TIP665: The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks w/ Clay Finck & Kyle Grieve

On today’s episode, Clay is joined by Derek Pilecki. Derek is a managing member and portfolio manager at Gator Capital Management, which manages Financials sector long/short portfolios for private partnerships and mutual funds. Since its inception in July 2008, Gator Capital has compounded capital at 21.0% per annum versus 11.8% for the S&P 500 over the same time period. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:48 - Derek’s experience of launching a financials-focused fund 10 weeks before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. 12:13 - Derek’s advice to aspiring hedge fund managers. 14:30 - How Derek achieved a return of 186% in 2009. 14:30 - What led Derek to purchase General Growth Properties, whose stock increased by 20x in less than one year. 23:25 - Why Warren Buffett likes financial companies, especially the big banks. 27:38 - Why Derek puts his focus on financial companies. 33:36 - How banks can create a sustainable competitive advantage in their market. 36:08 - Why First Citizens Bancshares is Derek’s top position in his fund. 46:44 - An update on the current market conditions for banks. 50:21 - How a high inflation environment would impact banks. 52:53 - Why Derek is long Robinhood. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Derek’s fund: Gator Capital. Derek’s letters. Related Episode: Listen to TIP634: Value Investing Fundametals w/ John Huber, or watch the video. Follow Derek on Twitter. Follow Clay on Twitter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River 7-Eleven Toyota Connect Invest Bluehost TastyTrade Miro American Express The Bitcoin Way ReMarkable Fundrise Facet Onramp SimpleMining Vanta Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, Allen shares his thoughts on the Saifedean vs. Saylor debate on borrowing against Bitcoin, the role of stablecoins in expanding fiat, and their underlying protocols. He also delves into the risks of stablecoins compared to traditional bank accounts and highlights current technical risks in the crypto space. Allen gives his take on free speech and technologies like Nostr and discusses the growing custody and derivatives activity with institutions like BNY Mellon and IBIT. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:26 - Allen’s perspective on the Saifedean vs. Saylor debate regarding borrowing against Bitcoin. 05:55 - Why stablecoins may or may not be more risky than traditional bank accounts. 10:26 - How stablecoins might help in the expansion of fiat currencies globally. 14:46 - Technical risks that Allen is currently concerned about in the crypto space. 27:19 - Whether stablecoins require protocols like Tron or Solana for long-term functionality. 31:51 How institutional involvement is changing the crypto landscape, from custody to derivatives. 39:48 - Allen’s views on free speech, Nostr, and supporting technologies for Bitcoin. 45:48 - The significance of BNY Mellon’s custody services and the approval of derivatives for Bitcoin. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Allen's (X) Twitter Account. Allen on Nostr. Allen’s book: Bitcoin Is Venice: Essays on the Past and Future of Capitalism. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River 7-Eleven Toyota Connect Invest Bluehost TastyTrade Miro American Express The Bitcoin Way ReMarkable Fundrise Facet Onramp SimpleMining Vanta Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In today's episode, Stig Brodersen outlines 10 things he has learned about investing since he started The Investor’s Podcast in 2014. In the second segment of the show, Clay Finck joins to discuss his top takeaways from his investing career.  IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:12 - Why you should be careful who you listen to about stock investing.  07:45 - Why you should not screen for stocks. 08:29 - Why Stig’s circle of competence is getting smaller. 11:31 - Why Stig do not read as many investing books as he used to. 16:05 - Why you should set up guardrails for yourself. 19:36 - Why you shouldn’t look at your track record more than once per year. 20:17 - Why you shouldn’t only have public equities in your portfolio. 31:23 - Why you should run your track record 1,000 times. 32:53 - How one could think about position sizing. 35:59 - What are the implicit assumptions? 45:43 - What Clay learned about investing. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Stig’s blog post on his portfolio and track record since 2014. Stig and Clay’s podcast episode on Stig’s return since 2014. Criteria of companies in the UK that Stig is interested in buying. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River 7-Eleven Toyota Connect Invest Bluehost TastyTrade Miro American Express The Bitcoin Way ReMarkable Fundrise Facet Onramp SimpleMining Vanta Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

On today’s episode, Clay is joined by Professor Hendrik Bessembinder to discuss his renowned research on the performance of individual stocks. Professor Bessembinder is a finance professor at Arizona State University, and his research titled, ‘Do Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills?’ has been referenced many times on the show. As a frequent speaker at conferences, financial markets, and universities around the world, Professor Bessembinder has more than 25 years of successful consulting experience, providing strategic advice and analysis for major firms, financial markets, and government agencies. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 01:58 - Why most stocks lose money in the long run. 10:26 - What level of asymmetry exists in the stock market. 12:47 - Why stocks continuously outperform treasury bills over long time periods. 15:02 - What the average drawdown for a high-performing stock is. 20:57 - The common characteristics of the biggest stock market winners. 34:28 - What it takes to be a stock picker in today’s market. 45:17 - What the best-performing stocks are since 1925. 51:48 - Whether there is skewness in international stocks to the same degree as US stocks. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Hendrik’s most well-known paper, Do Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills? Hendrik’s research. Related Episode: Listen to TIP654: Investing Across the Lifecycle w/ Aswath Damodaran, or watch the video. Related Episode: Listen to TIP543: 100 Baggers: Stocks that Return 100-1 w/ Chris Mayer, or watch the video. Follow Clay on Twitter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River 7-Eleven Toyota Connect Invest Bluehost TastyTrade Miro American Express The Bitcoin Way ReMarkable Fundrise Facet Onramp SimpleMining Vanta Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, we dive into the technicalities of Bitcoin block templates, the Stratum V1 and V2 protocols, and the innovations brought by Ocean’s Datum Protocol. We also explore a fascinating story of Tesla hacking and the challenges of implementing decentralized mining pools. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:48 - What a Bitcoin block template is and its role in decentralization. 07:07 - The function and limitations of Stratum V1 software. 09:12 - How Stratum V2 aims to improve mining decentralization and why adoption has been slow. 14:52 - A fascinating story of how Jason Hughes hacked a Tesla in front of its Chief Technology Officer. 21:49 - How the Datum Protocol manages reward distribution among miners with different templates. 22:31 - How Ocean’s Datum Protocol enables decentralized block templates for both small and large miners. 41:36 - The challenges Ocean faces with large miners, especially regarding SOC2 compliance. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Bitcoin Mechanic on X (Twitter), Nostr. Jason Hughes on X (Twitter). Ocean on Discord. Ocean on Nostr. Related Episode: Decentralizing Bitcoin Mining Pools with Bitcoin Mechanic. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River 7-Eleven Toyota Connect Invest Bluehost TastyTrade Miro American Express The Bitcoin Way ReMarkable Fundrise Facet Onramp SimpleMining Vanta Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm