Hedgeye Podcasts

The AI Trade Faces Its First Real Test | Protect the Pile Episode 20

On this episode of Protect the Pile, R. Patrick Kent, Sam Rahman and Brooks Cutright break down a summer market that keeps defying the noise. With the S&P 500 up double digits, small caps suddenly outperforming and the Mag 7 barely positive on the year, the group debates whether the market’s leadership is truly broadening or just rotating through crowded trades. They dig into early earnings season signals from banks, healthcare, semiconductors and AI infrastructure, including the warning sign of stocks failing to rally on strong numbers. The conversation also tackles global dollar liquidity, Korea’s leverage unwind, Meta’s AI strategy, hyperscaler spending, model commoditization and whether AI’s real value will show up in applications rather than raw compute. It’s a timely check-in on what’s working, what’s crowded and what could crack next. 00:00 Welcome to Protect the Pile 01:21 Summer Market Level Set: S&P, Mag 7 & Small Caps 03:33 Global Dollar Liquidity Warning Signs 05:26 Early Earnings Season: Banks, Healthcare & Semis 07:02 Big Banks Start Strong 07:29 Healthcare Utilization Risks 13:40 AI’s Potential Impact on Drug Development 17:34 Strong Earnings, Weak Reactions & the Semi Trade 25:13 Korea, Leverage & Margin Call Risk 31:59 Meta, Hyperscalers & the AI Compute Debate 49:42 Netflix, Streaming & Lessons for the AI Buildout Hedgeye Founder & CEO Keith McCullough's long-awaited new book, “Master The Market” is available now! In this 52-page e-book, Keith McCullough distills decades of Wall Street experience into actionable insights. Discover how to navigate market cycles, avoid major losses, and invest with the confidence of a seasoned pro. Download your free copy right now. Go to Hedgeye.com/book. That’s Hedgeye.com/book. Get an investing edge on the enormous amount of money flowing into options every day, what they’re signaling, and the structural and behavioral trends driving markets higher or lower. The Market Situation Report™ includes access to a daily newsletter and weekly webcast featuring analysis of the Tier 1 Alpha team's proprietary models. CLICK HERE to check out our product page. Turn off that tired “Old Wall” TV and tune into The Macro Show, Hedgeye’s live daily broadcast featuring key market and economic insights, investing implications and interactive viewer Q&A. See for yourself why more and more investors in the U.S. and abroad have made this “must-see” market TV. We are live online every weekday morning at 9:00am ET. CLICK HERE to check out our product page.

The Great Private Equity Hangover | Protect the Pile Episode 19 w/ Dan Rasmussen

On this episode of Protect the Pile, R. Patrick Kent, John McNamara and Brooks Cutright sit down with Dan Rasmussen, Founder and Managing Partner of Verdad Advisers, for a sharp, skeptical look at private markets, Japan, small caps and the AI boom. Rasmussen explains why private equity may be less of a magic asset class and more like “levered microcaps” with delayed marks, inflated valuations and growing liquidity risks. The group digs into private credit, zombie funds, roll-ups, venture capital, Japan’s corporate governance reforms and why cheap markets getting better can create opportunity. They also debate whether AI’s biggest winners may not be the mega-cap companies spending the most, but smaller businesses that can use the technology to improve margins. It’s a candid, practitioner-level conversation about risk hiding in plain sight.Hedgeye Founder & CEO Keith McCullough's long-awaited new book, “Master The Market” is available now! In this 52-page e-book, Keith McCullough distills decades of Wall Street experience into actionable insights. Discover how to navigate market cycles, avoid major losses, and invest with the confidence of a seasoned pro. Download your free copy right now. Go to Hedgeye.com/book. That’s Hedgeye.com/book. Get an investing edge on the enormous amount of money flowing into options every day, what they’re signaling, and the structural and behavioral trends driving markets higher or lower. The Market Situation Report™ includes access to a daily newsletter and weekly webcast featuring analysis of the Tier 1 Alpha team's proprietary models. CLICK HERE to check out our product page.

America's 250-Year Market Miracle | Protect the Pile Episode 18 w/ Meb Faber

On this episode of Protect the Pile, R. Patrick Kent, Sam Rahman and David Salem sit down with Meb Faber, Co-Founder and CIO of Cambria Investment Management, for a wide-ranging conversation on America’s 250-year market story, the power of long-term equity ownership and the risks hiding beneath today’s bull market.Faber discusses his new book, Investing in America, and explains why the U.S. stock market has compounded through wars, depressions, crashes and political dysfunction — but also why valuation, governance and speculative excess still matter.The group covers AI, SpaceX, market-cap concentration, zero-day options, financial literacy, endowment investing and whether the next generation is being pulled toward capitalism or casino-style speculation. It’s a thoughtful, entertaining look at what history can teach investors trying to protect and grow their pile.About Meb Faber:Faber is a co-founder and the Chief Investment Officer of Cambria Investment Management. Faber is the manager of Cambria’s ETFs and separate accounts. Mr. Faber is the host of The Meb Faber Show podcast and has authored numerous white papers and leather-bound books. He is a frequent speaker and writer on investment strategies and has been featured in Barron’s, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. Mr. Faber graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in Engineering Science and Biology.Faber's new book Investing in America: The Rise of a 250-Year Bull Market is available to order now.Hedgeye Founder & CEO Keith McCullough's long-awaited new book, “Master The Market” is available now! In this 52-page e-book, Keith McCullough distills decades of Wall Street experience into actionable insights. Discover how to navigate market cycles, avoid major losses, and invest with the confidence of a seasoned pro. Download your free copy right now. Go to Hedgeye.com/book. That’s Hedgeye.com/book. Get an investing edge on the enormous amount of money flowing into options every day, what they’re signaling, and the structural and behavioral trends driving markets higher or lower. The Market Situation Report™ includes access to a daily newsletter and weekly webcast featuring analysis of the Tier 1 Alpha team's proprietary models. CLICK HERE to check out our product page. Turn off that tired “Old Wall” TV and tune into The Macro Show, Hedgeye’s live daily broadcast featuring key market and economic insights, investing implications and interactive viewer Q&A. See for yourself why more and more investors in the U.S. and abroad have made this “must-see” market TV. We are live online every weekday morning at 9:00am ET. CLICK HERE to check out our product page.

When the Music Stops in Private Markets | Protect the Pile Episode 17 w/ Leyla Kunimoto

Visit HedgeyeAM.com for more info00:00 - Welcome to Protect the Pile01:18 - Market Setup: S&P, Rates, Dollar and Credit Spreads02:02 - Leyla Kunimoto’s Background and Accredited Investor Insights04:38 - RPK’s Top 5 Market Notes08:26 - Redemption Gates and “Semi-Liquid” Funds12:01 - David Salem on the Yale Model vs. Democratized Alternatives20:17 - The Problem With Retail Access to Private Equity26:16 - Evergreen Funds, Secondaries and Liquidity Mismatch32:24 - Valuation Markups and Day-One Gains39:46 - Why IRR Can Mislead Investors47:19 - How Private Market Stress Could Play Out49:31 - Private Credit vs. Private Equity: Where Is the Bigger RiskThis week on Protect the Pile, HAM Portfolio Managers R. Patrick Kent, David Salem and Sam Rahman dig into the growing risks and complexities inside private markets with special guest Leyla Kunimoto, founder and chief editor of Accredited Investor Insights.The discussion examines how private equity and private credit products have evolved from institutional, long-lockup vehicles into “semi-liquid” evergreen funds increasingly aimed at retail investors. The group breaks down redemption caps, liquidity mismatches, secondary transactions, valuation markups, IRR reporting, and why “democratized access” may come with tradeoffs investors do not fully see.They also debate whether private credit or private equity poses the bigger risk, how fund structures can obscure price discovery, and what happens when the music stops in a $15 trillion private markets ecosystem.About Leyla Kunimoto:Leyla Kunimoto is the founder and chief editor of Accredited Investor Insights, an independent newsletter focused on private markets from the limited partner perspective. With a background in finance and more than two decades of experience investing in public markets, she began researching private markets after expanding into real estate, private credit, and private equity in 2020.Frustrated by the lack of independent, investor-focused resources on alternative investments, Leyla launched Accredited Investor Insights in 2024 to examine the structures, valuations, mechanics, and fine print that often receive too little scrutiny. Her work covers private equity, private credit, and real estate, with a focus on how returns are calculated, reported, and understood by end investors.Accredited Investor Insights is read by major asset managers, ratings agencies, and financial publications. Leyla has been quoted in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and other leading outlets.Hedgeye Founder & CEO Keith McCullough's long-awaited new book, “Master The Market” is available now! In this 52-page e-book, Keith McCullough distills decades of Wall Street experience into actionable insights. Discover how to navigate market cycles, avoid major losses, and invest with the confidence of a seasoned pro. Download your free copy right now. Go to Hedgeye.com/book. That’s Hedgeye.com/book. Get an investing edge on the enormous amount of money flowing into options every day, what they’re signaling, and the structural and behavioral trends driving markets higher or lower. The Market Situation Report™ includes access to a daily newsletter and weekly webcast featuring analysis of the Tier 1 Alpha team's proprietary models. CLICK HERE to check out our product page. Turn off that tired “Old Wall” TV and tune into The Macro Show, Hedgeye’s live daily broadcast featuring key market and economic insights, investing implications and interactive viewer Q&A. See for yourself why more and more investors in the U.S. and abroad have made this “must-see” market TV. We are live online every weekday morning at 9:00am ET. CLICK HERE to check out our product page.

The Rebalance Steamroller | Protect the Pile Episode 16

In this episode of Protect the Pile, the RPK, Sam & Brooks discuss the market’s hidden flow machine. Brooks breaks down the June quarterly rebalance, explaining how Marvell, Flextronics, SpaceX, and major index changes forced large-scale buying, selling, and completion-index redistribution beneath the surface. The panel connects those mechanics to small-cap outperformance, mega-cap pressure, sector distortion, and the danger of fading a flow-driven trade too early. They also frame the backdrop of dollar strength, Fed balance-sheet risk, easing oil prices, financials, private credit, semis, software, Accenture’s AI-driven selloff, and Micron earnings.Hedgeye Founder & CEO Keith McCullough's long-awaited new book, “Master The Market” is available now! In this 52-page e-book, Keith McCullough distills decades of Wall Street experience into actionable insights. Discover how to navigate market cycles, avoid major losses, and invest with the confidence of a seasoned pro. Download your free copy right now. Go to Hedgeye.com/book. That’s Hedgeye.com/book. Get an investing edge on the enormous amount of money flowing into options every day, what they’re signaling, and the structural and behavioral trends driving markets higher or lower. The Market Situation Report™ includes access to a daily newsletter and weekly webcast featuring analysis of the Tier 1 Alpha team's proprietary models. CLICK HERE to check out our product page. Turn off that tired “Old Wall” TV and tune into The Macro Show, Hedgeye’s live daily broadcast featuring key market and economic insights, investing implications and interactive viewer Q&A. See for yourself why more and more investors in the U.S. and abroad have made this “must-see” market TV. We are live online every weekday morning at 9:00am ET. CLICK HERE to check out our product page.