Cullen Roche

Cullen Roche is a financial commentator, investment advisor, and author who founded both Orcam Financial Group (a registered investment advisor) and the Pragmatic Capitalism blog. He is best known for his accessible explanations of how the modern monetary system works — the mechanics of money creation, the role of banks and central banks, and the implications for investors. His understanding of monetary circuit theory helped him explain why concepts like government "running out of money" were misconceptions, influencing how many retail investors think about government debt and monetary policy. He has also developed the "Defined Duration" framework for portfolio construction, which focuses on matching investment time horizons with appropriate asset classes. His framework has helped individual investors avoid the common error of mismatching the duration of their liabilities with overly volatile or insufficiently liquid assets, producing more durable and purpose-aligned portfolios.