Ahh, the sweet bliss of Thursday — you’ve officially gotten over the hump, you’re hitting your goals, and you see the finish line at the end of the tunnel.
As you’re turning the corner on the workweek, you may find yourself needing a little pick-me-up — the great news — we have just what you need to get motivated.
Hello, weekend…is that you?
Today we are blessing your timelines with our rendition of Throwback Thursday (#TBT) by revisiting the top-five episodes of The Derivative Podcast.
If you’re new to our blog or podcast, welcome! Let us provide you with some preface before jumping right into the pods. The Derivative delivers in-depth chats with the best and brightest in the alternative investment world, from seasoned vets like Jim Rogers to up-and-coming rookies like Kris Sidial. Listen to top hedge fund managers tell enchanting stories and dive into how their strategies work for attacking everything from options to oil to crypto and cotton.
Here’s where you go, “how can I start listening to these Derivative podcasts?” Well, hang tight; we’re about to take you on a ride through the alternative investment world. We’ve put everything below, from podcast chapters to videos and quick links for you to access.
Pop your headphones on, sit back and enjoy!
VOL CURVES AND VANNA CHARM WITH CEM KARSAN
What’s in this Pod?
This pod is all about wordplay playing into alternative investment. How does Jam Croissant relate to Cem Karsan? What about Vanna Charm and options definitions? Or the forever popular “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” evolving to “nothing is ever risk-free”? To get together the definitions, explanations, and educated facts on all these nuances, we have FinTwit VIP & Founder and Senior Managing Partner of Aegea Capital Management, Cem Karsan. On top of alternative investment word witticism, we’re also talking with Cem about how to actually pronounce Cem Karsan starting out as a market maker, Hagia Sophia, vanna informing trend following, buying options, Twitter debates, Cem’s favorite jam & croissant, active to passive moves, how nothing is ever risk-free, winner takes all mentality for market makers, market down/vol down market up/vol up, volatility retail call buying growth versus value, and all of the Greek/options definitions.
CHAPTERS:
00:00-01:50 = Intro
01:51-14:04 = A Globetrotting Background and the road to Aegea
14:05-30:06 = Market Makers Business Models
30:07-41:22 = Delta, Gamma, Vega, Vanna, Charm
41:23-52:55 = Playing the Players, Loving the Game
52:56-1:00:22 = Talking Aegea Capital & Getting an Edge
1:00:23-1:16:25 = Momentum vs Value, ProfPlum vs Jam
1:16:26-1:27:04 = Vol Surface & the Election
1:27:05-1:32:23 = Favorites
Follow Cem (@jam_croissant) on Twitter and LinkedIn and check out Kai Volatility Advisors (formerly Aegea Capital Management) website.
WALLSTREET BETS BUSTS WALLSTREET? WTF ^%$# WITH CEM KARSAN AND KRIS SIDIAL
This episode dives into how the GameStop stock ($GME) went from trading at a low of $3/share to +$400/share thanks to a masterful subreddit trolling from retail traders. And it didn’t stop at just GameStop, shares from Blackberry ($BB), AMC ($AMC), Express ($EXP) and Nokia ($NOK) quickly followed suit – where it quickly leaked over into S&P futures and options. So how does this happen, why is it busting the billionaires, and how does it end? We’re joined by The Derivative veterans Cem Karsan and Kris Sidial to get the low down on all this and more in our WTF ^%$# installment, coving all things r/wsb, GME, gamma hedging, short squeezing, rates, AI, and even inequality.
CHAPTERS:
00:00-01:30 = Intro
01:31-15:51 = GAMMA, Risk, Flows & Squeezes
15:52-29:00 =Leverage cuts both ways
29:01-36:10 = How Does This End? More Sex?
36:11-53:29 = BIGGER, FASTER, BETTER
53:30-01:05:25 = Passive, Inequality, and Rates
01:05:26-01:13:21 = Final Thoughts
Follow Kris (@Ksidiii) and Cem (@jam_croissant) on Twitter and Get more information on the funds at Ambrus Group here and Kai Volatility Advisors (formerly Aegea Capital Management) here.
CRAZY COMMODITY CYCLES (AND CROSS-CONTINENT MOTORCYCLES) WITH JIM ROGERS
The king of Commodities has entered The Derivative ring. You know his name, you’ve read his books, you’ve probably utilized his index, and now you’re listening to him in this podcast episode. Jim Rogers is an American investor and financial commentator and was there at the start of the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. In this episode, we’re talking with Jim about peanut sales, commodity super cycles, global debt reset, creation of the RICI, reweighting for renewables, commodities vs. commodity companies, Jim’s ability to identify the next world trend, Guinness Book of World Records, Chinese commodities, preferred shares of Google over Gold, the potential of innovation outpacing demand, Hot Commodities 1998 vs. 2021, cross country trips, probability of a Chinese supercycle, and Jim’s thoughts about the next bear market and market dislocation being the worst we’ve ever seen.
CHAPTERS:
00:00-01:52 = Intro
01:53-15:18 = An Extraordinary Background
15:19-39:48 = COMMODITIES: Indexes, Energies & China
39:49-59:25 = Money Printing, Simple Observations & Global Debt Reset
59:26-01:06:48 = Now & Then: Comparing & Contrasting Commodities
01:06:49-01:16:26 = Favorites
Follow Jim (@JimRogerBlogs) on Twitter and check out this list of his books (translated into many languages) and read up on all of his interesting stories here.
STRADDLES, SVXY, AND (GAMMA) SCALPING WITH LOGICA’S MIKE GREEN
With a Top Gun-like bio of working with billionaires and big hedge funds, Michael Green is one of the top prospects in the alternative investment game. BUT, all we hear him talking about these days is his passive thesis, to the point where he jokes – that may end up on his tombstone one day. We’ve heard all that elsewhere, so wanted to get into more – like what he has going on at Logica, if he loves straddles as much as Wayne Himelsein, how he views the current volatility landscape, his killer SVXY trade, The Princess Bride, adding fragility into the market, the tail wagging the dog, Coit Tower, Twitter business partners, opportunity cost vs. covering the bleed, Zoom due diligence, and Gamma scalping.
CHAPTERS:
00:00-1:34 = Intro
01:35-38:01 = An Epic Beginning
38:02-58:54 = Talking Strategy
58:55-1:30:50 = Passive Investing, the Fed & What’s going on right now
1:30:51-1:35:54 = Favorites
Follow Mike (@profplum99) on Twitter and LinkedIn
THE BULL AND BEAR CASES FOR BITCOIN WITH MELTEM DEMIRORS & NIC CARTER
Bitcoin started the year with a bang, rising above $41k before falling back into the 20ks and settling in the mid 30ks lately. It was at $5k in March 2020! Yet it feels way different, and dare we say – less volatile – this time. How are we supposed to interact with bitcoin, how do you capitalize on the volatility, and where does it fit into investor portfolios overall? We have two big-time bitcoiners on with us today to go over it all – Meltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, and Nic Carter, Partner at Castle Island Ventures and Cofounder at Coinmetrics. In this episode, we’re talking about: finally not being the most volatile asset, bitcoin futures contract, crypto buyers jumping to options & vice versa, ethos of decentralization, your digital footprint, capturing volatility, risks in owning bitcoin, bitcoin as a trading game, adding bitcoin to your portfolio, is bitcoin too expensive right now?, the future of crypto regulation, the bitcoin price ceiling, bear case of bitcoin, and whether the opportunities are in the coin or the peripheral services.
CHAPTERS:
02:00 = The Strange Digital World
16:15 = Backgrounds, Booms, and Busts
32:12 = The Next Iteration of Crypto & Bitcoin Nation
47:10 = Bitcoin as an Investment
01:06:51 = Defi, Crypto & The State of Bitcoin Success
01:23:13 = Favorites
Follow Meltem at @Melt_Dem and get more information on CoinShares here.
Follow Nic at @nic__carter, and get more information on Castle Island Ventures here, and CoinMetrics here.
Be sure to check out the Star Wars infographic mentioned: https://www.rcmalternatives.com/2015/12/star-wars-the-fans-guide-to-investing/
Now that you’ve heard our top five pods, we wanted to have your weekend playlist ready to go with these three pods that you didn’t know you needed until now:
1. Why Whale Tails Whip up Market Mentors with Hari Krishnan (@HariPKrishnan2)
2. Carefully Constructing a Cockroach (Portfolio) with Mutiny Funds Jason Buck (@JasonMutiny) and Taylor Pearson (@TaylorPearsonMe) … download more information on the Fund here.
3. Valuations….Are you F*&^ing Insane, with Howard Lindzon (@howardlindzon)
Who will make the list next? Stay tuned to find out —subscribe to The Derivative, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and sign-up for our blog digest.
P.S. We couldn’t just let you leave like that… we wanted to share our favorite pods from (GASP) guests without Twitter handles, that I bet you haven’t listened too…BUT should have:
1. Tis This Inflation Transitory with CME Group Economist Erik Norland
2. Sowing the Seeds of AI Strategies with Howard Siow of Taaffeite Capital Management … Register for Howard’s upcoming RCM Power Hour here
3. Reimaging Risk and Reinsurance (& CAT bonds) with Chris McKeown of Vantage Risk
P.S.S. If you have a topic or guest that you would like to see on the pod, reach out to RCM’s Marketing Manager Sara Smith at ssmith@rcmam.com or leave a comment below ⬇️
