In this episode of the Investors First Podcast, we sit down with Perth Tolle, founder of the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets Index (FRDM), now over $1.6B in assets. We explore her vision for how personal and economic freedom can shape global investment outcomes. Perth shares her journey from growing up in Beijing to moving to the U.S. at age nine, her early career as a Fidelity advisor, and how those experiences ultimately inspired her differentiated approach to emerging-markets investing. We discuss how she constructs and maintains the FRDM Index, the impact of excluding authoritarian regimes like China and Russia, the wide dispersion across EM index methodologies, and why her strategy has delivered top-tier long-term performance. Perth also walks us through fee decisions, her unique "team of one" operating model, her chance encounter with Rob Arnott and his future support of the Freedom 100 EM ETF, and what it's like partnering with Alpha Architect. This conversation offers a fresh perspective for advisors and investors seeking a freedom-focused approach to global markets. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Chris Cannon (CIO/Principal, FirsTrust) Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com More info at: https://freedometfs.com

Marty Bicknell is the CEO and founder of Mariner, a nationally recognized wealth advisory firm providing comprehensive financial solutions to individuals, families, and institutions. Under his leadership since founding the firm in 2006, Mariner has grown from a small startup into one of the largest registered investment advisory (RIA) firms in the United States, with over $500 billion in assets under advisement. With a strong emphasis on client-first service, innovation, and culture, Marty has cultivated a business model that prioritizes holistic financial planning, investment management, and long-term relationship-building. Mariner has been ranked as a top 5 RIA by Barron's from 2016-2024. Beyond his role as CEO, Marty is an advocate for the financial advisory profession and frequently shares insights on entrepreneurship, leadership, and the future of wealth management. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Chris Cannon (CIO/Principal, FirsTrust) Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Today's guest is Matt Orosz. Matt Orosz is Co-President of Trinity Family Builders, launched in March 2024 by the Orosz brothers in Central Florida. He oversees marketing, sales, land acquisition & operations. Before starting Trinity Family Builders, he co-founded Royal Oak Homes (2011) and Hanover Family Builders (2017), both high-growth companies that were sold—Royal Oak in 2014 and Hanover in 2022 (to Land & Sea Homes, a publicly traded entity). He holds a bachelor's degree from Villanova and an MBA from Rollins College.

In today's episode, we discussed:

· Matt's curiosity, passion for homebuilding, & background in the industrial side of CRE · Public vs. private homebuilders · First-time buyers, market shifts, price points, affordability & rate buydowns (a gimmick?) · Market forecast, build-to-rent trend & regulatory headwinds · How the brothers run their family office (their investment allocation) · Orosz family history, giving back & the success of Cristo Rey Orlando High School · Advice for young professionals [CEP + 3]

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Jeff Goll, CFA(Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets at Hillpointe).

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Today's guest is Chris Hyzy. Chris is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer supporting Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill Lynch (within Bank of America Corporation). He leads investment strategy, asset allocation, equity and fixed income management, due diligence, and wealth planning guidance.

Previously, he was CIO and Chief Investment Strategist for the Private Bank at Bank of America. Before that, he held senior investment roles at Citigroup Private Bank, including CIO for Latin America and chair of the Global Investment Themes Committee. He also led investment strategy teams at Merrill earlier in his career.

Chris holds a bachelor's degree in business from Villanova University and an MBA in finance from NYU's Stern School of Business. He serves on Villanova's board of trustees and has held other advisory and nonprofit investment roles.

In today's episode, we discussed:

· Chris shared his early career story, which began at Merrill in 1991, learning about finance after being cut from the baseball team at Villanova & focusing instead on investing.

· Discussion of Chris's experience coaching sports (football, basketball) and keeping his competitive edge outside of work, noting his national championship softball team.

· Chris described the BofA Chief Investment Office (CIO) structure, highlighting manager due diligence, thought leadership, portfolio management, & wealth structuring.

· Emphasis on encouraging team members to pursue the CFA designation (worth noting he was a CFA candidate before he pursued his MBA at NYU)

· Discussed the balance of absolutes vs. probabilities in market forecasting, including the importance of scenario planning, with their current base case being a "soft patch" rather than an imminent recession, referencing the resilience of the consumer and job market.

· Exploration of valuations, equity allocations, and continuing opportunities in global markets & alternative assets as a diversifier.

· Chris spoke about the evolving office market in commercial real estate, seeing "slow burn" adjustments and repositioning as potential outcomes.

· Final thoughts touched on best practices for young professionals: keys being curious, prepared, & disciplined.

· Chris named Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as two historical figures he would want to interview if the tables were turned & he were the host of the Investors First Podcast.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Steven Rogers, CFA (VP, Capital Markets at Hillpointe).

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Today's guest is Alejandra Grindal. Alejandra serves as the Chief Economist for Ned Davis Research. Based in Florida and a graduate (undergraduate and Master's) of Florida State University, we were pleased to host a true Floridian for this episode. We recently hosted Alejandra for our Annual Dinner for CFA Society Orlando and did such a great job, we wanted to have her on the podcast. She joined Ned Davis in 2006 and has been quoted in national media, including Barron's, WSJ, CNBC, and TIME, and is a guest on CNBC, and Bloomberg TV. Prior to Ned Davis, she served as a full-time Professor and also worked in British Parliament as a research assistant.

Founded in 1980, Ned Davis Research is an independent investment research firm, offering a variety of research products and services to institutional clients globally. They emphasize a data-driven approach, using models, charts, indicators and a "weight-of-the-evidence" methodology to help clients make informed decisions (Gemini created summary).

In this episode, we discuss Alejandra's career as she has been on the economics track at an early age and is practically a lifer at Ned Davis Research, which is rare these days. We discuss all things tariff related, along with her take on current economic data, the risk of stagflation and how investors should best position their portfolios. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Christina Shaffer, CFA (Director of Fixed Income, AllGen Financial) Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com Show Notes: www.ndr.com See the Signals Podcast Signal Exchange Podcast NDR Signals Blog

For our third episode of year six of the podcast, we welcome Herb Greenberg to the Investors First Podcast. Herb's career is incredible, with time as a journalist at major news outlets ranging from the Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle, to the WSJ, and also time at The Street and CNBC. It should be noted that he was born and raised in Florida and attended the University of Miami. Herb's energy and curiosity are up there with anyone we have interviewed in the history of this podcast. In today's episode, we cover a wide range of topics, starting with Herb's successful career as a journalist, how he developed a niche in covering red flags on individual companies, how to use his intel to help mitigate risk, and what are his top red flags today, along with much more.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder/Co-Managing Principal, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-hostChris Cannon (CIO/Principal, FirsTrust)

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Show Notes:

· Substack: https://substack.com/@herbgreenberg · Site: herbgreenberg.com

For our second episode of year six of the podcast, we welcome my friend John Bowman to the podcast. I can't say enough positive things about what John is doing with the CAIA Association (as well as his predecessor Bill Kelly), both of whom put investors first, which is what this podcast is all about. John stepped in as CEO at the beginning of 2025 and we thought it would be great to hear his vision for where alternative investing is headed over the next decade. John is a speaker, writer, commentator and frequently keynoting industry conferences and has been featured in the WSJ, NYT, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, CNBC and more. John earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charter holder, which is how we have known John for so long.

In this episode, we discuss past CEO Bill Kelly, miles traveled over the past year, the future of CAIA, liquidity budgets for investors and how to size an allocation to alternatives, the private/public convergence, tokenization of private assets, and more.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder & Co-Managing Principal of 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Kevin Laake, CFA, CAIA (Team Lead at Mariner Institutional). Both of us are past Presidents of CFA Society Orlando. It is worth noting that Kevin serves as a Chapter Executive for CAIA Florida, which is why I thought he would be great as a co-host for this episode.

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Show Notes:

· From Vision to Action: CAIA's CEO on Shaping Tomorrow's Industry (https://caia.org/blog/2025/01/14/vision-action-caias-ceo-shaping-tomorrows-industry) · Capital Decanted Podcast (https://caia.org/capital-decanted-podcast) · Caia.org · CFA stackable program (https://caia.org/stackable)

To kick off year six of the Investors First Podcast, today's guest is Tom Lee. Tom is the Managing Partner and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, with over 25 years of experience in equity research. Formerly J.P. Morgan's Chief Equity Strategist, he is a top-ranked strategist and you will frequently find him on CNBC. Lee holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and is a CFA charter holder.

In this episode, we discuss where the S&P 500 will end up in 2025 and areas of the market Tom likes in 2025. Tom discusses bitcoin and how it should be valued relative to gold. We talk about AI and its impact on the market, but more importantly, the importance of ethics as it relates to AI. We also discuss DOGE (which hasn't been discussed since Truman in the 40's), why more basketball players should shoot free throws underhand, and how he developed the granny shots strategy.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Drew Papke, CFA (Director, Private Bank Investments at Fifth Third Bank).

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Show Notes:

· FundSrat: https://fundstrat.com · Complimentary Research: fsinsight.com · Granny Shots: https://fsinsight.com/members/stock-lists/?category=granny-shots-stock-list · Book rec: The Coming Wave (By: Mustafa Suleyman)

Today's guest is Rob Arnott, Founder and Chairman of Research Affiliates, where he actively contributes to research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy, and client relations. He co-manages several funds, including the PIMCO All Asset and RAE™ funds. Throughout his career, Rob has challenged conventional financial wisdom and pioneered strategies such as tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach. Before founding Research Affiliates in 2002, Rob was chair of First Quadrant, LP, global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers, and CEO of TSA Capital Management. He has published over 150 articles and won numerous awards, including eight Graham and Dodd Scrolls awarded annually by the CFA Institute. Rob also received the 2013 William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award. Rob holds a summa cum laude BS in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from UC Santa Barbara. (Note: bio condensed by ChatGPT). In this episode, Rob gets us current since he last visited us in Orlando last February, with everything from market returns to the returns impact pre and post-election. We officially welcome Rob as a Florida resident, we discuss the beginning of Research Affiliates, along with indexes dumping stocks and the contrarian launch of his new ETF, NIXT, expected returns, AI and its impact on white-collar professionals, and more. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder, 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Javier Perez, CFA (Director, BlackPoint Capital), both of us are Past Presidents of CFA Orlando. Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com Show Notes: Link: Expected Returns Interactive Tool Research Affiliates: https://www.researchaffiliates.com/ NIXT ETF: https://nixtetf.com/etf/