Will Thomson - Real Returns: Real Assets Are Even Hotter Right Now

Will Thomson returns! In this episode he has the audacity to suggest oil might be a smarter place to fish than gold. He also discusses copper as a theme. Bill likes Will. You should listen to Will. Will is a solid dude. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠Trata⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show.If you're listening to this podcast, you'll like Trata. Trata is buyside to buyside conversations on individual stocks. Trata makes finding a bull or bear on any stock as easy as clicking two buttons. Over 125 funds globally contribute that collectively cover 2000+ tickers. Trata raised over $3mm coming out of Y Combinator. Before you would track 13Fs, now you can understand what funds are actually thinking. You can join as a lurker or you can join as a contributor and Trata will pay you hundreds of dollars per call. For a free trial, go to ⁠⁠trytrata.com/brew⁠⁠ OG Sponsor Shoutout!Thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Just some brief thoughts to communicate what's going on. While you are waiting for a new episode try Trata! trytrata.com/brewAnd remember to use Fiscal.ai for all your data needs. Fiscal.ai/brew

Abdul Al Assad, founder of Basic Capital, joins the show to discuss why people deserve more leverage in their retirement portfolios. A smart man once said that "men go broke over ladies, liquor, and leverage." Abdul articulates a different version of leverage; specifically medium duration (10 year) non callable, non recourse leverage. In the episode Abdul acknowledges the potential for large market to market drawdowns. That said, he challenges the listeners to think through the long-term implications of what he is saying.We hope you enjoy the discussion. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠Trata⁠ for sponsoring the show.If you're listening to this podcast, you'll like Trata. Trata is buyside to buyside conversations on individual stocks. Trata makes finding a bull or bear on any stock as easy as clicking two buttons. Over 125 funds globally contribute that collectively cover 2000+ tickers. Trata raised over $3mm coming out of Y Combinator. Before you would track 13Fs, now you can understand what funds are actually thinking. You can join as a lurker or you can join as a contributor and Trata will pay you hundreds of dollars per call. For a free trial, go to ⁠trytrata.com/brew⁠ OG Sponsor Shoutout!Thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

In this conversation, Jim Hayes, founder of Lucerna GlobalCapital, shares why he thinks there is an opportunity in emerging markets. Prior to founding Lucerna, Jim spent 13 years at Fidelity. Jim's last role at Fidelity was covering a number of sectors in the $35Bn Fidelity Series Emerging Market Fund. This discussion highlights the potential opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia. In other news, thank you for your support. 763,000 minutes were spent listening to this show in 2025. Let's go!Sponsorship InformationNew Sponsor Alert! Thank you to Trata for sponsoring the show.If you're listening to this podcast, you'll like Trata. Trata is buyside to buyside conversations on individual stocks. Trata makes finding a bull or bear on any stock as easy as clicking two buttons. Over 125 funds globally contribute that collectively cover 2000+ tickers. Trata raised over $3mm coming out of Y Combinator. Before you would track 13Fs, now you can understand what funds are actually thinking. You can join as a lurker or you can join as a contributor and Trata will pay you hundreds of dollars per call. For a free trial, go to trytrata.com/brew OG Sponsor Shoutout!Thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Bill pops in for a short rant and an update on some of his thoughts. As always, thank you for listening. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!Tell the people you love that you love them. "People never get the roses while they can still smell them." - West, KanyeSponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Mark Cooper, founder and CIO of MAC Alpha Capital Management, stops by The Business Brew to discuss the potential opportunity in international markets. Mark has 20 years of experience in equity investing and almost 9 years in commodity trading, working at top-tier hedge funds and mutual funds with some legendary value investors.Mark’s experience prior to founding MAC Alpha Capital Management:Co-Portfolio Manager, First Eagle Investment Management, 2014 to 2019 | International Small Cap Value strategy.Portfolio Manager and Analyst, PIMCO, 2010 to 2014 | Global generalist managing a diversified quantitative U.S. equity fund.Partner and Portfolio Manager, Omega Advisors, 2005 to 2010 | Global industrials, capital goods, and commodities/energy sectors.Analyst, Pequot Capital Management, 2002 to 2004 Portfolio Manager, JP Morgan, 1992 to 2000 | Fixed income, commodities, and foreign exchange asset classes, co-managing a $50 billion notional value portfolio investing in both European and exotic options and managing a $10 billion portfolio focused on long-dated gold and silver.Adjunct Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School, 2004 to 2025| Applied Value InvestingEducation and Credentials:MBA - Columbia Business School 2002 | Bachelor of Science - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1991. Former US Army officer Former Vice Chairman of Harlem success academy HSA #2 (a charter school) |Co-author of Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond  – Second Edition.Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Matthew Quigley, Founder of Draft Line Capital, stops by the show to discuss lending to athletes. Matthew got involved in sports via FSU's booster program. He eventually joined FSU to work on recruiting and coaching students on how maximize NIL earnings.Matthew now runs Draft Line Capital. Draft Line lends to athletes to help them: with working capital, purchase loss of value insurance, and more. Notably, Draft Line will not lend for frivolous expenses. Learn more listening! Contact Matthew by going to DraftLineCap.com. Bill references an Amazon show: The Money Game. That is worth a watch for some background. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Peter Mantas of Logos LP, ⁠https://www.logoslp.com/⁠, stops by The Business Brew for an update. The previous episode discussed the potential of the life sciences industry. Since then uniQure released potentially groundbreaking results. Hence, Peter came back for an update. Shoutout to the ClearPoint group chat!  For more information on how Peter invests, please see ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-mantas-logos-lp-portfolio-construction-biotechs/id1492171651?i=1000537962817⁠ on Apple or ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/6r003LhN4REFSxYxogPWXH?si=7ApTcSdmRzepl5oW44friw⁠ on Spotify.  Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.

Maja Vujinovic stops by The Business Brew for a crypto discussion. Maja is CEO of FGNX, a D.A.T. The meat of this conversation is about Maja's experience in payments and how that led her to crypto. Maja then discusses Bitcoin and Ethereum's role in the modern financial system. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.TakeawaysMaja Vujinovic has been in the crypto space since 2010.Mobile payments are crucial for developing markets.Bitcoin's peer-to-peer nature addresses remittance issues.Traditional banks often overlook developing markets.Ethereum serves as a financial layer, while Bitcoin is a reserve asset.Stablecoins are essential for programmable finance.Tokenization can unlock liquidity in illiquid assets.Government regulation is crucial for crypto's future.The cultural mindset in large corporations can hinder innovation.Tokenization can expand market access and reduce operational costs. Maja believes Bitcoin is being brought mainstream by companies like MicroStrategy.Treasury companies can provide exposure to crypto assets without direct ownership.Family offices are increasingly interested in holding crypto through equity in companies.Ethereum is seen as a bridge for traditional finance to enter the crypto space.The future of finance is digital, with a focus on AI and crypto integration.Scale in the crypto ecosystem allows for greater influence and capital attraction.Vujinovic emphasizes the importance of community in the success of cryptocurrencies.The younger generation is moving away from traditional assets like treasuries.AI and crypto are expected to evolve together, creating new opportunities.Shitcoins have a place in the market, driven by community engagement.

This week, Dan Rasmussen - founder of Verdad Advisors and author of The Humble Investor - drops by to challenge conventional wisdom, discuss humility, and stir up some lively debate. In this conversation, Dan discusses his investment philosophy; focusing on the risks associated with private equity, the unpredictability of future growth, and the importance of patience in investing. Dan also touches on his approach to investigating biotech investing. We hope you enjoy the show. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠Fiscal.ai⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠Fiscal.ai⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠Fiscal.ai⁠’s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠Fiscal.ai⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don’t have to. Like to track Amazon’s Cloud Revenue? They’ve got it.How about Spotify’s premium subscribers? Or Google’s quarterly paid clicks?They’ve got all of it.TakeawaysPrivate equity is often treated as less risky than it truly is.The recent decline in private equity fundraising indicates a shift in investor sentiment.Future growth rates are unpredictable.Focus on profitability and quality in business investments.Volatility is predictable both in cross-section and time series.Japan may be a good place for value investors to hunt.