Erin Browne, Portfolio Manager, PIMCO

On this episode of the Alpha Exchange, Dean had the pleasure of catching up with Erin Browne, a Portfolio Manager at PIMCO. Through their discussion, we learn of Erin’s introduction to the study of macro, a discipline she instantly found fascinating and has underpinned her more than 2 decades career in markets. At Moore Capital through the build-up and ultimate unwind of the US housing bubble, Erin provides perspective she gathered during the GFC, laying out the time spent on idea generation as well as efforts to optimize the trade construction. Because these shorts became so large, having a game plan on profit-taking also became an important consideration. The conversation also focuses on the 2020 Pandemic, and how Erin and her team successfully positioned portfolios at PIMCO through that volatility episode. Surveying the set of risks that comprise today’s investing landscape, Erin is focused on inflation and, importantly, the Fed’s reaction function to the data. She sees vulnerability in “spec tech”, that equity market segment with lofty valuations and for which higher interest rates appear a real headwind. But there is value out there and in EM, Erin sees cheap assets on both the FX and equity side. Dean closes the conversation by soliciting Erin’s views on the opportunity set for women in finance. Recently named to the highly prestigious list of Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance, Erin is in a great position to share her views. She sees lots of progress, with excellent efforts to support women at the junior level and more still to do at the mid-level segment of female career development. Please enjoy Dean’s discussion with Erin Browne.

Om Podcasten

The Alpha Exchange is a podcast series launched by Dean Curnutt to explore topics in financial markets, risk management and capital allocation in the alternatives industry. Our in depth discussions with highly established industry professionals seek to uncover the nuanced and complex interactions between economic, monetary, financial, regulatory and geopolitical sources of risk. We aim to learn from the perspective our guests can bring with respect to the history of financial and business cycles, promoting a better understanding among listeners as to how prior periods provide important context to present day dynamics. The “price of risk” is an important topic. Here we engage experts in their assessment of risk premium levels in the context of uncertainty. Is the level of compensation attractive? Because Central Banks have played so important a role in markets post crisis, our discussions sometimes aim to better understand the evolution of monetary policy and the degree to which the real and financial economy will be impacted. An especially important area of focus is on derivative products and how they interact with risk taking and carry dynamics. Our conversations seek to enlighten listeners, for example, as to the factors that promoted the February melt-down of the VIX complex. We do NOT ask our guests for their political opinions. We seek a better understanding of the market impact of regulatory change, election outcomes and events of geopolitical consequence. Our discussions cover markets from a macro perspective with an assessment of risk and opportunity across asset classes. Within equity markets, we may explore the relative attractiveness of sectors but will NOT discuss single stocks.