Today's guest is Chris Hyzy. Chris is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer supporting Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill Lynch (within Bank of America Corporation). He leads investment strategy, asset allocation, equity and fixed income management, due diligence, and wealth planning guidance.

Previously, he was CIO and Chief Investment Strategist for the Private Bank at Bank of America. Before that, he held senior investment roles at Citigroup Private Bank, including CIO for Latin America and chair of the Global Investment Themes Committee. He also led investment strategy teams at Merrill earlier in his career.

Chris holds a bachelor's degree in business from Villanova University and an MBA in finance from NYU's Stern School of Business. He serves on Villanova's board of trustees and has held other advisory and nonprofit investment roles.

In today's episode, we discussed:

· Chris shared his early career story, which began at Merrill in 1991, learning about finance after being cut from the baseball team at Villanova & focusing instead on investing.

· Discussion of Chris's experience coaching sports (football, basketball) and keeping his competitive edge outside of work, noting his national championship softball team.

· Chris described the BofA Chief Investment Office (CIO) structure, highlighting manager due diligence, thought leadership, portfolio management, & wealth structuring.

· Emphasis on encouraging team members to pursue the CFA designation (worth noting he was a CFA candidate before he pursued his MBA at NYU)

· Discussed the balance of absolutes vs. probabilities in market forecasting, including the importance of scenario planning, with their current base case being a "soft patch" rather than an imminent recession, referencing the resilience of the consumer and job market.

· Exploration of valuations, equity allocations, and continuing opportunities in global markets & alternative assets as a diversifier.

· Chris spoke about the evolving office market in commercial real estate, seeing "slow burn" adjustments and repositioning as potential outcomes.

· Final thoughts touched on best practices for young professionals: keys being curious, prepared, & disciplined.

· Chris named Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as two historical figures he would want to interview if the tables were turned & he were the host of the Investors First Podcast.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Steven Rogers, CFA (VP, Capital Markets at Hillpointe).

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com