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Free Money with Sloane and Ashby
Individually Brilliant, Collectively Stupid (Free Money II)
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Individually Brilliant, Collectively Stupid (Free Money II)

This episode of the Free Money podcast takes the world of pension and sovereign fund finance from dull to dazzling.

We discuss the Department of Justice’s investigation into big technology platforms, Elizabeth Warren’s proposed Stop Wall Street Looting Act, and how today’s regulatory environment pushes companies to act in ways that are individually brilliant, but collectively stupid.

Then as always, we take questions from our listeners! You can (and should) ask one yourself by replying to this email.

We answered three this week:

  • There is a large trend — at least here in Europe — towards ESG (investment strategies driven by Environmental, Social, and Governance themes.) At the same time there is a trend towards divesting from fossil fuels and other dirty assets. But most of the time this is only done in secondary markets, not in primary markets. Does this help anyone or is it just creating asset bubbles in ESG assets? - Joachim Klement, author of Klement on Investing.

  • Central banks keep interest rates at incredibly low levels. A hundred years ago we would have argued about the real bills doctrine and warned that low interest rates foster a misallocation of capital. What are your views on the current low interest rates and the possibility of misallocation of capital? - Joachim again. Read his blog!

  • I’m hiring an entry level person, and my HR department insists I add “BA/BS Required” to the job description. This feels wrong to me - we may hire a college graduate, but i care more about drive and communications skills than a credential. Is it worth forcing this conversation now? I’d have to go to bat politically.... - Anonymous.

This week’s snazzy title music is Money Talks by Luca La Morgia. If you missed last week’s episode and want to catch up, you can find it here.

And if you’re loving the podcast, why not send it to a friend?

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Free Money
Free Money with Sloane and Ashby
Sloane Ortel and Ashby Monk explore what's holding the world back from investing in progress, answer the questions on the minds of people in the know, and deliver the Brooklyn-Bay Area consensus about institutional investing that you desperately crave.
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Sloane Ortel