Jordi Visser – Analytics and AQ at Weiss (Capital Allocators, EP.221)

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Jordy Visser of Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors discusses how his firm doubled to $4B by using analytics to improve portfolio management and marketing, and why he sees a regime shift toward higher inflation, negative real rates, and greater market volatility. He emphasizes awareness, balance, and rapid reaction, then expands into themes of decentralization/crypto, longevity, and mental health as investable and practical forces.

Main Topics: Firm growth and product evolution (Priority: 5/5): Visser says Weiss grew from just under $2B in 2019 to $4B, with much of the growth during COVID. He credits data visualization, analytics, and expansion of liquid alternatives, insurance custom solutions, mutual funds, and international distribution. Baseball cards, bias awareness, and portfolio reaction (Priority: 5/5): He updates the firm’s ‘baseball card’ framework into three parts: awareness of bias, balanced portfolio construction, and reaction speed. He argues that higher vol-of-vol makes reaction function the most valuable PM trait. AQ, EQ, and hiring for culture (Priority: 5/5): Visser treats adaptability quotient (AQ) as central to hiring and firm culture, alongside emotional intelligence and self-awareness. He favors stories over short answers in interviews to assess resilience, communication, and fit in a collaborative environment. Business development and time efficiency through analytics (Priority: 4/5): He explains how analytics are used differently in marketing than in investing: not to optimize returns, but to maximize time efficiency, target the right prospects, and improve relationship-building at scale using Zoom and customized content. Macro outlook: inflation, rates, and market regime change (Priority: 5/5): Visser argues that the world is shifting from low-flation/low-rate conditions to a five-year period of higher inflation, negative real yields, supply-chain disruption, labor shortages, and persistent government intervention, though not classic stagflation. Crypto, decentralization, and emerging markets (Priority: 4/5): He sees Bitcoin as an asset, Ethereum as an energy layer, and blockchain as a major decentralizing force that can reduce friction in transactions and help emerging markets, especially in South America. Longevity, immune health, and mental health (Priority: 4/5): Visser links longevity to immune-system strength, mRNA/CRISPR breakthroughs, and actuarial implications for pensions and insurers. He also views anxiety as both a challenge and a creative force that must be managed by presence and breathing.

Key Arguments: Analytics improved both investment oversight and marketing efficiency by making bias, balance, and reaction measurable. In a more volatile, faster-moving market, a portfolio manager’s ability to react quickly matters more than static construction alone. AQ has become commoditized; hiring now requires evaluating how people handle adversity, not just credentials or intelligence. Marketing should be run like a high-efficiency system: focus on the right prospects, ask for the order, and stop wasting time on low-probability meetings. The next five years are likely to feature higher inflation than the 2010s because of labor shortages, supply-chain rewiring, and policy choices around climate and redistribution. Negative real rates persist because governments cannot tolerate meaningfully higher borrowing costs while managing wealth redistribution and growth. Bitcoin and blockchain are investable expressions of decentralization, and tokenization can reduce friction across finance and real-world transactions. Longevity research, especially mRNA and CRISPR, could reshape healthcare, insurance, labor supply, and retirement behavior. Anxiety is widespread and amplified by smartphones and constant information flow, but it can be managed through presence, breathing, and process discipline. Horse racing is a useful analogy for investing because value lies in probabilities and odds, not simply in picking winners.

Data Points: Firm AUM: $4 billion - Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors' size in the current interview, up from just under $2B in 2019. Prior AUM: just south of $2 billion - Approximate firm size when Visser last appeared on the show in early 2019. Growth timing: most of that growth happened during COVID - Visser attributes the expansion largely to pandemic-era demand and analytics-driven marketing. Client cadence: at least quarterly - He says he spends at least quarterly with most large clients at the CIO level. Volatility reference: rolling 250 two-day volatility bottomed in 2014 - He uses this as evidence that vol-of-vol started trending higher after 2014. Manager allocation shift: 20% invested to 80% invested, then back to 35% - Example of a PM changing exposure as the narrative and market environment improved, then normalized. Negative-yielding debt: $12 trillion - He cites this as a major structural force keeping rates and real yields low. Misery index example: 7.5% - Illustrative example using 5% inflation plus 2.5% unemployment. S&P sector mix: 18% technology; ~41% technology including F-A-A-M-G; ~3% energy; ~3% materials - Used to argue passive indices are heavily tilted away from inflation beneficiaries. Meeting scale: about 60 people at once; close to 200 participants on some calls - He highlights Zoom as a key enabler of scaled marketing and education. Interview framework: IQ, EQ, AQ - Visser says he mentally evaluates candidates across intelligence, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Sleep routine start time: 7:30 pm - He begins winding down at about 7:30 to protect sleep score and performance. Mental model: three people - He names his father, mother, and oldest daughter as the biggest influences on his professional life. Horse racing performance: picked the winner in 3 of 11 or 12 writeups - He notes his Derby analysis is read widely, even though winner-picking accuracy is limited.

Pivotal Quotes: "your baseball card says you will" — Jordy Visser: He reassures a nervous portfolio manager that historical pattern and process matter more than short-term drawdowns. "I do not believe in stagflation. In fact, internally, we've talked a lot about just remember what stagflation was" — Jordy Visser: He distinguishes his outlook from the 1970s and argues for an inflationary boom instead. "Anxiety gets you ruminating on things that probably won't happen" — Jordy Visser: He explains how anxiety functions psychologically and why it must be managed to avoid bad decisions.

Implications: Investors should prepare for a more inflationary, volatile, and decentralized future where speed, adaptability, and process discipline matter more than static forecasts. Firms that combine analytics, culture, and communication may gain an edge in both investing and business development.