Events of the past few weeks have cast doubt over the stability of the financial system. First Silicon Valley Bank and its troubled regional banking peers, then Credit Suisse. In typical fashion, the US Federal Reserve has stepped in to backstop the sector. In the case of Credit Suisse, UBS scooped it up for cents on the dollar. These events have changed the way corporations perceive risk, according to this week's guest on the The Rules of Investing John Ayoub, Portfolio Manager for the Wilson Asset Management's Leaders Fund (ASX: WLE). How does this play out for investors? Equity markets remain investable, according to Ayoub, but to do it right takes an approach that factors in the macro and micro. Which is good, because that's exactly the approach taken by the WAM Leaders Fund, which was launched by Ayoub and colleague Matthew Haupt. In today’s episode, we discuss: the global banking crisis, and how this risk affects the Australian market; the political risk investors are underestimating; the way WAM use macro, micro and catalysts to find their winners; and we also touch on what defensive quality means, and why it’s the play in the current market. Ayoub colours the conversation with a tonne of stocks, so there's sure to be something in here for everyone. Note: This episode was recorded on March 21, 2023. Timestamps 1:30 - Global banking crisis 3:20 - Moral hazard in equity markets 6:50 - Where do bank deposits go? 10:15 - The hole left by Credit Suisse 11:20 - Political risk is exploding 15:00 - Doubling down after big hits 17:00 - The companies that make it into WAM Leaders 22:45 - Finding opportunities in beaten-down sectors 25:30 - Spotting inflexion points in markets 30:00 - Hunting for defensive quality 34:00 - A big win and a big loss 36:30 - The death of the office is overblown

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