Money For the Rest of Us

We analyze the worrisome national debt situation in the U.S., UK, and Japan and consider what will determine the likelihood of default Topics covered include: How big is the national debt in the U.S., UK, and Japan Why Japan and UK interest rates have increased When do federal government debts jump the most What two numbers are key to whether a level of national debt is sustainable What are five w...

We kick off 2023 by answering your questions on making portfolio changes, risk tolerance, the strong dollar, inflation and retirement, influential books, and other topics. For more information on this episode click  here . Episode Sponsors Thanks to LinkedIn for sponsoring the episode.  Use this link to post your job for free on LinkedIn Jobs. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

How public equity REITs differ from private REITs. Why investors are selling out of private REITs and why private REIT sponsors like Blackstone and Starwood are limiting investors' ability to do so. Topics covered include: What are public and private real estate investment trusts Why has Blackstone's BREIT been such a success Why investors are trying to exit private REITs Why commercial property v...

How to solve the conundrum that consumption reductions lead to economic disasters while benefiting the environment. Topics covered include: Why consumption, fossil fuel usage, and carbon emissions keep growing How fossil fuel consumption goes well beyond heating and transportation uses but is tied to agriculture, steel, and cement production The four times global consumption fell and the dire econ...

What are the best options for safely investing cash. Topics covered include: High-yield savings accounts Certificates of Deposits Government Bonds Money Market Mutual Funds When should you invest in long-term bonds Why some savings apps try to look like banks but they are not What happens when central banks lose money Where not to deposit cash for safety For more information on this episode click&...

Camden and David converse with Asha Mehta, Managing Partner & CIO at Global Delta Capital about the bullish case for emerging and frontier market stocks as well as the risks. Topics covered include: How to go about investing in emerging markets Should you invest in China Where are the most promising emerging and frontier markets Why aggregate emerging markets earnings have been lackluster How...

How the bankruptcy of FTX, the world's third-largest crypto exchange, undermines trust in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance, making it even more difficult for crypto to ever be taken seriously as a monetary alternative. Topics covered include: How FTX squandered its customers' deposits How FTX is another example of a private money bank run How traditional securities lending works and why it...

How the International Monetary Fund, the world's economic firefighter, works for global monetary cooperation and prosperity while using its own made-up currency, the SDR. Topics covered include: What was the Bretton Woods monetary system that led to the formation of the IMF and the World Bank How the World Bank and IMF differ What does the IMF do How the IMF creates its own money out of thin air W...

How to survive in a world where luck and randomness play a pivotal role. Topics covered include: What are power laws What are the narrative fallacy and hindsight bias What are examples of domains where randomness has contributed to success What are ways to distinguish investing skill from luck How sixth-century philosopher Boethius had an accurate view of chance What are ways we can benefit from g...

How to use laddered  inflation -indexed  bonds  (i.e., TIPS), CDs, fixed annuities, and fixed index annuities to meet retirement living expenses while worrying less about running out of money. Topics covered include: How individuals can use liability-driven  investment  strategies Why now is the best opportunity to buy  Treasury Inflation Protection Securities  i...

In Episode 406, David and Camden visit with Annie Duke about how to better manage our investment portfolios including when and what to sell. We also discuss a number of behavioral finance topics such as mental accounting, sunk costs, and goal myopia. Annie Duke is an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space, as well as Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round...

What is volatility and what causes it to rise and fall? How volatility itself contributes to more volatility such as in the example of the chaotic UK government bond market where long-term yields have increased by 4% in 2022. Topics covered include: How the role of volatility has changed in financial markets What caused UK interest rates to spike and long-term bond investors to lose 50% What is li...

What has caused the U.S. dollar's currency exchange rate to be the strongest in twenty years? How a strong dollar leads to slower global economic growth and falling asset prices. Topics covered include: Why a strong dollar is a no-win situation for the rest of the world Why have inflation and interest rates increased Why recession risks are rising as central banks combat inflation Why asset prices...

How risk perceptions and actions have changed over several years of the pandemic. How the pandemic's impacts continue to affect politics, the economy, financial markets, how we invest, and our personal lives. Topics covered include: Is the pandemic really over? What percentage of people continue to isolate at home How behaviors such as eating out and visiting friends have changed throughout the pa...

What are the drivers that lead to higher student loan balances? Why a one-time student loan forgiveness program doesn't solve the problem of increasing student debt. What are some more viable longer-term solutions. Topics covered include: How big is the Biden Administration student debt forgiveness plan How big has the student debt burden grown Why are borrowings for students increasing Why Baby B...

Warren Buffet said, "Diversification makes very little sense for anyone that knows what they’re doing." He also said, "Diversification is a protection against ignorance..." Most of us need that protection against ignorance, yet diversification often makes us feel bad when some of our holdings don't do as well as others. We make the case why we should diversify anyway. Topics covered: Warren Buffet...

How economic wars, pandemics, and worker shortages could lead to years of high structural inflation. What needs to happen to avoid this dire inflation scenario. Topics covered include: What are the three inflation lessons Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shared What is inflation anchoring What caused the current period of high inflation How China and Russia contributed to low inflation and why...

We explore examples of positive and negative unintended consequences, what causes them, and how to navigate a world where unanticipated things happen all of the time. Topics covered include: What leads to unintended consequences What are some unintended consequences of QE and stimulus, price controls, tax incentives, gun legislation, and marijuana legalization How positive unintended consequences...

We analyze two listeners' portfolios. One who is close to retirement and considering hiring an outside money manager. The second is 45 and just sold a business and is trying to decide whether to fire Schwab's robo-advisor service and manage his portfolio on his own. Topics covered include: What elements are part of a financial plan What to consider when researching an investment advisor What is a...

This episode edits and remasters two earlier episodes on investing based on cycles to focus on timeless investing principles. Topics covered include: What are different types of cycles Why do cycles have subjective start and end dates. Why do coincidences happen so often. How to position investment portfolios based on cycles. How luck and skill play a role in investing. Why it is better to invest...

Why it is challenging to distinguish a legitimate multi-level marketing company from a pyramid scheme as hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman found out in his losing campaign against Herbalife. How Forsage has taken pyramid and Ponzi schemes to a whole new level, and why the regulators can't shut it down. Topics covered include: What are multi-level marketing companies and how most MLM distributors...

How slowing population growth and an eventual population peak will lead to competition for foreign workers, potentially higher inflation, and ultimately the need to transition to a steady-state economy rather than one based on constantly producing more. Topics covered include: How longevity and birthrates impact population growth What areas of the world are seeing population increases versus decli...

Five ways we can better take and manage risk. Topics covered include: How likely is it that China will invade Taiwan and the stock market will fall 80% Why experts tend to be humble and don't make specific predictions What is the difference between risk and uncertainty, and between loss capacity and loss aversion What factors impact our degree of loss aversion and loss tolerance Why the economy ne...

How protected are you if the brokerage firm where you hold your stocks, bonds, and crypto assets files for bankruptcy? Why you shouldn't store your crypto assets with an online broker. Topics covered include: How traditional brokerage firms protect their client assets in case of bankruptucy How cryptocurrency brokers, such as Voyager, mistreat their clients in bankruptcy proceedings What is the sa...

David and his son Camden conclude their conversation about money. Topics covered include: A review of money principles discussed in Part 1 How money is created How money is energy Why bank runs occur How cryptocurrency fails as money How money is debt backed by debt For more information on this episode click  here . Sponsors Policygenius Money For the Rest of Us Plus See Privacy Policy at htt...