Smart Money Circle

Rob LoCascio, Founder and CEOof Live Person Inc. ($LPSN) and has been its chief executive officer since its inception in 1995, making him one of the longest-standing founding CEOs of a tech company today.   

As the inventor of online chat for brands, Rob disrupted the way people communicate with companies around the world, removing the need for 1-800 numbers, long wait times, and endlessly scanning websites for information.   

In 2016, Rob again led the company to the forefront of conversational commerce by making it easy for consumers to connect with brands on messaging via platforms including SMS, WhatsApp, Apple BusinessChat, Facebook Messenger, and even brand apps and websites.   

In 2018, Rob delivered on his vision for AI-powered conversations, opening the doors for brands to message at massive scale while still providing outstanding customer experiences. Now in 2020, Rob is a leading voice on reforming the future of work, helping cultivate innovative new systems that support the needs of Live Person's global staff, and challenging the reliance on physical office spaces.   

As someone who has been on the entrepreneurial journey for over two decades, Rob's mission is to inspire and help others who are on that same path. Live Person has come a long way since its early years, having survived the dot-com crash and grown to become the leader in Conversational AI and automation solutions, currently serving over 18,000clients, with 1,200 employees worldwide.   

Beyond his decades of work at Live Person, Rob's interests extend past his business and reflect his close ties to New York City and his journey as an entrepreneur and humanitarian. He is a founding member of EqualAI, which works with companies, policy makers, and experts to reduce bias in AI, and the NYC Entrepreneurs Council of the Partnership for New York City. In 2001, he started the Dream Big Foundation with its first program, FeedingNYC, which gives families in need a Thanksgiving dinner. To date, FeedingNYC has donated more than 85,000 meals. Its second program, the Dream Big Entrepreneurship Initiative, launched in 2014 to fund, mentor, coach, and empower local entrepreneurs in underserved communities.  Learn more on LivePerson.com

Zain is a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first venture when he was just a teenager. He co-founded mobile advertising startup Vungle, which was acquired by Blackstone in 2019 for $780M. Shortly afterward he started Zain Ventures, his family office that boasts a diverse portfolio of real estate investments. He is also currently a partner at Blue Field Capital.

Zain’s success as both a founder and investor has made him a leading authority in the realm of startups and venture capital. He has become a respected voice in real estate as well, and can be heard sharing his insights on his PropTech VC podcast.

SMC: Weiss Muti-Strategy Advisers $4B AUM - Edward Olanow, Director of Investment Solutions, & Portfolio Manager. Weiss was founded in 1978 by Wall Street vet, George Weiss, and they’re known for being a pioneer in the market-neutral space.  

Edward joined the firm in 2005 after working as a quant analyst at Anchor Point Asset Management (global macro fund)and before that as a research and quant analyst w/ Citibank Global Asset Management. After spending his first 10 years at Weiss on their Macro strategy, he started structuring new products and is now the PM of their liquid alts mutual fund – their only retail fund offering – the Weiss Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (WEISX). It’s a5-star retail offering of their flagship institutional strategy and has $232min assets.

WEISS Mutual Funds (weissfunds.com)

Tom Cruz is the CEO of Section 8 Housing Formula and owns over 500 units. In this interview, Tom shares his story and gives you a blueprint to invest in Section 8 housing. He also tells you what to look for, what to look out for, and how to manage risk.

Here is the link to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w9LuYtLH8Gg

The Future Of Cashless Payments - With Nayax CEO & Chairman Yair Nechmad. Nayax.com

Smart Money Circle Interview: Leo Melamed Talks About His Books, Answers Questions, And Discusses His Latest Book: Man of the Futures: The Story of Leo Melamed and the Birth of Modern Finance.   

In case you do not know, Leo Melamed is the man who literally created stock market, interest rate, and currency futures!   

Leo's story is absolutely amazing and he shares some of it with you in this captivating interview with Adam Sarhan. Leo also answers some of your questions and shares some timeless lessons he's learned over the decades about how to win, how to handle losing, and how to be successful!   

Buy Leo's Book MAN OF THE FUTURES HERE:

Man of the Futures: The Story of Leo Melamed and the Birth of Modern Finance: Melamed, Leo: 9780857197481: Amazon.com: Books

Doron Gerstel joined Perion as CEO in April 2017. Serving as CEO for the last 20 years, he has established an outstanding ability to drive growth in hi-tech companies and competitive markets. In his previous role as CEO of Panaya, Doron led a turnaround to an increase in annual revenue and the company’s acquisition by Infosys. He has also held CEO positions at Nolio, Syneron and Zend Technologies. Doron holds a BS in Economics and Management from the Technion, and an MBA from Tel AvivUniversity. Since May 2018 Doron also serves as a member of the Board of Directors.

My guest today is Jay D. Hatfield, CEO, Instructure Capital, and Portfolio Manager of PFFR with approximately $1 billion in assets under management. This is Jay's second time on the show and he shares his current market outlook, how to properly diversify a portfolio, and how to find undervalued preferred stocks.   Jay's Bio:  Mr. Hatfield has almost three decades of experience in the securities and investment industries. At ICA, he is the portfolio manager of InfraCap MLP ETF (NYSE: AMZA), Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (NYSE: PFFA), InfraCap REIT Preferred ETF (NYSE: PFFR) and a series of hedge funds. He leads the investment team and directs the company’s business development. During his career, Mr. Hatfield has gained a broad perspective on the U.S. financial markets with years as an investment banker, a research director and portfolio manager, and as a co-founder of a NYSE-listed company. Prior to forming ICA, he partnered with senior energy industry executives to acquire several midstream MLPs. These companies were merged to form a company now known as NGL Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NGL). NGL went public in May 2011 and Mr. Hatfield is currently a general partner. In the years prior to forming NGL, Mr. Hatfield was a portfolio manager at SAC Capital (now Point72 Asset Management), running a portfolio focused on income securities. He joined SAC from Zimmer Lucas Partners, a hedge fund focused on energy and utility sectors, where he was head of research. Earlier in his career, he was head of an investment banking unit at CIBC/Oppenheimer and a Principal in an investment banking unit at Morgan Stanley & Co. He began his career as a CPA at Ernst & Young. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS from the University of California at Davis. Frequently appears on or is quoted in Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, TD Ameritrade Network, and Bloomberg Radio and TV and numerous other media outlets. In additional to asset management, Mr. Hatfield founded Tutoring America, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing low-income students with supplemental tutoring services so that they can catch up to grade level in both math and English language arts.  Learn more: https://www.infracapfunds.com/

Sean McCurry is President of Pinnacle Family Advisors and Co-Portfolio Manager of the Pinnacle Sherman Funds. Sean founded Pinnacle Family Advisors in late 2007.  Prior tofounding Pinnacle Family Advisors, Sean worked as a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial Services and also managed his own Raymond James branch office for nearly 10 years.  Sean is a 1989 graduate of John Brown University.  

Paul Carroll is the Chief Investment Officer for Pinnacle Family Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the Pinnacle Sherman Funds.  He joined PFA in November 2008. Paul began his financial services career with Wachovia Securities in early 2000 and moved to Raymond James Financial Services in 2005, prior to joining PFA.  Paul graduated from Missouri State University in 1991 with a BS in Accounting.  

Website:  https://pinnacledynamicfunds.com/ 

Disclaimer:  Opinions expressed are subject to change at any time, are not guaranteed and should not be considered investment advice. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives, generate profits or avoid losses. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives,     risks, charges and expenses of the Pinnacle Sherman Multi Strategy Core     Fund.  This and other important information about the Fund is     contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained at pinnacledynamicfunds.com or     by calling 888-985-9830.      The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.  The     Pinnacle Sherman Multi Strategy Core Fund is distributed by Northern     Lights Distributors, LLC, member FINRA.

My guest today is Ryan Detrick, CMT, Chief Market Strategist at LPL Financial With Approximately $1Trillion in assets under management (AUM). LPL has around 18,000 financial advisors and Ryan shares a ton of great timeless information on the show.