Robin Wigglesworth, Editor, Alphaville

With a curious mind and keen desire to learn how things work, Robin Wigglesworth has always found the complexity of financial markets fascinating. Now the editor of the well-regarded Alphaville markets blog, Robin has been with the Financial Times since 2008 and through this period he’s covered episodes of crisis in traditional markets, and more recently, within the cryptocurrency realm. Robin shares his perspectives on how vastly the terrain has shifted in the delivery of financial media, pointing to the emergence of Twitter as a source of important information. In Robin’s words, “journalism is best when it is quite heavily criticized”.The balance of our conversation is about Robin’s excellent book, “Trillions”, a deep dive into the history of index funds and the massive growth in passive investing. Through his work we learn of the key developments and the key people whose contributions led to the juggernaut that is passive indexation today. Laying out the early academic research that called into question the notion that active management consistently generated alpha, Robin walks through the initial, inauspicious attempts to create vehicles that simply bought the market. With a view that the massive growth in passive investing is a very positive development, Robin reflects on some of the risks. In addition to the proliferation of questionable ETFs, he cites concentration – among the money managers, among the index providers and even the proxy vote advisors – as considerations to keep an eye on.I hope you enjoy this episode of the Alpha Exchange, my conversation with Robin Wigglesworth.

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.