RWH038: The $2.6 Trillion Man w/ Rick Rieder

In this rare, in-depth interview, William Green chats with super investor Rick Rieder, who oversees about $2.6 trillion at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. Rick, who probably manages more money than any other investor on Earth, has an enormous range of responsibilities: he’s BlackRock’s chief investment officer of Global Fixed Income, head of the firm’s Global Allocation Investment Team, and chairman of the firm-wide BlackRock investment council. A true titan of the investing world, he recently won Morningstar’s 2023 award for Outstanding Portfolio Manager.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

05:57 - What Rick Rieder learned from a disastrous early investment.

24:43 - Why he focuses relentlessly on leverage, liquidity, & cashflow.

40:13 - How access to vast amounts of data gives him an edge.

43:27 - How he distinguishes meaningful news from meaningless noise.

49:13 - Why he gets grumpy in bull markets & relishes periods of dislocation.

55:49 - What great investors like Ray Dalio & David Tepper have in common.

57:46 - How Rick views the current economic outlook.

1:03:16 - How to take advantage of the “incredible blessing” of high bond yields.

1:13:31 - How he operates on 4 1⁄2 hours of sleep.

1:16:00 - Why he loves to trade in the middle of the night.

1:19:34 - How he handles extreme levels of stress & responsibility.

1:24:40 - How he’s maintained a happy family life, despite a fanatical work ethic.

1:30:36 - Why his hero is Cal Ripken, the Iron Man of baseball.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

• Rick Rieder’s article on “The Fixed Income Opportunity for 2024”.
• Rick Rieder’s Strategic Income Opportunities Fund.
• Rick Rieder’s Total Return Fund.
• Follow Rick Rieder on X (AKA Twitter).
• William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – read the reviews of this book.
• William Green’s podcast interview with Ray Dalio | YouTube video.
• Follow William Green on X (AKA Twitter).
• Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here.

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