Jesse Felder on the art of being contrarian

For those looking for unique market insights, the Felder Report is a great place to start, both for keen insights as well as interesting market musings. Its founder Jesse Felder has been in the industry for years, starting out at Bear, Stearns & Co and later co-founding a multi-million-dollar hedge fund in California.

In this week’s episode of Opto Sessions, Felder explored, among other things, why being a contrarian might mean people think you’re crazy.

 

Listen to the interview:

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What’s the top tip you’d give your younger self?

Go to work for somebody you admire. I worked with somebody that I didn't admire too much and that was a learning process. But I think better advice is to work for somebody you admire, not just in terms of their skill and success but in terms of their personal values.

 

If you could narrow it down to one thing, what do you believe your source of alpha is?

Oh man, that’s tough. Probably most people feel this way but I do think I am a true contrarian. One of my favourite chapters in Market Wizards was about Jim Rogers. He talks about wanting to invest in North Korea. He talks about the most contrarian ideas you've ever heard of. A lot of people think they're contrarian, but you're only contrarian if everybody thinks you're crazy. I'm willing to go to those areas that make people think I’m crazy.

 

What’s your favourite book, finance and trading, or otherwise?

My favourite trading book is the Market Wizards series. It's just so valuable. I go back and read them over and over again.

“My favourite trading book is the Market Wizards series. It's just so valuable. I go back and read them over and over again”

 

Who or where do you go to for market insights?

I've named a ton of people during the show and I really love to highlight them. That's why I started my podcast really, to try and highlight the people who I find offer unique insights. Twitter has been very valuable to me. A lot of those people that I've had on my podcast are people I follow on Twitter and I only follow them because they provide such unique insights.

 

Where’s the best place you’ve travelled and why?

I don't really travel much. I’m kind of a homebody. I actually hate travel, as I don't like crowds. When I was a baby I used to throw up when my mum would take me to crowded places. I like to go to the Oregon coast. It has incredibly remote beaches, there's no development and it's just beautiful with wide-open natural spaces.

 

Finally, what’s your top prediction for next year?

I think the one that I have the most confidence in is that energy is going to outperform dramatically. It might come from the rest of the market declining and energy not declining as much, but I do think it’s is going to outperform dramatically.

“I think the one that I have the most confidence in is that energy is going to outperform dramatically. It might come from the rest of the market declining and energy not declining as much, but I do think it’s is going to outperform dramatically”

 

 

For more from Felder, including on Tesla [TSLA], options and emerging markets, listen to the full episode here.

 

Or for more ways to listen:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
iHeart Radio
Stitcher
CastBox

 

Listen to the full interview and explore our past episodes on Opto Sessions.