Ben Reiter is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and the author of Astroball:  The New Way to Win It All.  He joined SI in 2004 a few years out of college and has written for them ever since. In 2014 Ben wrote a cover story for SI entitled YOUR 2017 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS featuring the then sorry Astros who were the laughingstock of baseball at the time.  Three years later, his prediction came true. His book chronicling the journey has been dubbed Moneyball 2.0. Our conversation blew me away in how closely the parallels have been between baseball management and fundamental investing over the last 15 years.  From the incorporation of data to the challenges in managing people, I suspect if you just change the names of the players and the labels for the process, this could be a full blown conversation about investing. Baseball may even be ahead of the data revolution in investing, and the story of the Astros could hint at lessons that money managers will need to apply going forward.  Discuss the show and Read the transcript   Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com   Write a review on iTunes   Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides   For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

Investment luminary Charley Ellis is the founder of Greenwich Associates, author of 16 books, and one of the most sought-after industry advisors worldwide.  He also believes deeply in the paradox of skill and his latest book, The Index Revolution: Why Investors Should Join It Now, presents a compelling case for indexing for most investors.. Charley was an early guest on the show and we reconvened to talk through the full case of indexing for individuals and some of its constraints for institutions.  Our conversation covers the case for indexing, smart beta, the retirement problem, investing in alternatives, private equity, and indexing challenges in emerging markets. After we turned off the recording, Charley proffered that we offer a prize for anyone who can find valid fault with the case against active management for most investors. Any takers can drop me an email, and I’ll be happy to put them toe-to-toe with Charley to debate the issue. Discuss the show and Read the transcript   Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com   Write a review on iTunes   Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides   For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast