Podcasts about blackrock

Crypto News: The House canceled late September sessions which could put the Clarity Act passing at risk. Standard Chartered brings spot crypto trading to Dubai FX platform. AMC CEO is against Robinhood AMC stock tokenization.

Lisa Boothe is joined by Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, for a deep dive into the growing backlash against data centers and the massive infrastructure buildout powering America’s digital economy and artificial intelligence boom. Hild argues that Big Tech helped create its own political problem by failing to explain how essential data centers are to everyday life—and by ignoring legitimate concerns from the communities where these facilities are being built. He breaks down questions surrounding electricity prices, water consumption, noise, development and the impact on local communities, while explaining why he believes many fears surrounding modern data centers are overstated. Lisa and Will also examine allegations of Chinese influence operations targeting the American debate over AI and energy policy, as well as Hild’s argument that elements of the ESG movement have shifted their focus toward opposing data-center development. They discuss how distrust of Big Tech following years of censorship, deplatforming and corporate political activism has helped fuel resistance to the industry’s latest expansion. Plus, Hild explains the potential upside for communities that welcome data centers, including a larger tax base, infrastructure investment and potentially lower property taxes. He makes the case that America can expand the digital infrastructure needed to compete in the AI era—but that companies must once again recognize that the consumer comes first.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britain has a problem. Almost half of the country's working age adults are not saving into a pension at all. So if you know somebody who isn't thinking enough about their future retirement, it may be time to have a frank conversation with them. In today's show, Katie Martin talks to two experts about why nobody seems to be taking their pensions seriously enough – Gavin Lewis, managing director at asset management leviathan BlackRock, and the FT's consumer editor Claer Barrett, who writes our Serious Money personal finance column. Also, Gavin goes long longevity, Katie goes long gold exuberance and Claer shorts Andy Burnham's social media feed.Save 10% on tickets to the London FT Weekend Festival with the code FTPodcast. Visit ft.com/festival to find out more.For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer.You can email Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin at unhedged@ft.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

仅仅三年前，英伟达还是一个“卖无法替代的铲子”的公司：它的产品供不应求，客户抢着支付现金，只为获得芯片；它的毛利极高、资产很轻——一言以蔽之，这是华尔街最喜欢的赚钱机器。但此后，英伟达主动打破了这种状态，它不断把自己的钱和信用借给它的客户，又让这些客户继续购买自己的产品，在这个过程中，英伟达越来越大，它身上的杠杆也越来越多。正面评价是：英伟达正在用自己的资产负债表为杠杆，建立一个新的AI行业生态；负面批评是：英伟达在自己创造自己的需求，它需要为AI的泡沫负责，甚至有人把它和20多年前的朗讯相提并论。这些讨论当然关乎对英伟达和相关公司股价的预测。如果你想在本期节目获得这种预测，很抱歉我们做不到。我们能做的，是厘清那些纠缠在一起的概念：供应商融资、回流交易、循环融资。换句话说，搞清楚英伟达到底在干什么。当然，节目最后，话题不可避免地滑向那个危险又迷人的概念：泡沫。| 主播 |肖文杰、约小亚| 时间轴 |01:15 英伟达攒了一个5000亿美元的新局04:56 英伟达扶持CoreWeave极简史10:41 担保1085亿美元，到底是什么意思？13:09 到底算不算财务欺诈，判定的两个要素16:30 英伟达的资产负债表不再完美19:12 GPU抵押贷款的利率从15%降到6%22:58 朗讯和光纤泡沫25:51 朗讯和英伟达的两个区别27:53 GE资本的启示：懂技术的人放贷，才算得清残值30:38 英伟达相比GE资本的劣势和优势33:07 比担保更笼统的残值支持35:19 算力到底是不是可以交易的金融资产38:01 三年时间，英伟达从赚钱机器变成了AI行业的中央银行38:58 我们对泡沫的理解| 延伸资料 |SEC - NVIDIA Corporation Form 10-Q（截至 2026 年 7 月 26 日）NVIDIA - CFO Commentary on Second Quarter Fiscal 2027 ResultsNVIDIA - NVIDIA AI Factory Compute Is Becoming an Investable Asset ClassNVIDIA - NVIDIA Partners With Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to Establish AI Compute Infrastructure Financing Platforms to Mobilize Over $500 Billion of Third-Party Capital硅谷101 - "消失"的万亿债务：深扒数据中心"影子借贷"、GPU金融化与次贷风险NVIDIA - NVIDIA Guarantees SB Energy's PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio to Exclusively Host NVIDIA AI ComputeNVIDIA - OpenAI and NVIDIA Announce Strategic Partnership to Deploy 10 Gigawatts of NVIDIA SystemsSEC - Lucent Settles SEC Enforcement Action Charging the Company with $1.1 Billion Accounting FraudConverge Digest - CoreWeave Secures $2.6B Loan as Lenders Take on GPU Renewal RiskThe Verge - Chipwrecked: Can Nvidia Avoid the Crash?Michael Burry - The Heretic's Guide to AI's Stars Part III: Tracepalooza & the BezzleTomasz Tunguz - Circular Financing: Does Nvidia's $110B Bet Echo the Telecom Bubble?The Week - The Fall of GE| 后期制作 |潘鑫| 声音设计 |刘三菜| 收听方式 |你可以通过小宇宙、苹果播客、Spotify、喜马拉雅、网易云音乐、QQ音乐、荔枝、豆瓣等平台收听节目。| 认识我们 |微信公众号：第一财经YiMagazine联系我们：thatisbiz@yicai.com

On this episode of the Black Rock Podcast we're continuing our conversation around Black Rock Church's ministry values with a look at Serve — Equip the Saints. Jesus said He came "not to be served, but to serve." But what does that actually mean for us as followers of Jesus? Is serving just volunteering at church, or is it something much deeper? We're talking about what it means to discover the joy of serving, what to do when you don't feel called to serve, and whether serving is about obligation, joy—or sometimes both. We'll also explore the role of pastors and church leaders when every follower of Jesus is called to ministry. Hear why Pastor Josh says his job isn't to do ministry for people, but to equip people to do ministry themselves. Because serving isn't just something we do for the church. It's part of how God forms us to become more like Jesus. Let's chat and chew!

P.M. Edition for Sept. 1. An unruly bond market is sending borrowing costs to their highest levels in decades. Financial markets reporter Jack Pitcher discusses why there's a global selloff in bonds. One reason? The escalation in fighting in the Middle East, as the U.S. launches a new wave of strikes against Iran. Plus, Hollywood reporter Ben Fritz goes into how the industry is skeptical of Paramount head David Ellison's promise to release 30 movies in theaters every year after merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. And the House passes a measure funding the government past the midterms. Pierre Bienaimé hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Barry James Dyke the Bestselling author of, The Pirates of Manhattan warns about the incoming threat of private equity coming for your retirement savings, including your 401k and IRA. Barry walks Caleb Guilliams through the evidence and past behavior of the largest Wall Street corporations in order to control more of your money's liquidity. Watch the Interview on Youtube for Visuals - https://youtu.be/xUZiCgRKJ3oLearn More About About Barry's Work: https://www.barryjamesdyke.com Want to See If Whole Life Insurance Can Improve Your Financial Plan? Schedule Your Clarity Call Here: https://bttr.ly/bw-yt-aa-clarity Want Us To Review Your Permanent Life Insurance Policy? Click Here: https://bttr.ly/yt-policy-review Want Free Whole Life Insurance Resources & Education? Go Here: https://bttr.ly/yt-bw-vault Learn More About BetterWealth: https://betterwealth.com Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction to the Retirement Crisis 1:28 - Critiquing Wall Street & BlackRock 7:06 - The Dangers of Private Equity in 401(k)s 12:56 - Solutions & Financial Fundamentals 16:02 - Reviewing Barry James Dyke's Books 21:42 - Why Do You Do This? 22:20 - Barry Get's Emotional DISCLAIMER: https://bttr.ly/aapolicy *This video is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial or legal advice. Financial Advice Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for education, discussion, and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of the information on this channel. Neither host nor guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered.

DR'We Know We Got This Wrong': Target Apologises and Pulls 'Offensive' Halloween Costume After Racist Backlash; Target Executive Chair Brian Cornell Sells 50,000 Shares for $8.2 Million; WHO DO YOU BLAME?Executive Chair/former CEO (since 2014) Brian Cornell: still 21% influence!CEO Michael Fiddelke: 16% influence; started at Target in 2003; formerly COO and CFOWhy does the corporate page not list his years of service in two separate bios??Dmitri Stockton: 8 years tenure; the double-DEI hater (Deere & Company) Mr. Stockton provides the Board with senior leadership, marketing / design / brands, human capital management, capital deployment, information security / data privacy, financial management, risk management, reputation management, and sustainability and governance skills developed over his more than 30 years of service with General Electric Company in senior leadership positions with escalating levels of responsibilityMarketing / Design / Brands: Target's brand and focus on style and design are the cornerstones of our strategy to offer a preferred shopping experience for our guests that differentiates us in the marketplace.Reputation management: To be successful, we must preserve, grow, and leverage the value of our reputation with our guests, Team Members, vendors, and our shareholders and appropriately respond to crisis events affecting them.A random executive?Chief Merchandising Officer Cara Sylvester: joined Target in 2007Chief Community and Stakeholder Engagement Officer Kiera Fernandez: joined Target in 2001Chief Stores Officer Adrienne Costanzo: joined Target in 2004Black CFO representation falls 25% from 2021 peak as diversity levels off: The number of Black finance chiefs in Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies ticked down to 15 this year, according to the report from Crist Kolder Associates. WHO DO YOU BLAME?Tractor Supply Co.: Fully eliminated its DEI goals, retired carbon emission targets, and withdrew sponsorships from social and cultural events.Deere & Company: Ended participation in social awareness parades and pledged to eliminate diversity quotas and identity-based affinity group funding.Target: Scaled back its "Racial Equity Action and Change" roadmap, modified its strategy for Pride Month merchandise, and adjusted internal diversity goals.Walmart: Ended key equity training programs, modified its third-party seller guidelines, and scaled back specific minority supplier programs.Lowe's: Ended participation in external LGBTQ+ advocacy surveys and consolidated its employee resource groups under a centralized oversight structure.Ford Motor Company: Scaled back internal diversity targets, stopped participating in third-party workplace index surveys, and unlinked executive pay from DEI metrics.Harley-Davidson: Discontinued its dedicated DEI function, eliminated diversity quotas for supplier contracts, and ended HRC index reporting.Molson Coors: Removed DEI quotas from executive incentive plans and stepped back from external diversity rankings.Meta: Reorganized its human resources departments, eliminating specialized DEI teams and specific supplier diversity programs in favor of broader recruitment practices.Amazon: Phased out several internal affinity programs and explicit representation targets for hiring.McDonald's: Retired numerical demographic goals for senior management roles and paused external workplace diversity surveys.Goldman Sachs: Ended its policy requiring companies it takes public to have at least one diverse board member.The double (and triple?) dippers:Dmitri Stockton: director at Target & DeereJohn May CEO/Chair Deere & Ford Motor directorMarvin Ellison: CEO/Chair at Lowe's after 15 years at TargetJim Farley: CEO Ford Motor & McDonald's director & former Harley-Davison director MMTrump 2.0/ElonShareholder opposition to executive pay eases globallyEurope: NO VOTES for past year fell nearly 6 percentage points year-over-year to 25.2%, the lowest average level since at least 2018.United States: Say on Pay Average Support (S&P 500): Rose to 90.4% (up from 89.7%). Failed Votes (12 years tenure, only 4 of the 11 directors got tagged as having meritThe number of committees - SIX different committees with SIX members in each (except audit which is 5) for 10 directors at the time - they needed to add ANYONE because they were exhausted from so many committee meetingsRich Stoddart DRMember of Nom/CG (also Audit, “Innovation”, and “Social Responsibility”)Was CEO of Leo Burnett - advertising agency that handled massive portion of Nestle USA advertising. Presley was CEO of Nestle USA.Callaway Golf CEO met with backlash over apology for Good Good video depicting abuseThe ad: In the footage, Good Good personality Garrett Clark charges at Alexis Miestowski, knocks her onto the grass, then stands over her and says, "Do not touch my new driver."The company issued a statement on Friday, but CEO Chip Brewer did a social media post this morning stating: "That approval should never have happened. Mistakes were made, and we are taking the matter very seriously. I want to make it clear that we sincerely apologize for the video." He did not apologize to women.WHO DO YOU BLAME?EVP and President of Callaway Golf Glenn Hickey who leads sales and marketing, whose prior work includes being a bond trader and getting a business degree from San Diego State, but was absent for the “don't shove a woman in an ad” lesson (possibly)Good Good and its CEO Matt Kendrick who made the ad for Callaway and posted, “Interesting that @CallawayGolf asks us to make an ad then approves it then asks us to take the fall then drops us in a coordinated media blitz and covers it up by giving a million dollars away thinking everyone will be ok with it. 30 for 39 will be legendary.” He also apologized. But clearly more annoyed at Callaway than, you know, sorry for women?The women on the board and the management team - they should have caught this before it got out! Oh, what? There's TWO women on the board (one auditor who is ex-Boeing, a company with no challenges, and the other a Chief People Officer at a food company) and ONE woman in management (Chief People Officer)? None of whom would have seen the ad??? Oops.Tom Dundon - who, according to the Callaway 2026 Proxy Statement, has been a director since “not applicable” - but does own more than 10% of the stock and has 56% influence over the company according to Free Float data MM

Rising global yields put pressure on markets as investors head into September. BlackRock's Kristy Akullian breaks down the market setup and what higher rates could mean for stocks. Evercore's Amit Daryanani reacts to Dell earnings. Barclays analyst Saket Kalia digs into Palo Alto Networks' results and what they signal for cybersecurity spending. Our Leslie Picker examines whether the data center boom is beginning to hit financing limits before Morgan Stanley's Ariana Salvatore discusses the growing public pushback and what it could mean for the future of the industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(0:00) Thank you to everyone who joined the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (0:30) Intro (1:51) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:38) Start of interview (3:21) Raffaela Rein's Origin Story (4:44) Rocket Internet: the “copycat factory,” global expansion, execution, and leadership lessons (8:36) Founding and selling CareerFoundry (9:16) Raffaela's Board Journey: Porsche and other boards: PE, tech unicorn, startups and non-profits. (11:04) Why she founded BoardLens (15:00) AI as a Strategic Sparring Partner for board members: better preparation, sharper questions, and challenging assumptions (16:14) How BoardLens is different from a traditional board portal and why individual directors are adopting it (18:37) Confidentiality, Privilege, and AI: the risks of using public AI tools for board work (21:03) The AI models behind BoardLens: Anthropic, Gemini, and OpenAI (23:25) Open vs. Closed AI Models and balancing performance, security, and confidentiality (25:01) BoardLens users and the growing demand for AI in regulated industries (26:37) The “private equitization” of the economy and the rise of private-company boards (31:38) OpenAI, Anthropic, and New Governance Models: PBCs, nonprofits, trusts, and mission-driven governance (35:15) The Sam Altman episode and the unusual balance of power among boards, employees, and investors (36:34) Mission vs. Financial Interests in AI governance (37:47) Founder Control and Dual-Class Shares: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and investor willingness to accept unconventional governance (39:17) The Porsche IPO and other unconventional governance structures (41:07) U.S. vs. German Boards: comparing the single-board and two-tier governance models (44:00) Why the board meeting should be one of the most valuable meetings in the company, not simply a reporting exercise (44:40) Why Raffaela believes the AI transformation may be bigger than the digital transformation (45:36) AI Strategy and Governance education for directors (46:00) Building a Directors Council to think about the future of board work in an AI-driven world (47:44) Autonomous vehicles, disruption of the German and European auto industries, and global competition (48:15) What happens if AI makes many goods and services dramatically cheaper, or even effectively free? (49:04) Books that have greatly influenced her life: Radical Candor, by Kim Scott Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz (51:13) Her mentors and the people she admires for perseverance (52:12) Quotes she thinks of often: Invictus and “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” (52:54) An unusual habit: going through different color phases (53:56) The living person she most admires: Tony Robbins, and his ability to sustain a sense of purpose over decades Raffaela Rein is the CEO and founder of BoardLens, an AI-powered intelligence platform built for board members. Her career spans BlackRock, Rocket Internet, entrepreneurship, and corporate boards. You can follow Evan on social media at:Website: boardroom-governance.comX: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BoardroomGovernance__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

For the second entry this week, I dive into a double feature on some pre-Rambo esque films that are both rather interesting watches: The 1955 classic Neo-Western Bad Day at Black Rock and the 1980 rather goofy Ruckus starring Dirk Benedict (The A-Team, original BSG).   We then conclude the minisode with a brief overview on the Rambo Novel itself, how the title character is actually portrayed as an unstable villain in that version & how it was so easy back then for many to portray a violent Green Beret returning to normal life before the actual film came out!   CLIP USED: Sylvester Stallone- 2005 Howard Stern Interview   SONG USED: "It's a Long Road" by Dan Hill (First Blood OST)

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Andrew Ang. Andrew is a leading voice in quantitative investing, factor research, tax-efficient portfolio construction, and AI. He spent 15 years as a professor at Columbia Business School and 10 years as Managing Director at BlackRock, where he led work across factors, sustainability, and investment solutions. Today, he is the Co-Founder of Tau Balance, where he applies technology, tax expertise, and AI to wealth management.  Andrew talks with Jack about factor investing and tax-efficient portfolios, why taxes can significantly affect what investors actually keep, and how advisors can think beyond pre-tax returns when building portfolios. Andrew also shares his vision for the "self-driving portfolio," an agentic investment strategy where AI agents can specialize across asset classes, challenge one another's assumptions, and continuously learn. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:37) - Andrew's background and career journey (03:47) - The evolution of factor-based investing (06:16) - Andrew's transition from academic research to portfolio management (07:40) - Taxes as the biggest factor in investment returns (11:35) - The vision behind the "self-driving portfolio" (17:11) - Using investment policy statements as guardrails for AI (18:34) - Andrew's interests outside of work Quotes "Taxes constitute the biggest wedge between returns that you seem to participate in, or that are reported, and the returns that you actually get to keep." ~ Andrew Ang "The really big gains come when we don't just substitute something for AI, but completely change the way that we work with it." ~ Andrew Ang "Where the agents disagree, those are the most interesting and important areas for investing. That's probably where alpha lies, or where we actually have to be very careful to construct robust portfolios." ~ Andrew Ang Links  Andrew Ang on LinkedIn Tau Balance BlackRock SEI Ang Research Enhanced U.S. Large Cap ETF (ANGU) Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Sharla and Daniel are driving all the way from North Alabama to North Nevada for Burning Man 2026, and we're taking you along the way! We talk Black Rock City, the road trip, the stops to eat along the way, Route 66, and much more.

The new economic regime we've long described has been on full display in 2026. As the summer ends, Natalie Gill, Senior Portfolio Strategist at the BlackRock Investment Institute, shares three lessons to take into the rest of the year. General disclosure: This material is intended for information purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities, funds or strategies to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The opinions expressed are as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Investing involves risks. BlackRock does and may seek to do business with companies covered in this podcast. As a result, readers should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this podcast.In the U.S. and Canada, this material is intended for public distribution.In the UK and Non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries: this is Issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London, EC2N 2DL. Tel:+ 44 (0)20 7743 3000. Registered in England and Wales No. 02020394. For your protection telephone calls are usually recorded. Please refer to the Financial Conduct Authority website for a list of authorised activities conducted by BlackRock.In the European Economic Area (EEA): this is Issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V. is authorised and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. Registered office Amstelplein 1, 1096 HA, Amsterdam, Tel: 020 – 549 5200, Tel: 31-20- 549-5200. Trade Register No. 17068311 For your protection telephone calls are usually recorded.For Investors in Switzerland: This document is marketing material.In South Africa: Please be advised that BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited is an authorised Financial Services provider with the South African Financial Services Board, FSP No. 43288.In Singapore, this is issued by BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (Co. registration no. 200010143N). This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In Hong Kong, this material is issued by BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited and has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. In Australia, issued by BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited ABN 13 006 165 975, AFSL 230 523 (BIMAL). This material provides general information only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation, needs or circumstances. Before making any investment decision, you should assess whether the material is appropriate for you and obtain financial advice tailored to you having regard to your individual objectives, financial situation, needs and circumstances. Refer to BIMAL's Financial Services Guide on its website for more information. This material is not a financial product recommendation or an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any financial product in any jurisdictionIn Latin America: this material is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice nor an offer or solicitation to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of any Fund (nor shall any such shares be offered or sold to any person) in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities law of that jurisdiction. If any funds are mentioned or inferred to in this material, it is possible that some or all of the funds may not have been registered with the securities regulator of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay or any other securities regulator in any Latin American country and thus might not be publicly offered within any such country. The securities regulators of such countries have not confirmed the accuracy of any information contained herein. The provision of investment management and investment advisory services is a regulated activity in Mexico thus is subject to strict rules. For more information on the Investment Advisory Services offered by BlackRock Mexico please refer to the Investment Services Guide available at www.blackrock.com/mx©2026 BlackRock, Inc. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.BII0826-M-5880696-EXP082

A little French girl escapes her tyrannical guardian in a crate of wine bound for Black Rock.

In der heutigen Folge sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Daniel Eckert und Lea Oetjen über den schon erwarteten Salesforce-Sprung, einen Dämpfer für Marvell Technologies und das große Warten auf die Rede von Kevin Warsh in Jackson Hole. Außerdem geht es um Nvidia, CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, Okta, Adobe, Palantir, Autodesk, Figma, HP, Best Buy, Moderna, Wendy's, Alphabet, Apollo Global Management, BlackRock, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, KKR, SAP, Nemetschek, Infineon, SUSS MicroTec, GFT Technologies, United Internet, IONOS, Deutsche Telekom, BMW, Mercedes-Benz Group, Volkswagen, Take-Two Interactive, VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF (WKN: A2JAHJ) und iShares STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 UCITS ETF (WKN: A0F5UH). Am 2. Oktober findet unser „Alles auf Aktien“-Summit in Berlin statt. Ihr wollt dabei sein? Wir verlosen Tickets: Schreibt uns eine Mail an AAA@WELT.de und begründet, warum ihr unbedingt gewinnen solltet. Falls ihr euer Glück nicht dem Zufall überlassen wollt, bekommt ihr mit dem Code „AAAFRIENDS“ satte 50 Prozent Rabatt aufs Ticket – aber nur über diesen Link: https://veranstaltung.businessinsider.de/event/financesummit26/summary?rp=c6dc55d6-6f4f-4fb4-b75f-3f3501d84859 Wir freuen uns an Feedback über aaa@welt.de. Noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" findet Ihr bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts. Hier bei WELT: https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html. Hier könnt ihr den AAA-Newsletter abonnieren: https://www.welt.de/newsletter/article232797673/Alles-auf-Aktien-Der-taegliche-Boersen-Newsletter-fuer-WELTplus-Abonnenten.html Und – ganz neu: AAA gibt es jetzt auch auf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alles_auf_aktien/ Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte! https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien Anzeige: Eight Sleep: Der Pod 5 reguliert die Temperatur im Bett automatisch, trackt Schlaf- und Gesundheitswerte ohne Wearable und kann so zu besserem Schlaf beitragen. Mit dem Code ALLESAUFAKTIEN erhaltet ihr auf https://www.eightsleep.com/allesaufaktien bis zu 350 Euro Rabatt. Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

Bitcoin breaks through $80K as BlackRock says the macro case for BTC is getting stronger, while Nvidia's blowout earnings add fuel to the broader risk rally. We also cover the SEC reviving crypto custody rules, StarkWare's first quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction, and Robinhood Chain's surge in tokenized stock activity. Plus, Tushar Jain joins to discuss Hyperliquid, Zcash's move, and the latest Multicoin thesis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 With Louis Diamond Vanguard's acquisition of Altruist could reshape RIA custody, bringing together Altruist's technology with the scale, capital, and reputation of one of the industry's best-known brands. In Summary Vanguard's acquisition of Altruist brings one of the financial industry's most established brands together with one of RIA custody's fastest-growing challengers. In this Rapid Reaction Industry Update, Louis Diamond looks beyond the reported $4B+ purchase price to consider what the combination could mean for advisors—what he sees as the good news, the potentially negative outcomes, and everything in between. Altruist gains the capital, scale, and brand recognition that could help it compete more aggressively for larger RIAs and breakaway teams. Vanguard gains a technology-forward custody platform and greater access to the independent advisor channel. The larger implication may be increased competition across RIA custody. With Schwab and Fidelity controlling much of the market, a Vanguard-backed Altruist could create new pressure around technology, pricing, service, referrals, and innovation—while raising new questions about how Vanguard balances its growing advice business with its role as custodian. The Storyline RIA custody has long been dominated by Schwab and Fidelity, particularly since Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade. Altruist emerged as one of the few credible challengers, building its position around modern technology, lower costs, and an advisor-focused platform.   But technology was only part of the equation. For larger breakaway teams in particular, Altruist faced another hurdle: brand recognition. Advisors could be impressed by the platform while still wondering how clients accustomed to names like Merrill, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Schwab, or Fidelity would respond to an unfamiliar custodian.   Vanguard changes that equation.   Louis examines why the acquisition makes strategic sense for both companies, from Vanguard's push to expand access to financial advice to Altruist's opportunity to operate with the backing of a well-capitalized, long-term owner.   For advisors, however, the bigger story is what happens next. A stronger competitor in custody could affect everything from technology and pricing to referral opportunities and the choices available to breakaway advisors.   There are also important questions still unanswered. Vanguard operates its own advice businesses. Altruist's speed and fintech culture may be tested inside a much larger organization. And while Vanguard says Altruist will remain independent, the longer-term operating model remains to be seen.   The deal may not change advisors' options immediately. But it has the potential to change the competitive dynamics surrounding those options considerably.   Topics Covered Vanguard's acquisition of Altruist RIA custody competition Schwab and Fidelity Altruist's technology and Hazel AI Vanguard's financial advice strategy Custodian brand recognition for breakaway advisors Advisor referral networks Custody and technology pricing Direct advice and custodian conflicts The future of RIA platforms and Supportive Independence > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why is the Vanguard-Altruist acquisition significant for RIA custody? (03:53)Louis explains why custody has remained highly concentrated around Schwab and Fidelity and how combining Vanguard's scale and reputation with Altruist's technology could create a much stronger third competitor.   What problem does Vanguard potentially solve for Altruist? (05:01)Altruist has built a strong reputation among advisors for its technology, but larger breakaway teams have sometimes questioned whether clients would recognize or trust the brand. Vanguard could significantly reduce that concern.   Why does buying Altruist make sense for Vanguard? (07:00)Vanguard has more than 50 million investors and has publicly discussed the need to expand access to financial advice. Louis considers how Altruist could give Vanguard both additional capacity and a stronger connection to independent advisors.   What does Altruist gain from Vanguard beyond capital? (09:51)Louis discusses the significance of having a long-term, investor-owned parent rather than remaining dependent on successive rounds of venture capital, while gaining additional resources to develop custody, technology, and Hazel AI.   How could this acquisition change the choices available to breakaway advisors? (12:33)The combination of Altruist's technology with Vanguard's brand could make the platform more viable for larger teams that previously hesitated because of client recognition and trust concerns.   Could Vanguard become a meaningful source of client referrals to RIAs? (13:42)With millions of existing investors and more demand for advice than Vanguard can necessarily serve internally, Louis considers whether a future referral program connecting Vanguard clients with Altruist RIAs could become an important competitive advantage.   What are the potential risks of the Vanguard-Altruist combination? (16:54)The acquisition also raises questions around Vanguard's competing advice business, Altruist's long-term independence, differences in corporate culture, innovation speed, and talent retention.   What could happen next across the custody market? (20:00)Louis offers several predictions, including responses from Schwab and Fidelity, wider adoption of Hazel AI, a potential Vanguard-Altruist referral channel, and greater use of Altruist by breakaway advisors.   Key Takeaways Vanguard's acquisition of Altruist could introduce a more formidable competitor into an RIA custody market heavily concentrated around Schwab and Fidelity. Vanguard addresses one of Altruist's biggest challenges with larger breakaway teams: providing a widely recognized financial brand that advisors can more easily explain to clients. Altruist gives Vanguard a technology-forward entry point into RIA custody as Vanguard continues expanding its strategy around access to financial advice. Advisors could benefit from greater competition through pressure on custody and technology pricing, service, product development, and innovation. A future referral channel could become an important part of the combination, particularly given Vanguard's enormous investor base and Altruist's growing network of RIAs. The acquisition also introduces potential conflicts and execution risks, including Vanguard's own advice businesses, the integration of two very different corporate cultures, and questions about whether Altruist can maintain its speed and independence over time. For breakaway advisors, the custody shortlist may have changed: Altruist can now pair its technology and fintech capabilities with the capital and reputation of Vanguard. https://youtu.be/UlgCBjLXrnw Quotable Moments “Custody is really a trust business.”— Louis Diamond (05:55) “Every time a well-capitalized player shows up, especially in custody, advisors win.”— Louis Diamond (12:33) “Really, it's tech-forward independence now without a brand trade-off.”— Louis Diamond (13:42) “There are always innovators showing up from outside the establishment, and every time one succeeds, advisors end up with more options and more leverage and more negotiating power than they had the year before.”— Louis Diamond (22:44) FAQs Why is Vanguard acquiring Altruist? Louis sees several strategic reasons for the acquisition. Altruist gives Vanguard an established technology and custody platform serving more than 6,000 advisors, while potentially expanding Vanguard's ability to reach investors through independent financial advisors. It may also provide another distribution channel for Vanguard investment products and future offerings. What does Vanguard's acquisition mean for Altruist? Altruist gains the backing of one of the world's largest and best-known investment firms while retaining, at least initially, its brand, leadership, and operating structure. Vanguard's capital could allow Altruist to continue investing in custody capabilities, technology, and products such as Hazel AI without relying on additional venture funding rounds. How could the acquisition affect RIA custody competition? Schwab and Fidelity currently dominate RIA custody. Louis believes a Vanguard-backed Altruist could become a stronger challenger by combining Altruist's technology and pricing model with Vanguard's scale, capital, and reputation. That could increase competitive pressure around pricing, service, technology, and innovation. Why could the deal matter to breakaway advisors? Altruist's technology has attracted advisor interest, but some larger breakaway teams have questioned whether clients would be comfortable holding substantial wealth with a less familiar custodian. Vanguard's ownership could substantially reduce that brand-recognition hurdle and make Altruist a more viable option for larger teams. Could Vanguard refer clients to advisors using Altruist? No referral program has been announced. However, Louis believes it is an important possibility to watch. Vanguard has more than 50 million investors, while Altruist provides access to thousands of independent advisors. Connecting investors seeking human advice with RIAs on the Altruist platform could create a meaningful new referral channel. Are there risks for advisors using a Vanguard-owned custodian? Potentially. Vanguard operates its own financial advice businesses, creating some of the same competitive concerns advisors have raised about other custodians with retail advice operations. Other questions include whether Altruist will remain operationally independent over time and whether its culture and pace of innovation can be maintained under Vanguard ownership. What happens next for Altruist, Schwab, and Fidelity? Louis expects the competitive response to be worth watching. He believes Schwab and Fidelity could respond through technology, AI, pricing, or other changes to their advisor offerings. He also expects Altruist to compete more aggressively for breakaway teams and sees the potential for Hazel AI to expand well beyond advisors who custody assets with Altruist. Does the Vanguard-Altruist deal change anything for advisors immediately? Not necessarily. The transaction still needs to close, and its longer-term impact will take time to emerge. But for advisors evaluating custodians, independence, or the value they receive from existing partners, the acquisition adds another factor to consider as the competitive landscape evolves. Louis sees several strategic reasons for the acquisition. Altruist gives Vanguard an established technology and custody platform serving more than 6,000 advisors, while potentially expanding Vanguard's ability to reach investors through independent financial advisors. It may also provide another distribution channel for Vanguard investment products and future offerings. Altruist gains the backing of one of the world's largest and best-known investment firms while retaining, at least initially, its brand, leadership, and operating structure. Vanguard's capital could allow Altruist to continue investing in custody capabilities, technology, and products such as Hazel AI without relying on additional venture funding rounds. Schwab and Fidelity currently dominate RIA custody. Louis believes a Vanguard-backed Altruist could become a stronger challenger by combining Altruist's technology and pricing model with Vanguard's scale, capital, and reputation. That could increase competitive pressure around pricing, service, technology, and innovation. Altruist's technology has attracted advisor interest, but some larger breakaway teams have questioned whether clients would be comfortable holding substantial wealth with a less familiar custodian. Vanguard's ownership could substantially reduce that brand-recognition hurdle and make Altruist a more viable option for larger teams. No referral program has been announced. However, Louis believes it is an important possibility to watch. Vanguard has more than 50 million investors, while Altruist provides access to thousands of independent advisors. Connecting investors seeking human advice with RIAs on the Altruist platform could create a meaningful new referral channel. Potentially. Vanguard operates its own financial advice businesses, creating some of the same competitive concerns advisors have raised about other custodians with retail advice operations. Other questions include whether Altruist will remain operationally independent over time and whether its culture and pace of innovation can be maintained under Vanguard ownership. Louis expects the competitive response to be worth watching. He believes Schwab and Fidelity could respond through technology, AI, pricing, or other changes to their advisor offerings. He also expects Altruist to compete more aggressively for breakaway teams and sees the potential for Hazel AI to expand well beyond advisors who custody assets with Altruist. Not necessarily. The transaction still needs to close, and its longer-term impact will take time to emerge. But for advisors evaluating custodians, independence, or the value they receive from existing partners, the acquisition adds another factor to consider as the competitive landscape evolves. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. Related Resources  Rise and Reinvent: Joe Duran on Building and Rebuilding World-Class Firms From Insurance Sales to $8B RIA: A Northwestern Mutual Breakaway Story Diamond Consultants 4th Annual Advisor Transition Report View the transcript of this episode… Vanguard Acquires Altruist: What It Means for RIAs, Custody & Breakaway Advisors With Louis Diamond Louis Diamond (00:06): Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast series for financial advisors. Today’s episode is a special rapid reaction industry update, Vanguard acquires Altruist, what it means for advisors in the industry. I’m Louis Diamond, and this is The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond (00:28): At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at 908-879-1002. (01:21): Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our annual advisor transition report. It’s the award-winning data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. Louis Diamond (02:05): Funny how the biggest news in the business almost never comes from the firms everyone is watching. On Wednesday, August 26th, 2026, Vanguard announced its acquiring Altruist. If you asked me a year ago to name the company most likely to buy an RIA custodian, Vanguard would not have been near the top of my list. Vanguard was in the RIA custody business once. They left in 2003 and handed roughly $120 billion of advisor assets to TD Ameritrade on the way out. 23 years later, they’re buying their way back in, reported $4 billion or more. So let’s talk about what happened, why it matters, and where I think it goes from here. (02:48): What happened? On August 26th, 2026, a definitive agreement was announced out of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. A deal is closing later this year where Vanguard is acquiring Altruist, the relative upstart RIA custodian. The price, an undisclosed number, but a reported $4 billion, some outlets reporting $4.6 billion or more. Either way, more than double their last private market valuation at the end of April 2025. Another element is Altruist is staying as a standalone. They’ll keep their brand, CEO, management team, and operate the same model just as a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanguard. Altruist in one breath, for those unaware, was a custodian and fintech company founded in 2018 by Jason Wenk. They became a self-clearing custodian, third largest as far as number of advisors served, north of 6,000 advisors, and had a reputation for serving smaller or upstart advisors, but recently started getting into more of the larger market breakaway space. (03:53): One estimate I’ve seen peg’s Altruist market share of RIA custody at around 6%, but you compare that to about three quarters of the market for Schwab and Fidelity combined. So a relatively small player, but a rapidly emerging player and threat in US RIA custody. This is not the first time Vanguard has been involved with Altruist. They reportedly were an early investor in Altruist back in 2020 and former Vanguard CEO, Bill McNabb, has been on the board of Altruist, so a lot of history between the firms. Let’s get into now why I think this is interesting for the industry as a whole. In my view, custody has never really been all that competitive, especially since TD Ameritrade sold to Schwab. You really had an oligopoly between Schwab and Fidelity. Sure, there’s a number of compelling, say more boutique custodians, whether Pershing Advisor Solutions, Goldman Sachs, which was another newer entrant to custody, LPL, Raymond James, First Clearing, and a number of others are also in the space, but it is a market that is dramatically dominated by the two largest players. (05:01): So I think this matters because you add an amazing venerable brand and reputation of Vanguard with this scrappy upstart custodian, and all of a sudden you can see a world where custody is one of the more competitive spaces in the industry. Altruist, in my view too, was one of the first credible challengers to the incumbent custodians in 20-ish years. Goldman has since picked up some decent market share and certainly they’re attractive for the segment of advisors. But Altruist with their tech-forward approach, low fees, and even just the way they went to market as an antagonist to Schwab and Fidelity, they’re a big deal and I think this just magnifies what they’re able to do. The gap though for Altruist was brand and reputation. Sure, they had amazing tech. No one ever has doubted that. Hazel AI, which they recently launched has been very well received. (05:55): Advisors I’ve worked with who have demoed the platform are incredibly impressed. The big Achilles heel though for Altruist has been my clients don’t know who Altruist is. Why would my clients put their millions of dollars of wealth with a self-clearing custodian that doesn’t have the same scale or reputation as the incumbent custodians? Well, that really goes away here. And at the end of the day, custody is really a trust business, but you’d have to think that a client would trust their assets held with Vanguard or with Altruist through Vanguard in a very similar way that they would trust assets held by Bank of New York Mellon or Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments or Goldman Sachs. So to me, Vanguard acquiring Altruist solves that problem in one sentence, very simple. Why I think this makes sense for Vanguard? Salim Ramji, the CEO of Vanguard, has been saying since he arrived from BlackRock two years ago that only one in five Americans work with a fee-based financial advisor and that quality advice shouldn’t be a luxury good and this shortage is only going to get worse as advisors retire. (07:00): This is really him putting his money where his mouth is and really trying to make financial advice, human directed financial advice more accessible to everyday Americans and the upper echelons of wealth in this country. Vanguard as a company has over 50 million reported investors and over 12 trillion in assets. A lot of these people want Vanguard advice, but Vanguard hasn’t had the manpower or the capacity to deliver it itself. Buying Altruist over time can certainly solve that capacity gap and make it so that a human-based financial advisor or any of Vanguard’s internal platforms now have a greater ability to provide advice to Americans looking for financial advisors in the United States. I think this also means more distribution capability for Vanguard funds. Not that Vanguard has ever had a problem with distribution. They have a relatively small wholesaling force compared to other firms, but given their cost and reputation and performance, they’re really on pretty much every platform. (08:04): Most advisors have some clients that are invested into Vanguard mutual funds or ETFs, but this I think just gives them a greater ability to distribute Vanguard products, probably in a similar way to Goldman’s approach. When Goldman entered US RIA custody, in large part, they were doing it for distribution of different things. For Goldman, it was private markets and lending and other types of products. Vanguard is more ETFs and mutual funds, but Vanguard has also been pushing more into the private market space, so I can definitely see a world in which they can ratchet up the distribution of their products in a fairly cost-efficient way. I think to me, the most interesting thing about this marriage is the mission overlap is quite real. When Vanguard started, and to this day, their goal was to provide quality investment products at a fraction of the cost of the incumbents so that investing can be accessible to everyday Americans. (08:59): That’s exactly the verbiage that Jason Wenk and Altruist has used from the beginning, where they want to become a all-in-one hub or tech-enabled custodian so that an advisor, regardless of their size and a client regardless of their AUM, have the ability to get quality advice. I recently listened to a podcast called Acquired. We’ll link it in the show notes, but it’s a three-hour in-depth look into the building of Vanguard. And if you combine that with the podcast episode that I recorded with Jason Wenk, the CEO of Altruist, if you play them side by side, the parallels are eerily similar. So we’ll link both into the show notes, but I really think both of these firms were cut from the same cloth and really from the beginning, both have gone against the grain and tried to rattle incumbent players in the industry. So at least on paper, seems like a very good match. (09:51): Why does this deal make sense for Altruist? For one, for Jason Wenk and his leadership team, this has to be the outcome you drew up, maybe even better. Founding a new custodian in 2018, selling it in 2026, eight years later for over $4 billion, that’s a pretty incredible return on time for this team. They deserve it all and built something special and really entered into a space where no one wanted to venture just given the market share of the major incumbents, but good for them and has to feel good to pull off this type of sale. I think the big thing too is the buyer is the story. Vanguard as a company, it’s investor owned. They’re not private equity owned. They’re not VC backed like Altruist was. So Altruist can get off of the fundraising treadmill. They don’t have to worry about fund life or a five-year hold period or an eventual sale to a strategic. (10:42): Now they can really just focus on the business at hand, having one of the most well-capitalized companies in the world as their capital backer and owner. And every advisor on a PE-backed platform knows the question hanging over every relationship, who owns this next? That’s a question they won’t have to answer anymore at all, and they can really just focus now going forward. I think this also gives Altruist a fortress balance sheet and a ton of capital to keep pushing and developing their Hazel AI platform, which was launched in September 2025. Hazel’s an AI tax planning tool, kind of AI superpower that really has taken the industry by storm and has started to be sold as a standalone product to RIAs. And from what I’ve seen, they’ve sold it to over 1600 new RIAs just in the first month alone for $60 a seat per month, and that’s available to folks if they custody at Altruist or not. (11:36): So this, I think, just gives them an ability to distribute their fintech solutions and certainly develop their custody platform in a way that maybe was challenging or not as possible before. They can also take a longer term view instead of having to worry about they raised a series F, whatever comes after F and an eventual sale, investors wanting to get a return on capital, they can now focus on building over the long term, which has been Vanguard’s strategy all along. I think too, this will give Altruist the ability to invest in new capabilities that they didn’t have before, whether it’s lending or whether it’s more on the product side. It takes a lot to be a custodian. It seems like a relatively straightforward business just holding assets, but there’s a lot of products, solutions, really requirements that everyday investors and RIA clients have, and I think this will just ratchet up Altruist’s ability to close some of the capability gaps that they’ve had since they launched and they’re very transparent about those. (12:33): What I’m most excited about this, just coming from my vantage point in the industry, is why should an advisor care? To me, there’s five things that advisors should really take notice of with this acquisition. First one’s competition. Every time a well-capitalized player shows up, especially in custody, advisors win. Schwab and Fidelity have fought Vanguard in the asset management space for decades, and more recently in financial advice. Now you’re adding custody against a firm that doesn’t need to be profitable the next quarter, and all of a sudden we very much have an arms race and some competition is good for pricing, for service, for innovation, and I think this is going to be only positives for clients across the country, having another competitive option and keeping the incumbents really on their toes. Another reason, the breakaway shortlist has changed. Objection I always heard about Altruist was, “The tech is great, the AI seems cool, but how do I explain the name Altruist to a 68-year-old client who’s leaving Merrill or UBS or Morgan Stanley?” (13:42): While someone may still get some objections because Vanguard may not have the same brand cache as Goldman Sachs or UBS Private Wealth or Merrill Private Wealth, that objection got a lot weaker today. Really, it’s tech-forward independence now without a brand trade-off. It’s a genuinely different offer in the market than it was before. Third, I think this is one that hasn’t been talked about much, but should be watched closely, potential for referrals. Schwab confirmed last week that it was taking the SAN or the Schwab Advisor Network client referral minimum from two million to five million. For anyone not aware, referrals from the retail branches of Schwab and Fidelity are one of the major organic growth funnels for many of the top RIAs in this country and have driven valuations to billions and billions of dollars for firms that are in this program. (14:36): I really do see this as being a potential new massive referral opportunity of Vanguard existing clients and customers to Altruist custody to RIAs at a time when Schwab is trying to keep more of those referrals from themselves, which is a very savvy strategy, but at the same time, probably creates a bit of an opening for Altruist and Vanguard to become a really good referral hub for clients, which is a major draw for signing up new RIAs as clients, for breakaway advisors, et cetera. (15:07): So more details need to come there. We don’t even know if they’re starting a referral channel, but I have to imagine that’s high in the punch list and will be a very compelling offering in the marketplace. Yeah, think about it. Vanguard is 50 million investors and a CEO who said multiple times that they don’t have enough advisors or humans to deliver this advice. So perfect. You now have a massive array of RIAs and more and more coming to the table who offer that advice and being able to still serve them, still keep the assets in-house, but do it in a way where Vanguard doesn’t have to scale up their advisor force. They now have advisors to refer to. Fourth is pricing. I think the Vanguard effect is going to be real here. When Vanguard started, and even to this day, they’ve been the one who’ve pushed down the expense ratio on mutual funds and ETFs. (15:56): It’s been a massive benefit to investors across this country. It’s been Altruist’s playbook all along too, more focused on the advisor, so offering amazing tech and a custody platform for virtually no cost to an advisor. So I would say whatever you’re paying for technology, for custody, and really anything else that Altruist and Vanguard might touch, I would expect it to go down potentially and just have more pressures on the incumbent firms to really sharpen their pencil or to get more creative on pricing and innovation. I think that the fifth thing to keep in mind is Schwab has long used its scale and positioning in the market to best competitors, whether it was going to $0 on tickets for equities and ETFs, et cetera, a number of years ago or a number of other strategies they’ve taken. Now you have a firm that has similar scale as Schwab, a reputation for playing the long game and being comfortable making less money in the process. (16:54): So again, massive benefit to the advisors to have another major player driving down costs and increasing innovation in the space. But this is not all positives. As with anything, there’s the good and the bad, and also some open questions. The biggest, I think, downside or potential thing to watch here, and certainly if you are a BDO at a custodian, this is the line you’re using, “Vanguard has its own advice business, personal advisor, digital advisor, and a CEO who stated that his goal is that an advisor is in every investor’s pocket.” So now you have the custodian that’s holding your client’s assets also running one of the largest advice operations in the country. We’ve heard this concern in the past about Schwab or Fidelity where you have RA custody and then these firms have massive retail distribution networks. So certainly Vanguard, I think, will be in the same lane. (17:46): And if you look at a Pershing or an LPL or Raymond James, it’s a little bit different because they don’t have their own channels in the same way that Schwab or Fidelity do. So certainly if you’re BNY Mellon in particular, which is a straight B2B custodian, this is a clear point of differentiation for Vanguard, Altruist and certainly versus the other custodians. Next one is Vanguard has said that Altruist will remain a standalone business. The brand will stay intact, the management team, et cetera. But in fairness, every acquirer says versions of the same thing. The real test is let’s wait two years, three years and see how converging roles or similar roles across the firm start to converge into one, and over time will they more Altruist brand and human capital into one structure. (18:36): Right now we don’t know, but I’m always a bit skeptical with acquisitions that you have the honeymoon period, takes time for the deals to close, and then what happens a couple of years down the line? Either as there’s new executives in charge, there’s turnover, or just there’s certain synergies that can be had, and the best way to do it is by combining operations and the like. (18:56): The next risk, I think it might sound a little bit mundane, but it’s culture and speed. Vanguard based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Altruist in LA, very different cultures. Altruist as a fintech company has been superfast to market, building, breaking things, innovating. And Vanguard, I think they’ve been extremely innovative on pricing, on product development, but I’ve never heard amazing reviews about Vanguard’s technology. So does this convergence of cultures create an issue? Does it create more bureaucracy for Altruist trying to build stuff? Is there a cultural mismatch when it comes to speed of market and innovation? And I think the last thing to keep in mind or to watch is the talent drainage at Altruist post-closing. Yes, I was a FinTech company and custodian offering equity, lots of upside for people that have taken this journey with them. Vanguard notoriously is the opposite. They don’t offer equity to anyone and they offer their employees high base salaries and you have a culture of longevity within the firm. (20:00): So after the lockup period is done for, or the earn out period is done for any Altruist equity owners and many of their employees, does that cause some talent drainage where folks want to go onto the next big thing, think what will happen to all the amazing SpaceX employees a year from now when their IPO lockups are done? Does that lead them to another opportunity? All these are questions I don’t know, but trying to play devil’s advocate. I think the biggest potential negative is just the Vanguard advice business as a competitor, a conflict to RIA custody. Let me give you a couple of predictions before we wrap here. I think Schwab and Fidelity will respond fast, whether it’s on the AI front or because the pressure is really on. I don’t know, maybe the $5 million referral minimum that Schwab just announced, maybe that sunsets after a period of time. I have no idea. (20:53): I’m also excited to see, we’ll call it the tech face off between Altruist and Robinhood. Robinhood acquired TradePMR, which is on the Wells Fargo First Clearing platform and is in the process of launching an RIA custodian themselves. So now you have, I think, two pretty incredible tech-forward custodians really trying to gain market share, so that will be fun to watch. Could there be a threat in the RIA platform space? So RIA platforms meaning RIAs, we call them supportive versions of independence, where advisors can plug into, they get technology, compliance, operations, et cetera, and still own their business. Given the end-to-end tech stack that Altruist boasts, and they’ve also been in development of their own corporate RIA, does that become that much more of a competitive feature that could possibly become a solution in and of itself that takes a dent out of these RIA platforms playbook? (21:45): I don’t know, but I think it’s possible. Altruist Hazel AI, does that push even well beyond custody? There’s a ton of AI and fintechs popping up around the industry. Hazel has certainly taken a lot of headlines and attention. With Vanguard behind it now, does that push the price lower? Does it help their distribution? Maybe you picture this, if you have a Vanguard-owned product sitting in the daily workflow of a competitor’s advisors, so let’s say you’re a Morgan Stanley, you’re a Schwab advisor, et cetera, do you now have a Vanguard-owned product in Hazel as part of your workflow or your fintech stack? Could be interesting. I will call a referral channel for Vanguard or Altruist, we’ll say within the next year or two. I think it would be crazy if that didn’t happen and that will be a massive disruptor. And finally, my prediction is more breakaways landing in Altruist. They’ve started to crack that door, but now with the powerful brand and reputation behind them, the sky’s probably the limit. (22:44): So in closing, a guy, Jason Wenk, started a company in 2018 in Los Angeles because he thought independent advisors deserve better software at a lower price. Eight years later, one of the most respected financial institutions in the world paid $4 billion for it, and the reason is he was right in that bet. There are always innovators showing up from outside the establishment, and every time one succeeds, advisors end up with more options and more leverage and more negotiating power than they had the year before. It’s a consistent theme across the industry. So nothing changes tomorrow, deals take time, deals have a way of falling apart, but if you’re evaluating custodians, thinking about independence for the first time, wondering whether your current partner is going to keep earning your business, today is a good day to reopen that question. And if you’re an advisor, I think cheer this on and be excited. (23:42): And as a industry participant, I am very excited to see how this deal takes hold and how this pushes the rest of the industry to innovate and continue to be better. So that’s it for today. Thank you for hearing my ramblings, and I’ll see you next time. Mindy Diamond (24:02): As a financial advisor, you hold yourself to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and credibility. You are successful because you take your professional responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to your clients, but are you living your best business life? Are your goals aligned with your firms or could a better option exist? Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Is a book written with you in mind. It’s a self-guided journey that walks you through the key steps that we take with our advisor clients. This strategic thought process and roadmap to professional self-discovery is designed to help you ask the right questions and think critically and objectively, whether you’re considering change or not. Learn how to get your copy at diamond-consultants.com/thebook.   Vanguard Acquires Altruist: What It Means for RIAs, Custody & Breakaway Advisors With Louis Diamond Louis Diamond (00:06): Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast series for financial advisors. Today’s episode is a special rapid reaction industry update, Vanguard acquires Altruist, what it means for advisors in the industry. I’m Louis Diamond, and this is The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond (00:28): At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at 908-879-1002. (01:21): Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our annual advisor transition report. It’s the award-winning data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. Louis Diamond (02:05): Funny how the biggest news in the business almost never comes from the firms everyone is watching. On Wednesday, August 26th, 2026, Vanguard announced its acquiring Altruist. If you asked me a year ago to name the company most likely to buy an RIA custodian, Vanguard would not have been near the top of my list. Vanguard was in the RIA custody business once. They left in 2003 and handed roughly $120 billion of advisor assets to TD Ameritrade on the way out. 23 years later, they’re buying their way back in, reported $4 billion or more. So let’s talk about what happened, why it matters, and where I think it goes from here. (02:48): What happened? On August 26th, 2026, a definitive agreement was announced out of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. A deal is closing later this year where Vanguard is acquiring Altruist, the relative upstart RIA custodian. The price, an undisclosed number, but a reported $4 billion, some outlets reporting $4.6 billion or more. Either way, more than double their last private market valuation at the end of April 2025. Another element is Altruist is staying as a standalone. They’ll keep their brand, CEO, management team, and operate the same model just as a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanguard. Altruist in one breath, for those unaware, was a custodian and fintech company founded in 2018 by Jason Wenk. They became a self-clearing custodian, third largest as far as number of advisors served, north of 6,000 advisors, and had a reputation for serving smaller or upstart advisors, but recently started getting into more of the larger market breakaway space. (03:53): One estimate I’ve seen peg’s Altruist market share of RIA custody at around 6%, but you compare that to about three quarters of the market for Schwab and Fidelity combined. So a relatively small player, but a rapidly emerging player and threat in US RIA custody. This is not the first time Vanguard has been involved with Altruist. They reportedly were an early investor in Altruist back in 2020 and former Vanguard CEO, Bill McNabb, has been on the board of Altruist, so a lot of history between the firms. Let’s get into now why I think this is interesting for the industry as a whole. In my view, custody has never really been all that competitive, especially since TD Ameritrade sold to Schwab. You really had an oligopoly between Schwab and Fidelity. Sure, there’s a number of compelling, say more boutique custodians, whether Pershing Advisor Solutions, Goldman Sachs, which was another newer entrant to custody, LPL, Raymond James, First Clearing, and a number of others are also in the space, but it is a market that is dramatically dominated by the two largest players. (05:01): So I think this matters because you add an amazing venerable brand and reputation of Vanguard with this scrappy upstart custodian, and all of a sudden you can see a world where custody is one of the more competitive spaces in the industry. Altruist, in my view too, was one of the first credible challengers to the incumbent custodians in 20-ish years. Goldman has since picked up some decent market share and certainly they’re attractive for the segment of advisors. But Altruist with their tech-forward approach, low fees, and even just the way they went to market as an antagonist to Schwab and Fidelity, they’re a big deal and I think this just magnifies what they’re able to do. The gap though for Altruist was brand and reputation. Sure, they had amazing tech. No one ever has doubted that. Hazel AI, which they recently launched has been very well received. (05:55): Advisors I’ve worked with who have demoed the platform are incredibly impressed. The big Achilles heel though for Altruist has been my clients don’t know who Altruist is. Why would my clients put their millions of dollars of wealth with a self-clearing custodian that doesn’t have the same scale or reputation as the incumbent custodians? Well, that really goes away here. And at the end of the day, custody is really a trust business, but you’d have to think that a client would trust their assets held with Vanguard or with Altruist through Vanguard in a very similar way that they would trust assets held by Bank of New York Mellon or Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments or Goldman Sachs. So to me, Vanguard acquiring Altruist solves that problem in one sentence, very simple. Why I think this makes sense for Vanguard? Salim Ramji, the CEO of Vanguard, has been saying since he arrived from BlackRock two years ago that only one in five Americans work with a fee-based financial advisor and that quality advice shouldn’t be a luxury good and this shortage is only going to get worse as advisors retire. (07:00): This is really him putting his money where his mouth is and really trying to make financial advice, human directed financial advice more accessible to everyday Americans and the upper echelons of wealth in this country. Vanguard as a company has over 50 million reported investors and over 12 trillion in assets. A lot of these people want Vanguard advice, but Vanguard hasn’t had the manpower or the capacity to deliver it itself. Buying Altruist over time can certainly solve that capacity gap and make it so that a human-based financial advisor or any of Vanguard’s internal platforms now have a greater ability to provide advice to Americans looking for financial advisors in the United States. I think this also means more distribution capability for Vanguard funds. Not that Vanguard has ever had a problem with distribution. They have a relatively small wholesaling force compared to other firms, but given their cost and reputation and performance, they’re really on pretty much every platform. (08:04): Most advisors have some clients that are invested into Vanguard mutual funds or ETFs, but this I think just gives them a greater ability to distribute Vanguard products, probably in a similar way to Goldman’s approach. When Goldman entered US RIA custody, in large part, they were doing it for distribution of different things. For Goldman, it was private markets and lending and other types of products. Vanguard is more ETFs and mutual funds, but Vanguard has also been pushing more into the private market space, so I can definitely see a world in which they can ratchet up the distribution of their products in a fairly cost-efficient way. I think to me, the most interesting thing about this marriage is the mission overlap is quite real. When Vanguard started, and to this day, their goal was to provide quality investment products at a fraction of the cost of the incumbents so that investing can be accessible to everyday Americans. (08:59): That’s exactly the verbiage that Jason Wenk and Altruist has used from the beginning, where they want to become a all-in-one hub or tech-enabled custodian so that an advisor, regardless of their size and a client regardless of their AUM, have the ability to get quality advice. I recently listened to a podcast called Acquired. We’ll link it in the show notes, but it’s a three-hour in-depth look into the building of Vanguard. And if you combine that with the podcast episode that I recorded with Jason Wenk, the CEO of Altruist, if you play them side by side, the parallels are eerily similar. So we’ll link both into the show notes, but I really think both of these firms were cut from the same cloth and really from the beginning, both have gone against the grain and tried to rattle incumbent players in the industry. So at least on paper, seems like a very good match. (09:51): Why does this deal make sense for Altruist? For one, for Jason Wenk and his leadership team, this has to be the outcome you drew up, maybe even better. Founding a new custodian in 2018, selling it in 2026, eight years later for over $4 billion, that’s a pretty incredible return on time for this team. They deserve it all and built something special and really entered into a space where no one wanted to venture just given the market share of the major incumbents, but good for them and has to feel good to pull off this type of sale. I think the big thing too is the buyer is the story. Vanguard as a company, it’s investor owned. They’re not private equity owned. They’re not VC backed like Altruist was. So Altruist can get off of the fundraising treadmill. They don’t have to worry about fund life or a five-year hold period or an eventual sale to a strategic. (10:42): Now they can really just focus on the business at hand, having one of the most well-capitalized companies in the world as their capital backer and owner. And every advisor on a PE-backed platform knows the question hanging over every relationship, who owns this next? That’s a question they won’t have to answer anymore at all, and they can really just focus now going forward. I think this also gives Altruist a fortress balance sheet and a ton of capital to keep pushing and developing their Hazel AI platform, which was launched in September 2025. Hazel’s an AI tax planning tool, kind of AI superpower that really has taken the industry by storm and has started to be sold as a standalone product to RIAs. And from what I’ve seen, they’ve sold it to over 1600 new RIAs just in the first month alone for $60 a seat per month, and that’s available to folks if they custody at Altruist or not. (11:36): So this, I think, just gives them an ability to distribute their fintech solutions and certainly develop their custody platform in a way that maybe was challenging or not as possible before. They can also take a longer term view instead of having to worry about they raised a series F, whatever comes after F and an eventual sale, investors wanting to get a return on capital, they can now focus on building over the long term, which has been Vanguard’s strategy all along. I think too, this will give Altruist the ability to invest in new capabilities that they didn’t have before, whether it’s lending or whether it’s more on the product side. It takes a lot to be a custodian. It seems like a relatively straightforward business just holding assets, but there’s a lot of products, solutions, really requirements that everyday investors and RIA clients have, and I think this will just ratchet up Altruist’s ability to close some of the capability gaps that they’ve had since they launched and they’re very transparent about those. (12:33): What I’m most excited about this, just coming from my vantage point in the industry, is why should an advisor care? To me, there’s five things that advisors should really take notice of with this acquisition. First one’s competition. Every time a well-capitalized player shows up, especially in custody, advisors win. Schwab and Fidelity have fought Vanguard in the asset management space for decades, and more recently in financial advice. Now you’re adding custody against a firm that doesn’t need to be profitable the next quarter, and all of a sudden we very much have an arms race and some competition is good for pricing, for service, for innovation, and I think this is going to be only positives for clients across the country, having another competitive option and keeping the incumbents really on their toes. Another reason, the breakaway shortlist has changed. Objection I always heard about Altruist was, “The tech is great, the AI seems cool, but how do I explain the name Altruist to a 68-year-old client who’s leaving Merrill or UBS or Morgan Stanley?” (13:42): While someone may still get some objections because Vanguard may not have the same brand cache as Goldman Sachs or UBS Private Wealth or Merrill Private Wealth, that objection got a lot weaker today. Really, it’s tech-forward independence now without a brand trade-off. It’s a genuinely different offer in the market than it was before. Third, I think this is one that hasn’t been talked about much, but should be watched closely, potential for referrals. Schwab confirmed last week that it was taking the SAN or the Schwab Advisor Network client referral minimum from two million to five million. For anyone not aware, referrals from the retail branches of Schwab and Fidelity are one of the major organic growth funnels for many of the top RIAs in this country and have driven valuations to billions and billions of dollars for firms that are in this program. (14:36): I really do see this as being a potential new massive referral opportunity of Vanguard existing clients and customers to Altruist custody to RIAs at a time when Schwab is trying to keep more of those referrals from themselves, which is a very savvy strategy, but at the same time, probably creates a bit of an opening for Altruist and Vanguard to become a really good referral hub for clients, which is a major draw for signing up new RIAs as clients, for breakaway advisors, et cetera. (15:07): So more details need to come there. We don’t even know if they’re starting a referral channel, but I have to imagine that’s high in the punch list and will be a very compelling offering in the marketplace. Yeah, think about it. Vanguard is 50 million investors and a CEO who said multiple times that they don’t have enough advisors or humans to deliver this advice. So perfect. You now have a massive array of RIAs and more and more coming to the table who offer that advice and being able to still serve them, still keep the assets in-house, but do it in a way where Vanguard doesn’t have to scale up their advisor force. They now have advisors to refer to. Fourth is pricing. I think the Vanguard effect is going to be real here. When Vanguard started, and even to this day, they’ve been the one who’ve pushed down the expense ratio on mutual funds and ETFs. (15:56): It’s been a massive benefit to investors across this country. It’s been Altruist’s playbook all along too, more focused on the advisor, so offering amazing tech and a custody platform for virtually no cost to an advisor. So I would say whatever you’re paying for technology, for custody, and really anything else that Altruist and Vanguard might touch, I would expect it to go down potentially and just have more pressures on the incumbent firms to really sharpen their pencil or to get more creative on pricing and innovation. I think that the fifth thing to keep in mind is Schwab has long used its scale and positioning in the market to best competitors, whether it was going to $0 on tickets for equities and ETFs, et cetera, a number of years ago or a number of other strategies they’ve taken. Now you have a firm that has similar scale as Schwab, a reputation for playing the long game and being comfortable making less money in the process. (16:54): So again, massive benefit to the advisors to have another major player driving down costs and increasing innovation in the space. But this is not all positives. As with anything, there’s the good and the bad, and also some open questions. The biggest, I think, downside or potential thing to watch here, and certainly if you are a BDO at a custodian, this is the line you’re using, “Vanguard has its own advice business, personal advisor, digital advisor, and a CEO who stated that his goal is that an advisor is in every investor’s pocket.” So now you have the custodian that’s holding your client’s assets also running one of the largest advice operations in the country. We’ve heard this concern in the past about Schwab or Fidelity where you have RA custody and then these firms have massive retail distribution networks. So certainly Vanguard, I think, will be in the same lane. (17:46): And if you look at a Pershing or an LPL or Raymond James, it’s a little bit different because they don’t have their own channels in the same way that Schwab or Fidelity do. So certainly if you’re BNY Mellon in particular, which is a straight B2B custodian, this is a clear point of differentiation for Vanguard, Altruist and certainly versus the other custodians. Next one is Vanguard has said that Altruist will remain a standalone business. The brand will stay intact, the management team, et cetera. But in fairness, every acquirer says versions of the same thing. The real test is let’s wait two years, three years and see how converging roles or similar roles across the firm start to converge into one, and over time will they more Altruist brand and human capital into one structure. (18:36): Right now we don’t know, but I’m always a bit skeptical with acquisitions that you have the honeymoon period, takes time for the deals to close, and then what happens a couple of years down the line? Either as there’s new executives in charge, there’s turnover, or just there’s certain synergies that can be had, and the best way to do it is by combining operations and the like. (18:56): The next risk, I think it might sound a little bit mundane, but it’s culture and speed. Vanguard based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Altruist in LA, very different cultures. Altruist as a fintech company has been superfast to market, building, breaking things, innovating. And Vanguard, I think they’ve been extremely innovative on pricing, on product development, but I’ve never heard amazing reviews about Vanguard’s technology. So does this convergence of cultures create an issue? Does it create more bureaucracy for Altruist trying to build stuff? Is there a cultural mismatch when it comes to speed of market and innovation? And I think the last thing to keep in mind or to watch is the talent drainage at Altruist post-closing. Yes, I was a FinTech company and custodian offering equity, lots of upside for people that have taken this journey with them. Vanguard notoriously is the opposite. They don’t offer equity to anyone and they offer their employees high base salaries and you have a culture of longevity within the firm. (20:00): So after the lockup period is done for, or the earn out period is done for any Altruist equity owners and many of their employees, does that cause some talent drainage where folks want to go onto the next big thing, think what will happen to all the amazing SpaceX employees a year from now when their IPO lockups are done? Does that lead them to another opportunity? All these are questions I don’t know, but trying to play devil’s advocate. I think the biggest potential negative is just the Vanguard advice business as a competitor, a conflict to RIA custody. Let me give you a couple of predictions before we wrap here. I think Schwab and Fidelity will respond fast, whether it’s on the AI front or because the pressure is really on. I don’t know, maybe the $5 million referral minimum that Schwab just announced, maybe that sunsets after a period of time. I have no idea. (20:53): I’m also excited to see, we’ll call it the tech face off between Altruist and Robinhood. Robinhood acquired TradePMR, which is on the Wells Fargo First Clearing platform and is in the process of launching an RIA custodian themselves. So now you have, I think, two pretty incredible tech-forward custodians really trying to gain market share, so that will be fun to watch. Could there be a threat in the RIA platform space? So RIA platforms meaning RIAs, we call them supportive versions of independence, where advisors can plug into, they get technology, compliance, operations, et cetera, and still own their business. Given the end-to-end tech stack that Altruist boasts, and they’ve also been in development of their own corporate RIA, does that become that much more of a competitive feature that could possibly become a solution in and of itself that takes a dent out of these RIA platforms playbook? (21:45): I don’t know, but I think it’s possible. Altruist Hazel AI, does that push even well beyond custody? There’s a ton of AI and fintechs popping up around the industry. Hazel has certainly taken a lot of headlines and attention. With Vanguard behind it now, does that push the price lower? Does it help their distribution? Maybe you picture this, if you have a Vanguard-owned product sitting in the daily workflow of a competitor’s advisors, so let’s say you’re a Morgan Stanley, you’re a Schwab advisor, et cetera, do you now have a Vanguard-owned product in Hazel as part of your workflow or your fintech stack? Could be interesting. I will call a referral channel for Vanguard or Altruist, we’ll say within the next year or two. I think it would be crazy if that didn’t happen and that will be a massive disruptor. And finally, my prediction is more breakaways landing in Altruist. They’ve started to crack that door, but now with the powerful brand and reputation behind them, the sky’s probably the limit. (22:44): So in closing, a guy, Jason Wenk, started a company in 2018 in Los Angeles because he thought independent advisors deserve better software at a lower price. Eight years later, one of the most respected financial institutions in the world paid $4 billion for it, and the reason is he was right in that bet. There are always innovators showing up from outside the establishment, and every time one succeeds, advisors end up with more options and more leverage and more negotiating power than they had the year before. It’s a consistent theme across the industry. So nothing changes tomorrow, deals take time, deals have a way of falling apart, but if you’re evaluating custodians, thinking about independence for the first time, wondering whether your current partner is going to keep earning your business, today is a good day to reopen that question. And if you’re an advisor, I think cheer this on and be excited. (23:42): And as a industry participant, I am very excited to see how this deal takes hold and how this pushes the rest of the industry to innovate and continue to be better. So that’s it for today. Thank you for hearing my ramblings, and I’ll see you next time. Mindy Diamond (24:02): As a financial advisor, you hold yourself to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and credibility. You are successful because you take your professional responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to your clients, but are you living your best business life? Are your goals aligned with your firms or could a better option exist? Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Is a book written with you in mind. It’s a self-guided journey that walks you through the key steps that we take with our advisor clients. This strategic thought process and roadmap to professional self-discovery is designed to help you ask the right questions and think critically and objectively, whether you’re considering change or not. Learn how to get your copy at diamond-consultants.com/thebook.  

Crypto News: U.S. state banking associations plan to launch their own nationwide blockchain network. BlackRock has cut minimum for private in-kind creations on iShares Bitcoin ETF to $1 million. Franklin Templeton partners with HashKey to offer tokenized money market fund in Asia.

Interview recorded - 26th of August, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance I had the pleasure of welcoming back Edward Dowd. Edward Dowd is a former BlackRock portfolio manager and founder of Phinance Technologies. He has been early on several of the most important macro calls of recent years and his January 2026 recession warning was published before a single shot was fired in Iran.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the economy, AI struggles, hyperscaler capex, China risks, potential of Plaza Accord 2.0, government debt crisis and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction0:57 - Overview of the economy?1:54 - AI struggles7:50 - A house of cards9:05 - How bad would crash be?10:45 - Hyperscaler capex13:05 - US Real Estate17:30 - China risks21:39 - Demographic issues23:45 - Plaza Accord 2.024:35 - Government debt crisis28:50 - Bonds30:05 - One message to takeaway?Edward Dowd is currently a founding partner with Phinance Technologies. He has worked on Wall Street the majority of his career, most notably at Blackrock as a portfolio manager where he managed a $14 billion Growth equity portfolio for ten years. Edward's book Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden death in 2021 & 2022 propelled him as an alternative voice during the pandemic and the economic implications that continue to plague us today. Phinance's unique alternative macroeconomic analysis of the global debt crisis and what may unfold has given many a deeper understanding of the global nature of our problems today.Edward Dowd:Website - https://www.eddowd.com/Substack - https://substack.com/@eddowdbeyondthenarrativePhinance - https://phinancetechnologies.com/Home.aspX - https://x.com/DowdEdwardWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

In der heutigen Folge sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Daniel Eckert und Lea Oetjen über das Rekordhoch der Allianz, einen erneuten Kurssprung bei Moderna und einen echten Dämpfer für Sportartikel-Konzerne. Außerdem geht es um Nvidia, Micron, Dick's Sporting Goods, Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Puma, Merck & Co., SpaceX, Siemens Energy, Deutz, Infineon, Suss Microtec, Deutsche Börse, Alphabet, Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs, CVC, EQT, Brookfield, KKR, BlackRock, JPMorgan, iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond (WKN: A2H6ZT), iShares EUR Flexible Income Bond Active (WKN: A40JYG), JPMorgan Global IG Corporate Bond Active (WKN: A414MF), Pimco Euro Short Maturity (WKN: A1H497), JPMorgan Global Aggregate Bond Active ETF EUR Hedged (WKN: A3EMZ4). Am 2. Oktober findet unser „Alles auf Aktien"-Summit in Berlin statt. Ihr wollt dabei sein? Wir verlosen Tickets: Schreibt uns eine Mail an AAA@WELT.de und begründet, warum ihr unbedingt gewinnen solltet. Falls ihr euer Glück nicht dem Zufall überlassen wollt, bekommt ihr mit dem Code „AAAFRIENDS“ satte 50 Prozent Rabatt aufs Ticket – aber nur über diesen Link: https://veranstaltung.businessinsider.de/event/financesummit26/summary?rp=c6dc55d6-6f4f-4fb4-b75f-3f3501d84859 Wir freuen uns an Feedback über aaa@welt.de. Noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" findet Ihr bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts. Hier bei WELT: https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html. Hier könnt ihr den AAA-Newsletter abonnieren: https://www.welt.de/newsletter/article232797673/Alles-auf-Aktien-Der-taegliche-Boersen-Newsletter-fuer-WELTplus-Abonnenten.html Und – ganz neu: AAA gibt es jetzt auch auf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alles_auf_aktien/ Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte! https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien Anzeige: Eight Sleep: Der Pod 5 reguliert die Temperatur im Bett automatisch, trackt Schlaf- und Gesundheitswerte ohne Wearable und kann so zu besserem Schlaf beitragen. Mit dem Code ALLESAUFAKTIEN erhaltet ihr auf https://www.eightsleep.com/allesaufaktien bis zu 350 Euro Rabatt. Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

Our heroes review their discoveries and dig down to the bedrock of Blackrock!Support the showVenture Forth is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast. We play 5th edition (5e) Dungeons and Dragons in a home-brew D&D actual play setting. Our campaign takes place in the high fantasy realm of Elbor. A world of monsters, heroes and epic tales to be told. D&D is a TTRPG, a tabletop roleplaying game, also known as an RPG. Our gameplay is perfect for beginners to Dungeons and Dragons from episode 1. Olma Marsk is played by Rebecca Hausman, Flynn Felloweave is played by Russ Bartek, March is played by Bridget Black, Ceallach is played by Shane O'Loughlin, Seeker is played by Rodney Campbell, and the DM is played by Ethan Ralphs and Seth Fowler.https://www.ventureforthdnd.com/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNl1hOaZiXruwLE8Ct1NNNA

Bitcoin pushed into the high $70,000s and held there. Friday closed near $78,300 and the room watched it cross $79,900 live. Cory's read on why it stuck: the move was spot driven, not leveraged. The ETFs took in $1.92 billion last week per Farside, the strongest week since October 2025. BlackRock accounted for $1.3 billion of it, across five consecutive positive days. Treasury may tap roughly $950 billion from its general account to buy back long bonds. Cory walked through selling short bills to buy the long end, and read it as pressure on traders to stop selling. Answering Nic Carter's essay, Cory rejected the frame before the argument, then offered a narrower definition in its place. Not that other assets disappear. That Bitcoin is the sole uniquely credible form of digital monetary scarcity, settled at inception. Nat offered the cleanest reframe of the hour. You are either a Bitcoin maximalist or a fiat maximalist. Suze added the distinguishing test: no issuer, no CEO, no company, a fixed supply. The real disagreement was dollar tokens on Bitcoin rails. Nat argued it puts people one step from Bitcoin. Cory argued it perpetuates dollars using Bitcoin to do it, and invites government attention. Cory's read on the GENIUS Act: it built a dollar machine. A regulated dollar token can now appear simply as USD inside banking and payment apps, turning fintechs into marketers of dollars at scale. Store of value comes first, and the timeline is long. Cory posted a 2021 chart of his own to argue the framing held up and the timing did not. One guest made the case for AI agents driving payments. Suze's sharpest point was regulatory. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority applies one "same risk, same regulation" standard across the board, so its own rules cannot distinguish Bitcoin from a token spun up in thirty seconds. The hosts closed against trading. Conviction through the cycle rather than timing it, and Brady flagged the 200-week moving average near $64,000 as the level Bitcoin bounced from this summer.

Haseeb Qureshi is the Managing Partner at Dragonfly, a crypto investment firm with roughly $4 billion under management. Dragonfly recently closed its fourth venture fund at $650 million.Prior to Dragonfly, Haseeb was a General Partner at MetaStable Capital, the crypto fund co-founded by Naval Ravikant and later acquired by Dragonfly. Before venture, he was a software engineer at Airbnb and Earn.com, and before that a top-10 globally ranked professional poker player.We spoke about digital dollars, nationalized banks, bubbles and speculation, Iran and BlackRock, jaywalking, and beanie babies.0:00 – Intro1:23 – What Happened to Crypto?3:18 – Stablecoins and Escape Velocity7:04 – Bitcoin, Gold, and the Generational Trade10:34 – War and Stores of Value15:06 – Retail, Nvidia, and Capital Flight18:23 – Stablecoins 10120:00 – Eurodollars, Venmo, and AI Agents23:00 – Dollarization and the Black Market25:28 – Banks, Airwaves, and the Balance of Power31:20 – Too Many Currencies36:11 – Institutions and Cypherpunks40:08 – Iran and BlackRock41:00 – Speculation and Bubbles43:12 – Prediction Markets and the Overton Window51:04 – Skin in the Game and the Rational Voter54:06 – Staying in Crypto57:13 – When Crypto VC Ends58:57 – What Would Change Haseeb's Mind on Crypto1:03:00 – What Should More People Be Thinking About?

SUMMARY: Brian, Brandon, and Aaron discuss news about Nvidia's reported $105B backing of OpenAI's Ohio data center and what it implies for GPUs as an “asset class” and enterprise AI. Brian argues Jensen Huang is shifting Nvidia's narrative from needing the newest chips immediately to portraying GPUs as long-lived, cash-flowing assets that can be financed like bonds, pushing risk onto banks and private equity. Brandon agrees scarcity has extended older GPU usefulness but warns the market could be flooded with newer, cheaper, more efficient hardware, leaving debt tied to obsolete equipment. Aaron likens GPUs to airplanes, expensive assets requiring constant utilization, while noting new AI builds demand entirely new data centers for power and cooling. The group questions widespread lack of profitability, compares the financing trend to past bubbles, and debates the optimistic case that breakthroughs could ultimately justify the investment.SHOW: 1056SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Enterprise AI Show #1056 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vTLTdIZueJMSHOW SPONSORS:Nasuni - Activate your data for AI and request a demoShow topic: Nvidia's Pivot from Chipmaker to FinancierNvidia just backed $105B for OpenAI's Ohio data center and helped mobilize $500B+ in Wall Street financing (Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, Goldman, KKR) to fund GPU purchases, while AMD, Google, and Cerebras chip away at its tech lead. The moat is moving from silicon to balance sheet.Core question: Is a GPU actually securitizable like real estate or aircraft, or is this circular financing dressed up as infrastructure?The bull case: GPUs as productive, cash-flow-generating assets (compute-as-a-service) → financeable like data centers or planes, unlocking capital hyperscalers alone couldn't raise.The bear case: Depreciation risk; GPUs age fast, unlike buildings. What's the residual value of an H100-class chip in 2030? Securitizing a depreciating, obsolescence-prone asset is a very different bet than securitizing land.Circularity concern: Nvidia financing the customers who buy Nvidia chips, who generate the revenue that justifies Nvidia's valuation, echoes vendor financing bubbles (Cisco/telecom, 2000).Precedent: Compare to aircraft leasing/securitization models: what made those work (long asset life, resale markets, standardized valuation), and whether GPUs have any of that yet.Who bears the risk if utilization or model economics don't pan out: Nvidia, the banks, or the credit markets buying the paper?FEEDBACK?Email: show @ the enterprise ai show dot comeBluesky: @TheEntAIShow.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @TheEntAIShowInstagram: @TheEntAIShow

Living Colour reshaped rock music by fusing hard rock, funk, metal, blues, jazz, and socially conscious lyrics into a sound that refused to be categorized. Author Preston Frazier joins Booked On Rock to discuss his book Shade of Living Colour and trace the band's remarkable journey—from New York's CBGB scene and the Black Rock Coalition to the breakthrough success of Vivid, “Cult of Personality,” Time's Up, Stain, and their enduring influence on modern rock.Frazier explores Vernon Reid's visionary guitar work, Corey Glover's commanding voice, Will Calhoun's explosive drumming, and the contrasting bass contributions of Muzz Skillings and Doug Wimbish. The conversation also examines Mick Jagger's early support, “Glamour Boys,” “Nothingness,” the band's breakup and reunion, and how Living Colour reclaimed rock's Black roots while confronting racism, identity, politics, fame, and the music industry's restrictive labels.Purchase a copy of Shade of Living ColourFind out more about Preston Frazier at SlangOfAges.com----------

Scott Wapner and the Investment Committee debates whether we are in Wall Street's most exciting era as BlackRock's Rick Rieder says we are. Plus, the desk shares their latest portfolio moves. And later, Josh Brown spotlights SharkNinja in his "Best Stocks in the Market." Investment Committee Disclosures Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week Wells Fargo, the country's fourth-largest bank with about $2.3 trillion in assets, said it would offer tokenized deposits to corporate and commercial clients this fall. Not long ago, the announcement would have been written off as yet another blockchain trial balloon. Today, it looks more like keeping up with the competition. JPMorgan and Citigroup already operate similar services. JPMorgan's Kinexys network processes more than $7 billion a day and has handled over $4 trillion since launch. Both banks along with Wells Fargo, Bank of America and more than a dozen other large lenders are also participating in an initiative operated by The Clearing House, a bank-owned payments company, like Zelle, that is developing a shared system for moving tokenized deposits between institutions. The market's plumbing is moving in the same direction. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which clears and settles some $15 trillion in U.S. securities trades per day, processed its first live transactions using tokenized securities in July and plans to launch the service in October. The world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, introduced two tokenized money market products this month. By Nina Bambysheva, Deputy Editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Dunne is joined by Mike Pyle, Deputy Head of BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group, to explore how a supply-driven world is reshaping markets and portfolio construction. They discuss the transition from the demand-constrained 2010s to an era defined by scarcity, fiscal activism, geopolitical shocks and the immense capital demands of AI. Pyle explains why bonds may no longer provide the diversification they once did, why hedge funds and market-neutral strategies are becoming increasingly important, and how portable alpha can separate beta from return generation. They also examine AI productivity, equity valuations and what should replace the traditional 60/40 portfolio.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE-----Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.IT's TRUE ? – most CIO's read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.And you can get a free copy of my latest book “Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.Follow Alan on Twitter.Follow Mike on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 Mike Pyle's journey from policymaking to investing04:30 The shift from a demand-driven to a supply-driven world07:29 Why the stock-bond relationship has changed12:09 The return of fiscal activism15:52 AI, scarcity and the growing demands on capital19:57 When will AI productivity begin to transform the economy?22:53 AI, inflation and the future of interest rates25:23 AI valuations, earnings and whether markets are in a bubble29:48 Building portfolios for the new macro regime33:35 Private markets, income and hedge fund diversification37:06 Why multi-strategy investing matters42:19 Leverage, factor exposure and lessons from the quant crisis46:08 Why the environment for hedge funds has improved48:39 Portable alpha and separating alpha from beta52:51 What comes after the traditional 60/40 portfolio56:47 How AI could transform investment management01:00:19 Mike Pyle's advice for the next generation of investorsCopyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved----PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can help you in your investment Journey:1. eBooks that cover key topics that you need to know about In my eBooks, I put together some key discoveries and things I have learnt during the more than 3 decades I have worked in the Trend Following industry, which I hope you will find useful. Click Here2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score One of the things I'm really proud of, is the fact that I have managed to published the Trend Barometer and Market Score each day for more than a decade...as these tools are really good at describing the environment for trend following managers as well as giving insights into the general positioning of a trend following strategy! Click Here3. Other Resources that can help youAnd if you are hungry for more useful resources from the trend following world...check out some precious resources that I have found over the years to be really valuable. Click HerePrivacy PolicyDisclaimer

Oil Reserves taking a hit. Finally getting to the recent high profile earnings. Market Top Calls (again). ALL TIME HIGHS – Then some consolidation (then highs again). Situational Awareness Update. SpaceX Bounces… PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? PayPal.Donation.Button({ env:'production', hosted_button_id:'JJJHP2GDEJC7J', image: { src:'https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif', alt:'Donate with PayPal button', title:'PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!', } }).render('#donate-button'); Follow John S. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm-Up - Oil Reserves taking a hit - Getting to the recent high profile earnings - Market Top Calls (again) Markets - ALL TIME HIGHS - Then some consolidation - Lets round out earnings - Situational Awareness Update - SpaceX Bounces... Etsy - Layoffs With Better Numbers - Etsy is cutting about 220 jobs, or 12% of its workforce. - Management said the cuts were not primarily about cost savings or AI. ----- CEO Kruti Patel Goyal stated the restructuring aims to simplify the organization, remove management layers, and speed up decision-making to better compete against massive rivals like Amazon, Temu, and TikTok Shop - Q2 revenue was about $668 million and core marketplace sales improved. - Etsy also authorized another $2 billion share buyback. - Comes after selling Depop to eBay for about $1.4 billion. Polysilicon - Tariffs Plus Price Floors - U.S. policy adds a 15% tariff and minimum import prices on polysilicon and solar products. - Goal is to protect domestic production from low-cost foreign competition. - U.S. share of global polysilicon capacity fell from about 50% in 2005 to under 2% in 2024. - First Solar and T1 Energy jumped on the announcement. ---- The same playbook - rinse and repeat Chipotle - Salmonella Returns - Minnesota officials linked a salmonella outbreak to jalapenos served at Chipotle. - Chipotle removed the affected pepper supply and switched growers. - Shares fell roughly 8%-10% as investors remembered the company's earlier food-safety problems. - This is on top of the lettuce situation with Sweetgreen- look at  STOCK CHART FOR SG Michael Burry - Calling a Major Top - Michael Burry says the market may be near a "major top." - Warned of the possibility of a 1987-style market drop. - He is short names including Nvidia, Palantir, Tesla and semiconductor stocks. - Main concern is stretched valuations and crowded trades unwinding quickly. - This may be the 100th top he has called since the GFC ---- NVIDIA TURNS GPUs INTO AN ASSET CLASS - Nvidia signed preliminary agreements with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to mobilize more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure. - The Wall Street firms would create dedicated pools of capital to finance Nvidia-based data centers and compute infrastructure at what Nvidia calls attractive rates for customers. - Jensen Huang: “This is really the first time that technology chips have become an investable asset class.” Nvidia says the compute assets now generate revenue and can increasingly be financed like infrastructure. - Nvidia could backstop as much as 25% of individual investments on a case-by-case basis - potentially up to about $125 billion if applied across the full program. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE BREAKS 300 MILLION - The Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 7 - below 300 million for the first time since January 1983. - The SPR started 2026 around 415 million barrels, meaning more than 100 million barrels have already come out this year as releases were used to offset disruptions from the Iran conflict. - The reserve's authorized storage capacity is roughly 714 million barrels, leaving current inventories at about 42% of capacity. - Oil on the rise last week Earnings and such Toyota - Big Buyback, Better Outlook - Toyota raised its annual operating-profit forecast 13%, helped by the weaker yen. - Announced a share buyback worth up to $6.3 billion. - Quarterly operating profit still fell 9%, hurt by China weakness and higher Middle East-related costs. McDonald's - Value Problem - U.S. same-store sales rose just 0.8%, below expectations and well below last year's 2.5% growth. - Management blamed weak execution of value promotions and fewer digital deals. (and probably because everyone is taking weight loss drugs - see above) - Lower-income customer traffic remains a major pressure point. - McDonald's is bringing back more digital offers and loyalty promotions to drive traffic. Eli Lilly - Weight-Loss Machine - Lilly crushed Q2 expectations as Mounjaro and Zepbound drove most of the growth. - Mounjaro sales hit $9.94 billion; Zepbound brought in $4.93 billion. - Raised 2026 revenue guidance to $85-$87 billion. - Verzenio, its major breast-cancer drug, remains one of Lilly's biggest non-obesity products. - Lilly continues widening its lead over Novo Nordisk in the obesity-drug market. Disney - Parks Keep Printing Money - Quarterly adjusted EPS rose 28% to $2.06, beating the $1.86 estimate. - Parks and experiences revenue increased 10% to nearly $10 billion. - Global park attendance grew 4%. - Disney is selling its 50% stake in A+E Networks to Hearst for an estimated $1.2 billion. Oil - OPEC Adds Barrels, Maybe - OPEC+ agreed to raise September production targets by another 188,000 barrels per day. - The increase completes the rollback of a 1.65 million-barrel-per-day supply cut dating back to 2023. (In other words - planned so not a surprise) - Actual supply remains constrained because several producers are already pumping below quota. - Any normalization around the Strait of Hormuz could suddenly make OPEC+'s additional barrels much more important. Berkshire Hathaway - Greg Abel Starts Spending - Q2 operating earnings rose 16% to about $13 billion. - Berkshire bought $23.5 billion of stocks and sold just $3.7 billion - its first quarter as a net stock buyer in 14 quarters. - Bought back $4.5 billion of Berkshire shares, versus only $235 million in Q1. - Cash dropped from roughly $380 billion to $365 billion as Abel starts putting the massive cash pile to work. - Important shift: Buffett is still chairman, but this is one of the clearest signs yet of how Greg Abel may allocate capital differently as CEO. Situational Awareness - Nearly Blows Up, Investors Want Back In - The fund lost 67% in July after leveraged AI bets collapsed and forced a major stock sale to Citadel. - Despite the blowup, Situational Awareness was still up about 80% for 2026 because of huge earlier gains. - Bloomberg says Silicon Valley investors are already asking to put more money into the fund. - Situational Awareness is currently telling prospective investors it is not accepting new capital. - The fund has also continued making large private investments even after the near-collapse. --- Most recent was a $400B ---- There is some talk that Citadel made out like a bandit on the rescue Mercedes AMG - The Car Literally Brands You - Two Mercedes AMG owners filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the metal AMG logo embedded in the seat becomes dangerously hot in the sun. - One driver says he suffered first- and second-degree burns, with a dermatologist describing the injury as "AMG inscribed." - The lawsuit wants Mercedes to cover damages and remove the metal logos from affected vehicles. - Hard to beat this one: pay AMG money and get the logo branded into your back. Europe's Drought - History Starts Popping Out - Extreme drought and low river levels are exposing things that have been underwater or hidden for decades or centuries. - In Serbia, sunken German World War II warships have reappeared in the Danube. - In Britain, dry ground revealed outlines of medieval buildings; mammoth remains and ancient structures have also surfaced elsewhere. - Serious drought story, but visually one of the strangest side effects of the summer. Golden Toilet - $6 Million Flush - The 18-carat gold toilet was ripped out of Blenheim Palace in a five-minute raid and has never been recovered - but there is a conviction. - Prosecutors used phone data, forensic evidence and planning activity to link the gang to the theft. - One defendant had cased the palace beforehand and photographed entry points; another man had already pleaded guilty and admitted helping move the stolen gold. - Prosecutors believe the 98-kilo toilet was quickly cut up or melted down and sold as gold. - So the conviction was based on evidence of the robbery and disposal - not on recovering the actual toilet. Final Follow Up SpaceX - Space Junk Smashes Into the Moon - A dead SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon at about 5,400 mph after drifting through space since January 2025. - The roughly 4-ton, school-bus-size object kicked up a lunar dust plume that astronomers detected from Chile. - The impact was accidental - solar activity and gravity gradually pushed the abandoned rocket stage onto a collision course. - NASA and SpaceX are now discussing ways to prevent future lunar crashes as more hardware heads toward the moon. - NEED Space garbage Trucks - something we have discussed on show for years (see next) Space Garbage Trucks - This Is Becoming a Business - Astroscale is building spacecraft designed to inspect, capture and remove dead satellites and other orbital debris. - Its ADRAS-J mission demonstrated close approach and inspection of a large piece of existing space junk - a key step before actually grabbing and removing debris. - ClearSpace is developing similar debris-removal spacecraft, including missions designed to rendezvous with and capture abandoned rocket hardware. - The business model is basically orbital towing: governments and satellite operators pay to remove dangerous junk or service aging spacecraft. - With tens of thousands of tracked objects already in orbit, "space sanitation" could become a real infrastructure business.   Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? PayPal.Donation.Button({ env: 'production', hosted_button_id: 'JJJHP2GDEJC7J', image: { src: 'https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif', alt: 'Donate with PayPal button', title: 'PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!' } }).render('#donate-button-2'); THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN for SpaceX (SPCX) Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!   FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS   See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

What if your retirement account is quietly funding companies and causes that conflict with your Christian convictions? Certified Financial Planner Mark Parrett and Steven Manuel explore Biblically Responsible Investing, Christian investing, and how fathers can build generational wealth without knowingly partnering with evil. Is investing in the stock market biblical? Does owning a small piece of a company make you morally responsible for what that company does? And how should Christians think about investments connected to abortion, pornography, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, ESG, and other practices that may conflict with biblical values? Steven and Mark explore these questions through the surprising lens of Exodus 21 and the biblical principle of an ox “known to gore.” Mark explains why he believes investing itself is biblical, while also arguing that ownership carries responsibility—and that Christians should take seriously the question of whether they are knowingly profiting from harm. The conversation gets practical as they discuss Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI), investment screening, direct indexing, Christian mutual funds and ETFs, and options including Timothy Plan, Inspire Investing, Praxis, Crossmark/OneAscent, and others. They also examine Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, including how major asset managers have approached ESG and corporate shareholder voting in recent years. But the goal isn't perfect financial purity. As Mark explains, Christians cannot completely separate themselves from a fallen economy. The goal is faithful stewardship: building wealth and inheritance for your children's children while keeping your heart free from the love of money and avoiding known complicity with evil wherever reasonably possible. In this episode:• Is investing biblical?• What does Exodus 21's “goring ox” teach us about investment responsibility?• Does owning stock make you responsible for a company's actions?• What is Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI)?• How can Christians screen investments for abortion, pornography, alcohol, gambling, and tobacco?• Should Christians invest through Vanguard, BlackRock, or State Street?• What is direct indexing, and how can it be used for Christian investing?• Which Christian investment funds and platforms are worth researching?• How should Christian fathers balance financial growth, generational wealth, conscience, and faithful stewardship? Chapters (00:00:02) - Biblical Investing for Abraham's Wallet(00:00:51) - Abraham's Wallet(00:02:16) - The Bull Known to Gore(00:09:36) - Andy on the Bull and the Big Three(00:11:43) - Exodus 11: Prior Knowledge and Negligence(00:15:09) - Biblical Responsible Investing(00:22:55) - Crux: Biblical Investing(00:31:45) - BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity: Option 2 to a B(00:40:11) - Biblically Based Investing(00:47:35) - God's Money StrategyHelp us equip more biblical bosses!: https://abrahamswallet.com/support AW website | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

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For years, we've been told that blockchain technology would eventually transform Wall Street. Well... "Eventually" is starting to look a lot like RIGHT NOW. In today's episode, we're diving into one of the biggest developments yet in the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets: the DTCC's move to tokenize traditional securities. And this isn't some crypto startup experimenting with a proof of concept. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) sits at the heart of the U.S. financial system, and its subsidiary DTC currently custodies more than $114 TRILLION in assets. Now, those assets are beginning to move on-chain. In July, DTCC successfully converted DTC-held traditional securities into digital tokens and used them in real production transactions, involving more than 30 major traditional and digital financial firms. The transactions included U.S. Treasuries, equities, securities lending, collateral and other institutional workflows. That's a BIG deal. We're no longer talking about whether Wall Street will adopt blockchain. We're watching the infrastructure being built right in front of us. On today's show, we'll break down: What tokenization actually means Why DTCC's involvement changes the conversation How a traditional stock or Treasury can become a tokenized asset Why Wall Street wants assets on blockchain networks The potential for faster settlement and greater asset mobility How tokenization could change collateral and liquidity management Why this could eventually lead toward extended trading hours Which blockchains and financial companies are participating What all of this could mean for cryptocurrency and digital-asset investors Perhaps most importantly, we'll look at what comes next. DTCC plans to officially launch its Tokenization Service in October 2026, initially allowing eligible DTC-custodied securities to be converted between traditional and tokenized forms. Eligible assets include constituents of the Russell 1000, ETFs tracking major indexes, and U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds. And this isn't being built in isolation. Major firms participating in DTCC's tokenization initiative include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citadel Securities, Circle, CME Group, Chainlink, Invesco, BNP Paribas, Fireblocks and many others. DTCC is also pursuing a multi-chain strategy, with tokenized assets already demonstrated across private and public blockchain infrastructure and plans to make DTC-tokenized assets available on the Stellar network in the first half of 2027. Think about what that tells us. For years, the debate was: Will traditional finance adopt crypto? I think we're beginning to ask the wrong question. What happens when traditional finance starts using the TECHNOLOGY that crypto introduced? Stocks. Bonds. Treasuries. ETFs. Collateral. Real-world assets. The infrastructure of Wall Street itself is beginning to move on-chain. The digital revolution isn't ending... It may just be getting started. For additional research, check out DTCC's Tokenization Initiative and DTCC's July Production-Trades Announcement. Listen now:

The future of investing isn't just about numbers—it's about embracing a seismic shift in how markets, macro forces, and innovation like AI reshape the landscape. In this episode, Jean Boivin of BlackRock Investment Institute and Greg Hamilton, CIO of a Financial Holding Corporation, reveal how a "fundamentally different" macro environment is transforming asset allocation, risk management, and the very fabric of portfolios. They unpack the five mega forces driving this change, from AI and energy transition to geopolitical fragmentation, and explain why traditional strategic asset allocation no longer holds. You'll hear why private markets, infrastructure, and income-generating assets are becoming more important—and what it means to invest with curiosity and adaptability in an environment where uncertainty is the only constant. If you 'd like to learn more, you can read Blackrock's mid year report here: 2026 Midyear Global Investment Outlook | BlackRock

Enterprise leaders face a growing gap between AI ambition and the fragmented data, legacy systems, and cultural friction that prevent pilots from becoming scalable value.   In this episode, Julian Tang, Chief Operations Officer for the Innovation Office at BlackRock, examines how unified data foundations, modernized infrastructure, and transparent governance enable organizations to move from reactive experimentation to intentional, enterprise‑wide AI deployment, in conversation with host Matthew DeMello.   He highlights the practical shifts required to reduce friction, build trust in AI systems, and create repeatable playbooks that let teams scale responsibly and with confidence.   Learn how to identify real AI trends by tracking where venture funding is flowing, and by listening to how leading CEOs describe risk and competitive strategy. Download our free PDF report, "3 Ways to Discover AI Trends in Any Sector" at emerj.com/ait1  

Crypto News: Paul Tudor Jones' investment firm increases stake in BlackRock's bitcoin ETF after year of selling. The White House is expected to host an event next Wednesday with officials from the crypto & prediction market industries. Goldman Sachs leaps into bitcoin income ETFs with $2.25 billion NEOS buyout.

We'd love to hear from you. What are your thoughts and questions?Mitch Mechigian joins Dr. Allen to demystify blockchain technology, moving beyond speculation to view it as the next generation of financial infrastructure. Discover how stablecoins and digital assets are modernizing global payments and why institutional interest is surging.The conversation explores the transition from speculative hype to real-world utility. By examining the rise of stablecoins and the regulatory shift in the US, the discussion highlights why major institutions like BlackRock are now entering the digital asset space, marking a shift toward long-term integration rather than niche experimentation.Main Points: Recognize blockchain as a tool for upgrading outdated analog financial systems.Analyze how stablecoins function as programmable, dollar-pegged assets for global trade.Evaluate the impact of evolving US regulatory frameworks on institutional crypto adoption.Compare the technical differences between traditional bank settlement and blockchain-based asset movement.Connect With Mitch Mechigian:mmechigian@fifthera.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-mechigian-b42b3572/https://twitter.com/BCoinvestors

"You can automate the data, but you cannot automate the trust."   For 300 years, every wave of automation targeted workers who used their hands. AI is different, it's coming for white collar workers first, with Microsoft's AI chief predicting it could automate nearly all white collar work by 2028. The jobs that will survive aren't the ones that require the most knowledge, they're the ones that require physical presence, human relationships, and trust. Jaspreet Singh walks through five high-paying careers least likely to be replaced by AI by 2030, then breaks down seven specific ETFs for investors who want exposure to the AI industry without trying to pick the next Nvidia.   In this episode, you'll learn: Why skilled trades (especially electricians) are among the safest careers: AI can't rewire a circuit, and the explosion of AI data centers has created a massive shortage of electricians needed to power them, with BlackRock investing $100 million to train more Why high-end B2B sales and relationship roles are safe while call center and retail sales are not. Enterprise sales are built on trust between humans, and Jaspreet's own company found that automating this process hurt results because clients want to talk to a person, not a bot Why owning a business is the ultimate AI hedge: entrepreneurs employ the AI rather than compete with it, and the emergence of one-person companies running entirely on AI agents is making this more achievable than ever Seven ETFs for investing in the AI backbone: from broad tech exposure (QQQ) to AI-specific funds (AIQ, BOTZ), semiconductors (SMH), data centers (DTCR), electrical grid infrastructure (GRID), and nuclear energy (NUKZ) — the physical and energy infrastructure that powers AI regardless of which software company wins   Keywords: AI jobs, future of work, skilled trades, B2B sales, AI implementation, entrepreneurship, healthcare careers, QQQ, semiconductor ETF, nuclear energy investing     Want more financial news? Join Market Briefs, my free daily financial newsletter: https://link2.briefs.co/gie Below are my recommended tools! Please note: Yes, these are our sponsors & advertisers. However, these are companies that I trust and use (or have used). The compensation doesn't affect my recommendations or advice. That being said, you should always do your own research & never blindly listen to a random guy on YouTube (or podcast). ---------- ➤ Invest In Stocks Passively 1) M1 Finance - Buy stocks & ETFs automatically: https://theminoritymindset.com/m1 ---------- ➤ Life Insurance 2) Policygenius - Get a free life insurance quote: https://theminoritymindset.com/policygenius ---------- ➤ Real Estate Investing Online 3) Fundrise - Invest in real estate with as little as $10! https://theminoritymindset.com/fundrise ----------

NVIDIA mobilizes over $500 billion in third-party capital to finance AI infrastructure, Anthropic doubles down on data-center ownership and mandatory content watermarking, and Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman debate whether distributed AI at the edge is finally ready to accelerate, all on Ep. 315 of The Six Five Pod. The handpicked topics for this week are: NVIDIA Turns AI Compute Into an Asset Class: NVIDIA signed an MOU with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to mobilize over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI compute financing, with NVIDIA backstopping up to 25% of individual deals. Patrick Moorhead called it a mechanism that locks partners into NVIDIA's ecosystem without technically locking them into NVIDIA on paper, while Daniel Newman framed it as smart deployment of NVIDIA's projected trillion dollars in three-year free cash flow. (The Decode) Anthropic Doubles Down on Infrastructure Control and Content Authenticity: Anthropic is moving to mandatory invisible watermarking on all Claude-generated text and images worldwide, aligning with the EU's Code of Practice on AI transparency, while also forming a data-center joint venture called Theseus Infrastructure with Macquarie Asset Management and GIC. Moorhead called the watermarking timing risky given Anthropic's ongoing trust concerns, citing data suggesting Claude's Fable 5 model has struggled to gain enterprise traction. Newman raised the "means of creation" IP problem: enterprises building proprietary products on top of Claude could see their own outputs credited to Claude instead of themselves. (The Decode) The Frontier Model Landscape Splits: xAI shipped Grok 4.6 at what the hosts characterized as frontier-tier intelligence for more than 60% less cost, while Google's Gemini 3.5 Pro slipped again to August, its third delay from a promised June launch. Moorhead noted open models have compressed the gap with frontier labs from 9-12 months to mere weeks, intensifying the price war, while pushing back on reports of "muted" internal sentiment on Gemini 4 and pointing to Google's track record inventing transformers, TPUs, and PageRank. (The Decode) Zuckerberg's "The Future Is for Everyone" Essay: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,000-word essay using the word "superintelligence" 60 times, arguing for open-weight AI and zero government regulation while explicitly distancing Meta from OpenAI and Anthropic. Patrick read the essay as a positioning document aimed at Washington policymakers, timed to argue against export controls and training-checkpoint restrictions. Daniel pointed to Meta's 3 billion daily users and self-directed compute stack as the company's real advantage, even as its frontier-model leadership remains unproven. (The Decode) Intel Prices Largest All-Common-Stock US Follow-On Ever: Intel's stock offering grew from an announced $15 billion to $20 billion and finally $23 billion after the full greenshoe, drawing $100 billion in orders, more than 2,700 times oversubscribed, priced at $95 a share. Moorhead traced the raise back to CEO Lip-Bu Tan's refusal to pre-invest in 14A capacity without a confirmed customer, a stance that drew public criticism before a public reconciliation and a 10% U.S. government investment in Intel. Both hosts read Tan's personal $12 million purchase of shares as a credibility signal. (The Decode) The Flip: Will Distributed AI at the Edge Accelerate in the Next 12-18 Months?: Moorhead argued FOR, pointing to the historical pattern of compute migrating toward the point of content creation and citing new device-to-cloud routing technology like NVIDIA Switchyard as removing the sovereignty and latency barriers that kept edge AI stalled. Newman argued AGAINST, pointing to $944 billion that flowed into centralized AI infrastructure in a single week and research showing AI PC adoption is actually decelerating in 2026, with most on-device AI features still routing to cloud models in a browser tab. The Flip assigns Moorhead and Newman opposing sides of a debate, not necessarily their own positions. The exercise tests how far each argument holds up. (The Flip) CoreWeave Posts Strong Beat as Depreciation Debate Intensifies: CoreWeave reported Q2 revenue of $2.58 billion, up 112% year-over-year and above consensus, alongside a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss and a backlog that grew to $104 billion, up 246% year-over-year. Moorhead pointed to contracts running through 2029 on six-year-old A100 chips as evidence a resale market has emerged around aging AI hardware. (Bulls and Bears) Nebius Group Posts 454% Revenue Growth: Nebius reported Q2 revenue of $582.3 million, up 454% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA turning positive at $236.2 million versus a loss in the prior year. Both hosts flagged energy access, not capital or demand, as the primary constraint facing neoclouds like Nebius. (Bulls and Bears) Lenovo Posts Record Revenue and First-Ever Billion-Dollar Profit Quarter: Lenovo reported record revenue of $26.9 billion, up 43% year-over-year, its best quarter in company history, with adjusted net income crossing $1 billion for the first time. Moorhead highlighted the Infrastructure Solutions Group's record 9.1% operating margin and an AI server pipeline that grew 157% quarter-over-quarter. (Bulls and Bears) Cisco Delivers Its Best Print in Years, Market Sells Anyway: Cisco reported $17.25 billion in revenue, up 18% year-over-year and beating estimates by $432 million, with product orders up 35% and triple-digit growth in hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders. Moorhead called out enterprise orders up 21% and public sector orders up 30% as early evidence that enterprise AI demand is starting to show up in the numbers. (Bulls and Bears) Cerebras Systems Beats on Revenue, Stock Drops 15% on Accounting Confusion: Cerebras posted record core revenue of $209.9 million, up 103% year-over-year, and raised full-year guidance to $880-890 million, but shares fell 15% after-hours as investors struggled to reconcile GAAP and non-GAAP figures around customer warrants. Newman argued the real question is whether Cerebras' inference cloud growth ramp holds up, not near-term accounting noise. (Bulls and Bears) Coherent Posts First-Ever $2 Billion Quarter: Coherent reported record revenue of $2.05 billion, up 34% year-over-year, with non-GAAP EPS up 74%. Pat noted 79% of Coherent's business is data center and communications-related, positioning the company as a direct beneficiary of hyperscaler AI capital spending across multiple photonics technologies. (Bulls and Bears) Applied Materials Posts Record Quarter, Guides Above Street: Applied Materials reported record revenue of $9.12 billion, up 25% year-over-year, with record non-GAAP EPS of $3.50 and a fourth-quarter guide of $10.25 billion, well above consensus. Moorhead pointed to the company's 13th straight quarter of gross margin expansion and its ability to compete across packaging, advanced logic, and metrology. (Bulls and Bears) Watch the full video at sixfivemedia.com, and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. The Decode NVIDIA Turns AI Compute Into an Asset Class https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-partners-with-apollo-blackrock-blackstone-brookfield-goldman-sachs-and-kkr-to-establish-ai-compute-infrastructure-financing-platforms-to-mobilize-over-500-billion-of-third-party-capital Anthropic Doubles Down on Infrastructure Control and Content Authenticity https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-10/anthropic-macquarie-and-gic-form-venture-for-ai-data-centers https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/08/11/claude-will-put-invisible-watermarks-on-ai-text-and-images-and-the-internet-isnt-happy/ The Frontier Model Landscape Bifurcates https://www.reuters.com/business/google-updates-lightweight-gemini-models-flagship-still-delayed-2026-07-21/ Zuckerberg's "The Future Is for Everyone" Essay https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/10/mark-zuckerberg-superintelligent-ai-essay-meta Intel Prices Largest All-Common-Stock US Follow-On Ever https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/intel-intc-stock-offering-ai.html The Flip Will Distributed AI at the Edge Accelerate in the Next 12-18 Months? FOR: https://www.amd.com/en/blogs/2026/ai-pc-adoption-accelerates-as-enterprises-prepare.html AGAINST: https://www.ciodive.com/news/enterprise-ai-pc-adoption-slow-2026/807704/ Bulls and Bears CoreWeave — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/11/coreweave-crwv-q2-earnings-report-2026.html Nebius — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nebius-reports-second-quarter-2026-114200960.html Lenovo — https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-lenovo-posts-43-jump-q1-revenue-2026-08-13/ Cisco — https://www.marketbeat.com/earnings/reports/2026-8-12-cisco-systems-inc-stock/ Cerebras — https://investors.cerebras.ai/news-releases/news-release-details/cerebras-systems-fast-inference-cloud-business-nearly-quadruples Coherent — https://www.coherent.com/content/dam/coherent/site/en/documents/investors/financial-releases/2026/august-12/earnings-release-fy26-q4.pdf Applied Materials — https://ir.appliedmaterials.com/news-releases/news-release-details/applied-materials-announces-third-quarter-2026-results  

2026 market themes have been shaped by geopolitical realignment, the physical demands of artificial intelligence and changing assumptions about diversification. Across markets, investors are confronting several plausible futures rather than relying on a single base case.Host Oscar Pulido is joined by Stevie Manns, producer of The Bid, to revisit conversations with BlackRock leaders and external guests. Together, they connect insights on geopolitics, retirement, AI infrastructure, market concentration, portfolio construction, Asia, digital assets and tokenization.The discussion explores how these subjects form a broader story about preparation. Listeners will hear why AI investing increasingly involves energy and physical infrastructure, how concentration is changing the character of major equity indexes, and why a more dynamic and granular approach may be relevant as capital markets evolve.Key insights:· How geopolitical shifts are influencing markets, supply chains and economic policy· Why AI investing depends on power, data centers and infrastructure· How stock market concentration can affect diversification assumptions· Why portfolio construction may require multiple scenarios· Where Asia and digital assets are broadening the opportunity set· How tokenization could reduce friction in financial marketsEpisodes featured:246: Macro and Geopolitical Outlook - Live from Davos248: Retirement Realities: Ask Me Anything With Jaime Magyera250: Powering AI 2.0: Why The AI Boom is becoming an Energy Story257: Beyond The Magnificent Seven: Discovering Equity Opportunities in the S&P 493258: Portfolio Construction for A Changing World: Adapting to A Market Regime Shift259: Cryptoassets At A Crossroad: Volatility, Adoption and Changing Market Perspectives261: Why Are Global Investors Looking To Asia As An Investment Destination264: Is Tokenization The Next Evolution of Financial Market Infrastructure266: Midyear Outlook: Scarcity vs Abundance in The Age of AI268: AI's Latest Frontiers: An Investor's Perspective on Space, AI and Equity Opportunities2026 market themes, AI investing, portfolio construction, capital markets, digital assets, tokenization, geopoliticsThis content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. Reference to any company or investment strategy mentioned is for illustrative purposes only and not investment advice. In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries, this is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the European Economic Area, this is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. For full disclosures, visit blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosures.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Markets digest tame inflation data, falling oil prices and another round of tech earnings. Mike Pyle, Deputy Head of BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group, assesses the broader market backdrop and what could drive the next move. Ray Wang, Chairman of Constellation Research, breaks down the tech trade and where the AI investment cycle goes from here as Applied Materials reports earnings. John Kolovos, Head of Technical Strategy at Macro Risk Advisors, analyzes the charts and identifies the signals that matter most for market momentum. Our Katie Tarasov takes an inside look at SK Hynix, its massive expansion in South Korea and its first U.S. factory. She examines whether soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory has permanently changed the economics of the industry or whether SK Hynix risks overbuilding if the AI boom slows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Last Trade: BlackRock just cut the IBIT in-kind conversion minimum from $25M to $1M, and Jackson, Michael, and Brian ask whether the post-Cold Card rush out of self-custody and into the ETF is swapping one single point of failure for another. They break down the SEC and OCC moving on tokenized securities and a path for crypto firms to become banks as a Clarity Act plan B, Trump Media stacking real Bitcoin while divesting its other crypto, gold surging toward $4,500, and the wrench-attack reality that makes multi-institution custody matter.---

Nvidia, CoreWeave and Wall Street are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. But how does the financial machine behind the AI boom actually work and where are the risks?In this episode of the Market Maker Podcast, Anthony Cheung and Piers Curran unpack CoreWeave's extraordinary growth and $100bn+ revenue backlog, Nvidia's role at the centre of the AI ecosystem, and the huge amounts of debt and private capital being used to finance data centres and GPUs.We explain what neoclouds are, why GPUs are increasingly being treated as infrastructure assets, and how firms including BlackRock, Blackstone, Apollo, Goldman Sachs and KKR are helping finance the AI buildout.But there's another side to the story. We explore the “circular financing” concerns surrounding Nvidia and its customers, the growing concentration risk across the AI industry, and what could happen if hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta begin to slow their enormous AI spending.Finally, we look at the wider macro picture, including the latest US CPI inflation data, Federal Reserve interest rate expectations and why the AI boom itself is beginning to show up in inflation.Is this the financial infrastructure needed to power the next technological revolution or is too much money becoming dependent on the AI boom continuing?(00:00) The $1 Trillion AI Spending Boom(03:51) CoreWeave's Incredible Growth(04:58) The $104BN AI Order Book(08:35) What Is a Neocloud?(11:18) The Huge Cost of AI Infrastructure(16:13) Nvidia's $500BN Wall Street Deal(17:53) How GPUs Became an Asset Class(21:14) Was Michael Burry Wrong on AI?(24:50) How Wall Street Finances AI(27:12) The AI Circular Financing Risk(33:34) Nvidia's Biggest Concentration Risk(37:18) Can the AI Spending Boom Continue?(38:50) How to Invest Beyond Big Tech(40:12) The Next Trillion-Dollar AI Company?(44:30) AI Boom or House of Cards?(45:06) US Inflation Falls Again(47:05) Will the Fed Hike in September?(49:27) What to Expect From Jackson Hole

Suze takes us inside the UK's debanking inquiry. A director and co-founder of Bitcoin Policy UK, she's submitting evidence to Parliament's cross-party inquiry this week, and explains what an APPG can and can't do about banks blocking lawful transactions. The numbers are staggering. The Locked Out report found roughly 40% of payments to exchanges blocked or delayed by UK banks, with one exchange reporting a billion pounds in declined transactions in a single year. All legal transactions. Even the advocates got debanked. Suze's organization goes by BPUK partly because a name containing "Bitcoin" risked losing banking services. A survey found only 14% of firms successfully opened and kept an account with one of the nine largest UK banks. Nick Neuman of Casa surprises the room with a report from inside the Coldcard response: all hands taking calls for a week, helping people rotate keys, and his estimate that far more Bitcoin moved to safety than was stolen. Why multisig held up. Neuman explains why wallets requiring multiple keys haven't been swept: attackers go after single-key wallets first, and unrevealed public keys make paired devices dramatically harder to crack. The takeaway from both hosts: upgrade to multisig. Casa has been debanked twice. When Silicon Valley Bank failed, the company's Bitcoin treasury meant it could keep operating no matter what happened to the account. His advice: keep a backup bank and self-custodied Bitcoin as a stopgap. Does Bitcoin in an ETF still count? The room digs into BlackRock lowering conversion minimums into IBIT, why the conversion mostly runs one direction, and whether Bitcoin keeps its fundamental value if real coins stop circulating. Why self-custody matters to the network, not just to you. Brady walks through the block size wars: holders running nodes are who kept Bitcoin's rules intact, and concentrated custody would hand that influence to a few large institutions. Selling freedom instead of fear. Alec raises the "sovereignty multiple," the positive case for holding your own money, and Suze describes orange-pilling her beautician by paying in Bitcoin: adoption through use, not through warnings. Lebanon, El Salvador, and Liechtenstein. Suze's reporting tour: what a country looks like after banking trust dies, holding two ideas at once about El Salvador, and a breached ownership register as the case against data honeypots.

Greg Foss is back. After stepping away from Twitter and spending time on Nostr, the veteran credit analyst explains what pulled him back: young people reaching for socialism, and credit markets he sees as far less healthy than equities. The credit default swap thesis. Foss walks through his method: take the CDS spread on U.S. government debt, multiply by total obligations including unfunded liabilities, then compare that to Bitcoin's market cap. He flagged his spread number as from memory. Why insurance, not a risk asset. Most holdings are short volatility: when volatility rises, they fall. Foss argues Bitcoin should do the opposite, and credits BlackRock's Larry Fink as one of the few in traditional finance framing it that way. The rate the Fed does not control. Warsh has suggested AI productivity gains leave room to cut. Foss points instead to the 10-year Treasury, set in the open market, which could rise if investors demand more for U.S. credit risk. Credit markets are flashing before equities. A listener asked about widening CDS spreads across AI infrastructure names. Foss compared NVIDIA's vendor financing to Nortel and Lucent in 2000, and pointed to CoreWeave's tight debt service covenant. Banking is a leveraged business. From inside an insolvent Bank of Boston in 1992, Foss saw the math up close: roughly $5 of equity behind every $100 loaned. He argues Bitcoin can act as a safety net against that fragility. Bitcoin mining versus AI data centers. Miners can switch off in seconds and chase stranded energy; AI workloads cannot. Suze raised UK curtailment spending and ERCOT's grid balancing record, and asked whether mining gets built into AI sites. What the ETFs changed. Foss says a Wall Street wrapper was necessary for institutional allocation, while raising the paper Bitcoin question. He runs a 5% of global assets thought experiment, stressing he is not certain it happens. Treasury companies as an evolution, not an endpoint. Foss says he admires Michael Saylor without admiring every lever pulled, notes the premium to underlying Bitcoin has collapsed toward parity, and expects these vehicles to matter less over time. Bitcoin as collateral, and pensions inching in. Foss calls Bitcoin pristine collateral and a natural extension of lending. Dom described recommending it to pension boards years ago and pointed to a Michigan 13F filing adding to its position.

Carl Quintanilla, Jim Cramer, and David Faber broke down the impact of Nvidia's massive $500 billion AI infrastructure partnership with six Wall Street giants, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Apollo. Also in tech, the desk discussed Intel upsizing its stock offering to $20 billion at $95 per share to keep up with AI demand. After the opening bells, they also broke down energy prices and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, as deal talks showed no signs of progress. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some of the world's biggest banks and investment firms have partnered with the chip giant to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure.The money from the likes of Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and KKR will go towards Nvidia's own projects and those being built by its partners.Meanwhile, Trump Media, the company behind Donald Trump's Truth Social platform, has revealed that more than 10 customers have paid up to $100,000 each to use a controversial service that offers faster access to posts on the site.

P.M. Edition for Aug. 10. The FDA has laid out new rules intended to make the food system more transparent, part of an overhaul promised by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. WSJ reporter Liz Essley Whyte discusses how the new rules would work and why guidelines for ultraprocessed foods didn't come today. Plus, as Iran strengthens its demands in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states have begun accepting a new reality: that Tehran will control the strait for the foreseeable future. We hear from WSJ Middle East correspondent Benoit Faucon about what they are doing about it. And more than 70 people have been killed in a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Learn more about Astraeus Wealth Management: http://astraeuswealth.com/partner-with-us Guy Adami speaks with Jim Swartwout, CEO of Prosperum Fintech Holdings about Swartwout's four-decade career across Schwab, Fidelity, E-Trade, TradeMonster, Scottrade, Robinhood, and more, and what it reveals about the evolution of retail investing. Swartwout argues retail is in a “golden age” driven by better data, tools, fractional trading, extended-hours markets, and lower costs, and says payment for order flow is not a meaningful issue at current levels. They discuss social-media-driven concentration and communities, Prosperum/Avantgarde's education and partner communities, and AI features aiming to deliver “full service broker” support via bots. They cover options becoming more mainstream with education, market strength amid uncertainty, valuation risk, low VIX versus single-stock volatility, hedging demand, competition among brokers, access to private markets for accredited investors, interest in prediction markets, and potential election-related volatility. After the break, Dan Nathan hosts Jay Jacobs, BlackRock's US head of equity ETFs, to discuss the growth of ETFs and new product tools for investors. Jacobs explains the launch of IQQQ, an iShares NASDAQ-100 ETF designed for long-term compounding with a low fee (12 bps, waived to 10 bps through July 31, 2027) and a lower share price to improve accessibility for smaller investors and options traders. They address Nasdaq-100 concentration and BlackRock's related products QTop (top 30 names) and QNext (next 70) to help investors manage concentration. Jacobs contrasts iShares' diversified semiconductor ETF SOXX, which caps top holdings around 7–8%, with more concentrated alternatives, and frames semiconductors as foundational to AI-driven growth. He outlines ETFs' role in expanding market access, discusses tokenization's potential for 24/7 global trading and operational efficiency while emphasizing market structure and liquidity needs, and notes BlackRock has not launched daily inverse or leveraged ETFs. The conversation closes with AI as a major economic force and BlackRock's active AI ETF BAI, which seeks diversified exposure across the full AI value chain. —FOLLOW USYouTube: @RiskReversalMediaInstagram: @riskreversalmediaTwitter: @RiskReversalLinkedIn: RiskReversal Media The financial opinions expressed in Risk Reversal content are for information purposes only. The opinions expressed by the hosts and participants are not an attempt to influence specific trading behavior, investments, or strategies. Past performance does not necessarily predict future outcomes. No specific results or profits are assured when relying on Risk Reversal. Before making any investment or trade, evaluate its suitability for your circumstances and consider consulting your own financial or investment advisor. The financial products discussed in Risk Reversal carry a high level of risk and may not be appropriate for many investors. If you have uncertainties, it's advisable to seek professional advice. Remember that trading involves a risk to your capital, so only invest money that you can afford to lose. Derivatives are not suitable for all investors and involve the risk of losing more than the amount originally deposited and any profit you might have made. This communication is not a recommendation or offer to buy, sell or retain any specific investment or service.

Charles Gasparino, author of Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America, explores the radicalization of corporate America by tracing the rise of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. He argues that these movements, once fringe academic theories, were embraced by corporate elites at global forums like Davos and the UN. This shift was accelerated by the 2008 financial crisis, which led CEOs to adopt "stakeholder capitalism" as a defensive "cover your backside" strategy against progressive populism and threats of government nationalization. The book details how major asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard leveraged trillions in investment money to force progressive social changes on the companies in their portfolios. Gasparino uses The Walt Disney Company as a primary example of "woke" activism backfiring, noting how political entanglements in Florida and ideological shifts in programming led to significant financial and cultural fallout. He also highlights the story of Sage Steele, who was allegedly forced out of ESPN for holding heterodox, non-woke views. Ultimately, Gasparino documents an ongoing backlash against these policies, as evidenced by massive withdrawals from ESG-focused funds and a retreat from diversity programs by firms like Goldman Sachs. He concludes that "wokeness" is often a distraction from core business responsibilities, such as managing balance sheets, and warns that it divides the country while harming the bottom line. (1)