ReSolve’s Riffs on Leverage over Beverages: The Risk/Reward of Vol Targeting

This episode discussed:

Most pension plans and other institutional investors with long-term liabilities are faced with an enormous mismatch between the return assumptions in their actuarial models and the combination of sky-high equity valuations and rock-bottom bond yields. Some have chosen to address their funding gaps by adding leverage to their portfolios. Topics of this include:

  • Different types of leverage – Implicit vs explicit, recourse vs non-recourse
  • Hidden leverage in private investments
  • Volatility targeting – pro-cyclical vs counter-cyclical
  • Leverages towards concentrated vs diversified investments and market fragility

The conversation was greatly enhanced by a series of questions from our friend Mike Green (Logica Capital) – who we hope will join us in the coming weeks. Special thanks to Mike and others that have participated with their questions.

Thanks for watching and see you next week.

Latest

The Fed’s Dilemma: Why Rate Cuts Could Trigger a “Crack-Up Boom”

The crack-up boom happens when everyone tries to get out of a losing currency and into “hard assets” like gold, real estate, and other real things.

Rate Cut Hype Fuels Growth: August 2025 HANDLS Monthly Report

Suffice to say, all of this reinforces a timeless investing principle: diversification pays off over the long haul.

How Leading Consumer Brands Have Emerged Stronger Since 2019

The last five years have been among the most intense stress tests in modern business history.

The Market’s “Lost” Moment: How Many Seasons Can This Rally Run?

For months, investors have been scaling what feels like an endless wall of worry. Each concern that gets resolved seems to spawn new uncertainties, yet the market has continued its relentless climb higher.

Newsletter

Don't miss

The Fed’s Dilemma: Why Rate Cuts Could Trigger a “Crack-Up Boom”

The crack-up boom happens when everyone tries to get out of a losing currency and into “hard assets” like gold, real estate, and other real things.

Rate Cut Hype Fuels Growth: August 2025 HANDLS Monthly Report

Suffice to say, all of this reinforces a timeless investing principle: diversification pays off over the long haul.

How Leading Consumer Brands Have Emerged Stronger Since 2019

The last five years have been among the most intense stress tests in modern business history.

The Market’s “Lost” Moment: How Many Seasons Can This Rally Run?

For months, investors have been scaling what feels like an endless wall of worry. Each concern that gets resolved seems to spawn new uncertainties, yet the market has continued its relentless climb higher.

Can Markets Keep Their Cool? July 2025 HANDLS Monthly Report

Politics Trumps the Numbers, Can Markets Keep Their Cool?
Adam Butler, CFA, CAIA
Adam Butler, CFA, CAIA
Adam Butler is Chief Investment Officer of ReSolve Asset Management, sub-advisor to an alternative allocation strategy at Rational Funds. He manages ETF and futures based strategies including a global risk parity ETF, two Adaptive Asset Allocation funds, and a multi-strategy hedge fund. Adam is also author of the book Adaptive Asset Allocation: Dynamic Global Portfolios to Profit in Good Times and is ranked in the top 1% of authors by paper downloads on SSRN. He has authored over a dozen papers and dozens of articles on asset allocation; factor investing; quantitative methods; and portfolio optimization. Adam holds both CFA and CAIA charters and appears on BNN Bloomberg and CNBC.

The Fed’s Dilemma: Why Rate Cuts Could Trigger a “Crack-Up Boom”

The crack-up boom happens when everyone tries to get out of a losing currency and into “hard assets” like gold, real estate, and other real things.

Rate Cut Hype Fuels Growth: August 2025 HANDLS Monthly Report

Suffice to say, all of this reinforces a timeless investing principle: diversification pays off over the long haul.

How Leading Consumer Brands Have Emerged Stronger Since 2019

The last five years have been among the most intense stress tests in modern business history.