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Rob Arnott joins Lotta Moberg, PhD, CFA, to continue their conversation on indexing, focusing on how index construction decisions shape outcomes for investors. Arnott examines the hidden effects of index membership, including how inclusion can influence valuations and create structural buying pressure, and why traditional market‑cap approaches may embed unintended biases. He introduces alternative approaches such as fundamental indexing, explaining how weighting by economic size rather than price can change portfolio behavior and return profiles. The discussion also explores turnover, momentum, IPO dynamics, and practical ways to think differently about benchmarks and passive investing. Arnott offers a perspective that challenges conventional definitions of "passive," encouraging a more critical view of how indices are built and used.

Rob Arnott joins Lotta Moberg, PhD, CFA, to discuss the ideas behind The Active Side of Indexing and challenge common assumptions about passive investing. Arnott explains why traditional market‑cap indices are not as passive as they appear, highlighting how index construction and rebalancing can lead to systematically buying high and selling low. The conversation examines the impact of index inclusion and deletion, turnover dynamics, and overlooked trading costs, as well as the implications for long‑term performance. Arnott also explores momentum, mean reversion, and the growing influence of index funds on market structure, offering a fresh perspective on how investors should think about benchmarks, efficiency, and the relationship between active and passive strategies.

Petter Kolm, PhD, and Gordon Ritter, PhD, join Lotta Moberg, PhD, CFA, to continue their discussion on quantitative investing, focusing on model design, implementation, and real‑world application. The conversation explores how quantitative strategies are refined in practice, the challenges of working with financial data, and the balance between theoretical rigor and practical constraints. Kolm and Ritter also discuss evolving market conditions, sources of edge, and how practitioners can think critically about models, performance, and risk. The discussion highlights the importance of adaptability and disciplined decision‑making when applying quantitative approaches in dynamic markets.

Petter Kolm, PhD and Gordon Ritter, PhD, join Lotta Moberg, PhD, for a conversation on quantitative models, risk, and financial decision‑making. The discussion examines how models are constructed and evaluated, the assumptions that underpin them, and the trade‑offs involved when applying theory to real‑world financial problems. Kolm and Ritter share perspectives on model risk, uncertainty, and the role of judgment alongside data, offering insights relevant to both researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of finance and analytics.

Philip Clements, CFA, Alfonso Ricciardelli, CFA, Matthieu LeBret and Simon Beckman join Will Goodhart (CFA Institute Research Foundation Board of Trustees), to discuss their recent brief on infrastructure debt and its growing role in institutional portfolios. The conversation explores how infrastructure debt has evolved from a niche allocation into a core component of alternative credit, shaped by the energy transition, government funding needs, and limits on bank balance sheets. The guests examine risk characteristics across the asset class, including construction risk, technology change, political uncertainty, and interest‑rate regimes, as well as how infrastructure debt fits alongside equity, private credit, and real assets. The discussion also covers renewable energy, data centers, and why infrastructure is increasingly central to long‑term investment strategy.

Laurence B. Siegel hosts a conversation with Seda Peksevim, PhD, Founder & Managing Director of Pensión Research & Consulting and Lecturer at Sabancı University, on how pension systems must be designed differently in emerging market economies.   Dr. Peksevim explains why retirement outcomes are shaped by three interconnected challenges: behavioral biases that limit saving, unstable and risky labor income, and heightened financial market volatility. She discusses the critical role of automatic enrollment, default options, and lifecycle fund design—and why importing pension models from developed markets without adjustment can produce poor results.   The discussion also explores multipillar pension systems, behavioral and technological tools to improve participation, micro‑pension innovations, and the complexities of both accumulation and decumulation under uncertainty. The central takeaway: effective pension systems must be context‑specific, behaviorally informed, and aligned with local economic realities.

In this episode of the Financial Thought Exchange, Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD, speaks with Stephen J. Brown, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Finance at Monash University in Australia and at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and winner of the CFA Institute Research Foundation 2025 James R. Vertin Research Award. Brown discusses the origins of hedge funds, their role as liquidity providers, and why their performance often disappoints relative to public markets. He explains how hedge fund risk differs from traditional market risk, the limits of diversification, and why rigorous due diligence is essential. The conversation also explores his research on sensation‑seeking behavior among hedge fund managers and its implications for risk‑adjusted returns. Related research by Stephen J. Brown: • Why Hedge Funds https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2469/faj.v72.n6.6 • Sensation Seeking and Hedge Funds https://www.jstor.org/stable/26656034

In Part 2, Francesco Fabozzi, PhD—Managing Editor of the Journal of Financial Data Science—joins host Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD, to explore how modern NLP and large language models are reshaping investment management. Building on the technical foundations from Part 1, this episode turns to real-world applications: when to fine‑tune models versus rely on prompt engineering, how retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) keeps models current with fast‑changing financial information, and why agentic systems are emerging as powerful tools for research automation. Fabozzi explains practical use cases ranging from sentiment‑driven return prediction to efficient knowledge‑distillation workflows, research assistants that read earnings reports, and coding agents that help back‑test investment ideas. The discussion closes with a look at where innovation is headed, including the potential of "general price transformers" for market forecasting.   This episode is essential for anyone applying AI within investment processes.

Francesco Fabozzi, PhD, Managing Editor of the Journal of Financial Data Science, joins Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD to unpack how natural language processing matured into the powerful tool it is today. The discussion traces early finance‑focused techniques—dictionary counts, sentiment word lists, and sparse document‑term matrices, along with their limits around context and negation. Fabozzi then explains how neural networks introduced embeddings and contextual meaning, paving the way for recurrent models and eventually transformer architectures. He breaks down how self‑attention, encoder–decoder designs, and decoder‑only LLMs transformed language understanding and made large‑scale modeling feasible.    This episode lays the groundwork for understanding how modern NLP models interpret financial text. Look for Part 2, where the conversation turns to practical applications in investment management.

In the concluding episode, Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD and Oswaldo Zapata, PhD look toward the future of quantum computing in finance. They discuss potential high‑value applications such as optimization, option pricing, machine learning, and large‑scale simulations. Zapata also highlights the cyber‑security implications of quantum technologies, including the threat of breaking RSA encryption and the urgency of adopting quantum‑safe protocols. The conversation covers industry readiness, from hedge fund research to major institutions investing in quantum capabilities, as well as the emerging need for "quantum‑quants." This episode provides a forward‑looking view of how quantum computing may reshape financial services, risk management, and professional skill sets in the decade ahead. To read Oswaldo Zapata, PhD's chapter in AI in Asset Management, follow this link: https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/foundation/2025/chapter-9-quantum-computing-for-finance

Part 2 explores the technical hurdles shaping quantum computing's readiness for financial applications. Oswaldo Zapata, PhD and host Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD discuss qubit quality, error rates, and why today's devices remain in the "noisy intermediate‑scale quantum" (NISQ) era. The episode breaks down hybrid classical‑quantum approaches, quantum‑inspired algorithms, and the complex process of encoding classical data into quantum states. Zapata explains why portfolio optimization is a promising—but still aspirational—area for quantum speedups, and how current hardware limitations constrain real‑world deployment. This conversation offers an honest assessment of where the technology stands today and what breakthroughs are still needed before quantum tools can meaningfully impact finance. To read Oswaldo Zapata, PhD's chapter in AI in Asset Management, follow this link: https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/foundation/2025/chapter-9-quantum-computing-for-finance

In Part 1 of this three-part interview, host Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD, speaks with Oswaldo Zapata, PhD, co‑founder of the Quantum Finance Boardroom and contributor to the CFA Institute Research Foundation monograph AI in Asset Management. This episode introduces the fundamentals of quantum computation, outlining how qubits, superposition, and quantum gates differ from classical computing. Zapata explains why quantum systems can process information in exponentially richer ways and discusses the challenges of building reliable qubits in real‑world laboratory environments. The conversation sets the groundwork for understanding how quantum computers may eventually tackle computational problems that classical machines cannot. This episode is ideal for finance professionals seeking a clear, accessible foundation in quantum technologies before diving into applications. To read Oswaldo Zapata, PhD's chapter in AI in Asset Management, follow this link: https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/foundation/2025/chapter-9-quantum-computing-for-finance

Marcos López de Prado, PhD and Vincent Zoonekynd, PhD, of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority discuss their Research Foundation brief, Causality and Factor Investing: A Primer. They explore why many factor models fail, the risks of confounder and collider bias, and why factor investing requires a causal—not purely statistical—approach. Learn how causal graphs and theory-driven methods can improve attribution and model design. A must-watch for quantitative researchers and finance professionals seeking deeper insights into risk premia and robust factor modeling.

Larry Siegel speaks with Dr. William J. Bernstein—author, neurologist, and investment thinker—about the pillars of prosperity: property rights, scientific rationalism, capital markets, and infrastructure. They examine cultural influences on economic growth, the Henrich hypothesis on trust, and the future of globalization. Bernstein shares his philosophy on passive investing, liability-matching portfolios, and why TIPS matter for retirees. He also previews a new book with Ed McQuarrie that challenges assumptions about long-term stock returns. A deep dive into history, markets, and strategies for financial security.

In this episode of the Financial Thought Exchange podcast, host Lotta Moberg, CFA, PhD, speaks with David Knox, PhD, former senior partner at Mercer and author of the Research Foundation brief De-risking Global Pension Systems. Knox explores the complexities of global pension structures, the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans, and the growing reliance on private pensions. He discusses demographic pressures, funding challenges, and the importance of governance, regulation, and communication in securing retirement outcomes. A timely conversation for professionals navigating the future of pension policy and retirement planning.