Excess Returns

Teach Me Like I'm Five: Investing Concepts Made Simple

Business EN ↓ 6 episodes

We’re on a mission to make investing concepts simple. In each episode, we bring in an expert to help us break down a key financial idea—whether it’s a rule of thumb, a market principle, or a tool investors use every day. We ask the questions you might be afraid to and focus on clear, accessible explanations that anyone can understand. If you’ve ever felt confused by financial jargon or just want a better grasp on how things really work, you’re in the right place. We’re learning right alongside you—one concept at a time.

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Excess Returns

Episodes

The Art of Breaking Down a Business | Matt Reustle 08.12.2025 1:07:52

In this episode of Teach Me Like I'm Five, Matt Zeigler sits down with Matt Reustle of Business Breakdowns to unpack how great businesses actually work, why pattern recognition matters more than stock picking, and what investors can learn from studying the economics, value chains, and management decisions behind the world’s most durable companies. This conversation breaks down how to analyze a...

The Greek That Breaks Traders | What Every Investor Needs to Know About Gamma 09.09.2025 48:46

In this episode of Excess Returns , Matt Zeigler sits down with Kris Abdelmessih and Matt Cashman to break down one of the most important — and often misunderstood — concepts in options: gamma . They explore what gamma really is, how it interacts with delta and theta, why gamma scalping (a.k.a. delta hedging) matters, and what both individual traders and professionals need to know about it. If you...

The Lie Your Stock's Price is Telling You | Kris Abdelmessih on Why Options Hold the Truth 21.07.2025 41:21

What can bar bets, coin flips, and the length of your subway commute teach us about options pricing? In this episode of Excess Returns , Matt Ziegler is joined once again by Kris Abdelmessih to break down complex options theory into intuitive, real-world analogies. From prediction markets to probability distributions, Kris helps us understand how the options market reveals what the stock market of...

Gamma, Vanna, Charm and the Basics of Options Dealer Flows 10.07.2025 50:04

What if the biggest market moves aren't driven by fundamentals—but by flows you can't see? In this episode, Brent Kochuba of SpotGamma joins us to explain the hidden mechanics of the options market that are quietly reshaping stock prices. We explore how dealer hedging, gamma squeezes, and volatility dynamics like Vanna and Charm are influencing everything from individual stocks to the S&am...

The Hidden Logic of Options | Put-Call Parity Explained With Legos 28.05.2025 29:01

In this episode of Teach Me Like I'm 5, options expert Kris Abdelmessih breaks down one of the most foundational—and misunderstood—concepts in options trading: put-call parity. Using Lego analogies, homemade spreadsheets, and Fast & Furious references, Kris shows how options are like building blocks you can combine to create any payoff you want—including replicating a stock itself. Whether you...

Decoding Volatility with the Rule of 16 22.05.2025 17:24

In this episode of our new show Teach Me Like I'm 5, we’re joined by Mat Cashman, Principal of Investor Education at the OCC, to break down a powerful yet often overlooked concept in options trading: the Rule of 16. Whether you're new to volatility or a market veteran, this conversation takes you from the sandbox to the risk desk, explaining how this simple rule transforms annualized volatility in...