Climbing the Hedge Fund Ladder: From Analyst to Hedge Fund Founder
This episode is brought to you by Fundamental Edge, the leaders in buyside analyst training. Reserve your spot in their new AI Academy: https://www.fundamentedge.com/ai-academy
In the online community of FinTwit it is extremely common for hedge funders to have anonymous profiles because of strict regulations, but not all these anonymous profiles are made equal. @hfreflection is one of the most insightful anonymous members of the FinTwit community, especially when it comes to the business and industry of hedge funds. In this interview (while maintaining anonymity) HF reveals key aspects of his path to success and shares the insights he picked up on his journey from analyst to eventually launching his own firm after a long stint at a multi-billion dollar long/short equity manager. He touches on the hard decisions people face at different stages, whether you are a young professional trying to break into the industry, a mid-career analyst trying to find the right seat, or a seasoned professional deciding whether staying put or launching your own fund is the right path forward.
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“Potemkin Village of Credit” | BankRegData’s Bill Moreland on Banks’ Loan Modification Morass & Note-on-Note Financing Spree
This episode of Monetary Matters is brought to you by VanEck.
Learn more about the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): http://vaneck.com/SMHJack
Learn more about the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX): http://vaneck.com/SMHXJack
Bill Moreland of BankRegData joins Jack to share how many banks’ extensive use of loan modifications have caused reported delinquencies to appear lower than they might otherwise have been. While Moreland acknowledges that modifications play a vital role in securing repayment, he maintains that their popularity over the past 3 years indicates it is unusual and that some banks may be “manipulating the shit out of” the data. Moreland tells Jack about note-on-note financing - a practice wherein a bank sells a loan to a buyer and lends that buyer the funds to buy it - is further used to hide losses within bank balance sheets. Recorded on August 19, 2025.More info about BankRegData: https://www.bankregdata.com/main.asp
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Breaking Down Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech, September Rate Cut Odds, and Chinese Consumer Lending FinTech’s | Jack & Max
This Monetary Matters episode is brought to you by Fiscal.ai. Sign up for a 2-week free trial and get 15% off any paid tier at: http://fiscal.ai/mm
Jack Farley & Max Wiethe break down Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech that markets have interpreted as signaling rate cuts are coming in September, the Fed’s long-term reassessment of their policy framework for combatting inflation and maintaining full employment, and Chinese consumer lending fintech companies that Jack is bullish on.
Fed Statements on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy Updated August 2025: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/monetary-policy-strategy-tools-and-communications-statement-on-longer-run-goals-monetary-policy-strategy-2025.htm
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Fiscal.ai Front Roll
00:53 Jerome Powell Signals Rate Cuts?
06:35 The Fed’s View of the Labor Market
07:41 Updating the Fed’s Policy Framework
11:35 Fiscal.ai Mid Roll
12:58 Lisa Cook, Politics at the Fed, & the Next Fed Chair
21:06 Bullish Outlook on Chinese Consumer FinTech Basket
40:40 Outro
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The Golden Age of Fundamental Commodities Trading with Tor Svelland of Svelland Capital (18.5% Annualized Since Inception)
Tor Svelland, CIO and Founder of Svelland Capital, has annualized over 18.5% net of fees since inception in 2017 in their strategy that trades a combination of commodity futures, commodity linked equities, freight derivatives, energy transition linked companies, and electricity producers. Svelland joins Other People’s Money to discuss why he believes new market participants and structural undersupply have made the current environment for commodities trading so exciting. He also discusses how he’s grown his business from personal capital to almost $1 billion in AUM with investors all over the globe.
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Timestamps
00:00 Intro
04:09 Trafigura & Goldman Sachs as Commodities Trading Talent Hubs
06:38 Launching Svelland Capital with Personal Capital
09:03 The First Major Hurdles: 3 Years & $100m in AUM
10:56 ESG and the Commodity Market Backdrop
15:59 Underinvestment & Undersupply in Shipping & Commodities
20:41 Trading Global Supply Chains Shifts
23:44 Trade Expression & Commodities Portfolio Construction
29:06 The Effects of New Commodity Market Participants
36:06 TTF Gas Markets & Price Spike Potential
39:38 Multiple PMs & The Benefits of Taking Risk
42:05 Thinking Internationally & Advice for Young Commodities Traders
45:56 International Investor Interest in Commodities
48:00 Managing AUM Growth & Capacity Constraints
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Biggest Trade Shock Since Civil War | Douglas Irwin on Trump’s “Bigger Than Smoot-Hawley” Tariffs, Great Depression Balance of Payments History, and Tariff Incidence (Who Pays?)
This episode of Monetary Matters is brought to you by VanEck.
Learn more about the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): http://vaneck.com/SMHJack
Learn more about the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX): http://vaneck.com/SMHXJack
Renowned trade historian Douglas Irwin joins Jack to compare the ongoing shifts in American trade policy to Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression and the McKinley-era tariffs of the late 19th century of which President Trump speaks so fondly. Irwin, the John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, and author of “Clashing over Commerce” and “Trade Policy Disaster” among other titles, notes that most economic historians agree that the Smoot-Hawley tariff was not the primary cause of the Great Depression. Rather, while it probably exacerbated the global economic slowdown, trade barriers in a narrow sense served their respective countries' interest in limiting gold outflows. Professor Irwin argues that current tariffs (2% to ~15%) are a greater shock than Smoot-Hawley (38% to 42%), because of the higher rate of change and because U.S. trade as a percentage of GDP is higher now than it was in the 1930s. Jack lobs pro-protectionist arguments that Irwin strongly rejects. The two reflect on balance of payments, with Irwin noting that large capital inflows into the United States are a major cause of the large and persistent U.S. trade deficit. Recorded on August 7, 2025.
Douglas Irwin’s books discussed: “Trade Policy Disaster: Lessons from the 1930s”: https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/3374/Trade-Policy-DisasterLessons-from-the-1930s
“Clashing over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy”: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo24475328.html
“Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression”: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178066/peddling-protectionism?srsltid=AfmBOoqh-ZTEvY-wNf7wqitXQpkh-tfA7MEOyqxhKCoeHo7WbyUaJRB9
Douglas Irwin’s papers discussed:
“TARIFF INCIDENCE: EVIDENCE FROM U.S. SUGAR DUTIES, 1890-1930”: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w20635/w20635.pdf
“HIGHER TARIFFS, LOWER REVENUES? ANALYZING THE FISCAL ASPECTS OF THE "GREAT TARIFF DEBATE OF 1888"”: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w6239/w6239.pdf
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Canada - english