“The Wolf Den” hosted by Dan David

This week, The Pack takes a trip back to the early days of short selling only to find out that, sadly, not much has changed. In 1970, Kurt Feshbach (@Kurt_Feshbach on Twitter) was a high school dropout, described in one article as a “typical SoCal surfer” sporting long hair, flipflops and a tank top. Based on appearance alone, nobody could have known that his small company in California, Feshbach Bros., was actually one of the most feared Activist Short Sellers in the world.  

Kurt takes us through his first trade (which netted him $5k) and through some of the biggest hits that, in 9 years, had Feshbach Bros. managing a billion dollars - for those keeping score, that’s an annualized return (IRR) of 232.4% - not bad for high school dropout. 

Kurt went to war with journalists and banks while balancing a complicated relationship with the SEC and other regulators. He was criticized at the time for using what many considered to be unorthodox investigation techniques but has now become standard practice for top-tier Activist Shorts.

Kurt now runs https://bindlepaper.com. The Bindle Paper is an independent boutique research firm which produces deep dive, single-stock short research for a discrete and limited group of institutional clients.

bin·dle pa·per: A clean piece of standard-size, folded paper used to contain trace evidence.

Sit back, grab a drink, and enjoy the trip through time, knowledge, and experience that Kurt imparts during our fascinating conversation.

“We're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive. It's pretty dense kids who haven't figured that out by the time they're ten.... Most kids can't afford to go to Harvard and be misinformed.”

― Kurt Vonnegut

1:05 Kurt talks about how he got started and the help he had from his partners and his father.

2:42 Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Hear the long list of companies whose executives ended up in prison after dealing with the Feshbach Bros. 

6:05 Kurt working on the sell side of Wall St, and meets a man that showed him the light, which led him to his first short idea.

12:26 A business is born; Kurt brings in his brothers and gets some seed money from a partner to start Feshbach Brothers.

15:03 Green energy was booming in the 1980’s - the problem was that most of them were frauds. Kurt made a killing exposing them, including one that claimed to create "clean" energy from human waste… turns out they were full of shit.

17:40 Kurt takes us through the process that they employed to obtain SEC filings via 1980’s technology.

28:06 Kurt talks about ZZZBest and Barry Minkow, one of the biggest and best shorts on his impressive track record, as well as a few others that were absolutely amazing finds.

34:55 All that swag, congressional hearings, and Robert Flaherty.

41:19 Picking through the trash, putting the puzzle together, and working with reporters to get your story out before the internet was invented.

48:48 How the market is essentially the same 40 years later, well except for the valuations...

58:57 Kurt addresses the "rumors" that Wells Fargo killed his business

1:06:38 The SEC and 20,000 pages of thermal paper.

1:19:39  The next big thing for Kurt: The Bindle Paper.

This week The Pack had the pleasure of speaking with Jordan Thomas. Jordan is widely recognized as being at the pinnacle of whistleblower law in the United States. He is currently serving as a partner and chair for the Whistleblower Representation Practice at Labaton Sucharow. Before that, he was a Naval judge, DOJ trial lawyer, and assistant director to the SEC.  At the SEC, he helped develop the original whistleblower program and laid the foundation for what it is today.

Jordan goes into great detail about what whistleblowers mean to the financial ecosystem and how their cases must be handled in order to best protect investors. He also describes how he sees the regulatory system progressing, and addresses what he believes the SEC must accomplish in order to better enforce its regulations.

Jordan is truly an expert on all aspects of financial regulation. Sit back, grab a drink, and enjoy the knowledge and experience that he imparts during our conversation.

1:34 Jordan breaks down his vast work experience and some of his accomplishments along the way.

4:00 Jordan’s pretty unique background and upbringing – how he found his path toward fighting corruption with strong influences from his father who was a judge, and mother who was a nun and school teacher.

10:23 Why is it that nobody gets prosecuted for fraud anymore? Jordan’s thoughts on using litigation as a deterrent.

23:49 Jordan addresses the regulatory gaps that he’d like to see corrected, and how Dodd-Frank still has a way to go.

30:30 If Jordan was in charge at the SEC - how the SEC should allocate its limited resources, and what he would do to increase the amount of trials.

41:10 Jordan’s reasoning for suing the SEC, and how the SEC moves the goalposts by changing the rules pertaining to whistleblowers and why that hurts their cause.

48:00 How fighting the good fight goes beyond wins and losses, the need for bringing more cases to trial, and how companies take advantage of the SEC’s lack of prosecution - such as Walmart’s FCPA violations.

55:22 Jordan’s thoughts on the increasingly pervasive fraud coming out of China and the difficulty in collecting from Chinese frauds. The difference between how corporations react to policy and enforcement - fines have become a slap on the wrist.

1:03:01 Jordan’s advice for investors: either be diligent or look into index funds. How one becomes a client of his practice, and why the SEC is skeptical of short sellers’ biases.

This week Dan and the Pack sit down with journalist, commentator, and investment researcher Herb Greenberg. Many listeners will recognize Herb from his work as a senior market commentator on CNBC, and also from his work at both TheStreet and MarketWatch.

Before his time on television, Herb got started in journalism writing for the Boca Raton News, the Chicago Tribune as a New York-based financial correspondent, and eventually landed his gig as a daily columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Currently, Herb and his partners run Pacific Square Research, a subscription-based research firm specializing in fundamental, investigative and forensic analysis.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy a conversation with veteran investigative financial journalist Herb Greenberg, as he dishes some great backstory about breaking some of the most memorable insider trading-stories, investigations, and SEC run-ins over his 40-year career

The Pack takes a break from the world of finance and spends some time on focusing on what may be the most important and misunderstood topic in the world today: COVID-19 vaccines. 

Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP and Andrea C. Love, Ph.D. take us from the origins of vaccination to the current global pandemic. Dr. Steier and Dr. Love have extensive experience in dealing with public health policies, as well as vaccines. Together they host the "Unbiased Science Podcast" - We encourage you to give their show a listen at  https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/.  

They help us understand why some people are apprehensive when it comes to vaccinations and dispel some of the rumors and misinformation surrounding the new COVID-19 vaccines. 

Get the truth, get the science and get vaccinated to help stop the spread of COVID-19.  

5:11 - The science and history behind vaccines and how mRNA vaccines are different from traditional vaccines.

16:40 - Addressing falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccines, why some people have mild adverse reactions to the vaccine, and how mRNA vaccines have developed over time.

24:23 - The different types of COVID-19 vaccines in the pipeline, why COVID-19 is more dangerous than the flu, and the long term disabling effects of the virus that are being overlooked.

34:02 - The different variants of COVID-19 that are emerging around the world, and whether or not the current vaccines will be effective against them.

39:33 - The importance of getting vaccinated, what the government needs to do in terms of distribution, and why some minority groups are especially suspicious of the vaccine.

The Pack is joined this week by Ambassador Dennis Shea. Ambassador Dennis Shea was the Deputy United States Trade Representative and Chief of Mission, Geneva where he represented the United States as Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Ambassador Shea takes us through his history serving on the U S China economic and security review commission. His time in Geneva where he became famous in China on Weibo, Chinas version of twitter.  Through the struggles at the WTO and some surprising allies as well as some allies that are more like frenemies. Ambassador Shea also talks about what his hopes are for the new administration and the future of the WTO. 

2:32 Ambassador Shea’s time serving on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission and China’s ability to export a chill on freedom of speech in America.

7:56 How Ambassador Shea became a US representative to the World Trade Organization, the ways other countries in the WTO have failed to hold China accountable, and 

17:35 Where the WTO has failed in promoting free and fair trade, the issues of including China in the WTO, and Ambassador Shea’s three main issues with the WTO.

29:29 China’s demands for the WTO going forward, how China called themselves a “developing country” to get preferential treatment, and the need for allied countries to join the US in sanctioning China.

37:38 Jack Ma’s disappearance, the Kennedy Bill’s debacle with delisting Chinese Telecom companies, and Ambassador Shea’s term for these sorts of companies: Ostensibly Private but State Influenced Corporations (OPSIC)

45:06 Ambassador Shea’s ideal agenda for the WTO going forward under the Biden administration and his urgent plea for other countries to join the US in WTO reform.

53:07 What Ambassador Shea will be watching in the coming years and what events would be cause for concern for the US. 

Special guest Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder of J Capital Research Joins the  pack to discuss the BTBT Bit Digital report.

In this episode the pack travels back to China in search of Jack Ma. We bring back  China accounting expert Professor Paul Gillis and new to the pack, Herb Greenberg.  We dive into the reasons why, and not for the first time, Jack Ma has been removed from the public.   We also get an in-depth look at how Alibaba became the giant it is and was able to crush its competitors in China.  Paul and Herb share some of the details from the IPO, red flags that created the ongoing SEC investigation and the problems that Jack may have created with Ant Financial.  

Enjoy this discussion from our panel of some of the worlds best in finance.  

• 2:22 What the hell is going on with Jack Ma

In this episode The Pack continues it world tour speaking to the experts in the financial world.  We land in Beijing and visit with Professor Paul Gillis.  Paul is one of the foremost accounting experts in the world on China.  This former PWC partner and PCOAB advisory board member is the go-to guy for the US Government as well as Public and Private entities when they have questions on China and its accounting practices.   

Hear about Paul's life and how he ended up in China.  How accounting has evolved and how China's accounting practices have evolved.  We touch on current events and some future predictions.  

Sit back, have a drink, and enjoy a conversation with Dan and The Pack as they swap stories with the amazing Professor Paul Gillis.

• 2:28 Paul’s backstory as an aspiring Olympic skier and his entrance into accounting and joining PricewaterhouseCoopers in its early stages in China

In this episode we travel across the pond to chat with internationally renowned forensic accountant and author Steven Clapham. Steven talks to us about life as a sell-side analyst, his due diligence work when vetting a company, and his book “The Smart Money Method.”

When he’s not providing research for private clients, Stephen is educating the next generation of analysts with his online investment research and analysis training course - Behind the Balance Sheet.

Sit back, have a drink, and enjoy a conversation with Dan and The Pack as they swap stories with award-winning forensic accountant Stephen Clapham.

• 3:55 – Have you ever wondered what qualifications you need to be a sell-side analyst? According to Stephen – none.

On this episode, Dan and the Pack start to explore the world of cryptocurrency with well-known Bitcoin SV advocate Sir Toshi-Defender of Bitcoin.

2:50 - Why Sir Toshi chooses to be pseudonymous, his theory on the true identity of “Satoshi Nakamoto,” and how Bitcoin contains value.

13:49 - How Satoshi Nakamoto allowed Bitcoin to build credibility through neutral growth and the Winklevoss twins’ giant stake in Bitcoin.

28:25 - How blockchain remains independent by decentralizing the point of authority.

31:14 - Sir Toshi’s belief in the future of Bitcoin, the benefits of decentralized currency, and how miners both compete and work together to maintain the network.

50:42 - The rise of blockchain in corporations and the internet, and the concern over data that can never be deleted.

56:27 - The rise of “fake” Bitcoins.