Zephyr's Adjusted for Risk

Zephyr
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Zephyr's Adjusted for Risk podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Market Strategist Ryan Nauman that brings together wealth management trends, financial markets, investments, economics and life to help investment professionals prepare for the week ahead and help them make more informed investment decisions on behalf of their clients. Industry leaders join the show to provide expert insights in a fun and engaging format to help investment professionals grow their businesses and stay ahead of the trends impacting investor's investment decisions.

  1. 1d ago

    The Growth Secret Most Financial Leaders Ignore

    Recorded on location at the Steward Symposium, host Ryan Nauman welcomes Jim Gold, CEO of Steward Partners, to discuss the rapid evolution of wealth management and how Steward is positioning itself to lead. Gold shares his background from Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and explains Steward’s execution-focused growth, describing “unstoppable” momentum and a culture built on respect, responsiveness, partner voice, and broad equity ownership. He outlines Steward’s differentiated M&A approach centered on “sell and stay,” multi-generational teams, and preserving advisor identity rather than forcing short contracts or major changes. Gold describes the advisor of the future as more planning- and relationship-focused, highlights AI as both the biggest opportunity and key competitive risk, and reiterates the value of independence and fiduciary alignment for clients. He closes with Steward’s ambition to reach $100B in assets and notes significant recent asset growth. Learn more about Zephyr here: Learn more about Steward Partners here. 00:00 Welcome and Disclosures 00:40 Steward Symposium Setup 01:32 Meet Jim Gold 01:57 Steward Origin Story 02:53 Building Something Different 04:01 Unstoppable Culture 06:03 Scaling Without Losing Culture 07:25 Staying Competitive With M&A 10:06 Protecting Culture as You Grow 12:30 Advisor of the Future 15:15 AI Risks and Opportunities 17:58 Recruiting Top Talent 20:08 Why Independence Matters 22:12 Lessons and Five Year Vision 24:11 Closing Thanks and Where to Listen Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    25 min

  2. 5d ago

    How to Actually Use AI in Wealth Management

    In this episode of Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast, host Ryan Nauman welcomes Mohan Gurupackiam, CIO at Steward Partners, to discuss how wealth management’s view of AI has shifted from curiosity and pilots to operationalization with governance and safe scaling. Mohan explains how firms are using AI as part of an advisor’s daily operating system—supporting meeting prep and automation, opportunity identification, communications, and eliminating non-value work—while noting investment research adoption remains limited due to trust. They cover key obstacles including data foundations, regulatory uncertainty, behavioral resistance and change management, legacy architecture, and talent gaps. Mohan emphasizes keeping humans in the loop, starting small with clear ROI, and combating advisor tech fatigue. He closes with three strategic advantages: unified data and context, productivity economics, and end-to-end automation. Learn more about Zephyr here. Learn more about Steward Partners here. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 01:11 Meet Mohan Gurupackiam 02:05 Steward Partners Overview 04:30 AI Mindset Shift 07:03 AI in Advisor Workflows 09:57 Human First AI Strategy 13:44 Implementation Roadblocks 19:17 Where AI Delivers Impact 24:53 Getting Started with AI 27:47 Tech Stack Fatigue 30:54 Winning in a Commoditized World 32:57 Wrap Up and Resources Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    35 min

  3. Jun 17

    The Hidden Risks of Private Markets You Can’t Ignore

    Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast with Dana D’Auria, Group President of Solutions and Co-CIO at Envestnet, discussing the growing role of private markets in wealth management. D’Auria explains how Envestnet combines asset management and wealth tech, then outlines key trends: companies staying private longer, increased demand from the wealth channel, and expanded use of vehicles like interval funds, tender offers, private BDCs, and private REITs. They emphasize that “semi-liquid” vehicles can become illiquid during dislocations, and highlight major risks including illiquidity, return dispersion across managers, and valuation/marking differences versus public markets that can overstate diversification metrics like correlation. D’Auria advises using specialist due diligence, evaluating tail-risk metrics, and leveraging available education from asset managers and resources such as Tony Davidow’s book. Zephyr can help financial advisors create modern diversified portfolios learn more here. To learn more about Envestnet here. 00:00 Podcast kickoff 01:18 Meet Dana D'Auria 03:41 Wealth tech meets investing 05:52 Why private markets boom 09:09 Diversification reality check 13:00 IPOs and index impact 16:11 Access vehicles expand 18:00 Advisor adoption spectrum 21:21 Interval funds liquidity 26:34 Key risks and due diligence 34:21 Education and wrap-up Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    38 min

  4. Jun 16

    Trading ETFs and Sports Cards: A Parallel Conversation

    From Lake Tahoe, Zephyr market strategist Ryan Nauman welcomes back Lance McGray, Managing Director and Head of ETF Product at Advisors Asset Management (AAM), to compare today’s booming ETF landscape with the exploding sports card market. They discuss record ETF growth, lower barriers to entry, and how an influx of new and exotic products can create “noise” for investors—much like chasing rare pulls in hobby boxes. McGray emphasizes discipline, due diligence, and focusing on strategies with longevity, including ways to evaluate active ETFs with limited live track records through conversions or composites. The conversation also covers how marketing drives attention, why relationships and education matter, and AAM’s focus on income generation, dividend sustainability, and avoiding dividend cutters using free cash flow as a key lens. 00:00 Welcome and Setup 01:28 Meet Lance McGray 02:28 Lance Background and AAM 05:21 Sports and Investing Converge 06:32 ETFs vs Sports Cards 10:57 Noise and Gambling Risks 12:01 Discipline and Game Plan 13:45 Spotting ETF Longevity 14:53 Active ETFs and Track Records 20:32 Singles Doubles Approach 24:37 Marketing Hype and Relationships 30:50 Long Term Qualities Income Focus 35:06 Favorite Cards and Wrap Up 36:45 Where to Learn More 37:21 Final Thanks and Outro Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    38 min

  5. Jun 3

    How Financial Advisors Can Add Value Through Investment Management

    Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast and interviews Manju Boraiah, Head of Systematic Fixed Income and Co-Head of Custom SMAs at Allspring, a privately owned global asset manager with about $625B AUM. They discuss the evolution of systematic fixed income investing and why models require “hands on the wheel” as regimes change. Manju identifies outsourced investment management as a major trend, driven by advisors’ time constraints, customization needs, and demand for tax efficiency, fueling growth in custom SMAs, active ETFs, and third-party and custom models. They explore how advisors can add value through better goal-to-portfolio mapping, household-level portfolio coordination, and holistic tax efficiency, and highlight the industry’s biggest gap as “aggregation without integration.” Manju describes the move from UMA to unified managed household (UMH) platforms and how AI—especially workflow orchestration—could help integrate front, middle, and back office processes at scale. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 01:17 Meet Manju Boraiah 04:05 Systematic Fixed Income Explained 07:47 Big Trend Outsourced Investing 11:45 How Advisors Add Value Now 15:42 Unsolved Problem Integration Gap 21:22 Beyond UMA to Managed Households 25:07 AI Levels and Workflow Orchestration 29:27 Wrap Up and Where to Learn More Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    32 min

  6. Jun 1

    Is it Time to Stop Overlooking Municipal Bonds?

    From Lake Tahoe, Zephyr’s Adjusted Risk Podcast welcomes Eric Kazatsky, Client Portfolio Manager at MacKay Municipal Managers, an $85–$86B specialist in tax-exempt and taxable municipal strategies across ETFs, mutual funds, interval funds, and limited partnerships. The conversation covers today’s macro uncertainty—sticky inflation, rate direction, yield-curve shape, geopolitics—and why munis can help portfolios through low correlation, diversification, and tax-equivalent income potential. Kazatsky discusses a defensive posture using higher coupons, where MacKay sees relative value on the muni curve (about 17–22 years), how munis follow Treasuries directionally while facing distinct domestic fundamentals, and why taxable munis exist and can offer attractive spread and institutional-grade issuers. He also explains active vs. passive considerations in a market with many issuers and index gaps, and shares where to find MacKay’s research and updates online. Learn how Zephyr can help you show the impact Municipal Bonds have on investment portfolios. Learn more about Zephyr here. Learn more about MacKay Municipal Managers here. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 01:19 Meet Eric and MacKay 02:48 Munis in Real Life 03:30 Interval Funds Explained 04:32 Macro Backdrop and Rates 07:05 Best Spots on the Curve 08:15 Geopolitics and Muni Resilience 11:40 Taxable vs Tax Free Munis 13:45 Why Munis Get Overlooked 16:40 Interest Rate Volatility and Liquidity 18:25 Active vs Passive in Munis 21:36 How Advisors Should Use Munis 22:57 Where to Learn More 23:49 Final Thanks and Sign Off Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    24 min

  7. May 29

    Mastering Energy Market Trends for Portfolio Growth

    Recorded on location at the Exchange ETF Conference, Zephyr market strategist Ryan Nauman speaks with Mark Marifian, Head of Product at Tortoise Capital, about why energy belongs in portfolios and common misconceptions that it’s only about crude prices or big integrated oil companies. Marifian explains the breadth of energy sub-sectors, highlights midstream’s fee-based, repeatable cash flows, and discusses how energy infrastructure can provide income and inflation protection through contract and tariff adjustments linked to PPI. They cover how allocators may bucket energy within income, real assets, or core/satellite equity exposures, and why energy’s small S&P 500 weight may create opportunity. Marifian also outlines MLPs’ role, introduces Tortoise’s TMLP ETF, and discusses data-center/AI-driven demand, energy security, and an oil “sweet spot” range of $60–$90. Learn more about Zephyr here. Learn more about Tortoise Capital here. 00:00 Welcome and Disclosures 00:41 Energy in the Spotlight 01:28 Meet Mark Marifian 02:50 Why Energy Belongs in Portfolios 05:13 Misconceptions and Energy Subsectors 07:11 Energy’s Small S&P Weight 08:23 Where Energy Fits in Allocation 10:21 MLPs Explained and Income Potential 11:26 How to Access MLPs with TMLP 12:50 Future Demand from AI and Security 15:12 Oil at $100 and the Forward Curve 17:17 The Sweet Spot for Oil Prices 18:32 Wrap Up and Where to Learn More

    20 min

  8. May 26

    Why Beating the Market Is Hard and How Advisors Add Value

    Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast with Mike Willis, CEO and co-founder of Cyber Hornet ETFs, discussing why consistently beating the market is difficult and how advisors can add value through asset allocation, discipline, and client coaching. Willis shares his background from wirehouses to launching an RIA and creating investment products to make his strategies accessible to smaller investors, including why he shifted to using the S&P 500 as a portfolio backbone after underperforming in 2013–2014. He explains Cyber Hornet’s 75/25 approach—75% S&P 500 with a 25% crypto “kicker” (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or XRP) rebalanced monthly—to buffer volatility while gaining crypto exposure, and discusses crypto “winter,” technical patterns, scarcity fundamentals, regulatory clarity, and the still-low adoption of crypto by financial advisors. Zephyr can help financial advisors create modern diversified portfolios. Learn more here. Learn more about Cyber Hornet ETFs here. 00:00 Podcast Kickoff 01:30 Meet Mike Willis 02:26 Advisor Value Beyond Alpha 03:55 Why Build a Fund Platform 05:33 From Active to Index Core 06:33 Adding a Crypto Kicker 08:51 The Index Ticker Story 14:09 Why Crypto Beats Options 15:26 Bitcoin Adoption Waves 18:38 Crypto Winter Explained 24:08 What Ends the Downturn 27:23 Advisor Adoption Outlook 29:32 Wrap Up and Resources Connect with Ryan Nauman: LinkedIn X

    31 min
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Zephyr's Adjusted for Risk podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Market Strategist Ryan Nauman that brings together wealth management trends, financial markets, investments, economics and life to help investment professionals prepare for the week ahead and help them make more informed investment decisions on behalf of their clients. Industry leaders join the show to provide expert insights in a fun and engaging format to help investment professionals grow their businesses and stay ahead of the trends impacting investor's investment decisions.

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