Ignacio Ramirez Moreno, CFA

Private Bank (Switzerland)

Fixed Income Advisor

ISFB - Institut Supérieur de Formation Bancaire

• I teach fixed income fundamentals and portfolio construction at ISFB as part of the Investment Advisor Certificate program.

Finance Lecturer

BNP Paribas Wealth Management

• Headed Switzerland’s Fixed Income Advisory Desk offering and product development
• Responsible for the active coverage of the Emerging Markets debt book exposure of Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco
• Permanent speaker of the “Weekly Investment Ideas” presentation, exposing to the Swiss Front Office the latest views and recommendations of the Fixed Income Advisory Desk
• Trained regularly the Swiss Front Office on Fixed Income concepts in the context of an initiative to award internal diplomas to Relationship Managers and Investment Counselors
• Collaborated with the Paris-based Global Fixed Income Advisory Desk in order to shape the investment strategy of the group, enhance client engagement and comply with existing and upcoming regulations

HSBC Private Bank

•	Managed actively standard and bespoke Emerging Markets Fixed Income advisory portfolios for clients based worldwide
•	Engineered and monitored the bank's Emerging Markets fixed income product offering, specializing in hard currency debt
•	Contributed to the generation of tactical and strategic investment ideas across asset classes
•	Participated in the Emerging Markets fixed income committee shaping the investment strategy of HSBC Private Bank
•	Presented to ultra-high net worth individuals, institutional clients and within the bank on current market conditions and trade ideas
•	Responsible for preparing and distributing on a daily basis the Emerging Markets Advisory Desk publications (e.g. outlooks, bond lists, new issues analysis, corporate actions, country/company ad hoc notes)

Emerging Markets Investment Advisor

•	Measured portfolio risk indicators and implemented remediation action plans
•	Prepared material for the “Sales Quality Standards” HSBC training program and provided support in the process of granting internal structured products licenses

Business Risk and Control Management - Graduate Analyst

•	Supported Investment Advisors by reviewing client accounts and proposing changes in their holdings in line with the bank’s views across asset classes
•	Created an interactive platform that filters HSBC’s selected bond universe and generates tailor-made lists

Investment Advisory Latin America and Europe - Graduate Analyst

•	Backed relationship managers in order to meet ultra-high net worth individuals’ requirements
•	Performed an exploratory study on how the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act regulation would impact HSBC Private Bank and its activities from 2011 onwards

Relationship Management Latin America - Summer Analyst

Praetorian Capital

•	Assisted Spanish and French publicly listed companies to raise capital through private placements 
•	Managed process from initial company screening until terms sheet signature

Country Manager Spain & France

Opinno

•	Evaluated business plans and technology feasibility proposals of Spanish start-ups seeking to obtain private equity and business angels funding
•	Contributed to the management of the MIT Technology Review magazine in its Spanish version overseeing both its content and the management of its partners

Summer Analyst

I’m a fixed income advisor by day, a finance nerd by nature, and someone who genuinely loves making complex stuff easier to understand.

I’ve spent the last decade working with three large private banks in Switzerland, helping clients navigate bond markets, portfolio strategy, and global macroeconomic shifts. From building fixed income advisory platforms to advising UHNW clients globally, I’ve been lucky to work at the intersection of markets and people.

But there’s more to me than bonds.

I host The Blunt Dollar, a weekly podcast where I get to ask big questions to some of the smartest minds in finance. We delve into the human side of money, exploring the stories behind the strategies and what truly drives decisions in this industry.

I also teach finance courses, speak at industry events, and jump into creative side projects whenever I can. I believe finance doesn’t have to be dry or intimidating. It can be personal, curious, even fun if you tell it right. 💖

I’m especially fascinated by how AI is changing the game in finance, not just in portfolio construction and research, but in how we tell stories with data. I’m always exploring where human judgment and machine intelligence can work together.

Originally from Spain, I now live in Switzerland, having called eight countries home. I’m a CFA charterholder and hold two Master’s degrees. However, what really drives me is learning something new and sharing it in a way that sticks.

If you want to chat markets, fixed income, content creation, or throw around some random finance ideas, my DMs are always open.

P.S. I post daily about markets and all the weird and wonderful stuff happening in finance. If you're into money with a personality, hit follow. Expect charts, takes, and plenty of emojis along the way. 💸

Big Tech is betting $3 trillion that AI chips won't become worthless in 5 years.

And the depreciation tsunami heading their way could make the dot-com crash look quaint.

Think about it.

Hyperscalers are dropping $400 billion THIS YEAR on GPUs that age on dog years.

Unlike railroads or fiber optic cables from previous booms, these chips have a shelf life of maybe 5 years. 

The accounting gymnastics are Olympic-level:

↳ Meta extends server life to 5.5 years (was 4)
↳ Instant $2 billion profit boost
↳ Meanwhile, rental rates for 2-year-old chips crashed 33%

CoreWeave says 6 years is "incredibly comfortable."
Nebius uses 4 years.
Scaleway thinks 3 is realistic.

Someone's lying to themselves.

And meanwhile, some private credit funds are using these rapidly depreciating GPUs as collateral.

Firms are lending billions against assets that could be worthless before the loans mature.

Legendary short-seller Michael Burry last week said the market is wrong.

Sure, these chips can be repurposed.

Older GPUs work fine for AI inference, less demanding tasks, or emerging markets.

Google claims their 7-year-old TPUs still have "100% utilization."

But that's like saying your 2017 iPhone still works. Technically true. Competitively dead.

The brutal math nobody wants to discuss:

Today: $400 billion capex
2029: $3 trillion total investment
Depreciation by 2027: $240 billion annually

That's not a one-time cost. It's EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

Amazon already reversed course: back to 5-year depreciation from 6. They see "increased pace of technology development."

Translation: Our old assumptions were fantasy.

My two cents: This only works if AI revenues explode AND productivity gains are massive AND companies can afford perpetual upgrades.

Otherwise? We're financing the most expensive hamster wheel in history.

The dot-com bubble at least left us fiber optic cables we still use.

This bubble might leave us warehouses full of obsolete silicon.

Is this the infrastructure investment that defines the next century, or the biggest misallocation of capital we've ever seen?

And the question keeping me up at night:

What happens if hyperscaler CFOs realize they've been playing accounting games with assets that depreciate like bananas?

What's your take?

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Finance nerd 🤓 | Host of The Blunt Dollar Podcast 🎙️ | Investment Week 15 Industry Talents 🏆 | Posts daily about financial markets 📈

Remember when tariffs were supposed to destroy corporate America?

Yeah, about that.

US companies just posted their best earnings in 4 years.

Median growth hit 11% in Q3.

Think about that.

Six months ago, every CEO was warning about the apocalypse:

"Tariffs will crush margins!" "Supply chains will collapse!" "Growth is dead!"

Fast forward to today:

↳ JPMorgan: Bumper profits 
↳ Goldman Sachs: Record trading income
↳ Microsoft & Alphabet: Beat all estimates
↳ Ford & GM: Smaller tariff hit than expected

And the frequency of earnings surprises is at the highest since the Covid reopening.

Goldman's equity strategist called it: "In our 25-year data history, this has been surpassed only during 2020-2021."

Translation: Companies are crushing it at levels we've rarely seen.

Here's the brutal truth about predictions:

Wall Street spent all year pricing in disaster. Trade war! Recession! Margin compression!

Instead, companies did what they always do. They adapted.

They found workarounds. Absorbed costs. Passed some to consumers who kept spending anyway.

The pattern never changes:
↳ Markets price in the worst
↳ Experts predict catastrophe
↳ Reality shows up less dramatic
↳ Everyone acts surprised afterwards

So next time someone screams about the end of the world, remember Q3 2025.

When tariffs were supposed to kill everything.

And companies posted their best numbers since 2021 instead.

Are we all just addicted to pricing in disasters that never actually show up?

What's the next doomsday prediction that won't age well?

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Talks about #finance, #markets, #investing, #fixedincome, and #stockmarket

Calvin Gastaud 

The entire market just exhaled because one company didn't miss.

Nvidia posted $57bn revenue (beat by $2bn).

Shares popped 5%. Asian markets jumped 3.7%. Tech stocks rallied.

Think about that.

A single earnings call just shifted trillions in global market cap.

Not because of some breakthrough. Just because Jensen Huang said demand is still strong.

The dependency is getting uncomfortable:

↳ Nvidia sneezes, SPY catches pneumonia
↳ Blackwell ships on time, everything surges
↳ Huang mentions supply constraints, tech stocks crater

We've built a global equity market that swings on one company's GPU production schedule.

Remember when markets cared about Fed meetings? GDP prints? Employment data?

Now it's just: "What did Jensen say?" 😅

The problem is that when a $4.5 trillion company becomes the market's mood ring, we're not really diversified.. we're just pretending.

the AI bubble anxiety disappeared overnight.

Not because fundamentals changed. Not because new buyers emerged.

But because one CEO said the right words on a Wednesday afternoon.

Markets used to fear central banks. Now they fear semiconductor supply chains.

So here's what I'm wondering:

Is this the new normal? One company dictating global market sentiment?

What happens when Nvidia finally disappoints? Do we get a 2000-style contagion?

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Remember when everyone and their grandma said "cash is trash"? Well, money market assets just reached record levels.

The Fed cut rates twice this year.

Investors responded parking $8 trillion in money market funds.

This might be the smartest dumb money move in history.

After the cuts, markets cheered.

And investors responded by... doing absolutely nothing.

Actually, that's wrong. They did something.

They dumped another $848 billion into money market funds this year alone.

The Fed is trying to ease financial conditions, which usually pushes investors toward risk assets.

But is this actually happening?

Money market funds figured out the oldest trick in finance: Be slower than banks.

Banks cut deposit rates the second Powell opens his mouth.

Money market funds? They take their sweet time.

But here's the part that made me spit out my coffee:

Retail investors have 15-20% of their portfolios sitting in these funds.

Not because they're scared. Not because they're waiting for a crash.

Because they've done the math.

↳ No stress about market timing 
↳ ~4% (quasi) guaranteed with no volatility
↳ Sleep like a baby while your friends panic-trade

Some analysts believe money market funds are going to go even higher.

Question: Has the Fed lost control of where money goes?

Institutional treasurers are literally outsourcing cash management to these funds.

Why manage cash yourself when someone else will do it and pay you almost 4% in USD?

It's genius. Or laziness. Probably both.

My two cents: This isn't about safety or fear.

It's about a generation that watched 2008, survived COVID volatility, and decided:

"You know what? ~4% with zero drama sounds pretty good."

Policymakers wanted money to flow into equities. Into growth. Into risk.

Instead, it's sitting in the financial equivalent of a really nice mattress.

And growing by $105 billion per week.

Money market funds are now so big they ARE the market.

$8 trillion doesn't move without consequences.

So here's my question:

Is this rational behavior or are we watching the death of risk-taking?

And what happens when $8 trillion decides to move all at once? 👀

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The smartest investors I know are completely split on AI stocks.

I had dinner with two fund managers last week. 

One's all-in on NVDA. The other just shorted the entire sector.

I've been watching both sides duke it out, and honestly, they're both making compelling points.

Team Bubble says:

↳ Valuations are insane (NVDA at ~60x earnings)

↳ Reminds them of 1999 telecom buildout

↳ AI revenue is mostly circular

Team Breakthrough counters:

↳ Unlike dot-com, these companies print cash

↳ AI demand is real (OpenAI: $13B revenue run rate)

↳ We're still early (only 23% of companies have scaled beyond AI pilots)

Think about it.

In 2000, the top 4 tech stocks traded at 70x 2-year forward earnings. Today's AI leaders? Around 26x.

In 2001, tech earnings crashed 65%. Today's consensus? 17% growth next year.

My two cents: Both camps might be right.

Yes, some AI stocks are probably overvalued. Yes, some will crash spectacularly.

But also yes, AI is transforming entire industries. And yes, the winners will be worth trillions.

The pattern is uncomfortably familiar:
↳ New technology arrives
↳ Everyone loses their minds
↳ Massive overinvestment follows
↳ Most players die, few dominate everything

Railroad boom of 1840s? Same story.

Internet boom of 1990s? Same story.

AI boom of 2020s? Probably the same story.

So instead of asking "bubble or not?" maybe we should ask:

Which AI companies will be the Amazons of this cycle?

And which ones will be the Pets . com?

Which camp are you in?

And more importantly, what's making you confident in that call?

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Michael Craft, CFA

So… are we all about to lose our jobs to AI agents?

McKinsey just dropped its "State of AI 2025" report.

It’s both exciting and terrifying.

Some stats:
↳ 88% of companies say they use AI
↳ 67% admit they’re still “experimenting”
↳ Only 23% are actually scaling AI agents

But also → 32% of executives expect headcount to shrink this year because of AI.

Let that sink in.

One in three leaders is basically saying, “Yeah, we’ll probably need fewer humans soon.”

Meanwhile, the “AI high performers” (the 6% who are actually making real money from it) are spending 20% or more of their digital budgets on AI.

Everyone else is still stuck in pilot purgatory, showcasing their ChatGPT dashboards as if it were innovation.

So yeah, the robots aren’t “coming.”

They’re already in HR, Finance, and Marketing… they just haven’t replaced you yet.

So, the question is: will AI replace you, or will it amplify you?

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Ignacio Ramirez Moreno, CFA's Linkedin Analytics