Radio Show: The Short-Vol Trade Blows Up... Meb's Rare Coin Purchases... and Listener Q&A | #95

The Meb Faber Show

Episode 95 is a radio show format. We start with a recap of Meb’s recent travels to Nicaragua and San Francisco, but then dive into a discussion about volatility. With the VIX spiking at the beginning of the month, some short-vol funds suffered massive losses. We discuss the short-vol trade, then the long-vol trade.

Next up, Meb gives us a quick (overdue) update on his trip to see Van Simmons, including which coins he purchased. But we quickly dive into a different topic – a recent offering from Wealthfront that’s raising some questions for Meb. The conversation touches upon a risk parity market approach, robo fees, and general transparency.

We then jump into listener Q&A. Some of the questions you’ll hear answered include:

• I've heard Meb say it may be appropriate to allocate up to 20% of your portfolio in a hedging strategy. I've also heard him say you need an exit plan. What is his exit strategy regarding this play?
• How/when should an investor use leverage?
• What’s Meb’s take on a vanilla Vanguard Target Date fund vs Trinity over 15-20 years?
• With fee compression and product commoditization, how do you see large, active-focused publicly traded asset managers faring in the next 5-10 years?
• How would you think about asset allocation for a millennial (sub-30) with retirement accounts? The typical 60/40 doesn’t seem great.
• With rising rates, I am in short-term notes to limit duration; with hints of higher inflation do TIPS make sense?

All this and more in Episode 95.

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