Inside Active by Bloomberg Intelligence

Finding fast-growing companies is only part of the challenge for small- and mid-cap managers. The market’s expectations for that growth can matter just as much. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Brandon Nelson, portfolio manager for the Calamos Timpani Small Cap Growth Fund (CTSIX) and Calamos Timpani Active SMID Growth ETF (CTAG), about his fundamental-momentum approach to investing. They discuss how Nelson looks for sustainable and underestimated growth, why management’s handling of expectations matters and how valuation factors into security selection. They also explore the importance of letting winners run while maintaining strict sell discipline, how bottom-up research drives portfolio construction and why Nelson continues to see a broad opportunity set in small- and mid-cap stocks. Recorded Sept. 22.

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Active management is transforming as investors embrace exchange-traded funds, fund expenses decline and financial advice evolves. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Shelly Antoniewicz, chief economist at the Investment Company Institute, about what’s driving those changes. They discuss why active and passive aren’t necessarily competing for the same dollar, what fund flows can and can’t tell us about investor behavior, and why mutual funds remain durable in retirement accounts even as ETFs gain ground elsewhere. They also explore the growth of active ETFs and collective investment trusts, how fee compression and changing adviser compensation are reshaping the economics of active management, and how active management could continue to evolve across investment vehicles and distribution channels. Recorded Sept. 24.

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Growth investing is often associated with companies delivering rapid revenue and earnings growth, but the potential for capital appreciation can extend well beyond traditional growth stocks. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Alan Wilson, portfolio manager at Capital Group and principal investment officer of the Capital Group Growth ETF (CGGR), about how he defines and identifies growth. They discuss why valuation still matters, how Wilson looks several years ahead to uncover potential investments and why changing competitive advantages can make durable growth difficult to identify. They also explore how Capital Group’s multi-manager system shapes portfolio construction and conviction, why some of the most compelling growth prospects can emerge in unexpected parts of the market and how physical infrastructure constraints could create the next set of “coiled springs.” Recorded Sept. 16.

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Choosing the right active manager can be just as important as choosing the right investment strategy, but past performance alone may reveal little about whether a manager’s success is repeatable. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Tim Paulin, senior vice president of investments and practice consulting at Touchstone Investments, about how the firm identifies, evaluates and monitors outside investment managers. They discuss Touchstone’s version of the traditional four- or five-P framework, which looks at organizational stability, personnel, investment discipline, infrastructure and results, as well as how to separate investment skill from a favorable market environment. They also explore how portfolio holdings can reveal whether managers are staying true to their process, when underperformance should be tolerated, why investors often chase managers at the wrong time, and what the best active managers have in common over the long term. This edition was recorded on Sept. 9.

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A broad investment mandate gives active managers the freedom to search across markets but also requires discipline in deciding where capital belongs. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Tom Winmill, president and director of the Midas family of mutual funds and portfolio manager of the Midas Special Opportunities Fund (MISEX). They discuss why growing free cash flow and returns on capital are central to identifying quality businesses, how valuation changes with the margin for error and why Winmill prefers fundamentals over market narratives. They also explore portfolio concentration, letting winners compound, sell discipline, the impact of higher interest rates and why he is willing to wait for the economics of AI businesses to become clearer. Recorded September 2.

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Inflation investing is often associated with commodities and real assets, but benefiting from rising prices can depend as much on a company’s business model as the assets it owns. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual-fund and active-management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with James Davolos, a portfolio manager of the Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF (INFL), about how he identifies businesses positioned to benefit from inflation. They discuss why capital-light business models can offer advantages in inflationary environments, how royalties and exchanges can provide exposure to rising nominal activity without the same operating and capital costs, and why commodity prices don’t necessarily need to rise for these businesses to compound. They also explore how Horizon Kinetics evaluates scarce assets, why the market may misprice businesses with lumpier cash flows, the importance of valuation and long-term terminal value, and how inflation-beneficiary equities can complement traditional portfolio allocations. 

Recorded August 25. Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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Europe’s active ETF market is expanding rapidly, but rising product launches don’t necessarily signal broad investor adoption. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Henry Jim, ETF analyst at BI, about what’s driving the market’s growth and why its development is likely to differ from the US. They discuss how issuer-led launches and solutions-based strategies are shaping the category, why Europe’s fragmented distribution system and investment culture remain important hurdles, and how private banks and white-label providers could broaden adoption. They also explore why fixed income may be a natural fit for active ETFs, what JPMorgan has done to gain traction in Europe, how ETFs could eventually pressure traditional active-management fees and what would need to happen for active ETFs to capture a meaningfully larger share of the European market. Recorded Aug. 19.

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As investors increasingly focus on managing risk, generating income and achieving specific portfolio outcomes, the definition of successful active management is expanding beyond simply outperforming a benchmark. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Bryon Lake, global co-head of third-party wealth and chief transformation officer at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Graham Day, partner and chief investment officer at Innovator from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, about how that shift is reshaping active strategies. They explore the growth of active and defined-outcome ETFs, why the traditional active-versus-passive debate may be giving way to a more solutions-oriented approach, and how derivatives can help investors customize risk, income and downside protection. They also discuss the importance of advisor education as product innovation accelerates, the role of technology and data in active management, and why fixed income could be the next major area of ETF innovation. Recorded Aug. 4.

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Value investing often means looking past near-term problems to determine whether a company is temporarily impaired or permanently damaged. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Amit Wadhwaney, co-founding partner of Moerus Capital Management and portfolio manager of the Moerus Worldwide Value Fund (MOWIX), about an asset-based approach to global deep-value investing. They discuss why Wadhwaney focuses on conservatively estimated asset values, balance-sheet strength and survivability rather than projected earnings, and how he distinguishes temporary adversity from permanent impairment. They explore how market dislocations across companies, industries and countries create opportunities, why being macro-aware differs from making macroeconomic forecasts, and how overlooked assets can drive returns. The conversation also examines why risk should be understood as permanent loss of business value rather than short-term market volatility. Recorded Aug. 4.

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Selecting active managers has always been one of investing’s greatest challenges, in part because strong performance doesn’t always reflect repeatable skill. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Michael Ervolini, author of “Skill Versus Luck,” about why investors should rethink how they evaluate active managers. They discuss the limitations of traditional performance metrics, how decision-based analytics can help separate skill from luck, and why analyzing buying, selling and position-sizing decisions may offer deeper insight into manager ability. They also explore the role of investment process, behavioral biases, AI and whether better skill measurement can improve manager selection and alter the balance between active and passive investing. Recorded July 16.

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