Money For the Rest of Us

David and his son Camden hold a conversation about money, its attributes, how it's created, and how money differs from investments. Topics covered include: How our earliest money memories impact our views on money The difference between public and private money What are the two primary attributes of money Why money should be accepted with no questions asked How some countries use more cash than ot...

Three things investors can do to survive this bear market and thrive in its aftermath. Topics discussed include: What are bear markets, how often do they occur, and how long do they last How the current bear market differs from previous ones How severe have losses been for various asset classes How have asset class long-term expected returns changed since last November when the sell-off began What...

This week on the show, David shares some investing lessons from fly fishing and introduces our new course on How To Invest in Closed-End Funds. Between now and the end of June get 25% off the course. You can learn more here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How big index fund and ETF providers have increased their sway over publicly-traded companies while potentially discouraging competition. What can be done about it? Topics covered include: How market share for assets under management has become increasingly concentrated with big fund complexes like Vanguard and BlackRock What is a fiduciary relationship and how do asset managers serve as fiduciari...

We explore whether long-term and short-term single-family home rentals are contributing to higher rents, higher home prices, and a housing shortage. What are the options for investing in this space and should we? Topics covered include: What is financialization What are examples of how financialization and government policy has impacted housing How homeownership rates vary around the world How muc...

How financial markets and the economy performed last time the Federal Reserve took away the punch bowl by raising its policy rate and pursuing quantitative tightening. Things worked out fine that time. Will it be different this time? Topics covered include: Where did the phrase take away the punch bowl come from How central bank actions can slow the economy and lower inflation. The difference betw...

How should you approach money given most of it either collapses or loses its purchasing power due to inflation. Get our free six-day email course on how to beat inflation. Topics covered include: How supposedly safe savings apps collapsed, wiping out users' savings Why algorithmic stablecoins keep failing and why they are not black swans What it takes for money to be successful How money differs f...

What are examples of when it makes sense to pay more than the usual price or fair value for an item or asset? Topics covered include: Why we are willing to pay a premium for convenience, scarcity, status and to avoid waste What is the difference between net asset value and book value Why business development companies can sell at a premium Why farmland REITs sell at a premium Why closed-end funds...

With many of the largest tech stocks falling over 20% year-to-date, is now the time to invest? Has the market changed to where tech investing is a safe bet? Topics covered include: What happened to Netflix What contributed to the astounding performance of large tech stocks since 2013 How the largest contributors to overall stock market performance are always changing Why the largest tech companies...

What causes secular bull and bear markets in commodities. What factors suggest a new commodities bull market has started and how can investors participate. What are the risks. Topics include: What is a bull and bear market How long have earlier commodity bull and bear markets lasted and what were the returns What led to the current commodity bear market that began in 2011 How shareholder revolts a...

How contrarians combine value and momentum to take positions opposite what the consensus believes. What is the consensus view in today's financial markets and how are contrarians positioned. Topics covered include: Five attributes of successful investors Why does the consensus expect stagflation How central banks have performed in previous tightening cycles Three reasons central banks tightening r...

Why food costs are soaring and what we can do about it. Why inflation rates could start to drop. Why commodity futures, including agriculture futures, have been lousy inflation hedges, and what has worked better. Topics covered include: Previous investment recommendations by Money For the Rest of Us to combat inflation Why commodity futures hedge against unexpected inflation but have underperforme...

We review the ten asset categories that trade on major stock exchanges, many of which are smaller niches in which individual investors have an edge over institutional investors. How to invest in business development companies, a small segment of the markets that has returned 9% annualized with dividend yields of 8%. Topics covered include: How securities trading has changed and why are there so ma...

Stories determine economic and financial outcomes, both our own and the world in aggregate. Here's how to craft and follow stories that will lead to better financial outcomes and greater happiness. Topics covered include: How financial narratives give us the confidence to take action in the face of uncertainty and potential loss How the greater the stakes, the more we rely on anecdotal evidence ra...

This week, we revisit a classic episode released five years ago. In a newly recorded introduction, David shares the background on the episode and why he chose to release it again in its newly edited form. Topics covered include: The availability heuristic and confirmation bias How to deal with extreme events when most days are just like the day before How chaos and unpredictability is used as a le...

How societies have functioned without leaders, including leaderless megacities that survived over 800 years. Topics covered include: Is geopolitics more like chess or poker Why analysts think Putin will soon agree to a settlement with Ukraine Do most development occur from the top-down or bottom-up What are some examples of leaderless societies and organizations How social capital and enforcement...

Will the world experience both inflation and subpar economic growth at the same time? Topics covered include: What is inflation and what causes it What have been the largest contributors to recent high inflation Why does not everyone experience inflation in the same way Why inflation measures are subjective What are long-term deflationary forces faces the global economy What is stagflation and wha...

What can we do to prepare if the Russian-Ukraine war gets even worse? Topics covered include: How risk and uncertainty differ as does how we manage them What we can learn from Ukraine and Russian citizens on dealing with uncertainty What will be the financial impact of the sanctions against Russia and the ruble collapse Why and how we should all prepare for potential cyberattacks Why now is the ti...

How to decide the investing scale and timeframe that works best for your temperament. Topics covered include: How stocks perform in the days and weeks following catastrophic events What are some potential financial impacts of Russia's invasion into Ukraine How complex systems operate at different scales and timeframes What are examples of different scales and timeframes for investing How tactical...

Key takeaways from one of the greatest personal finance novels of all time. Topics covered include: Why it is easier to keep doing the same old thing Why partners should discuss their finances Why debt can be suffocating Why leverage can be dangerous One of the most satisfying ways to give away wealth Thanks to OurCrowd and Policygenius for sponsoring the episode. For more information on this epis...

How lifecycle investing and risk parity portfolios can assist you in having sufficient assets to retire. What are the two types of time diversification and why is one flawed? Topics covered include: What is settled work and what are some examples How does lifecycle investing work and should you consider it Why investing in stocks and other volatile asset classes is riskier over longer holding peri...

How stablecoins are similar and different from other monetary assets. What are stablecoin risks. Why central bank digital currencies are one of the biggest threats to stablecoins. Topics covered include: Why the Federal Reserve and other central banks are exploring issuing their own digital currencies What is the difference between public and private money How deposit insurance and central bank ac...

We explore four reasons to sell an asset with a focus on the Ark Innovation ETF, Bitcoin, and equity REITs. We also put the current stock market sell-off into historical perspective. Topics covered include: What are lousy reasons to sell an investment What is a sell discipline What are four good reasons to sell an investment Why and why not to invest in the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) Why growth sto...

What are the pros and cons of the four approaches to managing retirement savings. How to implement a bucketing or time segmentation retirement investing approach. Topics covered include: Why it takes time to find a retirement pattern that fits How retirement investing is a balance between safety-first and probability-based as well as maintaining optionality and committing. How total return investi...

Small and mid-cap stocks have underperformed large-cap stocks for over a decade. Is now the time to increase your allocation? Topics covered include: How big are small and mid-cap stocks How have small and mid-cap stocks performed relative to large-cap stocks How have active small and mid-cap managers performed relative to indexing options Are bigger IPOs contributing to small and mid-cap stocks u...