AI Shortens The Moat with Todd Wenning, President and CIO of KNA Capital Management

In this episode of the Planet MicroCap Podcast, I spoke with Todd Wenning, President and CIO of KNA Capital Management, Publisher of Flyover Stocks, and Director of the Hanley Center for ESG Investing at the University of Dayton, for a wide-ranging conversation on moats, AI, rates, and what endures through periods of rapid change.

We break down how AI is shortening the time a moat buys a company, why agentic commerce tools like Meta’s Muse threaten businesses that rely on consumer inertia and obfuscation, and how rising real yields are quietly reshaping where capital flows. We also get into what teaching corporate finance to college students has revealed about first principles investing, why the UK market is presenting some of the most compelling valuations he’s seen in years, and what history’s revolutions tell us about where AI is headed.

For more information about KNA Capital Management, please visit: https://www.kna-capital.com/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and guest background 02:06 Todd Wenning’s teaching journey and ESG focus 03:53 The value of teaching and first principles investing 06:07 Changes in the investment Venn diagram and moat trends 10:01 AI’s impact on wide moats and business disruption 11:09 Thesis development for companies in the AI era 13:03 Corporate culture and AI adoption 14:01 Main risks to economic moats in the age of AI 18:10 How AI shortens the duration of moats 19:53 The influence of rates and yields on market behavior 22:12 AI’s effect on consumer surplus and obfuscation 32:53 Opportunities in microcaps and emerging moats 42:07 Global opportunities and UK market insights 42:59 Capital allocation and strategic planning in uncertain times 45:08 Managing proprietary knowledge and AI risks 48:11 The importance of authenticity and human ingenuity 49:59 Looking ahead to 2029 and future themes

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