Pragmatic Capitalism – Most people know me for the financial website I write called Pragmatic Capitalism.  I founded this site during the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis as much of my research on the monetary system and financial system centered around debt based booms and busts.  I had foreseen the housing/credit bubble and I was extremely concerned about the policy response to the crisis and alarmed by the lack of understanding with regards to the cause of the crisis and the financial system as a whole.  The website was a way to express my views and opinions.  What started as an anonymous hobby blossomed into a website generating over 1 million page views a month and unexpectedly became part of my everyday life.  It’s now the place where I pass along interesting insights, stand on my soapbox and try to educate as best I can.

Orcam Financial Group – Orcam Financial Group is the financial firm I founded in 2013.  I’ve spent over a decade in the financial services industry bouncing from big firms to starting my own successful investment partnership to transitioning into a business model that I felt was best suited to servicing my clients in a manner that truly focused on the client and not just generating revenues for the firm.  A decade of learning and soul searching resulted in Orcam Financial Group which is a fee only investment advisory firm that allows me to work with institutions and individuals by executing on all of the knowledge and expertise I have gathered over the years.  Most importantly, it has provided me with the opportunity to connect with people at a personal level where I can provide them with a superior understanding of their finances and really make a difference in their lives through empowering them and educating them.

Research & Professional Writing – In addition to the more relaxed writing I do on the website, I am extremely passionate about writing in a more professional sense.  I am the author of “Understanding the Modern Monetary System”, one of the all-time most widely read academic papers on the SSRN network.  I am also fortunate to have my research and writing regularly cited and/or reprinted in the Financial Times, CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.  In addition, my first published book, “Pragmatic Capitalism”,  is due in July of 2014 thanks to the help of Palgrave Macmillan and a superb team of people I’ve been working with for the last year.  It’s my hope that the book will provide a succinct, but thorough understanding of the monetary system and our financial world that will help the layperson as well as financial experts to better navigate a seemingly impossible puzzle.

Education & Giving Back – I am extremely passionate about teaching and giving back to those in need.  In addition to trying to always educate young people and readers of Pragmatic Capitalism I am always trying to be involved in furthering the financial education of future generations.  One project I am particularly excited to be working with is NextGenVest which is a non-profit organization dedicated to trying to better educate young people about the financial world.  We work individually with high school students to provide them with a sound understanding of basic as well as more advanced financial concepts.  I feel very passionately about the lack of financial education that is provided in our educational systems and I hope that more ventures like NextGenVest can begin to provide future generations with a better understanding of money and finance so they can navigate our monetary system without feeling lost and alone.