Unprecedented Leverage in Equities: A Ticking Time Bomb? Michael Green

Interview recorded - 21st of July, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Mike Green. Mike Green is Chief Strategist and Portfolio Manager at Simplify Asset Management, and one of the most influential voices on market structure in finance today.During our conversation we spoke about the current situation in markets, the ever increasing leverage through ETF's, what this means for market structure, geopolitical impact and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:14 - Overview of the economy and markets?9:02 - Leverage in market12:26 - Hyperscalers fundraising 16:42 - Systemic credit risks?19:04 - Markets driving economy?21:46 - Strong economy24:56 - Geopolitical impact28:23 - China and BRICS29:55 - Plaza accord 2.0?35:00 - US rising vs China?38:52 - FED/treasury backstopping40:26 - Financial nihilism41:42 - One message to takeawayMichael has been a student of markets and market structure, for nearly 30 years. His proprietary research into the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies has been presented to the Federal Reserve, the BIS, the IMF and numerous other industry groups and associations.Michael joined Simplify in April 2021 after serving as Chief Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Logica Capital Advisers, LLC. Prior to Logica, Michael managed macro strategies at Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel. Prior to Thiel, Michael founded Ice Farm Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund seeded by Soros Fund Management. From 2006-2014, Michael founded and managed the New York office of Canyon Capital Advisors, a $23B multi-strategy hedge fund based in Los Angeles, CA, where he established their global macro strategies, managing in excess of $5B of exposure across equity, credit, FX, commodity and derivative markets.In addition to his work as a market theorist and portfolio manager, Michael has been noted for his work as a public speaker and financial media participant. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a CFA holder.Michael Green - Substack - https://www.yesigiveafig.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/profplum99LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-green-9a15142/Simplify - https://www.simplify.us/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas