Accredited Investor Markets Radio

In Episode 85, we speak with Todd Ryden, CEO of FNEX, a growing on-line alternative investor marketplace. FNEX brings accredited investors together with curated sellers of private placement equity interests, managed futures, secondary private securities, and interests in hedge funds and private equity funds.     You can learn more about Todd Ryden and FNEX here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @InvestFNEX & @FNEXTodd Facebook LinkedIn: FNEX & Todd Ryden YouTube     About Todd Ryden   Mr. Ryden is an experienced entrepreneur and manager, having founded and sold several enterprises. After practicing law, Mr. Ryden co-founded StarCom Broadband, a cable and high-speed data provider. StarCom was sold in 2001 to Comcast®. Mr. Ryden co-founded Cole Marketing, a bottled water brand-marketing group, acquired in 2006 by a New York based venture capital group. Mr. Ryden co-founded Caldera Development, a real estate development company that has participated in the development of over 430,000sf of retail and office space. Mr. Ryden was a co-founder of ViaStar Energy, Inc. which provided utility management services nationwide. ViaStar’s Automated Meter Reading technology was acquired by Motorola® in 2007 and its utility services division was acquired in 2008 by NWP Services Corp. ®. Mr. Ryden is the Managing Director of The Applied Group, a private equity firm. Prior to entering the business world, Mr. Ryden's legal career included litigating at the Indiana Supreme Court, and representing the State of Indiana in the tobacco litigation. Mr. Ryden obtained his Juris Doctorate from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, has a certificate in International Contract Law from Tulane University, Paris, France, and obtained his B.A. from Purdue University. He has been a member of the American and Indiana Bar Associations, serves as President of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Indiana, is a Board Member of Christel House’s Drop Out Recovery School and has been a guest lecturer at Purdue University, Ball State University and the University of Indianapolis.

In Episode 84, Jason Stevens, investment executive and natural resource specialist for Sprott Global Resource Investments, discusses the potential benefits of investing in the equity of high-quality "Real" Asset agricultural, mining, or energy companies with host, Chris Cahill.  That's right, energy companies, even today: the key to garnering inflation protection plus return for such investment is the quality of the companies.   Learn more about Jason Stevens and Sprott Global here.   Or you can find them here: LinkedIn Twitter: @js_sprottglobal     About Jason Stevens   Jason Stevens is a natural resource specialist and Investment Executive for Sprott Global Resource Investments. He is dedicated to helping accredited investors create personalized investment portfolios focused on natural resources. Jason has spent the last 12 years working closely with mining and petroleum engineers, influential industry executives, and economic geologists.  A dedicated self-starter, Jason started his career with Sprott on the equity trading desk where he honed his understanding of domestic and foreign equity, commodity and currency markets. Jason has been a featured contributor to industry sites such as Resource Investing News, Financial Survival Network, and The Contrarian Investor Podcast. Jason is a supporter and promoter of the Austrian School of Economics and spends his free time instructing Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of Israel Defense Force. Sprott Global Resource Investments is a boutique investment firm specializing in natural resource investments including precious metals, base metals, oil & gas, agriculture, water, and alternative energy.  Sprott Global’s clients include small and large individual and institutional investors who want a portion of their portfolio invested in natural resource sectors, especially in junior exploration companies.

In Episode 83, David Drake takes a break from a world tour on behalf of The Soho Loft to talk with Chris Cahill about why debt crowdfunding will gain ground in the US and elsewhere over the rest of 2016,  to the extent that some platforms will switch from equity offerings to debt offerings.  David gets everywhere and hears from everyone, so his cosmopolitan insights are substantiated.  Come join David Drake's world.   Learn more about David Drake, The Soho Loft and LDJ Capital by visiting www.ldjcaptial.com and thesoholoft.com   You can also find him here:   Twitter: @TheSohoLoft LinkedIn   About David Drake   David Drake is a leading equity expert based in New York. He is the founder and chairman of LDJ Capital, a private equity advisory firm, and of The Soho Loft, an event-driven global financial media company. Mr. Drake is a strong advocate of innovative investing in early-stage equity and the US JOBS Act, for which he lobbied both Congress and the EU Commission. Because of his leading work in this space, he was a US Commerce Department delegate to the EU Commission in Brussels and Rome, and was invited in May 2013 to the White House Champions of Change ceremony in Washington, D.C.   His investment, The Soho Loft, produces and sponsors 150+ global events a year. One such event was produced in April 2013 for the institutional media leader Thomson Reuters, with speakers from Nasdaq, NYSE, KKR and Carlyle Group. He continues to advance innovative investing through his work as an international speaker and regular writer for major publications like Forbes and Thomson Reuters. He has co-authored the book Planet Entrepreneur: The World Entrepreneurship Forum’s Guide to Business Success Around the World and is the author of Crowd Fund Economics.His focus today is to take on board advisory positions at companies, angel networks and venture funds, and to guide them on such topics as international regulations, corporate strategy and fund structures, with emphasis on the growing trend of online investment automation for retail and angel investors.Privately, Mr. Drake has hosted the Harvard Business Club of NY at his home, produced Carnegie Hall concerts and raised funds for the charities Trail Blazers and Best Buddies Carnegie Hall for many years. Today he is a board director of the UBS Charity of the Year, London-based ARCHIVE Global, and is co-chair of the Tree Kangaroo Foundation in New York.Born in Sweden and fluent in six languages, Mr. Drake has an MBA in Finance and an MA in International Law and Economics from George Washington University, where he was awarded the Wallenberg Scholarship for academic merit.

In Episode 82, Chris Cahill speaks with Phil DeMuth, author of The Overtaxed Investor: Slash Your Tax Bill & Be a Tax Alpha Dog. The author is as engaging and enthused as his frequent co-author Ben Stein affects not to be.  Listen and learn about the benefits of taking a "lifetime perspective on your taxes."   You can learn more about Phil DeMuth here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @PhilDeMuth LinkedIn     About Phil DeMuth   Phil DeMuth is Managing Director at Conservative Wealth Management, LLC, where he enjoys working with high net worth clients and saving them from the depredations of the financial services industry.   Phil was valedictorian of his class at the University of California at Santa Barbara, then went on for his master’s in communication and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. A psychologist and investment advisor, Phil has written for the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, the Journal of Financial Planning, Human Behavior and Psychology Today , and is the author of nine books on investing, most co-authored with his pal, economist Ben Stein. His opinions have been quoted in the New York Times, the Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, On Wall Street, Fortune, Research Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, Motley Fool, theStreet.com and he has been seen on various TV shows, including CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange, On the Money, Squawk Box and Closing Bell, as well as Fox & Friends, Wall Street Week, and Consuelo Mack WealthTrack.  

Gap Year: using a year between high school and college in particular ways in order to maximize the value of college. In Episode 81, Chris Cahill talks Gap Year with Ethan Knight, co-founder of the American Gap Association. The AGA serves as a comprehensive resource for those interested in the programmatic Gap Year's instructional, experiential, and adventuresome qualities.   You can find out more about Ethan Knight and the American Gap Association here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @americangap Facebook LinkedIn      About Ethan Knight   Ethan Knight has been working within the world of Gap Years since 1996, when he took his own Gap Year to India, Nepal and Tibet. Back in those days the only options to taking an official Gap Year was through the Center for Interim Programs, and that's exactly how he first heard about this strange thing called a Gap Year. After an inspired talk at his high school, he started a conversation with Interim Programs to discuss what would eventually turn into his own sojourn. Ethan graduated from Willamette University - a small Tier 1 private liberal arts university - with majors in English and Philosophy, and a minor in Environmental Sciences. Immediately after graduating he went to work for LEAPNOW as an intern where his passion for education really took firm root. With the help of a few key mentors along the way, primarily Sam Bull, Ethan eventually led programs for groups of Gap Year students through Latin America and Asia, finally working his way up to Assistant Director of the organization. After seven years at LEAPNOW, Ethan returned home to Portland, Oregon to found Carpe Diem Education. While Carpe Diem began with just three programs, Ethan added five more over the next six years in order to create more options for a wider variety of students. During his tenure at Carpe Diem Education, Ethan also founded the International Carpe Diem Foundation (now Carpe Mundi) - a non-profit dedicated to the inclusion of economically disadvantaged students in Gap Year programs and higher education. It is currently the only non-profit of its kind in Oregon. Eventually, after 6 years at Carpe Diem he recognized a need for a professional association amongst Gap Year providers. The needs of the industry were demanding a hub for information-sharing, development of best-practices, and objective evaluation. Thus, in 2012 he worked with many in the field to found the American Gap Association.

In Episode 80, marriage and family therapist Carrie Rosenbloom discusses how to cultivate thoughtfulness and discernment in those relationships which constitute the why of our achievements, both professionally and financially.    You can find out more about Carrie and The Family Mediation Group here.   Or you can find her here: Twitter:  @mommyontherocks Facebook LinkedIn: Carrie Rosenbloom; The Family Mediation Group     About Carrie Rosenbloom   Carrie Rosenbloom is co-founder and partner in the Family Mediation Group, LLC, and co-founder and partner in CT Relational Therapy, LLC.  She has a background in the law and a deep interest in human relationships. Rosenbloom’s belief that the two fields are intertwined led her to develop both practice groups. She began her career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, IL. primarily serving the narcotics bureau, Chicago’s busiest department. She went on to development work in the non-profit sector, raising money and developing programming for underserved Latino youth in one of Chicago’s near north neighborhoods. Motherhood became Rosenbloom’s next passion, raising children in the mountains of Ojai, CA., where she and her husband, four children and five dogs took a different path in life. It was there that Rosenbloom combined her love of learning with her interest in human relationships and took on the role of content editor at the now defunct Emommy.com. Connecting with other mothers, she and her team sought to shift the dialogue between moms from raising children, to one of raising adults, childhood being the stepping stone. In 2009, she and her family moved East to Connecticut, and she co-founded the two practice groups.  Soon, Rosenbloom will share much of what she’s learned about how succeeding in business is related to success at home. Her Financial Poise column, “Lifecycle Management for Business Success,” debuts next week.

In Episode 79, Financial Poise Radio sits with Daniel Rossen, Senior Broker of-CRC Insurance, to speak of insurance.  No, wait!  Don't run!  There are coverages that can help businesses grow!  There are coverage choices that are meaningful at different stages of an enterprise's expansion.  For a lucid, nay pellucid explanation, Mr. Rossen's your man.   You can find out more about Daniel Rossen and CRC Insurance here.   Or you can find him here: LinkedIn: Daniel Rossen; CRC Insurance

How are those financial abs?  Are you financially fit?  Michelle Gershfeld of Get Financially Fit is your financial trainer, and our guest for Episode 78 of Financial Poise Radio.  Find out what Michelle means by the tenet "Pay yourself first!"  Learn how our attitudes need to be adjusted to improve our relationship with money.  And Michelle knows, in part from a career as counsel to chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees. Learn more about Michelle Gershfeld here. Or you can find her here: EmailLinkedIn   About Michelle Gershfeld Michelle Gershfeld has spent nearly 30 years as a lawyer, specializing in bankruptcy law.  She began her career in 1989 at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, LLP, and later joined David Kittay’s law firm, first in Manhattan and then in Westchester County, and found her niche specializing in bankruptcy law.  Gershfeld has been the firm’s managing partner since 2000.  She has represented bankruptcy trustees and clients in more than 20,000 cases.  As an Accredited Financial Counselor and Financial Fitness Coach, she is an active member of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE), the nationally recognized leader in financial counseling and education. Bridging the two fields of law and financial counseling, Gershfeld uses her skills as a speaker and published writer to help clients on the road toward financial security.  Soon, she will regularly share her strategies with Financial Poise readers in a new column called  “Get Financially Fit,” dedicated to the idea that your financial success starts with managing your money.

In Episode 77, Chris Cahill speaks about hoards with World Numismatist and Cataloger Bruce Walker, of Stack's Bowers Galleries. From Lydia to the present, coins have delighted hoard-finders and collectors. Coins also constitute a tangible asset class with which one may balance the ol' portfolio. Find out more about Bruce Walker and Stack's Bowers here. Or you can find them here: Twitter: @StacksBowersFacebookLinkedIn InstagramGoogle+   About Bruce Walker Bruce Walker joined Stack’s Bowers Galleries, a firm engaged in the sale and auction of rare coins and currency, in early 2015 as a World Numismatist and Cataloger.  After collecting world gold coins by Friedberg catalog number since his mid-20s, his numismatic interests blossomed subsequent to purchasing a used copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins a few years later.  After a number of years pursuing numismatics as an avocation while employed in the information technology field, Bruce began a gradual transformation toward a career as a professional numismatist.  At first buying and selling on eBay, his involvement with fellow hobbyists led him to become an officer of the Johnson County Numismatic Society (Kansas) before joining a local numismatic auction house to assist with the liquidation of the Dr. Richard D. Bode estate in 2013.  As his passion and expertise with coins grew, Bruce made the decision to leave IBM after 25 years to pursue what many consider to be a dream job working with rare coins on a daily basis​.  A frequent contributor within the numismatic press, with nearly a dozen published Op-Ed pieces in Numismatic News, Bruce continues to pursue numismatics both as a hobbyist as well as a professional.

In Episode 76, Financial Poise Radio host Chris Cahill interviews Financial Poise founder Jonathan Friedland. They discuss the roots of Financial Poise in educating investors about alternative assets, providing distressed deal data and marketing modes, presenting carefully selected and edited writings, and producing webinars on a strict NON pay-to-play basis.   You can learn more about Jonathan Friedland here and here.   Or you can find him here: FacebookLinkedIn Twitter: @lawyerfriedland   About Jonathan Friedland Jonathan Friedland is a partner with Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Hammer. Jonathan P. Friedland is well recognized as a lawyer’s lawyer.  Clients turn to Jonathan with their most challenging restructuring and business matters.  In addition to counseling privately owned businesses in their acquisition and divestiture transactions, Jonathan is highly regarded for serving as outside general counsel to closely-held companies and their principals.  In addition, he frequently serves as co-counsel to other law firms whose clients are facing financial distress. Jonathan’s practice is national, regional and local in scope.  He is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. Jonathan’s practice includes representing private equity funds and other investors in mergers and acquisitions activities. Additionally he advises clients about fiduciary duties and helps structure relationships between shareholders, LLC members and joint venturers.  He counsels on succession planning, , employee matters and a host of other corporate matters.  During the course of his representation, Jonathan is frequently engaged in negotiating loans and equipment leases and general contract issues. In his extensive restructuring and insolvency work, Jonathan as guided scores of companies through challenging financial situations, including Chapter 11, assignments for the benefit of creditors and out-of-court workouts. For over two decades, he has also represented buyers of distressed assets and creditors and creditor committees against distressed business. Jonathan is a highly regarded author, editor and speaker. He has authored more than 100 published articles in professional journals. He also has been profiled, interviewed and/or quoted in such publications as Buyouts Magazine, The M&A Journal, Inside Counsel, LAW360,Business Week.com, The Bankruptcy Strategist, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review; Dow Jones LBO Wire, and The Daily Deal. Jonathan is lead author of Strategic Alternatives for Distressed Businesses, and Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation treatises, published by West, and the general editor of A Comparison Shopping Guide for 363 Sales, published by the American Bankruptcy Institute. Jonathan is also the founder and chairman of DailyDAC, LLC, d/b/a Financial Poise™, an on-line provider of continuing education, information, and business intelligence for business owners, investors, and their trusted advisors.  He is also on the editorial board of “The Corporate Counselor.”

In Episode 75 of Accredited Investor Markets, Philippe de Lapérouse of High Quest Partners discusses how agricultural commodity prices vary from other (recently plunging) commodity prices for oil and steel, and the attention being paid to water resources by policy-makers, producers, and investors. High Quest Partners is excited about producing the Global Aginvesting 2016 -- the world's premier agricultural investment conference -- taking place April 25-28 in New York City.    You can learn more about Philippe and High Quest Partners here.   Or you can find them here: LinkedIn: Philippe LinkedIn: High Quest Partners      About Philippe de Lapérouse   Philippe de Lapérouse has more than 30 years of senior level experience working with leading global companies in the agro-industrial and value-added food chain, including Ralston Purina and Bunge, as well as working as an investment banker at the beginning of his career. As Managing Director of HighQuest Partners, he has led over 50 engagements advising executive teams of major strategic and financial investors operating and investing globally across the food, biotech and bioenergy value chains to on making informed decisions regarding resource allocation, new business opportunities and developing investment strategies to address the challenges facing global agriculture. Prior to joining HighQuest, Mr. de Lapérouse was Director of Business Development for Bunge North America, Inc., where he was responsible for the company’s efforts to expand its oilseed processing operations into Mexico and the Caribbean Basin, as well as developing export markets for oilseed products and feed grains into the Caribbean, North Africa and eastern Mediterranean. Previously, Mr. de Lapérouse held senior line management positions with Ralston Purina International where he managed operations and was responsible for functions including marketing, sales and developing dealer distribution networks targeting the industrial livestock and poultry sectors in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Mr. de Lapérouse served as director of Sodrugestvo Management Company, Ltd., the leading importer, crusher and distributor of soybeans and feed ingredients in Russia from 2009 to 2012 and was instrumental in making the introduction which resulted in Mitsui acquiring a 10% shareholding in the company. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the Ag Innovation Showcase at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, MO, and is the author of the report, Private Financial Sector Investment in Farmland and Agricultural Infrastructure (2010) which was commissioned by OECD in 2010 to provide insights on this emerging asset class and the impact that private sector investment is having on the regions in which they are investing. He received his B.A. degree from Trinity College and an M.B.A. degree from The Darden School of Business at The University of Virginia.

  In Episode 74 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, Chris Cahill discusses "The Elements of Power" -- the first major book (and a very fine one) on the rare earth metals trade -- with its author, David S. Abraham. Niobium in steel, much of the Periodic Table in each smartphone, and in smart weaponry: what are the geopolitical risks and supply chain vagaries associated with market dominance by a few nations and players?  What should investors know about time frames, extraction risks, pricing volatility risks, and the Molycorp bankruptcy? Note: approximately 4 seconds of the broadcast was conducted in the Lithuanian language.   You can find out more about David S. Abraham here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @abrahadave @tremcenter Instagram: elementsofpower LinkedIn   About David S. Abraham   David S. Abraham runs the Technology, Rare and Electronics Materials Center and is author of The Elements of Power. His career spans from commodities trading and Wall Street to the White House where he oversaw international and natural resource programs. He is a frequent speaker on rare metals and technology demands. A recipient of numerous fellowships, David researched the rare metal trade at Tokyo University, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also oversaw operations of a clean water non-profit, starting the organization’s operations in Japan and Uganda. During his career, he has advised investors on resource opportunities, counseled Congressional staff on resource risks, and received a meritorious service award while in government. He has crossed more borders than he cares to count, interviewed hundreds of people throughout the rare metal supply line and, when younger, monitored elections throughout central Asia and eastern Europe. David has been selected as a Young Leader by numerous international organizations and is currently a Truman National Security Fellow. He holds degrees from Boston College and Tufts University and speaks Lithuanian.

In Episode 73 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, Sara Hanks, co-founder and CEO of CrowdCheck, reflects on vetting early-stage private companies seeking online capital formation in the New World created by the JOBS Act. Ms. Hanks' perspective is also informed by her past as an SEC attorney, and her present as co-chair of the SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies. You can learn more about Sara Hanks and CrowdCheck here. Or you can find them here: Twitter: @SaraCrowdCheck; @CrowdCheck LinkedIn: Sara Hanks; CrowdCheck Facebook YouTube   About Sara Hanks Sara is a corporate and securities attorney with three decades of experience. She is the co-founder of CrowdCheck, which provides due diligence, disclosure and compliance services for online capital formation. She is co-Chair of the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies, and her comments are her own and do not represent the positions of the SEC. Sara Hanks, co-founder and CEO of CrowdCheck, is an attorney with over 30 years of experience in the corporate and securities field. CrowdCheck provides due diligence, disclosure and compliance services for online capital formation. Its services help entrepreneurs and project sponsors through the disclosure and due diligence process, give investors the information they need to make an informed investment decision and avoid fraud and help intermediaries avoid liability. Sara’s prior position was General Counsel of the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel, the overseer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Prior to that, Sara spent many years as a partner of Clifford Chance, one of the world’s largest law firms.  While at Clifford Chance, she advised on capital markets transactions and corporate matters for companies throughout the world.  Sara began her career with the London law firm Norton Rose. She later joined the Securities and Exchange Commission and as Chief of the Office of International Corporate Finance led the team drafting regulations that put into place a new generation of rules governing the capital-raising process. Sara received her law degree from Oxford University and is a member of the New York and DC bars and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. She serves as co-Chair of the SEC’s Advisory Council on Small and Emerging Companies. She holds a Series 65 securities license as a registered investment advisor. Sara is an aunt, Army wife, skier, cyclist, gardener and animal lover.    

Hedge Fund methods with Mutual Fund daily liquidity?  In Episode 72, we spoke of Liquid Alternatives with Pete Hecht, Managing Director of Evanston Capital Management. Mr. Hecht urged investors to reject hype and to measure performance net of fees that can be attributed to such strategies. You can learn more about Pete Hecht and Evanston Capital Management here. Or you can find them here: LinkedIn: Pete Hecht; Evanston Capital Management @EvanstonCapital   About Pete Hecht Area of Focus: Topical Investment Research, Portfolio Strategy, & Risk Management Profile: Joined ECM in 2013. Previously served in various portfolio manager and strategy roles for Allstate Corporation’s $35 billion property & casualty insurance portfolio and $4 billion pension plan.  Also had the opportunity to Chair the Investment Strategy Committee, Global Strategy Team, and Performance Measurement Authority. Served as an Assistant Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and taught the required first year finance course in the MBA program and an advanced asset pricing course in the Business Economics Ph.D. program. Has research and publications covering a variety of areas within finance, including behavioral and rational theories of asset pricing, liquidity, capital market efficiency, complex security valuation, credit risk, and asset allocation. Served at investment banks J.P. Morgan and Hambrecht & Quist and as a consultant for State Street Global Markets. Education: B.A. in Economics and Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth College M.B.A., University of Chicago Ph.D. in Finance, University of Chicago (Dissertation Committee:  Eugene Fama – Chair, George Constantinides, Tobias Moskowitz, Richard Thaler).

A long-term investment strategy that keeps wealth in and taxes away. Our Chris Cahill spoke with Tracy Treger, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at Syndicated Equities about the mechanics of 1031 like-kind exchanges with respect to real estate investment, both for individuals and participants in investment syndicates.   You can learn more about Tracy Treger and Syndicated Equities here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @tracy_treger; @SEquities LinkedIn: Tracy Treger; Syndicated Equities     About Tracy Treger   Tracy Treger is the Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at Syndicated Equities. Tracy helps high net worth individuals and family offices to profitably invest in real estate.  She also assists investors in identifying appropriate replacement property to complete tax-deferred exchanges under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Drawing upon her 20 years’ experience practicing law in the areas of real estate, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, finance, and commercial law, Tracy seeks out opportunities to improve the relationship between Syndicated Equities and its investors, to cultivate new investors, and to identify new investment opportunities aligned with investors' goals.  Tracy joined the Syndicated Equities team in 2013 after serving as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for a private REIT, where she handled all legal aspects of the company’s daily operations and its joint venture relationships in the U.S. and Mexico.  Prior to working with the REIT, she was a partner in two large Chicago-based law firms with national and international practices. Tracy holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Psychological Services from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from Chicago Kent College of Law.  She is also a FINRA Series 22 and 63 registered representative.  Tracy Co-Chairs the National Leadership Committee of the Anti-Defamation League, among other philanthropic involvement.

Three college friends have started a social media business and ask you to invest $20,000. Is this more likely Facebook or Farcebook?  We asked Peter Feinberg, a veteran attorney with Hoge-Fenton of Silicon Valley for the more specific questions an early stage investor should ask.  We discuss the Underpants Gnomes' Step 2 and loosely paraphrase Jean-Paul Sartre in considering whether "Hell is other investors." Join us for this discussion in Episode 70 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio. You can find out more about Peter Feinberg ad Hoge Fenton here. Or you can find them here: Twitter: @HogeFenton LinkedIn: Peter Feinberg, Hoge Fenton   About Peter Feinberg Peter Feinberg has almost 25 years’ experience  representing primarily middle market companies in all aspects and many sectors of merger and acquisition transactions.  Mr. Feinberg has successfully closed well over 100 merger and acquisition transactions, representing buyers and sellers, public and privately held companies, multinational firms, family owned businesses and private equity firms.  He practices in Silicon Valley at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel, a more than 60 year old, 40+ attorney firm.  He has previously been a partner at Thelen Reid & Priest and Ferrari Ottoboni and has worked in house at NetApp and Clorox.

In Episode 69, Accredited Investor Markets Radio host, Chris Cahill, again has the pleasure of speaking with Nick Veronis and Kunal Shah of iCaptial Network. This time, they discuss the mechanics of PE funds and of investing in them, including the compensation structures for fund managers as they relate to gains for investors. In addition, our guests discuss what qualities investors should seek in a fund manager.   You can find out more about Nick Veronis, Kunal Shah and iCapital Network here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @icapitalnetwork LinkedIn: iCapital Network Nick Veronis Kunal Shah     About Nick Veronis   Mr. Veronis is Co-Founder and one of the Managing Partners of iCapital Network where he oversees the Company’s Private Access Fund infrastructure and origination. Mr. Veronis spent 11 years at Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a middle market private equity firm where he was a Managing Director responsible for originating and structuring investment opportunities. At VSS, he specialized in the business information services sector and helped spearhead the firm’s investment strategy in the financial software and data sector, including its investment in Ipreo. Mr. Veronis is also currently an operating advisor to Atlas Advisors, an independent investment bank based in New York. He began his career as a financial journalist for The Boston Business Journal, was a reporter for The Star-Ledger, and an associate in the New Media Division of Newhouse Newspapers. He holds a BA degree in economics from Trinity College and FINRA licenses Series 7, 79 and 63.     About Kunal Shah   Kunal is a Senior Vice President of Fund Manager Due Diligence & Origination where he focuses on identifying and leading due diligence on private equity funds. Previously, Kunal was a Principal in the private markets group at Meketa Investment Group ("Meketa") where he was responsible for leading and managing private equity fund investments. Kunal joined Meketa in 2006 and invested over $1 billion on behalf of Meketa's discretionary and non-discretionary clients. He invested globally and covered buyouts, venture capital, private debt, natural resources, and infrastructure investments. He also developed and led Meketa's secondary funds purchase practice. Kunal served on various limited partners advisory boards. Prior to Meketa, Kunal was an analyst at The Vanguard Group and Hirtle, Callaghan & Co. Kunal received a BS degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Drexel University.

In Episode 68, Accredited Investor Markets Radio speaks with Nick Veronis and Kunal Shah of iCapital Network about the landscape of private equity within the sphere of private investments, including net performance of PE- generally the better returns gained by the top quartile of fund managers.   You can find out more about Nick Veronis, Kunal Shah and iCapital Network here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @icapitalnetwork LinkedIn: iCapital Network Nick Veronis Kunal Shah     About Nick Veronis   Mr. Veronis is Co-Founder and one of the Managing Partners of iCapital Network where he oversees the Company’s Private Access Fund infrastructure and origination. Mr. Veronis spent 11 years at Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a middle market private equity firm where he was a Managing Director responsible for originating and structuring investment opportunities. At VSS, he specialized in the business information services sector and helped spearhead the firm’s investment strategy in the financial software and data sector, including its investment in Ipreo. Mr. Veronis is also currently an operating advisor to Atlas Advisors, an independent investment bank based in New York. He began his career as a financial journalist for The Boston Business Journal, was a reporter for The Star-Ledger, and an associate in the New Media Division of Newhouse Newspapers. He holds a BA degree in economics from Trinity College and FINRA licenses Series 7, 79 and 63.     About Kunal Shah   Kunal is a Senior Vice President of Fund Manager Due Diligence & Origination where he focuses on identifying and leading due diligence on private equity funds. Previously, Kunal was a Principal in the private markets group at Meketa Investment Group ("Meketa") where he was responsible for leading and managing private equity fund investments. Kunal joined Meketa in 2006 and invested over $1 billion on behalf of Meketa's discretionary and non-discretionary clients. He invested globally and covered buyouts, venture capital, private debt, natural resources, and infrastructure investments. He also developed and led Meketa's secondary funds purchase practice. Kunal served on various limited partners advisory boards. Prior to Meketa, Kunal was an analyst at The Vanguard Group and Hirtle, Callaghan & Co. Kunal received a BS degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Drexel University.

Is Angel investing more like buying a lottery ticket or adopting a puppy? Learn this answer as well as other interesting facts about Angel investing in Episode 67 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio. In this episode, host Christopher Cahill spoke with Josh Maher, a Seattle-based Angel investor, investor educator, and author of Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors Make Money in Startups, which features interviews with 23 exemplary early stage investors. Josh has also helped found Seattle Angel, Seattle Angel Conference, and the Seattle Angel Fund, each with distinct roles in fostering able early investing. Some other topics covered are: What due diligence issues are most important for Angels?; and how are diverse Angel investment methods and styles related to the personality of the investor?   You can find out more about Josh Maher and Startup Wealth here and here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @JoshMaher LinkedIn     About Josh Maher   Josh Maher is the author of Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors Make Money in Startups. Startup Wealth delivers engaging interviews with early-stage investors in Google, Invisalign, ZipCar, Uber, Twilio, Localytics, and other successful and not so successful companies. You can learn more about the book and get additional material on theStartup Wealth website. He's a passionate supporter of the Seattle startup community, President of Seattle Angel, a non-profit focused on education at the intersection of startups and angel investing. Seattle Angel launched the highly successful Seattle Angel Conference and recently launched the Seattle Angel Fund. Josh, an angel investor himself, has been consulting, mentoring, and advising startups since 2007 and has recently been working to help individuals with strategies for including early stage investments in their overall portfolio. If you are a family office or need the services of a family office, Josh has some interesting projects in the works to help you.

Edward Lehman is founder and Managing Director of Lehman, Lee & Xu in Beijing and Shanghai and other locations in China as well as founder of Lehman, Lee & Xu Mongolia, in Ulaanbaatar. Our Chris Cahill and Mr. Lehman discussed important changes in Chinese legal and business practices over Lehman's 28 years there. They also discussed President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption program, the use (and non-use) of the recently-enacted bankruptcy law, protection of intellectual property in China, and likely targets of Chinese investment in the West as currency controls are liberalized.     You can learn more about Edward Lehman here.   Or you can find him here: LinkedIn Facebook Twitter: @LehmanLawMongol     About Ed Lehman   Manager, Foreign Legal Counselor, LEHMAN, LEE & XU China Lawyers.Corporate Commercial Counsel 28+ consecutive years "on the ground" legal professional dealing with China and Mongolian legal, tax, foreign direct investment, corporate commercial, intellectual property, franchise, direct sales, health sciences, and business issues.   First foreign lawyer to work as a "Legal Professional/Foreign Lawyer" China with a local Chinese law firm since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The longest serving Managing Director of any law firm (Chinese or Foreign) in the People's Republic of China (22+ years consecutively). LEHMAN, LEE & XU is among the first private law firms established in mainland China (1992). LEHMAN, LEE & XU Mongolia is the First private law firm established in Mongolia. Founded LehmanBrown International Accountants a local Chinese Tax, Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting, Corporate Valuation, Intellectual Property Valuation organization with offices in throughout mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan and Republic of Mongolia.   Manager and Chief Ethics Officer of full service Chinese and Mongolian law firms, providing legal advice on a range of Chinese and Mongolian legal issues. Focus on Corporate Commercial, Labor, Finance, Minerals & Mining, Intellectual Property, Tax, Media and Advertising, Pharmaceuticals and Foreign Direct Investment in China and Mongolia. Founder of LehmanBrown Chinese full service Accounting & Audit firm in 2001.   Director, LehmanBush (China Investment Company) with "China-Hand" businessman Neil Bush (son of former USA President George Herbert Walker Bush, younger brother of former USA President George W. Bush, and former USA Florida Governor Jeb Bush). China Legal Commentator, China Central Television (CCTV) for the past 15+ years. Fellow, China Academy of Social Sciences. Asia Legal Business Magazine list "China's 30 Hottest Lawyers" .

In Episode 65 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, we learned from Christopher Orr how self-directed IRAs open the way for individuals to hold alternative assets, including interests in private equity funds. Orr points out that the time horizon of private equity investments can match up quite well with the time horizon of retirement funds, and are used increasingly to diversify retirement portfolios and enhance returns. Orr is Director of Institutional Products with PENSCO Trust Company.   You can find out more about Christopher Orr and PENSCO here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter:  @PENSCOTrust LinkedIn: Christopher Orr; PENSCO Google+     About Christopher Orr   Christopher Orr is a Director, Institutional Products, at PENSCO, where he has spent the past five years helping clients meet their retirement savings goals by using self-directed IRAs. Christopher started his career as a financial advisor, working with clients who invested primarily in exchange-traded products like stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Realizing he wanted to help clients access a wider array of options to meet their investment needs, he joined PENSCO. Through his work on PENSCO’s asset review team, Christopher gained experience with a variety of private equity investment types, from private corporate stock to hedge funds, LLPs to LLCs, and more. Today, he uses his broad expertise to help high net worth clients, advisors and asset sponsors accomplish their private equity investing goals using self-directed IRAs. A native of San Francisco, Christopher holds a B.A. from California State, Long Beach, and, while working as a financial advisor, he held his Series 7 and Series 66.

Join Accredited Investor Markets Radio for a great discussion about gold (and silver, platinum, and palladium) with Drew Mason, of Dillon Gage Metals in Episode 64. What reasons support a 10% portfolio allocation in gold, even though gold prices have decreased in recent years?  How does the answer to that question involve macro trends like the Fed's asset purchases and low interest rates?  Drew Mason explains these and other questions.   Find out more about Drew Mason and Dillon Gage Metals here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @DillonGage Facebook LinkedIn     About Drew Mason   Drew Mason is the Director of Asset Management at Dillon Gage Metals. Mason worked on Wall Street for fifteen years after completing his studies at Wharton. He has written about and conducted interviews on the precious metals via numerous media channels such as Forbes and Business Insider.   Mason is a founding member of Palos Harbor Fund – a physical gold income fund.   Mason is also the author of Victory from Defeat: Learn How and Why Winners Win from History's Greatest Success Stories, which includes vignettes on popular figures in history. The contents of the book include several stories of how the subjects overcame cases of devastating failure to reach their ultimate successes in life.   Mason is based in Philadelphia, Penn.

In Episode 63, Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Chris Cahill has a great discussion with veteran financial and legal journalist David M. Freedman regarding his new book, Equity Crowdfunding for Investors, which reflects upon the JOBS Act generally and Title III equity crowdfunding in particular. They also speak of surprises experienced and discoveries made over his 38-year career.   You can learn more about David Freedman here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @FreedmanChicago LinkedIn     About David M. Freedman   David M. Freedman has worked as a financial and legal journalist since 1978. He has served on the editorial staffs of business, trade, and professional journals, most recently as senior editor of The Value Examiner (National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts). He coauthored (with Matthew Nutting of Fresno, CA) the book Equity Crowdfunding for Investors, published by Wiley & Sons (June 2015). In addition to finance and law, Dave has written extensively about real estate, economics, social media, and woodworking. He is a regular columnist for Accredited Investor Markets. Dave lives in the Chicago area, and is a member of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. 

This week Accredited Investor Markets Radio would like to share our most popular episode from 2015, Episode 25 with Larry Swedroe. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, this episode is guaranteed to be worth a listen! Be sure to listen to our second session with Larry Swedroe in Episode 33. You can find that at www.aimkts.com   Episode 25: What are the odds? This week in Episode 25 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Chris Cahill speaks to Larry Swedroe to find out whether it's best to adapt an active or passive investment strategy. They discuss the performance evidence for different investment types as well as the hurdles to achieving alpha and the odds of doing so in active investing. You can find out more about Larry Swedroe and Buckingham here. Or you can find him here:Twitter: @larryswedroeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-swedroe/8/791/59   About Larry Swedroe Since joining the firm in 1996, Buckingham’s Director of Research Larry Swedroe has spent his time, talent and energy educating investors on the benefits of evidence-based investing with enthusiasm few can match. Larry was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has since authored seven more books: “What Wall Street Doesn’t Want You to Know” (2001), “Rational Investing in Irrational Times” (2002), “The Successful Investor Today” (2003), “Wise Investing Made Simple” (2007), “Wise Investing Made Simpler” (2010), “The Quest for Alpha” (2011) and “Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett” (2012). He has also co-authored six books about investing. His latest work, “The Incredible Shrinking Alpha: And What You Can Do to Escape Its Clutches,” was co-authored with Andrew Berkin and published in January of 2015. In his role as director of research and as a member of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee and Board of Managers, Larry regularly reviews the findings published in dozens of peer-reviewed financial journals, evaluates the outcomes and uses the result to inform the firm’s formal investment strategy recommendations. Larry’s dedication to helping others has made him a sought-after national speaker. He has made appearances on national television shows airing on NBC, CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg Personal Finance. Larry is a prolific writer, contributing weekly to multiple outlets including MutualFunds.com and ETF.com. Before joining Buckingham, Larry was vice chairman of Prudential Home Mortgage. He has held positions at Citicorp as senior vice president and regional treasurer, responsible for treasury, foreign exchange and investment banking activities, including risk management strategies. Larry holds an MBA in finance and investment from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Baruch College in New York.

In Episode 62 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, host Chris Cahill chats with Philippe de Lapérouse, Managing Director of HighQuest Partners, who advises major strategic and financial investors operating and investing globally across the food, biotech and bioenergy value chains.  Among other things, they discuss agriculture-related investment in Russia, Brazil, and Argentina; supply chains in emerging markets (a key factor); and why agtech should be its own asset class. You can find out more about Philippe de Lapérouse and HighQuest Partners here. Or you can find them here: LinkedIn: Philippe de Lapérouse; HighQuest PartnersTwitter: @HighQuestLLC  About Philippe de Lapérouse Philippe de Lapérouse has more than 30 years of senior level experience working with leading global companies in the agro-industrial and value-added food chain, including Ralston Purina and Bunge, as well as working as an investment banker at the beginning of his career. As Managing Director of HighQuest Partners, he has led over 50 engagements advising executive teams of major strategic and financial investors operating and investing globally across the food, biotech and bioenergy value chains to on making informed decisions regarding resource allocation, new business opportunities and developing investment strategies to address the challenges facing global agriculture. Prior to joining HighQuest, Mr. de Lapérouse was Director of Business Development for Bunge North America, Inc., where he was responsible for the company’s efforts to expand its oilseed processing operations into Mexico and the Caribbean Basin, as well as developing export markets for oilseed products and feed grains into the Caribbean, North Africa and eastern Mediterranean. Previously, Mr. de Lapérouse held senior line management positions with Ralston Purina International where he managed operations and was responsible for functions including marketing, sales and developing dealer distribution networks targeting the industrial livestock and poultry sectors in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Mr. de Lapérouse served as director of Sodrugestvo Management Company, Ltd., the leading importer, crusher and distributor of soybeans and feed ingredients in Russia from 2009 to 2012 and was instrumental in making the introduction which resulted in Mitsui acquiring a 10% shareholding in the company. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the Ag Innovation Showcase at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, MO, and is the author of the report, Private Financial Sector Investment in Farmland and Agricultural Infrastructure (2010) which was commissioned by OECD in 2010 to provide insights on this emerging asset class and the impact that private sector investment is having on the regions in which they are investing. He received his B.A. degree from Trinity College and an M.B.A. degree from The Darden School of Business at The University of Virginia.

This week Chris Cahill speaks with Neha Manaktala, the founder and CEO of DealIndex, Inc., whose Dashboard feature provides real-time standardized metrics on private company deals across the globe.  We discussed how current and comparable information, filtered by sector, location, deal size, and other factors fosters world-wide transactional activity, including by accredited investors and the crowd. Join this informative conversation in Episode 61 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio.   You can find out more about Neha Manaktala and DealIndex here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @NehaManaktala; @DealIndex LinkedIn: Neha Manaktala; DealIndex Facebook     About Neha Manaktala   Neha is an entrepreneur and finance professional with diverse experience, from investment banking, private equity and start-ups. She has a unique combination of fundraising experience from top tier financial institutions and has experience in co-founding, leading and running a previous start-up. She has global experience from London and Mumbai and has worked with teams, clients and investors across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas.    Neha began her career in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley in Mumbai in the early 2000’s. In 2006, she was recruited as part of the core team to establish Lehman Brothers’ investment banking division in India. In 2010, Neha rejoined Morgan Stanley’s technology investment banking team in London, before joining the fundraising team at Actis Private Equity, the leading global pan-emerging markets firm. In 2012, Neha co-founded and was COO at Vizibee, an aggregated quality mobile video platform, for original short video from Publishers, including the BBC.

Learn about exponential tech in Episode 60 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio with host Chris Cahill and David S. Rose of Gust, an online platform used by more than a half million entrepreneurs in 190 countries to connect and collaborate with over 75,000 accredited investors. They speak about the dramatic changes occurring in the global marketplace for capital in resulting scalable enterprises.   You can find out more about David Rose and Gust here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @davidsrose; @gustly LinkedIn Facebook   About David Rose   David S. Rose is a serial entrepreneur who crossed the aisle to become one of the country's leading angel investors... and then crossed back to found Gust, filling a major need in the rapidly growing world of early stage investing. As an entrepreneur, David has founded half a dozen companies since his first one at the age of ten, and has personally raised tens of millions of dollars of venture, strategic and institutional capital. He was named to the Inc 500 list as CEO of one of the country's fastest growing private companies, and has been described as a 'world conquering entrepreneur' by BusinessWeek. As an angel investor, David founded and chairs New York Angels, one of the largest and most active angel investment groups in the US. He has personally invested in over 70 early stage companies, and serves on the boards of directors of KoolSpan, Magnify Networks, Social Bomb, comiXology, and Pond5. Outside of Gust, David is Managing Principal of Rose Tech Ventures, Chairman of Egret Capital Partners, and Track Chair for Finance, Entrepreneurship and Economics at Singularity University. He has been dubbed "The Pitch Coach" by BusinessWeek for his work with early stage entrepreneurs, a "top dog in tech"; by Crains New York Business, and "patriarch of Silicon Alley" by Red Herring magazine. David writes about early stage investing and entrepreneurship on Quora and Twitter as @davidsrose and on his blog, rose.vc/angelnotes.

In Episode 59, Accredited Investor Markets Radio speaks with Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits -- The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, a best-seller based upon Corley's 5-year research project where he separates fact from myth as to the habits of the wealthy and non-wealthy people. Corley and host Christopher Cahill bring Thorstein Veblen, Adam Smith, Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington into the fray.   You can learn more about Tom Corley and his books here.   Or you can find him here:   Twitter: @RICHHABITS Facebook LinkedIn     About Tom Corley   Tom Corley understands the difference between being rich and poor: at age nine, his family went from being multi-millionaires to broke in just one night.   For five years, Tom observed and documented the daily activities of 233 wealthy people and 128 people living in poverty. He discovered there is an immense difference between the habits of the wealthy and the poor. During his research he identified over 200 daily activities that separated the “haves” from the “have nots.” The culmination of his research can be found in his #1 bestselling book, Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.   A dynamic and empowering speaker, Tom motivates audiences at industry conferences, corporate events, universities, multi-level marketing groups and global sales organizations. Participants leave fortified and ready to excel both personally and professionally.   Tom has shared his insights on various national and international network and cable television programs such as CBS Nightly News, Yahoo Financially Fit T.V., India T.V., News.com Australia and a host of others. He has wowed listeners on many prestigious nationally syndicated radio shows including the Dave Ramsey Show, Marketplace Money and WABC.   Featured in numerous print magazines, such as Money, Entrepreneur, More and Kiplinger’s, and various online publications including USA Today, CNN, MSN Money, SUCCESS.com and the Huffington Post. Tom is also a frequent contributor to Business Insider, Credit.com and has been profiled in SUCCESS Magazine.   National publicity has garnered international media attention for Tom and Rich Habits. Broadcast media, online publications, and television throughout Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Central and South America have supported Tom’s powerful message. In an effort to help adults instill good habits in the younger generation, Tom has recently released his second book, Rich Kids – How to Raise Our Children to be Happy and Successful in Life. Rich Kids was the self-help category winner of the 2015 NY Book Festival.   Tom is also a CPA, CFP and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. As President of Cerefice and Company, CPAs, Tom heads one of the top financial firms in New Jersey.

In episode 58, Accredited Investor Markets Radio chats with David Hicks of HomeVestors of America, a.k.a."We Buy Ugly Houses," to discuss how company franchisees find the dormant capital (the "ugly houses") and bring it to market, and how the company finds and trains the franchisees to perform these feats.   You can find out more about David Hicks and HomeVestors here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @HomeVestorsNews Facebook LinkedIn: David Hicks; HomeVestors     About David Hicks   David Hicks is co-president of Dallas-based HomeVestors of America, Inc., the largest professional house buying franchise in the U.S. with over 60,000 houses bought since 1996. HomeVestors recruits, trains and supports its independently owned and operated franchisees that specialize in building businesses based on buying, rehabbing, selling and holding residential properties. Most commonly known as the “We Buy Ugly Houses®” company, HomeVestors has over 600 franchises in 49 states and over 120 markets across the US. In 2015, for the tenth consecutive year, HomeVestors was among the prestigious Franchise Business Review's "Top 50 Franchises," a distinction awarded to franchisors with the highest level of franchisee satisfaction. In 2015, HomeVestors was recognized in the 25th fastest growing franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine.   Since joining HomeVestors in 2005 as Director of Franchise Systems, Mr. Hicks quickly developed a process for coaching franchisees. From 2006-2009, he coordinated the franchisee support for the company as vice president of operations. In January 2009, he became co- president of the company with Kenneth Channell, and since then, company growth has been record-setting with the total number of franchisees more than tripling to over 600.   Before joining HomeVestors, Mr. Hicks was president of NEFX, Inc. in Richardson, Texas from October 1999 to March 2005, and president of Success Motivation Institute in Waco, Texas prior to 1999. Mr. Hicks graduated with a BS degree from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos.

What is a sideways market and are we in one? Accredited Investor Markets Radio speaks with Vitaliy Katsenelson, CFA and host of Contrarian Edge podcast, about a different take on market trends. He explains what a sideways market is, what causes them, and what the fundamental differences are between bullish, bearish and sideways markets. He also gives us some of his insights on the market's future and some advice on how to discern these trends.   You can find out more about Vitaliy Katsenelson and his podcast here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @vitaliyk LinkedIn     About Vitaliy Katsenelson   Vitaliy Katsenelson was born and raised in Murmansk, Russia (the home for Russia’s northern navy fleet, think Tom Clancy’s Red October). He immigrated to the US from Russia in 1991 with all his family. Vitaliy is Chief Investment Officer with IMA. Mr. Katsenelson received both his bachelor of science and master of science degrees in finance from the University of Colorado at Denver.   He is the author of two books, and his articles have appeared in Barron’s, The Financial Times, and Business Week, among others. Vitaliy has been a guest on CNBC, Fox Business, BNN and Yahoo! Finance.   He also writes a monthly column for Institutional Investor magazine and speaks to investor organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Vitaliy has close to 20 years of investment experience and has taught a graduate investment class at the University of Colorado at Denver.   Vitaliy's articles can be found on http://contrarianedge.com  

In Episode 56, Marshall Saunders speaks with Accredited Investor Markets Radio about SaundersDailey, a hyper-local real estate investment platform in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. "Hyper-local" in that the deals arise only in the immediate locality known well by SaundersDailey, the platform also enables collective real estate investing and thus an individual accredited investor's access to bigger deals. Find out more about Marshall Saunders and Saunders Dailey here. Or you can find them here:Twitter: @SaundersDaileyFacebookLinkedIn: Marshall Saunders; SaundersDailey   About Marshall Saunders Marshall Saunders is co-founder and managing partner of SaundersDailey, an online investment marketplace connecting investors to exclusive real estate opportunities, with low minimum investments, in select markets throughout the Midwest. Heralded as a “Real Estate Tech Titan” by RIS Media, Marshall harnesses his two decades of traditional real estate experience and passion for technology to enable more people to participate in real estate investing in their local community. Prior to founding SaundersDailey, Marshall held the coveted distinction of co-owner and broker of the largest RE/MAX franchise in the world. During his tenure, he developed a growth strategy that doubled the company from 450 Minneapolis-located agents to 900 agents across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin. Under Marshall’s leadership, his firm also sold more listings than any other RE/MAX franchise in existence.  His extensive experience in sales, brokerage and ownership positions grants him deep, first-hand industry knowledge on the micro and macro levels, as well as access to a valuable network of influential real estate executives. Marshall is a nationally recognized industry leader in residential real estate and technology, and was named as one of Swanepoel’s “200 Most Powerful People in Residential Real Estate” in 2013.  He is an active member in the community, where he currently serves on the University of Minnesota Foundation’s Vision 2017 board to help raise $1 billion for cancer and biotechnology research.

There's money in them comic books!  Especially if they spawn a movie franchise. In Episode 55, Accredited Investor Markets Radio's Christopher Cahill interviews Vincent Zurzolo of Metropolis Collectibles to answer the following questions: Why and how are comic books valued?  How well do they retain value? How much fun does Vincent Zurzolo have at his job?   Learn more about Vincent Zurzolo and Metropolis Comics here and here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @VincentZurzolo & @metropolis_c Facebook LinkedIn     About Vincent Zurzolo   Vincent Zurzolo is one of the nation's leading comic book aficionados. Vincent and Stephen merged companies in 1999 and continued under the Metropolis banner. Known throughout the collectibles market as a fair deal maker, Vincent has garnered an impeccable reputation and the trust of collectors around the world. He has appeared on dozens of news programs promoting multi-million dollar comic sales. He loves comics, the art form and buying and selling. - See more here.

In Episode 54, Accredited Investor Markets Radio's Christopher Cahill spoke with Sandy Chaikin, Co-Founder and head of marketing and communications for Chaikin Analytics, a ground-breaking mobile stock research and analysis platform.  Ms. Chaikin, with no background in finance, has found success with Chaikin Analytics, and is also keen to encourage women to take command of their investment decisions.  To find out more, give a listen.    You can learn more about Sandy Chaikin and Chaikin Analytics here.   Or you can find her here: Twitter: @SandyChaikin Facebook LinkedIn     About Sandy Chaikin   Sandy Chaikin is Co-Founder and head of marketing and communications for Chaikin Analytics, a ground-breaking mobile stock research and analysis platform. With no prior experience, Sandy started investing in 2012 with Chaikin Analytics and built a killer portfolio that continues to outperform the S&P 500 and most money managers. She spotted the two best-performing stocks of 2014 and bought at the right time – both stocks rose over 125% during that year. Sandy’s portfolio continues to thrive. Sandy is a contributor to Nasdaq.com where she also hosts webinars on investing, using examples from her own portfolio.

In Episode 53, Accredited Investor Markets Radio's Christopher Cahill and Wealth Migrate's Scott Picken discussed the latter's recent plunge into real estate equity crowdfunding in China -- that is, with respect to Chinese investors purchasing interests in real estate in other countries via online means. When Chinese currency restrictions ease, the impact will be immense.   You can learn more about Scott Picken and Wealth Migrate here and here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter:  @Scott_Picken LinkedIn YouTube Facebook     About Scott Picken   Scott Picken is the author of Property Going Global and the founder and CEO of Wealth Migrate, the premier online global real estate investment marketplace. He is an expert in global real estate markets with more than 16 years of experience. Wealth Migrate offers investors access to below-market real estate in first world markets through crowdfunding technology with a low investment minimum of just $10,000 USD. Originally from South Africa, he founded his first real estate investment firm at age 26, International Property Solutions (IPS). Through IPS and Wealth Migrate, he works to realize his vision of revolutionizing the real estate industry through crowdfunding technology to provide a single hub for real estate investors to build wealth and manage their portfolios.   Scott founded Wealth Migrate to provide a single hub for real estate investors to manage their portfolios and build wealth. During the global financial crisis in 2008, he realized the opportunity in investing in undervalued property markets was inspired to capitalize on the growing crowdfunding movement to open access to wealth-building international assets to investors worldwide. Through Wealth Migrate and other channels, Scott is spearheading “The Wealth Movement,” an initiative to inspire entrepreneurism in the upcoming generation of business leaders and to expand access to wealth for all investors.

How do I do money? This week Accredited Investor Markets Radio interviews Jim Chilton, founder of SOFA USA, in Episode 52. His discussion with host Chris Cahill focuses on the many generations of financial illiteracy perpetuated by the lack of financial curriculum in public schools.  They cover many aspects of the problem from state funded debt to addressing the needs of the youth to student loan choices, home buying and the economy of the university. Jim also talks about where to find good financial advice and education and the role SOFA USA plays in meeting those needs.   You can find out more about Jim Chilton and SOFA here.   Or you can find them here:  Twitter: @sofausa Facebook LinkedIn     About Jim Chilton   Jim Chilton is a San Diego California native, SDSU college athlete alumni. Jim began his early years as a full time teacher/coach at the high school level. With a natural ability for public speaking and interpersonal communication skills, Jim joined the financial services industry in the early 1980’s. After achieving a desirable level of success, Jim felt the need to do more for his community.    In the summer of 1993 Jim founded “SOFA” The Society for Financial Awareness. Between 1996 and 2006, The Society for Financial Awareness has expanded into a national presence. As financial literacy programs are yet to go main stream “SOFA” will continue to offer and improve its educational services to corporations, companies & city governments.    Jim enjoys riding his bike, reading and spending quality time with his family and friends. Jim’s electrifying personality and passion for coaching allows for Jim to partake in various speaking engagements across the country. Jim intentionally leaves his calendar flexible as he thrives under new and exciting businesses opportunities. Regarding Jim’s future, he will never retire.

This week in Episode 51, Accredited Investor Markets Radio speaks with Alexey Sokolin, COO of Vanare about drawing together robo-advising and traditional investment advising to help advisors give good advice at lower cost to more people. Such a combination may match well with the onset of generations who are both comfortable and nimble with automated systems, and may also pose scalable opportunities to investment advisory businesses.   You can learn more about Alexey Sokolin and Vanare here. Or you can find them here: Twitter: @LexSokolin & @vanareplatform LinkedIn Facebook     About Alexey Sokolin   Alexey Sokolin (Lex) is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Vanare. He oversees product innovation and design, and manages the company’s ongoing business development. Mr. Sokolin was previously Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NestEgg Wealth, a next-generation technology company and RIA that pioneered online wealth management in partnership with financial advisors, reaching new customers in a scalable way by algorithmically automating financial advice online. NestEgg Wealth was acquired by Vanare in 2014.    Additionally, he was an investment banker at Deutsche Bank in the Financial Institutions and Media & Technology groups, and a member of the Strategy team at Barclays Wealth, where he focused on the economics of new ventures and management of the firm’s profitability. Prior to Barclays, he was at Lehman Brothers Investment Management.   Mr. Sokolin received a B.A. in Economics and Law from Amherst College, an M.B.A from Columbia Business School and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also holds a Certificate in International Relations from the Five College Consortium, and a Certificate in Digital Production and New Media Studies from Middlebury College.

In Episode 50, Accredited Investor Markets Radio speaks with Jeff Kelley of Equity Institutional and John Drachman of Alpha Segment, about alternative investment custodial services, i.e., how interests in alternative assets are held and transferred. This is where the rubber (if that's your commodity) meets the road, the gold bars meet the vault, and where documentation of securities is meticulously completed and monitored. From that perspective, the growth of alternative investing, now and in the future, is very evident.    You can learn more about Equity Institutional and Alpha Segment here and here.     About Jeff Kelley   Jeff Kelley has over 20 years of experience in financial services operations management, and was named Chief Operating Officer of Sterling Trust in January 2008. He began his career with Sterling Trust in June of 1999 as Vice President of Qualified Plans and Institutional Group. Prior to joining Sterling Trust, Jeff was employed by Academy Capital Management as a Registered Investment Advisor, where he served as the Manager of the Operations and Trading Departments since 1991. He is an Accredited Retirement Plan Consultant (ARPC) through the Society of Professional Administrators and Recordkeepers. Jeff earned a BBA in Finance/Management from Baylor University.     About John Drachman   John C. Drachman serves as team leader, senior writer, and principal of AlphaSegment, a creative group of marketing communications freelancers dedicated to meeting the marketing needs of RIAs, asset managers and financial services providers.   An IABC Gold Quill-winner for writing and publications, John has developed marketing communications initiatives for dozens of clients over three decades. He has also served in executive positions at Putnam and Pioneer Investments.  John applies his editorial skill and marketing knowledge toward crafting marketing strategies designed to help clients attract, grow and retain assets under management.  Applying sound journalistic principles to the story telling process, John has the ability to turn complex themes into compelling and actionable messages.   John is a frequent contributor to industry publications on topics related to financial technology trends, crowdfunding and alternative investments.  Most recently, he drafted articles for RIABiz and PrivateWealth. A Series 7 General Securities Agent, he is affiliated with Innovations Partners, LLC, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

This week Allen Kors, CEO of AchieveLending.com, talks about student loans and lenders with Accredited Investor Markets Radio in Episode 49. His company is the first on-line student loan comparison platform and is really a kind of matchmaker. The company would have a traditional or non-traditional student turn to it to "make me a match, find me a find" among a wide variety of student loans from lenders large and small, including among them, disruptive fintech upstarts.  AchieveLending.com also strives to clarify what had been a murky market.   Find out more about Allen Kors and AchieveLending here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @AchieveLending LinkedIn: AchieveLending; Allen Kors Facebook Google+     About Allen Kors   Allen Kors is Founder and CEO of AchieveLending.com, the first ever student loan comparison tool. At just 27 years old he left his job in banking to form his own financial technology company which offers users a free online portal to search, find, and compare student loans. Designed to help both traditional and non-traditional students find the best student loans, Achieve Lending is the first tool of its kind to aggregate loan offers for those seeking private financing for educational purposes. Kors founded the company after six years of working in the finance and banking industry, during which time he saw a lot of friends and students make poorly informed choices when it comes to choosing student loans. Even his own student loan choice was uninformed- he had other options but didn't explore them. This decision has cost him thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. AchieveLending.com aims to help users find the most competitive interest rate while empowering users by providing financial education on the loan process and terminology.   Achieve Lending is on a mission to empower others to make more informed decisions when it comes to financing their education. Through their online portal, AchieveLending.com, the web tool allows users to search, find, and compare multiple student loan offers all in one place, in as little as 30 seconds. By allowing students to discern between competitive interest rates, AchieveLending.com helps users save money and borrow on their terms, by helping them find an education that best fits their needs. Find out more and browse loan offers at AchieveLending.com

This week Accredited Investor Markets talks with Jilliene Helman, CEO of RealtyMogul in Episode 48. She discusses different kinds of collective investment opportunities for accredited investors and institutional investors including real estate equity and real estate debt, as well as how such investments might bear upon an investment portfolio. The larger story is the opening of real estate investment--in many of its various modes--to more investors.   You can learn more about Jilliene Helman and Realty Mogul here.   You can also find them here: Twitter: @Realty_Mogul; @JillieneHelman LinkedIn  Facebook Google+ YouTube    About Jilliene Helman Jilliene is the CEO and Founder of Realty Mogul. She is responsible for strategic direction, operations and sits on Realty Mogul’s Board of Directors and Investment Committee. Jilliene has underwritten over $5 billion of real estate and was previously a Vice President at Union Bank, where she spent time in Wealth Management, Finance and Risk Management. Jilliene is a Certified Wealth Strategist®, holds Series 7 and Series 63 licenses and has a degree in Business from Georgetown University.​

In Episode 47 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio Michael Terrien, founder and Managing Member of West Loop Financial LLC, speaks to host Chris Cahill about investor options for getting financial advice, the significance of a fiduciary orientation on the part of advisors, and what might go into a comprehensive advisory approach that Terrien calls "holistic."   You can learn more about Michael Terrien and West Loop Financial here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @wstlpfinancial Facebook LinkedIn      About Michael Terrien     After a 22 year legal career, Michael founded West Loop Financial with the goal of bringing responsive, transparent, independent, and individually tailored investment advice and financial planning services to successful legal professionals and others seeking guidance to assist them in making financial decisions and achieving their financial objectives through the application of a disciplined, academically validated, and risk conscious approach to accumulating, preserving, and transferring wealth.

In Episode 46 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Chris Cahill talks with Roy Friedman, Executive Vice President of Dillon Gage, about how to invest in physical quantities of precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. They discuss how such investments fit into a portfolio, and the relationships among precious metals prices, the price of oil, and the strength of the U.S. dollar.   Learn more about Roy Friedman and Dillon Gage Metals here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @DillonGage Facebook LinkedIn YouTube     About Roy Friedman     (Editor's Note: At the time of this recording, Roy Friedman was Executive Vice President of Dillon Gage. He has since resigned this position and is now Executive Vice President of Manfra, Tordella & Brookes)   Roy Friedman is a well-respected trader and commentator in the field of precious metals and global financial markets. He is Executive Vice President of Business Development for Dillon Gage Metals, one of the largest precious metals dealers in the United States.   After earning degrees in economics and political science in 1980 from the State University of New York at Binghamton, Mr. Friedman began his very successful career in the precious metals industry. His initial experience was at Mocatta Metals, where he worked as a clerk on the commodity exchange trading floor where he remained for four years.   Mr. Friedman next accepted a trading position with A-Mark Precious Metals and stayed until late 1988, when he left to become a trader at the French investment bank Credit Lyonnais. In 1990, he was recruited by Rudolf Wolff, the founding member of the London Metals Exchange. Here his main focus was to create the company’s inaugural precious metals division based in New York.   Under the direction of Mr. Friedman as vice president, Rudolph Wolff enjoyed much success, including expanding the division to incorporate a 24-hour trading desk with an office in London and eventually a global foreign exchange division.   Building upon his previous successes, in 1998 Mr. Friedman started his own company, RF Capital Management, and partnered with a European business professional to provide asset management for high net worth clients.   In 2002, Mr. Friedman returned to A-Mark Precious Metals as a vice president. Having joined Dillon Gage in January 2012, Mr. Friedman said “I am very excited to be able to continue my career with one of the largest and most respected precious metals dealers in the industry”.     In addition to Mr. Friedman’s vast trading knowledge, he has held several commodities and securities licenses as well as being a Commodity Trading Advisor and a Commodity Pool Operator.

In Episode 45 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio Ted Neild, President and Chief Investment Officer of Gresham Partners, LLC joins us for the second of two related interviews. Host Christopher Cahill speaks to him about how seminal academic studies of efficient markets are over-extrapolated to discourage active management of investments in less efficient markets. They also review the necessary attributes of good investment managers.   Learn more about Ted Neild and Gresham Partners, LLC here and here.     About Ted Neild   Ted serves as the firm’s President and Chief Investment Officer. In his role as CIO, Ted is responsible for leading Gresham’s Investment Team as it establishes investment themes, identifies opportunities that fit within the firm’s Risk Conscious® investment approach, and sources select investment managers located globally, many of whom are difficult for new investors to access. Ted also shapes the firm’s views on the limitations of commonly accepted investment practices, particularly those that have failed investors during the most difficult market environments. In his role as President, Ted is responsible for setting and leading the firm’s strategic direction and chairing its Operating Committee.   Prior to joining Gresham, Ted served as Chief Investment Officer at Nuveen Asset Management where he was responsible for the firm’s investment activity. In addition to his investment responsibilities, Ted held several positions during his 16 years at Nuveen, including Director of Corporate Strategy and Development and Managing Director of Research and Risk Management.

Host Christopher Cahill talks with Jeff Ball, founder and CEO of Visio Financial Services, Inc. and Econohomes in Episode 44 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio.  These enterprises are devoted to providing purchasing opportunities and limited-duration loans to local persons buying low-cost homes in distressed areas, who usually have the intent to fix them up either to flip them at a profit, or to compile a rental portfolio. The model is to bring capital and financially underserved persons together to yield opportunity in their communities, with profit all around.   You can find out more about Jeff Ball and Visio Lending here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @visiofinancial LinkedIn Facebook     About Jeff Ball   Jeff Ball is President and CEO of Visio Financial Services. He is responsible for setting overall strategy and direction. Prior to forming Econohomes and Visio Financial Services, Jeff was the Global Head of Semiconductor Investment Banking at JPMorgan. At JPMorgan, Jeff's clients included some of the largest technology companies in the world, including Intel and Texas Instruments. Before JPMorgan, Jeff was a corporate securities attorney at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper). Jeff received his JD and MBA from Santa Clara University. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics and Theology from Georgetown University.

In Episode 43 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Christopher Cahill and Marty Coyne, Chief Technology Officer of ConnectedInvestors, discuss what investors should understand about online investment platforms and about the people behind the deals being offered.  Further, Cahill and Coyne talk about deal areas into which online equity investment platforms may venture in due course.   Learn more about Marty Coyne and CollectedInvestors here.    Or you can find them here: Twitter: @cinvestors Facebook LinkedIn: ConnectedInvestors LinkedIn: Marty Coyne YouTube     About Marty Coyne   Martin Coyne is the Chief Technology Officer of Connected Investors, the world’s largest Real estate investing Community and Marketplace. Connected Investors provides lead generation for online lenders/online marketplaces.   Coyne plays a key role in shaping CI’s technology strategy as the company is delivering on its promises to simplify the exchange of real estate for investors. The transformational impact that technology can provide characterized Coyne’s career at GTE and as an executive at Motorola, where his teams drove more than $1B of new business revenue to his company and its partners.  Leveraging that success, Coyne launched a global consulting practice from which he helped businesses of all sizes develop and deliver disruptive solutions to the market.   Leveraging the Connected Investors Community, numbering over 250,000 members, the Connected Investors Marketplace, is unique as you can buy pieces of deals (Through syndicating crowd funding platforms deals on their site) single deals (Typical commercial & residential investment properties) and packages of deals (Bulk property / note purchases) – all while allowing their network of lenders to providing funding options for the available investments.

How to monetize -- or not -- investment in specific independent film projects- In Episode 42 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Christopher Cahill discusses the independent film industry with Bob Labate. The odds against return are high, and Mr. LaBate -- who practices and teaches both entertainment law and financial restructuring law -- introduces us to the principal components of film production, costs, and investment modes.  But then, maybe your niece's proposed film is another "Blair Witch Project"!   Learn more about Bob and laws of the film industry here and here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @Holland_Knight Facebook LinkedIn     About Bob Labate   For more than two decades, Robert J. Labate has maintained an active litigation practice in corporate restructuring and transactional media and entertainment law. Mr. Labate has been an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University School of Law for many years, where he teaches two courses reflecting his practices: "Corporate Workouts and Restructuring" and "The Law of Film and Television Production."   For the past five years, Mr. Labate has served as chair of the Public and Charitable Service Committee for the Chicago office of Holland & Knight, which supervises dozens of pro bono and community service representations and projects in the Chicago metropolitan community.   As a corporate restructuring and bankruptcy attorney, Mr. Labate represents parties in complex Chapter 11 and consensual out-of-court “workout” agreements. As part of the financial restructuring portion of his practice, Mr. Labate advises clients on creditor and creditor committee issues, debtor restructuring, and asset sales and acquisitions, including Section 363 sales.     Bob Labate is co-chair of the Holland & Knight national Sports & Entertainment practice and he represents entertainment, media and advertising clients and other content providers who produce, license, acquire, use and invest in film, television, theater, music and digital content for worldwide distribution. His clients include communications companies, television broadcasters, producers of scripted and documentary films, celebrities, writers, and investors.  He has taught Film and Entertainment Law courses and is a frequent speaker on topics such as fair use, copyright, film and television production.  In Spring, 2015, Lawyers For The Creative Arts will publish Mr. Labate's book on film production law.

In Episode 41 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, our Christopher Cahill sat down with Swati Chaturvedi, Co-Founder and CEO of Propel(x), for a deep dive into deep technology due diligence.  How to evaluate deep technology start-up companies technologically, financially, commercially, and in all other relevant ways -- and thus diminish the information asymmetry facing potential investors in enterprises that just may change our lives?  This is Ms. Chaturvedi's business.  An essential topic address seriously but with a light touch.   You can learn more about Swati and Propel (X) here.   Or you can find her here:  @candiedpecans LinkedIn     About Swati Chaturvedi   Prior to starting Propel(x), Swati worked in management consulting and investing. Most recently, Swati worked at Exigen Capital on IT, Telecom, Travel, and BPO deals. Before this, she sourced and evaluated deals in the Industrial Automation sector with Siemens Venture Capital. Swati is also the co-founder and coordinator of the MIT Alumni Angel Investors group. In working with the group, she saw several ways in which the angel investing process could be improved. Propel(x) is geared toward filling the gap, and making angel investing a more efficient process.     Swati has an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, an M.S. from MIT (Technology and Policy Program) and an M.S. from UC Berkeley (Civil Engineering). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she blows bubbles with her one-year-old and learns about Harry Potter from her seven-year-old. She is a fan of all things sci-fi.

In Episode 40 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio, host Christopher Cahill and Lior Lavy, COO and co-founder of artizone,  discuss the growth of the artisanal foods industry and why it is ripe for investment.  artizone is an online marketplace offering a curated collection of the quality goods from local artisans and purveyors, meeting what Lavy describes as strong latent demand.  We've gotten hungry writing this, so we're off to the Green Grocer (an artizone partner) to satisfy said latent demand.   You can find out more about Lior Lavy and Artizone here. Website: http://www.artizone.com/dallas   Or you can find them here: Twitter: @lior_lavy LinkedIn Facebook Pinterest Instagram YouTube Yelp     About Lior Lavy   Lior Lavy is the COO and co-founder for artizone, an online marketplace offering a curated collection of the finest quality goods from local artisans and purveyors. Within artizone, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations and marketing for the company’s two current locations in Chicago and Dallas, in addition to directing expansion into new markets. Lavy also provides strategic direction and management of artizone’s customer care activities, all go-to-market strategies and brand awareness. With a passion and love for the artisanal community, Lavy oversees the development, management, recruitment and retention of artizone’s “artisans.” As a seasoned technologist, he was instrumental in developing the company’s innovative platform that utilizes technology to provide artisans the necessary tools to reach new consumers and grow their businesses. His 16 years of product management and software engineering experience was especially fundamental in the development of artizone’s product delivery logistics model, which organizes each individual artisan’s production and delivery timelines with each of the customers’ orders, allowing for pick-up of the products immediately upon being prepared by the artisan and delivery to the consumer within hours. Prior to founding artizone in 2009, Lavy was the Vice President of Key Accounts at Pontis, a technology solutions company that leverages innovative marketing strategies that help customers achieve financial excellence. The company experienced hyper-growth during Lavy’s time there, eventually growing from seven employee to a team of 140 that achieved $20 million in yearly sales. Lavy also served in the role of Vice President of Product Management for Pontis, cultivating his expertise in both the technical side of product distribution and management, as well as customer-facing sales and delivery activities. A former high school and college software programming teacher. Lavy is married and the proud father of two children.

Join Accredited Investor Markets Radio's Christopher Cahill and Funding Circle's Sam Hodges in Episode 39. They discuss how peer-to-peer lending companies have addressed a gap in credit availability to small businesses, while presenting accredited and institutional investors with opportunities to select risk levels as well as types of portfolio diversification in taking slices of loans to small businesses.  The irony is that -- in light of P2P's growth -- banks are proposing to partner with P2P lenders, thus taking tentative steps back into the very lending space they vacated.   You can find out more about Sam Hodges and Funding Circle here. Or you can find them here: Twitter: @FundingCircleUS; @HodgesSam LinkedIn: Funding Circle; Sam Hodges Facebook     About Sam Hodges   As Co-Founder and U.S. Managing Director, Sam is responsible for overseeing the overall strategic direction and day-to-day operation of Funding Circle in the U.S.  Under his leadership, the U.S. business has grown exponentially since its foundation in 2012 and has emerged as the world’s largest online marketplace exclusively focused on small business loans. He co-founded the company after seeing how hard it was to get a loan for a small business, a successful gym franchise, he helped build.   Before co-founding Funding Circle, Sam served as Vice President of Business Development at SecondMarket, the leading marketplace for alternative investments. There, Sam was responsible for corporate and business development and the company's geographic expansion efforts. Sam was also part of the investment team at Pequot Capital, an $8 billion global fund manager, where he covered investments in financial technology and information services. He started his career as a strategy consultant at Katzenbach Partners, where he advised financial services and technology companies.   Sam currently serves on the boards of two private companies. He received his MBA and MS from Stanford University and graduated, magna cum laude, from Brown University.

Accredited Investor Market Radio's Christopher Cahill interviews Jim Dowd, Founder and Managing Director of the North Capital companies in Episode 38.  They discuss private placement investment platforms, including the vetting of deals to be included on a platform and the effect of private placement platforms on overall investment in private offerings.  Cahill and Dowd also discuss present and future prospects for participation of non-accredited investors in private placements, and how that relates to North Capital's choice of 99Funding as the title of its private placement platform.   You can find out more about Jim Dowd and the North Capital Companies here and here. You can  also learn about 99Funding here.   Or you can find them here: Twitter:  @norcap & @99funding LinkedIn: Jim Dowd LinkedIn: 99Funding Facebook     About Jim Dowd   Jim Dowd has 30 years of experience in global financial markets. He is founder and managing director of the North Capital companies, which include North Capital Private Securities (NCPS), a registered broker-dealer focused on the distribution of private funds and the securities of private companies, North Capital Inc., a registered investment advisor, and North Capital Investment Technology, a financial technology company that develops and licenses transaction software for financial institutions and other companies to conduct private offerings.  NCPS is the designated broker-dealer for a number of securities funding platforms in the seed equity, real estate and private fund markets.     Prior to founding North Capital in 2008, Dowd spent 23 years in international financial and securities markets based in New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. He was previously Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns, where he managed the hedge fund platform and advisory business from 2003 to 2008. Dowd is a CFA charterholder and a CPA, and he holds the Series 3, 7, 24, 63, and 65 securities licenses. North Capital Private Securities is a member of FINRA and SIPC.   Mr. Dowd is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a bachelor’s of science in Foreign Service (BSFS), majoring in international economics, finance and commerce. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Certified Public Accountant.

In Episode 37 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio Carl Richards, the New York Times' "Sketch Guy", and Christopher Cahill discuss Carl's new book, 'The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to be Smart About Money'. Principal questions: Why are even financially sophisticated persons afraid of dealing with their own financial plans? How should our financial plans relate to our fundamental values? What questions should we ask any professional advisor?  Where did those great sketches of Carl's come from?   You can find out more about Carl Richards and his book here and here.   Or you can find him here: Twitter: @behaviorgap Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Soundcloud     About Carl Richards   Carl Richards is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and the director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, a community of over 130 independent wealth management firms throughout the United States. …our desire for validation comes with some serious blind spots. Income is relative to so many other factors that both the number of dollars earned and how they appear to be spent make for a worthless comparison. He is the creator of the weekly Sketch Guy column in the  The New York Times, and is a columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, The Leonard Lopate Show, Oprah.com and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world.   Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his first book, The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money (Portfolio/Penguin). Carl’s art appeared in a solo show at the Kimball Art Center, in Park City, Utah. Other showings include The Parson’s Gallery in New York, The Shultz Museum, and an upcoming exhibit at the Mansion House in London. His commissioned work is on display in businesses and educational institutions across the country. He lives with his family in Park City, Utah.

In Episode 36 of Accredited Investor Markets Radio host Christopher Cahill and Ted Neild, President and Chief Investment Officer of Gresham Partners, LLC discuss the logic of portfolio diversification, the proper understanding of risk, and the role of active management in an appropriate market.   Learn more about Ted Neild and Gresham Partners, LLC here and here.     About Ted Neild   Ted serves as the firm’s President and Chief Investment Officer. In his role as CIO, Ted is responsible for leading Gresham’s Investment Team as it establishes investment themes, identifies opportunities that fit within the firm’s Risk Conscious® investment approach, and sources select investment managers located globally, many of whom are difficult for new investors to access. Ted also shapes the firm’s views on the limitations of commonly accepted investment practices, particularly those that have failed investors during the most difficult market environments. In his role as President, Ted is responsible for setting and leading the firm’s strategic direction and chairing its Operating Committee.   Prior to joining Gresham, Ted served as Chief Investment Officer at Nuveen Asset Management where he was responsible for the firm’s investment activity. In addition to his investment responsibilities, Ted held several positions during his 16 years at Nuveen, including Director of Corporate Strategy and Development and Managing Director of Research and Risk Management.