Debate: Interest Rates and Economic Distortions 

Featuring: Paul Musson, Former Senior Portfolio Manager at Mackenzie Investments & Author of Capital Offence

Paul Musson joins Investment Wars to unpack one of the most misunderstood forces shaping modern markets: interest rates. In a thought-provoking conversation that touches on inflation, money supply, and the consequences of government intervention, Musson makes the case for economic education and a return to first principles. From the natural rate of interest to the dangers of debt-fueled consumption, this episode offers a sharp critique of how policy distorts the economy—and what investors need to understand to navigate it.

In today’s episode, we explore: 

• The difference between the natural and neutral rates of interest—and why it matters
• Why a stable money supply may be better than endless expansion
• How inflation arises when money growth outpaces productivity
• What good deflation looks like—and why it’s not necessarily bad
• The inflationary consequences of government stimulus during crises
• How education and transparency can empower better financial decision-making
• Why the current system rewards a few at the expense of many—and what needs to change

Is it time to rethink everything we’ve been taught about inflation, interest, and economic intervention?

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode. 

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Trade Imbalance – Is Reindustrialization the Key to U.S. Economic Resilience?

Featuring: Eli Horton, Senior Portfolio Manager & Investment Committee Member at TCW.

Eli Horton joins Investment Wars to debate one of the most pressing economic challenges of our time: the U.S. trade imbalance and the industrial response it demands. In a conversation spanning global supply chains, national security, and the race to rebuild domestic manufacturing, Horton explores how public and private capital expenditures (CapEx) and reshoring strategies are reshaping the investment landscape.

In today’s episode, we explore:

• The economic and strategic implications of America’s persistent trade deficits
• The case for a manufacturing renaissance amid growing geopolitical tensions
• Labor shortages and their inflationary impact as production returns home
• The role of Mexico and other nearshoring hubs in a multipolar supply chain
• How the energy transition is fueling infrastructure demand and CapEx growth
• Identifying the sectors and regions poised to benefit from strategic reshoring

Is this the dawn of a new industrial era—or are we underestimating the challenges ahead? 

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode. 

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Energy Infrastructure – Will It Double in the Next Decade?

Featuring: Robert Thummel, Senior Portfolio Manager & Investment Committee Member at Tortoise Capital.

As the U.S. power grid strains under the weight of rising demand, AI-fueled data centers, and shifting global energy dynamics, one sector stands at the center of it all: energy infrastructure. In this episode, we break down the critical—and often misunderstood—backbone of the modern energy system. With insights from industry veteran Rob Thummel, we explore:
 
In today’s episode, we explore:

• What qualifies as “energy infrastructure”
• Why energy demand, flat for nearly two decades, is now set to surge
• Can our grid and pipeline systems keep up—or are we already hitting bottlenecks
• Why U.S. energy needs may diverge from the global picture
• Where investors should look for the best risk-adjusted opportunities

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode. 

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: How to Measure and Navigate Market Uncertainty

Featuring: Professor Nick Bloom is the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University, Senior Fellow at SIEPR, and Co-Director of the Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Uncertainty is one of the most critical—and elusive—forces shaping markets today. How is it measured? How does it affect economic and financial market behavior? And what strategies can help investors navigate periods of high uncertainty?  

On Wednesday, April 2nd — “Liberation Day” — President Trump announced sweeping tariffs targeting countries with which the U.S. has trade imbalances. The tariffs, which disproportionately affected key allies, sent markets into a tailspin. In just 48 hours, U.S. equity markets suffered the greatest two-day destruction of market wealth on record. But even more troubling were the developments in the bond market, which ultimately triggered a 90-day policy pause.   While the direct math of tariffs implies rising inflation and falling consumption—raising risks of a recession or worse—the more complex and destabilizing element is uncertainty.
 
In today’s episode, we explore:

• How uncertainty is measured
• Its real-world impact on the economy and financial markets
• Strategies for navigating uncertain market environments

Don’t miss our discussion of the Economic Policy Uncertainty Indexes, co-developed by Professor Bloom and referenced throughout the episode.  

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode.

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: How Do I Select the “Right” ETF?

Featuring: Adam Patti is the Co-founder and CEO of Vistashares, an ETF issuer designed to provide pure exposure to disruptive technology-driven supercycles. He is an industry pioneer and insider with vast ETF development and construction knowledge.

There are at least 24 artificial intelligence-themed ETFs in the market. How can we differentiate one from the other and make an appropriate decision about which to buy? What factors should we be considering?

In today’s episode, we explore:

• A brief history of the ETF market
• How ETFs revolutionized the capability to achieve tailored exposure among other benefits
• Areas of focus when analyzing whether to buy an ETF

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode.

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: LA Fires - The Complexities of Insurance

Featuring: Jerry Theodorou is the Director of the Finance, Insurance, and Trade Policy Program at the R Street Institute, a public policy research organization. In this role, he develops and promotes free-market public policy solutions to complex issues involving federal and state government interventions.

In January, the LA area was ravaged by a series of devastating wildfires, notably the Palisades and Eaton Fires. Collectively there were over 16,000 structures destroyed, tens of thousands of evacuees, and 29 fatalities. Wildfires seem to be an annual event in California, destroying property and risking lives. 

In today’s episode, we explore:

• How the insurance industry has coped historically with catastrophes.
• The current state of insuring property in places with high risks of events like fire, hurricanes, and flooding.
• The future of the insurance industry. 

Subscribe to Investment Wars on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify to ensure you never miss an episode. 

For guest opportunities or to share feedback, contact us at [email protected].

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Innovation Episode - The Future of AI

Featuring: Tejas Dessai is a Director of Thematic Research at Global X. His research has been extensively covered in the tech and financial press, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and Reuters. 

This is a timely conversation given the recent major release of DeepSeek V3 which upended the world of AI given its leap in efficiency – the claim is that it essentially matches the best available US models while being 20 – 50x cheaper to use. In this episode, Tejas and I have a broad conversation about AI and how it will affect the world, the economy, and the financial market going forward.

We regularly reference Global X’s fantastic Charting Disruptions Outlook for 2025 and Beyond. 

Topics Include:

• America’s position in the global race to lead on AI
• The ecosystem supporting AI
• Implications on various industries and jobs given the continued growth of AI 

Never miss an episode — subscribe to Investment Wars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For inquiries: [email protected]

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Will the Fed Cut Rates in 2025?  

Featuring: JoAnne Bianco, CFA is a Partner and Senior Investment Strategist at BondBloxx. Bondbloxx is the first ETF issuer to focus solely on providing precision tools in managing exposures within Fixed Income Markets. Prior to joining Bondbloxx, JoAnne was a Senior Portfolio Manager at PPM as well as Director of Corporate Bond Research. She has over thirty years of relevant fixed income experience.    

This is a timely conversation in understanding some of the economic characteristics the Fed reviews as well as the many moving pieces globally that affect inflation, jobs, and the economy in general.  

Topics Include:

• How a Fed cut affects the economy and financial markets
• A review of inflation concerns
• An outlook on financial markets including expectations of Fed actions in 2025

Link: BondBloxx 2025 Fixed Income Market Outlook provided by JoAnne Bianco

Never miss an episode — subscribe to Investment Wars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For inquiries: [email protected]

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Are We Entering a New Golden Age of US Manufacturing?  

Featuring: Chris Semenuk is a fund manager at Tema ETFs where he is currently focusing on the theme of American Reshoring as captured in the American Reshoring ETF (Ticker: RSHO). Prior, Chris was with TIAA where he was a portfolio manager for a $5 billion equities mutual fund.  

The decision of where to place the next factory has become more complex as the cost in China and other global manufacturing hubs has increased dramatically as have the geopolitical risks. In this episode, we discuss how this story has evolved over the last twenty years before digging into the realities in the US, China, and globally as related to manufacturing.  

Topics Include:

• How the US is now competitive in areas of manufacturing
• Increasing risks of global logistics (e.g., piracy, climate)
• Government intervention through subsidies (e.g., CHIPs Act) and tariffs

Never miss an episode — subscribe to Investment Wars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For inquiries: [email protected]

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.

Debate: Should We Invest in China?  

Featuring: Brendan Ahern, the Chief Investment Officer at KraneShares. He is a preeminent expert in global financial markets with a particular focus on China.  

China is considered the second largest economy in the world behind the US yet represents less than 5% of a typical diversified global equity exposure as compared to over 50% for the US. In this episode, we dive into the current state of the Chinese economy.  

Topics Include:

• A quick review of the rich history of China up to the present day
• How demographics and urbanization have affected growth
• A deep dive into the real estate sector given recent stresses

Please also check out China Last Night, a daily newsletter published by KraneShares and spearheaded by Brendan Ahern.  

Never miss an episode — subscribe to Investment Wars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For inquiries: [email protected]

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Fountainhead sponsors the podcast to further education and critical thinking about the factors that affect markets and investing, and the podcast does not provide investment advice. Investment advice is offered only to clients of Fountainhead who have entered into an advisory agreement and with whom Fountainhead has identified individual objectives, risk tolerance, and other investment needs.