have smaller active share that would be used as 496 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: your complete core position. Yeah, great question. So what I 497 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: love about this fee structure is the portfolio manager is emancipated. Literally, 498 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: I'm paying them to perform. And so what you find 499 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: with portfolio managers, and look, I've interviewed the hundred portfolio 500 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,120 Speaker 1: managers over the last nine months and and probably had 501 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: three meetings each with them, So that's three interviews. Which 502 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: you find with portfolio managers is they all have styles. 503 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,679 Speaker 1: They all have I don't mean styles like value growth, 504 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: I mean investing styles. They have ways in which they 505 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: take risk, ways in which they're comfortable taking risk. And 506 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 1: you never before in a mutual fund could actually do 507 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: what you said, which is have a small active position 508 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,159 Speaker 1: that was really all of your alpha and then the 509 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: rest of your port folio was just an index. And 510 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: the reason why you couldn't is because you were charging 511 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,680 Speaker 1: sixty five basis points to the client. The client would say, 512 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 1: how can you have you know your portfolio index, I 513 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: could pay you know, ten basis for that. We're changing 514 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,920 Speaker 1: that model entirely. You're paying us ten basis points in 515 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: a US large cap portfolio. If we chose, if the 516 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 1: portfolio manager chose to have a portion of that in 517 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,679 Speaker 1: an index, actually an index, or just replicate the index 518 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: in a swap, you wouldn't be upset because you're not 519 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: actually charging more getting charged more for that than you 520 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: would if you bought it outside the mutual fund. So 521 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: portfolio managers are going to construct these portfolios and ways 522 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: in which they're comfortable taking risk, which I think increases 523 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: the probability that they actually create a return. Because you 524 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 1: want portfolio managers to be able to manage portfolios in 525 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: with the least amount of constraints as possible. You lower 526 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: the constraints, you increase the probability for performance. The people 527 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: that are going to come and be portfolio managers are aperture, 528 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: are people that actually believe they can perform. And I've 529 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,639 Speaker 1: I've had a couple of debates with folks that are 530 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 1: in the traditional industry and they say, listen, some years 531 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: people don't perform. You know, you can't hold the talent, 532 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 1: and I said, look, I don't want the talent that's 533 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,480 Speaker 1: in your company, because the talent in your company is 534 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: happy to get paid whether or not they perform. I 535 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,479 Speaker 1: actually want talent that wants to get paid when they perform. 536 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: I'll pay them more. They'll be more focused on performance, 537 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: and they're aligned with the client. And this one last thing, 538 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: it's critical, which we haven't talked about this whole active 539 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: passive debate, is focused on capacity because you know that 540 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: when you manage more and more dollars, it becomes more 541 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: and more difficult to produce returns. If I pay you 542 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,920 Speaker 1: on performance, you will cap your own capacity. That is 543 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: a huge benefit, huge benefits, the biggest benefit that aperture offers, 544 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: because if you don't have that, then the owner of 545 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: the company, of the asset manager, and the portfolio manager 546 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 1: are always fighting over you know, who's got you know, 547 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: how much capacity is there really available in the industry. 548 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: The portfolio manager will always say they can manage more money, 549 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: and unfortunately the asset manager themselves, the shareholders of those 550 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: of those companies, they're incentivized to grow the assets too. 551 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: So this is the only company that I've seen so 552 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: far with the owner the equity, meaning me and generally 553 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 1: that both of us are incentivized to actually cap the 554 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,240 Speaker 1: capacity because we make money when the clients make money, 555 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: and the same thing for the for the portfolio manager. 556 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: That's a key difference. So, speaking of which, what do 557 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: you view as going to be your your ideal size? 558 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: So I think the ideal size of the company. First 559 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: of all, this is a company that I believe will 560 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: take eight to ten years to get to, you know, 561 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: the ideal size. I don't think you can build asset managers. 562 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,200 Speaker 1: You know, over a short period of time. We're committed 563 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: to this business. We generally and I are committed to 564 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: this business over the long run. I've I've been lucky 565 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,320 Speaker 1: enough to head two asset managed organizations and both basis 566 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: it took eight plus years to either stabilize them or 567 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: grow them to scale. I don't really think this will 568 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: be any different. Um, I think that we will have 569 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: ten to fifteen managers over long periods of time. So 570 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: over ten years, you know, if we're lucky enough to 571 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 1: have three to five billion dollars per manager, you know, 572 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: you can do the math, call it, you know, billion. 573 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: We don't need to be a hundred billion dollar or 574 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,520 Speaker 1: two hundred or five hundred or trillion dollar company. In fact, 575 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 1: I think that you probably can't produce the alpha at 576 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: that basis. I think what the industry needs is lots 577 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: of apertures out there, and in that way, I think 578 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: that people can control their capacity. They can be specific 579 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: alpha generating engines, and they can produce for the investor 580 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,840 Speaker 1: a much better environment over time. Your investor is interesting. 581 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: You have a large one of the largest, you know, 582 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: insurers in the world, Generalize, one of the largest Italian 583 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 1: insure that's also been looking to expand their asset management base. 584 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: Why an insurance company to build an asset manager need 585 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,840 Speaker 1: two things. One is far more important than the other. 586 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 1: You need a little bit of capital to run the business. 587 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: So this company has about forty million dollars of initial 588 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: capitalization between myself and generally. That's interesting, but not very 589 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: Which really interesting is the seed capital because what drives 590 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 1: portfolio managers to actually come to a company is I 591 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: can start you off with a sizeable amount of capital, 592 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: and that means if you perform, you actually can get 593 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: paid a reasonable amount of money. What does an insurance 594 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 1: company have that most other entities don't have? They have 595 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:39,239 Speaker 1: very long duration liabilities. You know, people live for long 596 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: periods of time, their insurance premiums are paid over long 597 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: periods of time. Insurance company balance sheets have these very 598 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 1: long duration liabilities, which means that they can invest over 599 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: long periods of time. So an insurance company is the 600 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,680 Speaker 1: perfect balance sheet to actually provide seed capital. And what 601 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: you need is an innovative insurance company who's willing to 602 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: understand that building the asset manager might in fact be 603 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,240 Speaker 1: cheaper and more attractive over time than buying it. Most 604 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: have bought them. I have bought lots of asset managers. 605 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 1: I've sold lots of asset managers. Is very difficult to 606 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 1: buy an asset manager. All kinds of issues plague you, 607 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 1: and you have to pay for the fair value of 608 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,120 Speaker 1: the asset, which means that in order to get your 609 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,959 Speaker 1: money back, it has to grow faster than it's currently growing, 610 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: and that's not an easy thing to do, particularly in 611 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 1: today's market. So I think what Generality's insight was that, well, 612 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 1: this is an innovative, disruptive model. We are an innovative 613 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,120 Speaker 1: and disruptive company. Fits with what we want to do, 614 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,240 Speaker 1: and we have the long duration liability that actually could 615 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,959 Speaker 1: fund it. So that's how it came together. When we 616 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,760 Speaker 1: talk active like your funds and the managers are hiring. 617 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: A huge trend right now is quantitative active, which is 618 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 1: actually not a human making decisions per se, but a 619 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: system that humans used converted into an index. We call 620 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,760 Speaker 1: it smart beta. Are you going to use any of 621 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 1: that or you're gonna have are going to be more 622 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: quote like old school where you're discretionary active, you can 623 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: decide what to do on any given day. Is that 624 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:08,240 Speaker 1: the kind of active you're gonna sell? Are you're gonna 625 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: maybe have a murder of two? Very good Questionnaeric, you 626 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: have very good questions. Really really, I'm way steep in 627 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,720 Speaker 1: this stuff. No, No, you're very good. Um. So I've 628 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: managed quantitative managers over time, M built quantitative systems. Which 629 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: interesting about quantitative systems, and you alluded to this is 630 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:35,400 Speaker 1: that they are actually just um disciplined and um mechanized 631 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: human research processes, and so they aren't that different than 632 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: what a human does. They're just routinized and they presumably 633 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 1: exclude human biases in making decisions. I say presumably, because 634 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 1: that's actually not true, because the research factors that actually 635 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 1: drive them haven't bedded in them some bias. To begin with. 636 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,479 Speaker 1: The challenge with UH with the quantitative system is they 637 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,479 Speaker 1: have a very hard time seeing inflection points. And so 638 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,360 Speaker 1: if you actually run a quantitative model, the quantitative model 639 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: will say, even though it lost money yesterday, that today 640 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 1: it's going to make money, and it continues to actually 641 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,120 Speaker 1: execute the way it was the past day. It's hard 642 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: for that quantitative model to actually see an inflection point 643 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,680 Speaker 1: and change and that's the biggest risk in quant models 644 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,200 Speaker 1: in the world. Then they're all basically the same one 645 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 1: form or another. So sometimes some of the engineers of 646 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: the quant models actually can see the inflection points and 647 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,960 Speaker 1: change the model, and so effectively they inject into the 648 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,439 Speaker 1: process a human element that wasn't really supposed to be there. 649 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 1: And often and oftentimes they don't get it right, but 650 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:42,560 Speaker 1: sometimes they get it. They do get it right, and 651 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,759 Speaker 1: that's what makes some of these you know, unique quantitative 652 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:51,880 Speaker 1: models more successful versus others. I think that's interesting, But 653 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: my own view of the world is that um the 654 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 1: quantitative models are more likely to not see the inflat 655 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,400 Speaker 1: action point and take on too much money over time 656 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,520 Speaker 1: because the quantitative model also doesn't have a capacity, you know, instinct, 657 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: it's just a it's just a machine. It just keeps trading. 658 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 1: So I've concluded that I think the human actually, on balance, 659 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:24,239 Speaker 1: has more to offer than the machine. Wow, that is controversial. 660 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,239 Speaker 1: I like him. He's going after passive and quants. I 661 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: like it. So this is you're taking on two huge trends. 662 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: There's a whole discussion about artificial intelligence that AI, you know, 663 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:40,920 Speaker 1: effectively will trump human thinking. And look, that may be 664 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: true fifty years from now, it is not true today. 665 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: And so if you wanted to build a investment management 666 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 1: company on AI driven quantitative investing, I don't think that 667 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:56,160 Speaker 1: that's in the cards right now. It's funny, how you know, 668 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,640 Speaker 1: all this movement into passive and quant and the news flow, 669 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: how original saying a human being human being? Fun It's like, Wow, 670 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:11,799 Speaker 1: how novel? SELLI Bazak, Peter Krause, Your church is called 671 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,239 Speaker 1: Aperture Investors. Thanks for joining Sun Trillions. Thank you so much. 672 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,239 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Tricks Until next time. You can 673 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:25,880 Speaker 1: find us on the Bloomberg terminal, Bloomberg dot com, Apple podcast, Spotify, 674 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 1: and wherever else you'd like to listen. We'd love to 675 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,560 Speaker 1: hear from you on Twitter. I'm at Joel Webber Show. 676 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:36,399 Speaker 1: He's at Eric Baltunas. Shanali's at at s O n 677 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:41,400 Speaker 1: A l I b A s A K. Trillions is 678 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,040 Speaker 1: produced by Magnus Hendrickson. Francesca Leedy is the head of 679 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: Bloomberg podcast by