Matthew Pierson (Merit Oak Capital): From Navy Seal To Hedge Fund Manager

Andrei Stetsenko is a first-generation immigrant from Kyiv, Ukraine, where he was born in 1989.  After graduating summa cum laude from Princeton in 2010, he joined Farley Capital as an investment analyst.  In 2015, he was made a partner of the firm.  Over the past dozen years, Andrei has traveled to India 17 times and met with hundreds of listed Indian companies.  Andrei has been cited as an expert on India’s equity market in media including Barron's, Bloomberg News, and the Financial Times.Gymkhana Partners is an India-dedicated long-only investment fund managed by Farley Capital.  You can learn more about Gymkhana Partners on their website and follow their commentary on the Indian economy and stock market by signing up for Dispatches from India at www.gymkhanapartners.com.Gymkhana X/twitter: https://x.com/GymkhanaFundGymkhana LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gymkhanapartnersAndrei X/twitter: https://x.com/astetsenAndrei LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astetsen

I hope you guys enjoy the latest Q2 2025 Investor Audible series. This week, we read Greystone Capital, SpringView Capital, and Praetorian Capital's Q2 letters. Ideas discussed: APG, KITS, NRP, SYZ.TO, DR.TO, HOOD, SEG, MCY, WS.

Precious metals are starting to move. Otavio Costa was pounding the table on gold and silver back in 2023. This is a replay of that conversation. I hope you guys enjoy!Hey Guys! This episode, we hear from Tavi Costa, portfolio manager at Crescat Capital, and get his insights into the precious metals industry. Tavi talks about the importance of precious metals CAPEX and explains how the demand for precious metals, specifically gold, affects the industry. He also discusses the differing opinions of gold bears. Tavi shares his thoughts on the inflation super cycle and how it impacts investing criteria. He also talks about identifying mistakes and valuing precious metals equities.[0:00] Who is Tavi Costa?[6:00] Precious Metals CAPEX[22:00] PM Demand: The Use of Gold[33:00] Gold Bears[40:00] The Inflation Super Cycle[50:00] Investing Criteria[59:00] Identifying Mistakes[1:08:00] Valuing PM Equities[1:19:00] More from Tavi Costa and Closing QuestionsIf you enjoyed this podcast, please check out Otavio on Twitter ⁠@TaviCosta⁠ and read his latest research at ⁠Crescat Capital⁠. Finally, thanks to the following sponsors for making the podcast a reality!MitimcoThis episode is brought to you by MIT Investment Management Company, also known as MITIMCo, the investment office of MIT. Each year, MITIMCo invests in a handful of new emerging managers who it believes can earn exceptional long-term returns to support MIT's mission. To help the emerging manager community more broadly, they created ⁠emergingmanagers.org⁠, a website for emerging manager stockpickers.I highly recommend the site for those looking to start a stock-picking fund or learn how others have done it. You'll find essays and interviews by successful emerging managers, service providers used by MIT's own managers, essays MITIMCo has written for emerging managers, and more!

In this episode, Kristoffer Lindström—founder and analyst at LIND Research—joins to unpack his investment process and deliver a compelling pitch on Physitrack (ticker: PTRK). I hope you enjoyed the conversation. If you want to learn more about Kris and his process, follow him on X: https://x.com/Lindstroem_K and explore his research at LIND Research: Lindresearch.com.Please note that I do not hold shares in PTAK and do not plan to hold shares in the company following this podcast. This is for education purposes only.

In this episode, Oliver Friesen—CEO of Guardian Metal Resources—joins for a deep dive into tungsten’s resurgence and why this little-known metal is at the center of U.S. national security, supply chains, and industrial resilience. We unpack tungsten’s unique properties—highest melting point of any metal, extreme density, and hardness—and why it’s indispensable in defense applications from armor‑piercing munitions to high‑temperature aerospace systems. Oliver discusses Guardian’s Nevada‑focused strategy, including its flagship Pilot Mountain project, believed to be the largest undeveloped tungsten deposit on American soil, and how the company is positioning to help re‑shore U.S. supply chains.We also explore the shifting policy landscape—China’s dominance over global tungsten supply, looming U.S. procurement bans on adversarial sources by 2027, and new federal initiatives—highlighted by a recent $6.2M U.S. Department of Defense award aimed at sustaining critical domestic tungsten production. Oliver shares how Guardian is building strategic relationships and accelerating project development to meet defense and industrial demand, while balancing responsible development and investor alignment

I hope you guys enjoy the latest Q2 2025 Investor Audible series. This week, we read Laughing Water, Jackson Peak, and Alluvial Capital letters. Ideas discussed: CLAR, SES, THRY, VTY.L, CLAR, META, TTAN, SENEA, SRC.L, and more.

I hope you guys enjoy the latest Q2 2025 Investor Audible series. This week, we read Rowan Street, Desert Lion, and Minot Light Capital Partners. Ideas discussed: META, SHOP, SPOT, ART, TDUP, CURV, LGCY, OM, LAKE, TTGT, RXST

I hope you guys enjoy my podcast with Matthew Pierson, founder of Merit Oak Capital. Merit Oak is a long-biased hedge fund focused on long-term capital appreciation through concentrated, multi-year investments in outstanding public companies that are determined to be undervalued based on extensive fundamental research.”Matt is an American hero, one of the toughest dudes I've ever met, and a solid emerging manager. Enjoy!

Another edition of Investor Audibles is out. This week we read letters from LVS Advisory, Brasada Capital, and Kathmandu Capital. Ideas include: $CW, $ITOS, $WST, $UBER, $UI, $ACMR, Nagacorp, and more. I hope you guys enjoy!

I'm thrilled to have John Swallow, CEO of Idaho Strategic, back on the podcast. John has been one of my favorite guests over the years. He's built Idaho Strategic $IDR from a near-bankrupt entity to a $160M+ company today (as of this podcast). I first had John on the podcast last February. Things were a lot different then. Gold is much higher now. IDR is profitable. They have no net debt. But John isn't satisfied. He's building a real company. One that will last for decades after he's gone. This is the story on how he plans to do that, what makes IDR unique, and why building a business by starting small still makes sense. Finally, a big thanks to our sponsors for making this episode happen.MitimcoThis episode is brought to you by MIT Investment Management Company, also known as MITIMCo, the investment office of MIT. Each year, MITIMCo invests in a handful of new emerging managers who it believes can earn exceptional long-term returns in support of MIT's mission. To help the emerging manager community more broadly, they created ⁠⁠⁠⁠emergingmanagers.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, a website for emerging manager stockpickers.I highly recommend the site for those looking to start a stock-picking fund or just learning about how others have done it. You'll find essays and interviews by successful emerging managers, service providers used by MIT's own managers, essays MITIMCo has written for emerging managers, and more!TIKRTIKR is THE BEST resource for all stock market data, I use TIKR every day in my process, and I know you will too. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠⁠⁠TIKR.com/hive⁠⁠⁠⁠.