Join Jeff Malec for another solo Six Pack episode of The Derivative, where he riffs on everything from the post-COVID conference circuit to bond markets, AI, and yes… public restrooms. Jeff contrasts the buttoned-up energy of iConnections with the beach-side vibes of Future Proof and asks whether meeting managers face-to-face actually improves allocation decisions or […]
Author: rcm-alternatives
09
Apr
2026
The Hedge Fund that Polls Regular People Where Markets Are Going?
In this episode, Jeff Malec sits down with Vuk Vukovic and Scott Alford of Oraclum Capital (ORCA) to explore how an academic project on elections turned into a $70M hedge fund powered by crowd predictions. Vuk explains how he and his co-founders, coming from economics, physics, and computer science backgrounds, built a survey-based system that […]
06
Apr
2026
Asset Class Scoreboard: March 2026
March 2026 brought a broad pullback across most asset classes to close out the first quarter. World Stocks fell -8.03% and U.S. Real Estate dropped -6.37%, while U.S. Stocks declined -4.93%. These losses pushed U.S. Stocks into negative territory for the year at -4.36%, while World Stocks held onto a slim +2.01% year-to-date gain despite […]
02
Apr
2026
Oil, War, and the Strait of Hormuz: What current events look like through the eyes of an energy trader
In this episode, Jeff Malec sits down with returning “resident oil guy” Brent Belote of Cayler Capital to unpack one of the wildest stretches in energy markets since COVID and Russia/Ukraine. They dig into recent oil volatility, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and why the Straits of Hormuz still matter more than most people […]
26
Mar
2026
OpenSnow’s Joel Gratz built a Pod Shop for Powder Days: the PMs are Meteorologists and the Returns are Faceshots. Send It!
What happens when a data-obsessed mind that could have been optimizing portfolios decides to optimize powder days instead? This episode features meteorologist and @OpenSnow founder Joel Gratz in a deep dive on snow, skiing, and the science of weather forecasting, told through the lens of someone who treats every incoming storm like a market opportunity. […]
12
Mar
2026
Drone Wars, Space Intelligence, and AI-powered Defense Tech Investing with Ian Winer of Center15 Capital
In this episode of The Derivative, Jeff Malec sits down with Ian Winer, West Point grad and founder of Center 15 Capital, to unpack how modern warfare and national security are being reshaped by drones, AI, and space. Using the recent conflict with Iran as a case study, they explore how cheap one-way attack drones […]
11
Mar
2026
When Skynet Writes a Substack: The AI Doom Piece That Moved Markets
Look, we’ve been talking about this. Way back in August of ’25, Jeff hopped on his solo Summer Six-Pack pod, no guest, no agenda, just a guy with a microphone and some things on his mind, and dropped this little nugget about AI: “The end game of the AI race is massive deflation and an […]
05
Mar
2026
SuperCars, Salad, and Sumo Wrestlers: Inside One River’s Systematic Risk Mitigation Playbook with Patrick Kazley
In this episode of The Derivative, Jeff Malec is joined by Patrick Kazley of OneRiver explore how long volatility, convexity, trend following, and systematic macro can be combined in a capital‑efficient way to improve equity compounding and protect portfolios from major drawdowns. They discuss crisis “shapes,” why time-based rebalancing often beats intuitive drawdown triggers, how […]
04
Mar
2026
A Short History of Market-Moving Middle East Conflicts
Every generation of investors learns the same lesson the hard way: Middle East conflicts spike oil and spook stocks, and then markets do whatever they want. Monday’s price action was a textbook example. US and Israeli strikes on Iran sent oil up 13%, stocks down, and bonds up in the overnight session. By the close? […]
02
Mar
2026
Asset Class Scoreboard: February 2026
February 2026 delivered another broadly positive month, with the U.S. Real Estate leading all asset classes at +5.27% and World Stocks close behind at +5.19%. These gains pushed World Stocks’ year-to-date return to +10.91%, while U.S. Real Estate climbed to +7.87% through the first two months of the year. Managed Futures posted a strong +3.04% […]
