Podcast Summary
Principal Asset Management's Approach to Real Estate Investing and the Origin Story of Odd Lots Podcast: Principal Asset Management leverages local knowledge and global experience to create value in real estate investments. Odd Lots podcast was born from a chance encounter during the eurozone crisis and evolved from a digital project at Bloomberg.
Principal Asset Management, a real estate manager, combines local insights and global expertise to deliver compelling investing opportunities across public and private equity and debt. This episode of Odd Lots, a special Christmas call-in show, featured hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal answering listener questions about their backgrounds and the inception of their podcast. They met in 2012 during the eurozone crisis and hit it off immediately, with Joe asking Tracy about her thoughts on the impending collapse of the eurozone. In 2014, Tracy joined Bloomberg and was hired by Joe to help launch a digital project, which eventually evolved into the Odd Lots podcast.
From bananas to finance: Odd Lots' evolution: Starting as a flexible project, Odd Lots evolved into a finance-focused podcast by following the news cycle and uncovering interconnected themes in the global economy
The Odd Lots podcast, which started in late 2015, began as an exploratory project without a clear focus. The hosts, Joe and Tracy, tried various topics, from bananas to Florida real estate, without knowing where the show was heading. However, they discovered their strength in flexibility and evolved with the news cycle. By late 2019, they started finding their rhythm, focusing more on finance and the economy. Now, the show's topics naturally lead to interconnected themes, making it easy to produce episodes. The global economy's interconnectedness also provides an abundance of hidden relationships and topics. The podcast's success can be attributed to its ability to follow the pulse of the markets and uncover unexpected connections.
Discovering hidden connections in the real economy: Principal Asset Management uses a 360-degree perspective to uncover compelling opportunities and provide clients with an exclusive advantage by discovering hidden connections in the real economy
The physical world offers an endless source of fascinating and interconnected topics. From the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008 leading to unhappy cows producing less milk, to the semiconductor shortage impacting the production of gummy bears, the complexity of the real economy's web of relationships is vast and intriguing. These unexpected connections are often hidden during normal times, but can have significant impacts when disruptions occur. As a leader in real estate management, Principal Asset Management leverages a 360-degree perspective to uncover compelling opportunities and provide clients with an exclusive advantage. The world is full of hidden connections waiting to be discovered.
Speakers' newfound awareness of energy waste and efficiency: Through exploring economic topics, the speakers gained a greater understanding of energy waste and efficiency, and adopted energy-saving habits and open-mindedness towards complex issues.
Both the speakers have developed a greater awareness and concern for energy waste and efficiency, as well as the importance of understanding incentives, following their exploration of various economic topics. The speaker, Alex, has become particularly conscious of energy waste since learning about European energy costs and has even adopted energy-saving habits at home. The other speaker, Joe, was initially dismissive of cryptocurrency but eventually acknowledged its longevity and began to take it more seriously as a journalist. Both speakers have adopted a more open-minded and curious approach to understanding complex economic issues.
Exploring the complex world of crypto: Engaging with crypto in good faith and asking hard questions is a valuable pursuit despite its complexities and uncertain future.
The crypto space is seen as an intriguing and complex field, full of new technology and the creation of a new type of money. While it may not yet be clear where the yield comes from or what the ultimate use case is, engaging with it in good faith and asking hard questions is a worthwhile endeavor. The Odd Lodge podcast has done this for years, featuring a range of guests from various backgrounds and expertise, from archaeologists to economists, to provide deep insights into this evolving space. While it's impossible to predict the future of crypto, the ongoing exploration and questioning of its potential uses and implications is a valuable pursuit.
Learning through Limited Knowledge and Editing Transcripts: The Odd Lots podcast values approaching interviews with limited knowledge, editing transcripts for deeper understanding, and acknowledging the usefulness of various economic theories while expressing reservations.
The hosts of the Odd Lots podcast, Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal, do not claim to have complete understanding of every topic they discuss on their show. They believe that approaching interviews with a limited knowledge base allows them to ask questions that resonate with their intelligent, yet unfamiliar audience. Additionally, they value the process of editing and internalizing transcripts to deepen their understanding of the subject matter. Regarding specific economic theories like Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and Austrianism, Tracy and Joe share their nuanced views, acknowledging the usefulness of certain aspects while expressing reservations about others. Overall, the Odd Lots podcast aims to provide listeners with a foundational understanding of complex economic concepts, even if they don't cover every detail.
Economic focus shifting from financialization to real economy: The real economy is taking center stage in economic conversations, with energy security and supply chains being major concerns. Governments have been caught off guard by recent challenges, and the physical world will continue to be a significant factor.
The economic conversations have shifted from financialization to real economy topics, and it's unlikely that this focus will change in the near future. The last few years have brought unexpected challenges in areas like energy security and supply chains, and governments have been caught off guard. Even if these issues resolve, the physical world will continue to be a significant concern for some time. The idea of assuming that the economy starts as a pure market and ignoring real-world incentives was questioned as not particularly useful. While some may find Austrian economics interesting, others see it as repetitive and disconnected from reality. The financialization era may be over for now, and the real economy will remain a top priority.
Central banks' role in financial markets vs real economy challenges: Central banks can address liquidity issues but real economy problems, like resource scarcity and geographic restrictions, are harder to solve. Past mistakes include underestimating inflation and the potential of cryptocurrencies.
While central banks have the ability to intervene in financial markets to address liquidity issues, solving real economy problems, especially those related to resource scarcity and geographic restrictions, can be much more challenging. Additionally, both the speakers admitted to having been wrong about significant trends in the past, such as underestimating inflation and the potential of cryptocurrencies. An intriguing story shared was about a large profit made from trading Beanie Babies during the bubble in the late 90s and a missed opportunity to make even more by trading a penny stock.
Twitter as a Source of Inspiration and Productivity for Odd Lots Podcast: Twitter helps Odd Lots hosts connect with niche experts, stay informed about trends, and increase productivity by allowing efficient guest outreach.
Twitter plays a significant role in the creation of topics and the discovery of guests for the Odd Lots podcast. Tracy and Joe shared that Twitter is a valuable source of inspiration, helping them connect with niche experts and stay informed about current trends. While it can be a distraction, they believe it also increases productivity by allowing them to reach out to potential guests more efficiently. Additionally, Tracy expressed her interest in exploring music beyond finance in her retirement years, while Joe sees himself continuing to write about finance and markets. Mac King's comments on the podcast about portfolio managers driving investment decisions, rather than analysts, sparked a discussion about the potential for an oversupply of investable money compared to opportunities.
China's Great Ball of Money: Global Liquidity Seeking Investments: Investors should embrace the trend of flows over prose, considering momentum plays and short-term investments as potential avenues for alpha generation in a sluggish economic growth environment
There is a significant amount of excess liquidity in the global financial system, and this liquidity is seeking out investments. This concept, known as "China's great ball of money," can be applied to the world as a whole. In an era of sluggish economic growth, pure momentum plays and flows may be the way to outperform. Crypto is an example of a momentum play, and more and more of the market is being driven by pure flows. This trend is evident in the explosion of short-dated equity options, such as 0-day options. Overall, investors may need to embrace the idea of flows before prose and consider making alpha by investing in what everyone else is investing in or will invest in early.