Ben Hunt
Co-Founder and CIO
Ben Hunt is the creator of Epsilon Theory and inspiration behind Second Foundation Partners, which he co-founded with Rusty Guinn in June 2018.
Epsilon Theory, Second Foundation’s principal publishing brand, is a newsletter and website that examines markets through the lenses of game theory and history. Over 100,000 professional investors and allocators across 180 countries read Epsilon Theory for its fresh perspective and novel insights into market dynamics. As Chief Investment Officer, Ben bears primary responsibility for determining the Company’s investment views and positioning of model portfolios. He is also the primary author of materials distributed through Epsilon Theory.
Ben taught political science for 10 years: at New York University from 1991 until 1997 and (with tenure) at Southern Methodist University from 1997 until 2000. He also wrote two academic books: Getting to War (Univ. of Michigan Press, 1997) and Policy and Party Competition (Routledge, 1992), which he co-authored with Michael Laver. Ben is the founder of two technology companies and the co-founder of SmartEquip, Inc., a software company for the construction equipment industry that provides intelligent schematics and parts diagrams to facilitate e-commerce in spare parts.
He began his investment career in 2003, first in venture capital and subsequently on two long/short equity hedge funds. He worked at Iridian Asset Management from 2006 until 2011 and TIG Advisors from 2012 until 2013. He joined Rusty at Salient in 2013, where he combined his background as a portfolio manager, risk manager, and entrepreneur with academic experience in game theory and econometrics to work with Salient’s own portfolio managers and its financial advisor clients to improve client outcomes.
Ben is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (1986) and earned his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University in 1991. He lives in the wilds of Redding, CT on Little River Farm, where he personifies the dilettante farmer that has been a stock comedic character since Cicero's day. Luckily his wife, Jennifer, and four daughters, Harper, Hannah, Haven and Halle, are always there to save the day. Ben's hobbies include comic books, Alabama football, beekeeping, and humoring Rusty in trivia "competitions".
Articles by Ben:
Jay Powell channels Arthur Burns, a Fed model for congressional budget debates, and a smorgasbord of Boeing bagholder quotes. All in a day’s work for the Zeitgeist!
The Lyft IPO prospectus is out today, so we’re sure to hear plenty of dueling banjos in financial media over the next few weeks and months. It was a fun vacation for Burt Reynolds and the boys at the start of that movie.
Also, more on ESG and other myths in today’s Zeitgeist.
“Oh, little Jimmy is going to 20-Years-Ago-This-Was-A-Second-Rate-University? I hear really good things about that school. Congratulations!”
“Thanks! We’re all very pleased. Everyone except my bank account, that is. Hahaha!”
It’s true, everyone is VERY pleased by the current system. Prestige university credentialing is a steam valve … \whispers\ just like elections.
Uncle Wilbur’s MNPI trades on his personal account may get a pass, but that darn census will be the ruin of him.
Also, announcing VaxDirectClub … the safe and cost-effective way to administer your kids’ immunizations from the convenience of your own home!
TFW a Chinese “social video and online dating specialist” called Momo just isn’t momentum-y enough for you, but the Raccoon tandem of Fox Business and Motley Fool is there to help you out with “even better buys”.
Plus the Stanford shadow economy for profs, the War against Big Everything, and all the Fiat News that’s fit to read.
Where are we in March, 2019? We’re seeing a resurgence in the Narrative and policies associated with a good old fashioned beggar-thy-neighbor currency competition.
Also, here’s our summary of where we think we are in each of the five evergreen macro issues of markets – inflation, central banks, trade and tariffs, US fiscal policy, and the credit cycle.
We are immersed 24/7 in a Fiat World, where we are TOLD that inflation does not exist, where we are TOLD that wealth inequality and meager productivity and negative savings rates just “happen”, where we are TOLD we must vote for ridiculous candidates and buy ridiculous securities and borrow ridiculous sums.
We’re not Flat Earthers. Ha Ha! Those guys are idiots! Can you imagine believing that stuff?
No, we’re not Flat Earthers. We are Fiat Earthers.
Ladies and gentlemen, your narrative-world assault words du jour … “sponsored content”, “democratic justifications”, “fishing expeditions”, “diversification”, “value investing”, and “growth of $1”.
The ET Zeitgeist, because if you don’t know who the sucker is at the poker table … it’s you.
Kashkari on Brexit, Cramer on Tesla, Breitbart on China, and “shorting unethical stocks” … all in a day’s work for The Zeitgeist!
Every morning, we run The Narrative Machine on the past 24 hours worth of financial media to find the articles that are representative of some sort of chord that has been struck in Narrative-world. They’re not the best articles – often far from it – but they will arm you for the Narrative wars of the day ahead.
Fiat News and narrative construction galore in today’s set of the most on-narrative financial media articles.
What links them all? Dopamine is a helluva drug.