The Master Investor Podcast with Wilfred Frost

Former Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein joins Wilfred Frost in London for a candid conversation about risk, resilience and what it really takes to survive multiple crises at the very top of global finance. In this episode of The Master Investor Podcast, Lloyd reflects on his journey from the Brooklyn projects to running Wall Street’s most famous firm, why he was initially rejected by Goldman, and how a scrappy commodity trading outfit called J. Aron reshaped the culture of an Ivy League-dominated investment bank – and how Lloyd embodied that transformation.

Drawing on stories from his new memoir, Streetwise: Getting To and Through Goldman Sachs, Lloyd explains the trading lessons that truly matter: why the best traders are more like great poker players than economic forecasters (he can “barely predict the present, let alone the future”), know how to play the cards they’re dealt, and are the quickest to adapt to changing situations. He also dives into the long-running tension between traders and investment bankers, why brilliant traders are often underestimated and investment bankers overestimated, and what the financial crisis looked like from the hot seat of one of only two major bank CEOs who led their institutions into 2008 and out the other side stronger.

Lloyd reflects on the echoes of 2008 today, and why it will pay to be wary of the built up risks in the system after 15 years of no reckoning. In particular he highlights the inability of Private Equity to exit their positions despite the most attractive financial markets in history as a warning sign. “At some point there will be a forced reckoning.”

He also shares key lessons in navigating corporate politics to rise up through a competitive firm from outsider to CEO, and how once at the top you need to ensure you do not become deluded by your own self importance ( something he also reflects on with President Trump in mind).

Along the way, Lloyd and Wilf discuss social mobility, imposter syndrome on Wall Street, the value and limits of stock picking,  the responsibilities that come with influence in markets and politics, and why despite starting as a gold trader he is not a gold bug (“gold might go to $100k but it will go there without me”).

 

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

 

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

 

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor, The World Gold Council and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

 

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.

Wilf sits down with Tony Yoseloff, executive managing member and CIO of Davidson Kempner, to explore how one of the world’s most enduring alternative asset managers navigates today’s markets. Tony, who manages around 40 billion dollars across opportunistic credit and event-driven strategies, shares his macro framework for the current environment, comparing it to both the 1970s and the early 2000s, and discusses how market concentration, rate shocks and a potential Iran-driven oil spike could shape inflation, interest rates, recession risk and the opportunity set in credit. 

Tony also gives his take on the much-debated private credit boom and emerging unwind, and why he sees direct corporate lending as a only mid single-digit return asset class that has been oversold to investors. He thinks default rates have already risen to 5 or 6%, and reflects on which parts of private credit are most exposed, most notably software companies, which often lack hard assets to sell for recovery when things go south.

Tony  reflects on the balance needed between  art and science for event-driven investing, and uses the recent takeover battle surrounding Warner Brothers Discovery as a case study for how to arbitrage specific market events, and why it is attractive to investors to have exposure to investments with zero beta, and unrelated to the rest of their portfolio.

Tony also argues that US investors have become too inward looking, and shares why he thinks India is particularly attractive, especially  for credit where it has been overlooked.

Tony closes with a piece of investing advice he uses internally: always know in advance how and why you might lose money, and size and select positions with that probabilistic reality in mind. 

 

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

 

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

 

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

 

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.

Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary and one of the most successful global macro investors of his generation, joins Wilfred Frost in the Cash Room at the Treasury for a rare, wide-ranging conversation that bridges markets, geopolitics and public service.​ In a gripping real-time interruption, Secretary Bessent is called to the Situation Room by President Trump in the middle of the interview, then returns to detail the administration’s response to the Iran war and the market turmoil it is creating.

They start with the mindset that powered Bessent’s decades of outperformance at Soros Fund Management and his own firm Key Square: a healthy scepticism of elite opinion, the discipline to wait years for the right catalyst, and the ability to “imagine a different state of the world” – from betting against the ERM to riding the yen from sub-80 to 150 after spotting the policy and current-account shifts behind Abenomics. He explains how that same framework now shapes his decisions as Treasury Secretary, what it means to be “guardian of the bond market,” and why the true risk is not volatility but markets closing altogether.​

On the Iranian conflict he covers the goals of degrading Iran’s military capacity, the record 400-million-barrel strategic reserve release, contingency plans for escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, and how he thinks about oil price spikes in terms of duration rather than level. He also sets out America’s approach to tariffs, sanctions and the “shadow banking” system, including how Section 301 is being used post–Supreme Court ruling and why private credit stresses matter only when they infect the regulated core banking system.

Along the way, Bessent reflects on the previously-special relationship with the UK, the G7’s behind-the-scenes response to the war, and whether “America first” risks becoming “America alone” in the eyes of allies. He compares the Fed and Bank of England models, discusses gold, QE and balance-sheet policy, and explains why he turned down the Fed chair job to stay at Treasury during what he calls an extraordinary moment for US dollar dominance and energy, military and technology leadership.​

The episode closes with personal lessons: what lifeguarding taught him about crises and crowds, how a failed dream to edit the Yale Daily News nudged him into finance, and his core advice for investors – know your risk tolerance, stay in the game, avoid being forced to sell at the bottom, and remember that in both careers and markets “you never know what’s going to happen.”

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

 

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

 

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

 

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.

Ruchir Sharma, Chair of Rockefeller International and Founder and CIO of Breakout Capital, joins The Master Investor Podcast for a sweeping tour of today’s markets, the fading of “American exceptionalism” and what he thinks investors are getting wrong about risk. After 25 years at Morgan Stanley, where he ran emerging markets and served as Chief Global Strategist, Sharma now splits his time between managing money and writing bestselling books including Breakout Nations, The Rise and Fall of Nations, Democracy on the Road and What Went Wrong With Capitalism.​

In this episode, Ruchir lays out his case that the long dominance of US equities is giving way to a multi‑year period of international outperformance, driven by better earnings growth, higher shareholder payouts and a turning dollar cycle – and why he sees the US share of global indices falling back toward 50% over time from the current 65% level. The bull case for US markets are “a good story that has gone too far.”

Ruchir also digs into the Fed’s next move, arguing there is “no justification” for rate cuts with core inflation still closer to 3% and financial conditions loose, and why politically driven cuts would be structurally negative for the dollar. We discuss his evolving view on gold – from early bull to current agnostic as price action turns “parabolic” – and why he now prefers a broader toolkit of inflation hedges, from other commodities to inflation‑linked bonds.​

On countries, Ruchir contrasts India’s steady 6% growth with its volatile market cycles, China’s demographic and debt squeeze despite a softer tone from Beijing toward the private sector, and why he’s far more excited by under‑owned markets from Brazil to Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. He also unpacks the political consequences of inflation in developed markets, the rise of an anti‑incumbency bias for developed market voters, and his core thesis that capitalism has been “ruined by government” through ever‑expanding spending, regulation and bailouts.​

We finish with Ruchir’s overriding pieces of advice: in investing, temperament beats spreadsheet skill, and in life, “live in parallel” – cultivating a second vocation or passion, as he has with writing, to stay grounded when markets and careers become all‑consuming.

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

 

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

 

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

 

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.

In this special bonus episode, author, journalist and Founder and CIO of Breakout Capital, Ruchir Sharma, explores and interprets the market reaction to the US-Israel war with Iran so far. Ruchir, who is also Chairman of Rockefeller International, and former Chief Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, argues the market reaction is relatively calm and that most of the negative reaction has been de-grossing of markets that had recently outperformed. He explains what he is looking out for that would suggest things are spinning out of control and warrant a deeper, longer lasting sell off. Wilf’s full conversation with Ruchir drops on Monday 9 March - make sure you  hit follow or subscribe so you don’t miss it!

 

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

 

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

 

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

 

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.