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Alpha Exchange

Dean Curnutt

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.

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23 episodes
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Avg 53 min
English

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#267
Tuesday · 54 min
Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, Chief Investment Officer Americas and Head of Global Equities, Wealth Management, UBS
I really enjoyed hosting this Alpha Exchange discussion with Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, CIO for the Americas and Global Head of Equities at UBS Global Wealth Management. Ulrike has had a long career in markets, having spent nearly 25 years at Tudor Investment Corporation working across quantitative macro and global tactical asset allocation before joining UBS. We begin with Ulrike’s academic background in economics, political science and financial econometrics and the path that ultimately broug
#266
August 21 · 49 min
Tobias Adrian, Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
The IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report is a twice yearly, must read. Leading the excellent research done here is Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the IMF. It was a pleasure to welcome Tobias to the podcast to explore the IMF’s financial stability framework, vulnerabilities in global markets, and the evolving risks shaping the financial system. We begin with Tobias’ role and the evolution of the GFSR, which combines market in
#265
August 13 · 1 hr
Jon Havice, Founder and CIO, DGV Solutions
It was a pleasure to welcome Jon Havice, Founder and CIO of DGV Solutions, back to the Alpha Exchange. Our conversation explores systematic investing, volatility risk premia, and portfolio construction for institutional investors. We begin with Jon's path from trading currency options and derivatives at O'Connor and UBS through hedge fund management and investment consulting before founding DGV Solutions. He reflects on advising endowments, foundations, and healthcare systems, and explains how
#264
July 31 · 44 min
The Market Disregards Correlation
It's been a busy year for the Alpha Exchange podcast — 25 episodes so far and an exciting fall schedule ahead. Today I'm going solo, assessing a backdrop for market risk that has proven quite unique this year. In the discussion that follows, I want to share what's on my mind with respect to the prices we all stare at every day, and tie together three crosscurrents that look separate on the surface but are really one story. These themes are low correlation, spot up vol up dynamics, and the cheapn
#263
July 28 · 1 hr 10 min
Alec Litowitz, Founder of Magnetar Capital and Qstar Capital
It was a pleasure to welcome Alec Litowitz, the Founder of Magnetar Capital and QStar Capital, to the Alpha Exchange. Central to our discussion is an exploration of the ideas in Alec’s new book, The Adaptability Quotient. Here, he draws on more than thirty years of investing across multiple market regimes. We begin with Alec’s three decades in financial markets, from his early years at Citadel through the founding of Magnetar. Looking back across multiple market cycles, he argues that long-term
#262
July 21 · 58 min
Franklin Parlamis, Founder & CIO, Aequim Alternative Investments
It was a pleasure to host an Alpha Exchange discussion with Franklin Parlamis, the Founder and CIO of Aequim Alternative Investments. Franklin brings a distinctive perspective shaped by two decades in capital structure and convertible bond arbitrage. His career spans the Russian debt restructuring of 1998—where he witnessed firsthand how broken correlations can unwind hedges—through the convertible market collapse of 2008, when leverage amplified systemic stress and "the machine broke." Our co
#261
July 10 · 52 min
David Silber, Head of Institutional Equity Derivatives, Citadel Securities
It was a pleasure to welcome David Silber, Head of Institutional Equity Derivatives at Citadel Securities, to the Alpha Exchange to discuss the evolution of listed options markets, institutional liquidity, and the technology reshaping modern derivatives trading. We begin with Dave’s early career on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange during the transition to multi-listed options, where market making, open outcry, and physical proximity to order flow defined liquidity provision. He r
#260
July 2 · 23 min
The Three Types of Risk-Off
What causes significant risk-off events? Can they be anticipated to any degree? Understanding the how and why of these episodes is critical for investors seeking to avoid drawdowns. In this short podcast, I share how I think about episodes of risk-off, with particular attention to the interaction between stock and bond prices — before, during, and after market vol events. I outline three type of risk-off: the classic, the taper, and the liquidation, and provide examples of each. I also propose
#259
June 30 · 1 hr 1 min
Aaron Brown, Wall Street Quant and Author: Wrong Number
Aaron Brown is a Wall Street quant, risk manager, and trader. He’s also a professor and the author of the recent book Wrong Number—on probability, reasoning, and the role of skepticism in markets and beyond. We begin with Aaron’s unconventional path into finance, from identifying betting opportunities in horse racing and playing professional poker to studying under pioneers including Fischer Black before spending decades on Wall Street. The conversation explores how concepts from poker—includi
#258
June 25 · 1 hr 4 min
David Dredge, Founder and CIO, Convex Strategies
David Dredge, Founder and CIO of Convex Strategies, has spent his career in derivatives markets, on the long side of optionality and seeking value in convexity. It was great to learn more about the role he plays in fortifying client portfolios with insurance and to have him reflect on how periods of market stress expose limitations in traditional risk methodologies. Our conversation focuses on volatility supply and the structural forces that generate it. Here, David discusses the growth of stru
#257
June 22 · 47 min
Samir Patel, Global Head of Global Market Sales, Nomura Securities
It was a pleasure to host a discussion with Samir Patel, Global Head of Global Market Sales at Nomura Securities International, on leadership, client strategy, and the evolution of institutional markets businesses in an environment defined by constant change. The conversation emphasizes how institutional client relationships have evolved over time. Samir explains why clients increasingly seek counterparties with differentiated strengths rather than broad-based coverage across every product area
#256
June 12 · 56 min
Colin Lancaster, Global Co-Head of Discretionary Macro and Fixed Income at Schonfeld Strategic Advisors
It was a pleasure to welcome Colin Lancaster, Global Co-Head of Discretionary Macro and Fixed Income at Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, back to the Alpha Exchange. Our discussion focuses on the evolution of the multi-manager model, portfolio construction, and the challenges of navigating today’s macro environment. Colin discusses the importance of systems, data, and risk infrastructure, and why scale has increasingly become a competitive advantage. We explore how firms differentiate themselves th
#255
June 2 · 59 min
Ronnie Wexler, Global Head of Equities Distribution, Barclays
It was a pleasure to host a discussion with Ronnie Wexler, Global Head of Equities Distribution at Barclays, and solicit his insights on change – in markets, in client relationships and in the growing role of technology across the financial ecosystem. We begin with Ronnie’s early years at Goldman Sachs during the final stages of the technology bubble and the sharp market reversal that followed. He reflects on how periods of market stress, from the post-dot-com bear market to the GFC, have shape
#254
May 11 · 1 hr 1 min
Robert Flatley, Founder & CEO TS Imagine
I was excited to host this conversation with Rob Flatley, Founder and CEO of TS Imagine, on prediction markets, AI-driven workflows, and the structural changes reshaping financial market infrastructure. We begin with Rob’s path from software engineering into capital markets, including leadership roles at Bank of America and Deutsche Bank during the rise of electronic trading and through the Global Financial Crisis. That experience informs a broader perspective on how market infrastructure evolv
#253
April 28 · 59 min
Hari Krishnan, Head of Volatility Strategies at SCT Capital Management
It was a pleasure to host a conversation with Hari Krishnan, Head of Volatility Strategies at SCT Capital, on the changing nature of volatility markets, portfolio hedging, and why commodities may offer increasingly valuable diversification in today’s environment. Hari reflects on his book Second Leg Down, which explores practical approaches to tail-risk hedging and the cyclical nature of volatility. He discusses how investors often ignore protection in calm periods, only to rush toward hedges a
#252
April 13 · 51 min
Robert Kaplan, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, and former President of the Dallas Fed
It was a pleasure to welcome Rob Kaplan, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, and former President of the Dallas Fed, to the Alpha Exchange. We begin with Rob’s reflections on his time at the helm of the Dallas Fed from 2015 to 2021, a period spanning rate liftoff, fiscal stimulus, and the COVID crisis. He outlines how his perspective as a business practitioner led him to focus on structural forces—demographics, globalization, and technology—rather than relying solely on cyclical data and economic
#251
April 7 · 52 min
Wayne Dahl, Co-Portfolio Manager, Oaktree Capital Management
It was a pleasure to welcome Wayne Dahl, Co-Portfolio Manager of Global Credit Strategy at Oaktree Capital Management, to the Alpa Exchange. We begin with Wayne’s path through convertible arbitrage, structured credit, and multi-asset investing, and how that foundation informs a framework centered on understanding sensitivities across rates, credit, and equity exposures. Convertible arbitrage, in particular, serves as an entry point into managing multiple dimensions of risk simultaneously, re
#250
April 2 · 1 hr 2 min
Alpha Exchange 250th Episode: A Retrospective
Welcome to Episode 250 of the Alpha Exchange. To celebrate the milestone, I asked my dear friend, Jon Kalikow, to host the conversation, switching seats and having me as the guest. I launched the podcast in 2018 with a simple idea: to create space for long-form conversations that explore how market practitioners think about risk. Rather than focusing on predictions, the goal has always been to understand frameworks—how investors process information, respond to uncertainty, evolve through cycles
#249
March 31 · 51 min
The Shock Heard ‘Round the World: US Government Bonds
The “risk-free” rate figures prominently in how we’ve all been taught the foundations of finance. To price a security, start with the asset that is the safest and soundest and then add compensation for bearing uncertainty. It has always been self-evident that the global risk-free benchmark was the Treasury market. Deep, liquid and viewed as default free, US government bonds have been the recipient of capital during times of stress. And the reason is that the US has long been viewed as not just
#248
March 13 · 52 min
Kris Abdelmessih, Co-Founder, Moontower.ai
Kris Abdelmessih, author of the MoonTower Substack and founder of the options analytics firm MoonTower.ai., has spent years thinking about option pricing, volatility regimes, and the mental math traders use to translate volatility into price. In this context, it was great to welcome him back to the Alpha Exchange to explore his thought process. We begin with developments in commodity markets, particularly crude oil, and silver, where geopolitical tension and speculative flows have led to sharp

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