About Erik Townsend

hedge fund manager Erik Townsend

Erik Townsend is a retired software entrepreneur turned hedge fund manager. Throughout his career, Erik has capitalized on his ability to understand complex systems and anticipate paradigm shifts far in advance of the mainstream. Read More...

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David S Rose 2013Erik Townsend and Aaron Chan welcome David S. Rose to MacroVoices. Erik and David discuss:

  • Background and introduction to angel investing and entrepreneurship through his great uncle David Rose
  • What angel investing actually is, how it might fit in a portfolio, and who it is suited for
  • The time-horizon, temperament, and risk-tolerance required for angel investing
  • The appropriate mind-set when approaching angel investing
  • Expected investment returns from angel investing and the role of diversification
  • Why it's “far better to invest in the jockey than on the horse”
  • Balancing and matching between entrepreneurial execution and bright ideas
  • Mechanics and funding sequence of an angel deal
  • Post-investment lifecycle 
  • The importance of networking with veteran angel investors prior to initial investments
  • How the Angel Capital Association vets angel investing groups
  • Learning through reading, finding a mentor, and investing
  • Gust.com angel investing platform, Singularity University and exponential technology

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Eric HunsaderErik Townsend and Aaron Chan welcome Eric Hunsader to MacroVoices. Erik and Eric discuss:

  • Regulation National Market System (NMS), securities information processors (SIPs), high-frequency trading (HFT), and latency arbitrage
  • Eric's incredible story of exposing the NYSE's selling of higher-speed data feeds to high-frequency traders
  • "Quote-stuffing" and how it provides an unfair advantage through compromising quote systems
  • Manual traders "spoofing" as a means of tricking algorithmic systems
  • The fallacy of HFT providing greater liquidity in the market
  • The legal immunity of U.S. exchanges as Self-Regulatory Organizations (SRO)
  • How retail investor orders are executed and taken advantage of by internalizers
  • Micro-timestamp resolution as a means for transparency
  • How IEX prevents latency arbitrage through "speed-bumping" by 1/1000th of a blink of an eye
  • The potential of combining power and integrity in a market devoid of transparency
  • Nanex's differentiated market data offering

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RealVision TV red 01A conversation on May 29, 2016 between Grant Williams and Stephanie Pomboy, founder of MacroMavens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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richard dicksonErik Townsend and Aaron Chan welcome Richard Dickson to MacroVoices. Erik and Richard discuss:

  • Lowry Research’s approach of looking at markets through buying power and selling pressure
  • The divergence in price action versus buying power and selling pressure indices
  • What the divergence means in terms of market accumulation or distribution
  • Dynamic of foreign capital flight in an environment of zero interest rates
  • Similarity between new market entrants in 1999 and present day
  • The poor balance of supply and demand in the FTSE 100 post-Brexit
  • The increase in the balance of selling in Italian equities, where 65% of stocks are trading on intermediate down-trends
  • Buying power topping and selling pressure accelerating in Italy and Spain prior to Brexit
  • How even a perceived economic stalwart like Germany is susceptible to weakening market conditions
  • Lagging European sectors relative to the rest of the world
  • Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Australian supply and demand dynamics
  • How much further U.S. indices have to advance before reaching a level that generates profit-taking

 

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E 4552Color 1Erik Townsend and Aaron Chan introduce the Accredited Investor Academy Series, Part I. We’re taking this week off from our regular show format, so instead of a featured interview guest, we’re airing the first of a four-part series about learning to be a sophisticated private investor.

Erik and Aaron discuss:

  • Erik's personal journey from successful software entrepreneur to hedge fund manager
  • What it means to be an accredited investor and the associated challenges that go along with the distinction
  • Private banking and possible red flags
  • Erik's personal experience with private bankers and "exclusive" investment deals
  • The lessons learned from the implosion of this "exclusive" private banking deal that resulted in substantial loss of capital
  • Erik's subsequent reinvention into a professional investor
  • The challenges associated with transfering from software business culture to Wall Street
  • Coming in Part II: The process of re-inventing oneself from Entrepreneur to sophisticated Private Investor
  • Coming in Parts III and IV: Angel investing, Venture Capital, Private Equity LPs, & Hedge Funds

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RealVision TV red 01A conversation on January 26, 2016 between Grant Williams and James Grant, author of Grant's Interest Rate Observer.

 

 

 

 

 

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Grant WilliamsErik Townsend welcomes Grant Williams to MacroVoices. Erik and Grant discuss:

  • Grant’s experience and insights from observing Brexit outside of the UK
  • The next-steps and long-run view for the UK post-Brexit
  • The potential of the EU making an example out of the UK to prevent other countries from leaving
  • The current political void in British politics and who might step-up to fill this void
  • The precarious state of the European banking system
  • Deutsche Bank’s status as “Too Big to Fail”
  • How Brexit will spread political contagion and stoke calls for referenda in other European countries
  • The likelihood of the Fed having to ease with only 25 bps of room
  • What the dollar and gold both moving higher portends for the state of the global economy
  • The non-zero probability of war as a means of resolving unsurmountable debt burdens
  • Possible war scenarios under Trump or Clinton
  • Grant’s wonderfully-done “Crazy” presentation on RVTV

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PROFESSOR STEVE KEEN headshotErik Townsend welcomes Steve Keen to MacroVoices. Erik and Professor Keen discuss:

  • Brexit's economic consequences and possible political spillover into other European countries
  • Ditching the ivory tower in favor of working with entrepreneurs
  • The emergence of alternative currencies backed by labor and assets
  • The possibility of an energy-backed currency
  • The fundamental ingredient of trust in alternative currencies
  • The risk of entrusting private enterprise with money creation
  • Negative interest rates and fractional reserve banking
  • Fading mainstream confidence in neoclassical central bankers
  • Possible catalysts for the next financial crisis

 

 

 

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RealVision TV red 01A conversation on May 23, 2016 between Grant Williams and Simon Mikhailovich, Co-Founder of Toqueville Bullion Reserve.

 

 

 

 

 

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John LlewellynErik Townsend welcomes John Llewellyn to MacroVoices. Erik and John discuss:

  • How the Brexit vote is simply a prelude to a highly uncertain process
  • Polling accuracy and the distinct possibility of Britain exiting the EU
  • The near-term economic impacts of Brexit on the British economy including lower foreign-direct investment and trade re-negotiations
  • The broader global economic impact of a “leave” vote
  • Brexit’s impact on the U.S. Dollar and the possibility of re-igniting a Asian debt crisis
  • Potential monetary policy accommodation from the ECB
  • The implications of Brexit on global oil prices
  • Rise of European populism as a leading indicator of the U.S. political theatre

 

 

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MACRO VOICES is presented for informational and entertainment purposes only. The information presented in MACRO VOICES should NOT be construed as investment advice. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making important investment decisions. The opinions expressed on MACRO VOICES are those of the participants. MACRO VOICES, its producers, and hosts Erik Townsend and Patrick Ceresna shall NOT be liable for losses resulting from investment decisions based on information or viewpoints presented on MACRO VOICES.

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