Enterprising Investor

Why do financial bubbles keep happening when investors know the warning signs? Mark Higgins argues that speculation may be driven less by irrational investors than by rational participants whose incentives increasingly align around keeping capital flowing. We explore how these speculative supply chains form, why risk becomes harder to see as they mature, and how the pattern that helped fuel the Global Financial Crisis may now be emerging in private equity and private credit.
Guest host Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor, speaks with Mark J. Higgins, CFA, CFP®, financial historian, investment adviser, and author of Investing in U.S. Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future.

Eddie Perkin, CFA, former chief investment officer at Eaton Vance and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, joins host Mike Wallberg, CFA, to explore how investors can counter the biases that undermine sound decisions. Drawing on his book, Running Against the Herd, Perkin explains how zero-based portfolio reviews can loosen investors’ attachment to holdings, why a sound process matters more than any single outcome, and how blind votes and junior-first feedback can prevent groupthink. He also shares lessons on productive conflict, long-term compounding, and building teams that challenge assumptions. Listen to discover practical ways to make better investment decisions — individually and collectively.

As agentic AI pushes investment management toward greater autonomy, research points to credible risks that lie ahead. So, what happens when AI moves from assisting portfolio managers to actually making and governing investment decisions?
Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor, sits down with Irina Bevza, PhD, CFA, Head of Quantitative Solutions at Fineco Asset Management, Dublin, to explore the promise and faults of the self-driving portfolio. This episode explores what self-driving portfolios could mean for institutional asset management—and asks the bigger question for investment professionals: If AI can increasingly perform the work of the portfolio manager, where does human judgment remain essential?

Over the next 25 years, trillions of dollars will transfer to younger generations, primarily Gen Z and Millennials. We dive into new CFA Institute research on how younger generations are transforming financial advice through digital-first experiences, AI-powered personalization, values-based investing, and more collaborative adviser relationships. We learn what wealth management professionals must do today to prepare for The Great Wealth Transfer tomorrow. 
Guest host, Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor, speaks with authors of Next-Gen Investors: A Guide for Wealth Managers and Financial Advisers, Genevieve Hayman is Senior Manager, Macrosystems & Foresight, at CFA Institute and Ryan Munson, Senior Manager, Business Operations, Research and Policy Center at CFA Institute.

If heat is a real-world cost for companies, why is it still not accurately and consistently priced into the market? Guest host, Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor, speaks with Mustafa Dah, an associate professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance and Accounting at the Lebanese American University, about  extreme heat as a distinct financial risk. While climate-related disclosures have expanded, markets often struggle to translate recurring heat exposure into company valuations, credit assessments, and costs of capital. This episode explores why investors, analysts, and portfolio managers need to move beyond disclosure and incorporate measurable indicators such as lost operating days, adaptation spending, and weather-risk signals directly into financial analysis and investment decisions.