Invested: The OMFIF Podcast

Hosted by OMFIF

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100

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to Invested, an economics podcast from OMFIF that brings thoughtful conversations on the forces shaping global finance and public policy in a rapidly evolving world. OMFIF's economists are joined regularly by academic experts, central bankers and investment professionals to uncover the trends and decisions influencing markets and institutions worldwide. Visit our website at www.omfif.org.

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August 11, 2026Episode 64231 min

Why bond investors cannot ignore the AI revolution

Artificial intelligence has transformed the conversation around investing, but much of the focus has remained on equity markets. As AI adoption accelerates across the global economy, its implications for fixed income investors are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. In this episode, Manusha Samaraweera, fixed income investment director at Capital Group, joins Mariam Khan, economist at OMFIF, to discuss his paper, ‘Why bond investors can’t ignore the AI revolution’. They explore how AI-driven productivity gains could influence sovereign debt dynamics and inflation over the long term, why the US may be better positioned than other regions to capture the benefits of AI and how the technology is creating both opportunities and risks across credit markets. Read the Capital Group paper, ‘Why bond investors can’t ignore the AI revolution’.

August 6, 2026Episode 64128 min

Tokenised deposits and the future of money

Tokenised deposits are putting commercial banks back in the centre of the evolution of digital money. Lee McNabb, head of digital assets at NatWest Group, joins John Orchard, chairman of the Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF, about the benefits and remaining challenges of bringing tokenised commercial bank money to wholesale and retail users. They discuss the ways central banks and policy-makers are working on this development, which will allow the existing financial architecture to combine the benefits of blockchain with the guardrails and infrastructure of the two-tier financial system. Read the latest edition of the Digital Monetary Institute Journal for more insights on tokenised deposits.

July 23, 2026Episode 64041 min

Water security as financial resilience

There is a growing water crisis on multiple fronts. In early 2026, United Nations scientists declared an era of global water bankruptcy as systems hit breaking point. The social and health implications of this are widely understood, but the economic and financial risks are too often missing from the conversation. A new report by WWF finds that, when climate and nature risks are considered separately, without fully integrating freshwater considerations, important systemic risks can be overlooked and gaps in risk management can build up. In this episode, Carolin Carella, research lead at the WWF Greening Financial Regulation Initiative, and Jessica Smith, head of nature at the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, join Sarah Moloney, editorial director at OMFIF. They examine the key findings of the report and consider what financial institutions, supervisors and regulators can do to help ensure a financially resilient and water-secure future. Read the WWF report, ‘ Navigating towards water resilience ’, which highlights the materiality of water insecurity to price and financial stability and the possible steps for central banks and financial supervisors to address water-related risks in their work, and the UNEP FI Risk Centre's flagship report, ‘ The landscape of sustainability risk integration ’, which assessed the extent to which sustainability risks are being integrated by the global banking sector.

July 20, 2026Episode 63925 min

Reserve management enters a new phase

While diversification remains a priority, economic fundamentals are once again taking precedence in investment decisions as central banks navigate a more fragmented global landscape. Max Castelli, head of strategy for sovereign institutions, and Philipp Salman, director of strategy for sovereign institutions at UBS Asset Management, join Yara Aziz, senior economist at OMFIF, to unpack the main takeaways from UBS’ 32nd Reserve Management Seminar. They discuss why economic fundamentals are returning to the centre of reserve management, what geopolitics means for investors, and how central banks are thinking about diversification, the dollar and gold.

June 26, 2026Episode 63427 min

The doom loop: why the world economic order is spiralling into disorder

Long-standing assumptions about globalisation, multilateral co-operation and financial stability are increasingly being challenged, raising questions about whether the institutions designed to support prosperity are still fit for purpose. Mark Sobel, vice chair and chief economist at OMFIF, is joined by Eswar Prasad, economist and author of The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling Into Disorder. They discuss the central thesis of the book – how globalisation, inequality and institutions like the International Monetary Fund have created a destructive feedback loop, destabilising the world order.

June 22, 2026Episode 63630 min

Hard power and defence spending with the IMF

As governments across Europe and beyond commit to significantly higher defence spending, a critical question is coming into focus: how can these ambitions be financed sustainably? In the final instalment of the ‘Hard power’ series on defence, Mark Sobel, vice chair at OMFIF, is joined by Andrea Presbitero, economist at the International Monetary Fund. They discuss what rising military expenditure means for public finances and economic growth as well as the trade-offs facing governments – from advanced and emerging markets – already grappling with constrained budgets.

June 19, 2026Episode 63026 min

Where AI can make a difference in tokenisation

With tokenisation taking hold of capital markets, the platforms offering the services are actively shaping the infrastructure and the future of the marketplace. Mark Rakhmilevich, vice president, product management and development at Oracle, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the way tokenisation is developing in capital markets and the ways in which artificial intelligence can support it, giving regulators and market participants comfort in their ability to scrutinise transactions.

June 17, 2026Episode 63531 min

Positioning gold in a new light

Gold has re-emerged as a focal point in the global financial system. Against shifting trade dynamics, elevated public debt and questions over the future trajectory of the dollar-based monetary order, central banks are accumulating gold at a pace not seen in decades. At the same time, investors are reassessing the role of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation, market volatility and systemic risk. David Marsh, chairman of OMFIF, is joined by Willem Middelkoop, founder of Commodity Discovery Fund and William White, former chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements, to explore gold's evolving place in the international monetary landscape and examine the forces shaping its demand. Ahead of OMFIF’s Gold and Precious Metals working group meetings , which informed the ‘Gold and the new world disorder’ report in 2024, participants hold the metal to the light, inspecting it under newer circumstances.

June 15, 2026Episode 63130 min

Building payments rails for agentic commerce

Artificial intelligence agents are beginning to make their presence felt in online payments. At present, they typically discover options for purchase and present users with buy options. However, many are already looking towards a future where AI agents have wallets and the ability to pay for small items with stablecoins. This could also create the opportunity for machine-to-machine micropayments. Chad Harper, head of the Coinbase Institute, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the rails that will facilitate agentic payments, particularly x402, Coinbase’s payments protocol.

June 10, 2026Episode 63333 min

Hard power and hard choices with debt and defence

As governments commit to long-term security strategies stretching to 2035, fiscal pressures are arriving much sooner and markets are already responding. What does sustained defence expenditure mean for sovereign debt, borrowing costs and economic priorities? Who ultimately pays, and over what timeline? In the second episode of the ‘Hard power’ series on defence, Udaibir Das, vice chair at OMFIF, is joined by Sarah Carlson, senior vice president of sovereign risk at Moody’s Ratings and Ron Smith, emeritus professor of applied economics at Birkbeck, University of London. Together, they discuss the historical record on defence build-ups and growth; the fiscal arithmetic facing higher-debt sovereigns and whether political ambitions, fiscal realities and market expectations can ultimately be reconciled.