The Raise Your Average™ Podcast

The options income ETF industry just crossed $1 trillion in assets — and almost nobody is talking about the structural flaw buried inside every one of those products. David Dziekanski, co-founder, CEO, and CIO of Quantify Funds, spent nearly two decades building ETFs — more than 75 of them — before he saw a gap so fundamental he had to build something entirely new. In this episode of Raise Your Average, Pierre Daillie and Mike Philbrick sit down with David to examine what covered call and derivative income ETFs get wrong, why most investors don't realize it, and how Quantify's Stacked Income fund family — powered by Return Stacked ETFs and Convexitas as options sub-advisor — attempts to deliver income, full upside exposure, and genuine diversification without asking investors to choose between them.

Forget what you thought about merger arbitrage — it’s no longer out of reach for individual investors and advisors. In this episode, Corey Hoffstein, CIO at Newfound Research and co-creator of Return Stacked ETFs, joins us for a deep dive into merger arbitrage — a long-used institutional strategy that’s now accessible to retail and advisor portfolios via the RSBA ETF (Return Stacked Bonds & Arbitrage ETF) Corey explains that merger arbitrage isn’t just about betting on deals; it’s about systematically capturing a risk premium tied to time and deal closure uncertainty. With low correlation to stocks, bonds, and credit spreads, merger arb serves as a powerful diversifier — especially in today’s tight credit environment. The discussion covers how RSBA overlays this risk premium on top of core U.S. Treasuries, allowing investors to enhance returns without sacrificing their bond sleeve. Corey unpacks the return stacking framework, behavioral benefits, and why this method reduces "line item risk" while expanding portfolio breadth. This isn’t just theory — it’s a practical way for advisors and investors to get exposure to uncorrelated return streams, preserve core holdings, and finally access what institutions have done for decades.

Pierre Daillie and Mike Philbrick welcome Tony Dong—Lead ETF Analyst at ETF Central and founder of ETF Portfolio Blueprint— to the show to explore why investors may need to rethink their reliance on traditional portfolio diversifiers like long-term bonds. Dong pulls no punches, calling out the pitfalls of covered call ETFs, explaining how to think critically about buy-write strategies, and championing capital-efficient alternatives like return stacking, trend-following CTAs, and risk-managed overlays. The trio also dig into the strategic case for overlooked assets like Swiss equities and the Swiss franc, while sharing practical insights into investor behavior, rebalancing discipline, and building resilient portfolios in a stagflation-prone world.   🔖 Key Takeaways: Why blindly chasing high-yield covered call ETFs is a mistake The underrated power of trend-following as a crisis alpha tool How to use return stacking for smarter diversification Why Switzerland may be the ultimate geopolitical safe haven The behavioral traps investors fall into—and how to avoid them 🕒 Chapters: 00:00 – Tony Dong’s Risk-First Origin Story 03:45 – The Problem with Index-Based Covered Call ETFs 08:30 – Gold, Volatility, and Opportunistic Buy-Write Strategies 13:10 – QYLD: A Yield Trap in Disguise? 19:45 – When Bonds Fail: Gold and Trend as Alternatives 23:20 – Leveraging Diversification with Return Stacking 28:00 – Retail’s Dangerous Love Affair with Leveraged ETFs 31:40 – The Rise of Structured Protection: Put Spread Collars 36:20 – Why Low Vol and Min Vol May Be Broken Concepts 39:10 – Trend Following: The Case for Buying the Shop, Not the ETF 43:00 – Behavioral Risk and Staying the Course with Alternatives 47:30 – How to Rebalance for Real-World Portfolios 53:00 – Investor Psychology, Crisis Alpha, and Staying Invested 57:00 – The Case for Switzerland: Stability, Strength, and Sanity   Where to find Tony Dong ETF Portfolio Blueprint - https://etfportfolioblueprint.com Tony Dong, Lead ETF Analyst, ETF Central - https://www.etfcentral.com/author/tony-dong   #InvestingStrategy #ETFs #TrendFollowing #ReturnStacking #PortfolioDiversification #CoveredCalls #QYLD #Alternatives #CapitalEfficient #Gold #BehavioralFinance #TonyDong #RaiseYourAverage  

What happens when political ambition trumps economic reality? Doomberg lays it bare. In this episode, Doomberg returns to unpack the dangerous disconnect between Washington’s four-year campaign cycle and the multi-decade timelines required for industrial and energy investments. From Trump’s tariff threats to the fragility of global auto supply chains, we explore why the U.S. economy may be hurtling toward a recession of its own making. Doomberg dives deep into America's squandered energy advantage, China's calculated rise, and how short-term politics is colliding with long-term capital planning. If you care about markets, manufacturing, or the future of Western economic resilience — you don’t want to miss this one. Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction: Supply Chains, Tariffs, and Recession Risk 04:00 – Trump’s Strategy: Diagnosis vs. Execution 08:00 – Six Reasons Auto Tariffs Will Backfire 13:30 – EVs, China, and the Renewable Illusion 17:00 – Energy Politics: North America, Europe, and Asia Compared 22:00 – Reserves, Regulation, and the Bankability Crisis 27:30 – Capital Cycle vs. Political Cycle: The Core Mismatch 32:00 – Resource Riches and the Western Hemisphere Opportunity 39:00 – Natural Gas: Oversupplied, Undervalued, Unstoppable 44:30 – Energy Market Behavior: Spikes, Gluts, and Investor Strategy 49:00 – Why Projects Get Built Under Republicans, Profits Under Democrats 53:00 – Tariffs or Chaos? The Trump–Carney–Canada Connection 58:00 – Europe's Military Fantasy Meets Energy Reality 1:03:00 – War Fatigue, NATO, and the Illusion of Global Reach 1:09:00 – Final Thoughts: Diplomacy, Decline, and the Danger of Delusion #RecessionWatch, #EVRevolution, #TradeWar, #EnergyPolicy, #BYDvsTesla, #SupplyChainDisruption, #MadeInAmerica, #IndustrialPolicy, #GeopoliticalRisk, #CapitalMarkets

Is Wall Street turning investing into a casino? Dave Nadig reveals the hidden cracks in the ETF system, the explosive risks no one’s prepared for, and what financial advisors must understand before it’s too late. The ETF market has never been more innovative—or more dangerous. In this controversial conversation, industry veteran Dave Nadig breaks down the evolution of financial markets, the rise of speculative ETF products, and why unchecked leverage in the options market could be the next major financial disaster. Nadig also highlights Canada’s unique role in ETF innovation, the psychological battle between retail FOMO and institutional stability, and why financial advisors need to filter out the "black hats" from the "white hats" in today's investing world. This is a must-watch for investment professionals, advisors, and anyone trying to navigate an increasingly chaotic financial landscape. Chapters 0:00 – The ETF Industry’s Hidden Risks 1:21 – Canada vs. U.S.: Who Leads in ETF Innovation? 3:32 – Financial Chaos: Why Markets Feel Like a Circus 4:34 – The Power Play Behind Market Volatility 9:51 – Black Hats vs. White Hats: The Real ETF Battle 14:29 – Retail Speculation: A Dangerous Game? 17:13 – Why Passive Investing Still Wins (For Now) 26:15 – How to Survive as an Advisor in a Speculative Market 39:55 – The ETF Market’s Next Big Blow-Up 48:58 – Are Financial Regulators Being Dismantled? 53:40 – The ‘Buy The Dip’ Mentality: Will It Ever Break? 1:05:04 – Final Takeaways for Investors & Advisors #Investing #ETF #Finance #Markets #WallStreet #FinancialAdvisors #PassiveInvesting #StockMarket #OptionsTrading #RiskManagement #Trading #WealthManagement #InvestSmart

In this episode, Richard and Pierre are joined by the brilliant and always-provocative Doomberg. Known for slicing through political and energy-market noise with precision, Doomberg unpacks the seismic shifts rippling across the globe following the U.S. election. From the resurrection of "Drill, Baby, Drill" to the strategic chessboard of Big Tech’s nuclear ambitions, Doomberg delivers his signature contrarian takes on the interplay of energy, geopolitics, and the economy. Are we entering an era of “energy independence” under Trump 2.0, or is the green agenda facing its biggest existential test yet? Key Topics We Cover: 📉 Why "Drill, Baby, Drill" might spell doom for energy equities but a windfall for supply. ⚛️ The real path forward for nuclear energy in a tech-driven future. 🛢️ How America’s hydrocarbon bounty could reshape foreign policy—and why Europe should brace itself. 🤝 The shifting power dynamics in BRICS and why Brazil’s Lula might be playing 4D chess. 🌐 Why geopolitics is veering toward a dangerous game of brinkmanship across Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine. Best Quote: "Industrial might is a derivative of energy abundance. Let’s rebuild domestic industry. Energy is life; the absence of it is death." – Doomberg Hit PLAY now to dive into one of the most insightful energy and geopolitical discussions of the year! Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 3:45 - Trump’s Return: What it Means for Energy 15:30 - Big Tech’s Nuclear Gamble 23:00 - BRICS, Brazil, and the U.S. Pivot to the Western Hemisphere 35:00 - Middle East Flashpoints: Israel vs. Iran 45:00 - Taiwan’s Energy Crisis and Lessons from Germany Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more hard-hitting conversations. EnergyCrisis #Geopolitics #Doomberg #TrumpEnergyPolicy #BigTech #NuclearPower #GreenEnergy #OilAndGas #BRICS #AdvisorAnalyst Share your thoughts in the comments below—what's your take on the future of energy under Trump? Copyright © Raise Your Average, AdvisorAnalyst.com