Bill Birmingham, Chief Investment Officer, Osprey Funds

Amidst the ongoing tumult in the digital asset space, it was a pleasure to welcome Bill Birmingham, the Chief Investment Officer of the Osprey Funds, to the podcast. Originally trained as a lawyer and then transitioning to a role in portfolio management in the traditional hedge fund space, Bill shares his views on many aspects of the crypto landscape, at once excited by the potential in blockchain innovation but also on guard for a further leg down in prices. Our conversation explores his early interest in digital assets a decade ago, fascinated by the programmable features of smart contracts and the similarities to what he'd observed in his study of law. We also spend time reflecting on the recent systemic risk in the meltdown of LUNA and the contagion impact of the 3AC default. There are lessons to be learned here and work to be done to create a more robust system. Specifically, the recursive leverage that is enabled through Bitcoin as an electronic bearer asset needs to be managed if the overall system is not to become too leveraged. Looking forward, Bill and his team at Osprey see promising innovations in the NFT space and opportunities to deliver exposures to end users on a cost-efficient basis. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Alpha Exchange, my conversation with Bill Birmingham.

Om Podcasten

The Alpha Exchange is a podcast series launched by Dean Curnutt to explore topics in financial markets, risk management and capital allocation in the alternatives industry. Our in depth discussions with highly established industry professionals seek to uncover the nuanced and complex interactions between economic, monetary, financial, regulatory and geopolitical sources of risk. We aim to learn from the perspective our guests can bring with respect to the history of financial and business cycles, promoting a better understanding among listeners as to how prior periods provide important context to present day dynamics. The “price of risk” is an important topic. Here we engage experts in their assessment of risk premium levels in the context of uncertainty. Is the level of compensation attractive? Because Central Banks have played so important a role in markets post crisis, our discussions sometimes aim to better understand the evolution of monetary policy and the degree to which the real and financial economy will be impacted. An especially important area of focus is on derivative products and how they interact with risk taking and carry dynamics. Our conversations seek to enlighten listeners, for example, as to the factors that promoted the February melt-down of the VIX complex. We do NOT ask our guests for their political opinions. We seek a better understanding of the market impact of regulatory change, election outcomes and events of geopolitical consequence. Our discussions cover markets from a macro perspective with an assessment of risk and opportunity across asset classes. Within equity markets, we may explore the relative attractiveness of sectors but will NOT discuss single stocks.