November 13, 2025· 57 min

Cliff Asness on How Markets Got Dumber in the Last 10 Years

Cliff Asness

Orality

Model

50%

Speaker Breakdown

HostTracy Alloway(1,479 words)

M:29%

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,781 words)

M:94%

GuestCliff Asness(7,809 words)

M:29%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic30%

literally, completely, very

Engagement81%

you, our, your

Memory Aids100%

listen, now, right

Repetition100%

it's (104x), like (95x), they (76x)

Parallelism51%

And I'm Joe Weisenthal...., But And then our second episod..., And I don't think, at that poi...

Sound Patterns70%

91 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"

Formulaic Phrases2%

i mean

Literate Indicators

Hedging7%

may, maybe, might

Passive Voice3%

were worried, was called, is when

Abstract Nouns16%

investment, recommendation, business

Subordination4%

while, because, unless

Sentence Length24%

Avg: 11.1 words/sentence

Word Complexity45%

investment, analyze, anticipate

Academic Markers2%

according to

Impersonal Style19%

1056 personal pronouns found

Descriptive Style77%

literally, completely, apply

Description

The Odd Lots podcast has been around for 10 years. Unfortunately, markets have gotten less rational over the same time frame. At least this is the contention of Cliff Asness, the co-founder and CEO of AQR Capital Management, a quantitative investing firm that's been around for nearly three decades. Asness' approach to investing is rooted in academic theory, having studied under the legendary Eugene Fama at the University of Chicago. In the world of social media and meme stocks, it's tough out there for the academically minded. And that's forced Cliff to adjust his approach over time. On this episode, we talk about the history of quantitative investing, market efficiency, and the emergence of AI/ML in his process. We also talk about the reality of investing other people's money, and the challenge of sticking with one's convictions at a time when temporary forces are working against you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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