Top Podcasts of 2021 – Replay: Jeremy Grantham, Chris Cole, Jeff Seder | #380

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode is a mashup centered on Jeremy Grantham’s warning that U.S. markets are in a historic bubble, his case for valuation discipline despite timing uncertainty, and his bullish long-term case for venture capital and climate-tech investing. It also features Chris Cole’s framework for a 100-year portfolio designed to survive secular change through regime diversification—equities, bonds, gold, long volatility, and trend following.

Main Topics: Jeremy Grantham on the current market bubble: Grantham argues the U.S. market is in one of the great bubbles in financial history, comparable to 1929, 2000, and Japan, citing euphoric sentiment, speculative stories, and extreme valuations. Why low rates don’t justify high valuations: He rejects the idea that low interest rates make U.S. stocks cheap, arguing that relative valuation against overvalued bonds is not an absolute standard and that other markets with even lower rates are cheaper. Venture capital as a long-term allocation: Grantham explains why his foundation allocates heavily to VC and green VC, viewing it as the most dynamic area of U.S. capitalism and a source of world-changing innovation. Climate change as the defining investment and policy problem: He frames decarbonization as urgent, requiring technological breakthroughs, government support, and large-scale capital deployment, while highlighting China’s dominance in green industries. Chris Cole’s Dragon portfolio: Cole argues that the traditional 60/40 portfolio is backward-looking and fragile, and proposes a 100-year portfolio built around five regime-diversifying exposures: equities, fixed income, gold/fiat alternatives, long volatility, and trend following. Reframing diversification and portfolio metrics: Cole critiques Sharpe ratio and standard asset-class diversification, introducing CWARP (Cole Wins Above Replacement Portfolio) to measure an asset’s contribution to a full portfolio rather than standalone performance. Horse racing analytics and data-driven selection: The later segment with Jeff Sater shows how biomechanics, heart size, gait, and data science were used to outperform pedigree-based horse selection, culminating in American Pharoah and broader sports analytics lessons.

Key Arguments: The market resembles prior late-stage bubbles because speculative behavior has moved from finance pages to front pages, with crowd-driven stories and rapid price acceleration. High U.S. valuations cannot be justified simply by low bond yields because that comparison uses an already expensive asset as the benchmark. Valuation still matters even if it does not time tops precisely; it is most useful for setting expected long-run returns and identifying overextended regimes. Venture capital is attractive not just for return potential, but because it funds the most innovative and socially impactful U.S. enterprises. Climate change is a massive physical and economic risk that will require technological innovation, supportive policy, and likely direct intervention to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The 60/40 portfolio is vulnerable because stocks and bonds can fall together, especially in stagflation or at the zero lower bound, leaving investors without true defense. True diversification should be based on market regime, not on asset labels or short rolling correlations. Sharpe ratio is insufficient because it ignores correlation, tail risk, and how an investment affects total portfolio outcomes. Many hedge fund strategies are implicitly short volatility, short correlation, or short trend, making them poor true diversifiers despite attractive standalone histories. Data-driven horse selection can overturn pedigree myths when measurements are precise, reproducible, and tied to performance-relevant variables like heart size and gait.

Data Points: Cropland lost to urbanization: ~4.8 acres per minute - AcreTrader ad copy describing farmland scarcity from 1997 to 2022 QuantumScape price run-up: 10 -> 110 - Grantham describes the stock rising from around 10 to 110 before later dropping QuantumScape decline: 110 -> 44 - He notes a large paper-wealth loss after the spike NASDAQ move since March: ~100% - Grantham cites the NASDAQ doubling since March as bubble evidence Russell 2000 move since March: ~110% - Used alongside NASDAQ to show speculative acceleration U.S. population fertility rate: 1.7 then possibly 1.6 - Grantham says the U.S. hit a record low fertility rate and may fall further due to COVID South Korea fertility rate: 1.0 falling to 0.85 - Illustrates demographic decline and future labor shortages CO2 concentration: 415 ppm now; heading toward 550-700+ ppm - Grantham warns about climate trajectory and carbon removal needs CO2 removal target: Back to 280 ppm - He says the long-run goal is to pull atmospheric CO2 down substantially Carbon credit cost target: $25/ton vs. $250/ton - He argues technology must lower the cost of carbon removal Foundation VC allocation: ~60% in VC - Grantham says his foundation’s portfolio grew to about 60% venture capital Foundation risk profile: 80% in VC plus ~12% short portfolio - He describes the foundation as unusually aggressive for philanthropy VC compound return: 18%-19% per year - Reported compound performance of the professional VC allocation Horse database size: 50,000+ horses - Sater explains the scale of his equine performance database Horse purchase average: $155,000 - Average acquisition price for horses bought for Zayat stable

Pivotal Quotes: "These are the stories of GameStop and so on. These are the stories that people will be telling in 30 or 40 years, like retell stories about 2000 and even 1929." — Jeremy Grantham: Explaining why current speculative manias are historically important bubble episodes "If you're going to justify something as being cheap by picking the most overpriced asset and using that as a yardstick. You're an idiot." — Jeremy Grantham: Rejecting the argument that low bond yields justify expensive stock valuations "You don't predict. You don't need to predict. You don't be afraid. Don't predict. Prepare." — Chris Cole: Summarizing the philosophy behind the Dragon portfolio and regime-based diversification

Implications: Investors should expect lower future returns from expensive assets, build portfolios for multiple regimes, and treat long-vol, gold, and trend as serious diversifiers. The episode also suggests innovation and climate-tech remain major long-term opportunities.