The Capital Stewards Podcast

This time of year is "outlook season" for Wall Street. Investors and analysts are publishing their S&P 500 and economic outlooks for next year. But were they right about this year? Are market forecasts useful for investors? Well, I kept the receipts! In this episode I look back at a few from last year (including my own) and see how they turned out. Understanding how difficult it is to predict...

This episode covers common myths and misconceptions about alternatives. What are alternative investments? Are private – or alternative – assets just for the ultra-wealthy? What is (or is not) the secret sauce of private managers that drives the high returns you see in the media? How should you think about private assets in your portfolio? 1:54 - Myth 1 - Private Assets are only for the very wealth...

Year-end is upon us. The time to plan reduce your 2024 taxes and get your financial house in order is now, not after we turn the calendar page to 2025 and you can no longer act! Here is our year-end financial planning tips checklist with items that you should consider before the end of the year. 1:40 - Election Recap and Implications for Investors 3:19 - Retirement Account Planning and Contributio...

Will the market keep charging forward or are we on the brink of a recession? Soft landings are just that, slower, softer economic activity. They don’t feel great. What about the Mag 7 technology stocks, will they continue to lead the way forward? Will a Trump victory ignite more inflation and cause interest rates to rise? I cover all of this and more in our Outlook for the 4th Quarter. Topics: 0:0...

IRAs, 401ks, the TSP, ROTHs. It’s a soup of acronyms. What's the right prioritization of accounts for saving? Which account should you spend from first in Retirement? In this episode I’m diving into the main retirement account types and how to use them. I'll cover: 1) Accumulating wealth…when you’re saving for retirement and 2) Decumulating wealth...or spending your assets in retirement. We will t...

Want to go deeper than cable news on the proposed economic policies of both presidential campaigns? I evaluate policy proposals with history and data as the guide to discover which proposals may really create growth and reduce inflation in the economy. Neither Vice-President Harris nor Former President Trump lay out all good or all bad proposals. Whether you consider yourself a republican, democra...

Is college worth the high cost? If my kids are going to college, how should I save and pay for college? In thie episode we dive into college planning. I cover: 2:15 - A framework to make college pay-off 9:20 - Saving for college, 529s, ROTH IRAs. 17:10 - Paying for college, strategies for asset ownership and the FAFSA https://www.thecapitalstewards.com/startconversation Resources: https://ronliebe...

I named the firm “The Capital Stewards” for a reason. I’ve discussed stewardship in other articles and podcast episodes, but this is a concept that we all wrestle with so I wanted to lay out a framework that I hope will be helpful as you think about stewarding the resources that you have been entrusted with. Whether you believe the Bible or not, I think this episode will be helpful in understandin...

In this episode, we discuss Annuities. Are they useful financial tools or are they terrible products? Annuities are like any other financial product, they are useful in some situations and useless in others. The real issue with annuities, like other kinds of insurance, is that they are often sold and promoted by salespeople masquerading as “financial advisors.” So in this episode we are going to s...

Inflation is falling, unemployment is rising and after a strong start to the year, economic data has turned noticeably weaker. Is a recession on the horizon? In our outlook we will talk about inflation, the jobs market and the economy. More importantly, we dive into what the current economic outlook means for investors in stocks, bonds, real estate and other asset classes. So, if you are wondering...

As we move into political silly season, Social Security will become even more of a political hot-potato. Social Security garners lots of hot takes, not all of which are correct. In this episode, my goal is to lay out: How social security works Where the program is likely headed and What that means for participants both now and in the future Lastly, we will talk about how you should plan for social...

Retirement Planning 201. We dive deep into strategies for those considering retirement in the next 5 years. This is 201 because we go much deeper into taxes, healthcare, social security and investing than the typical retirement planning article. We discuss: 0:00 Your Most Valuable Resource (Time) + Working in Retirement 5:14 How long will you live? + How much will you spend? 8:10 When to Take Soci...

Sit on an Investment Committee or Nonprofit Board? Stewarding the generous gifts of your congregation and community is a high calling but often leaders get stuck facilitating their investment committee. Investing with an organization is very different, and often more challenging, than personal investing. In this episode we discuss overcoming 5 challenges we see with organizational investors. 3:04...

Everytime you turn on the news there is another story about the southern border or immigration. The U.S. economy continues to create more jobs than expected, largely due to "foreign born workers" The Bible teaches that we should love foreigners and refugees. But much has been written about migrant workers stealing jobs from Americans and driving down wages. So how do we reconcile all of that? In t...

Feeling down about the economy and markets? Paying high prices at the store while watching the S&P 500 hit all-time highs? Often, how we feel about the market and our investments doesn't jive with what's really happening. In our Q2 outlook, we look at the data to get a better picture of what's really happening in the economy and financial markets. 0:00 - Inflation Feels Different Than Reality...

Wondering whether Bitcoin should be a part of your investment portfolio? In this episode we share our perspective on how to consider a crypto investment. What about the new Bitcoin ETFs, should those be a part of your investment portfolio? We discuss: (0:00) Intro & Thesis on Bitcoin (2:53) Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technology vs. Cryptocurrencies (6:35) Is Bitcoin a Currency? (8:58)...

The superbowl is over. Taylor Swift clearly won. Its baseball season and all of that means it's time for taxes in 2024. In this episode, we cover things you can do to reduce your tax bill for 2023 and we also discuss strategies you can use for long-term tax planning. More than 90% of filers are using the standard deduction each year. That means tax reduction isn't about a "hunt for deductions" eac...

It's hard not to notice, but we are in an election year. Did you know that the stock market does better when Democrats hold the oval office? Well... sorta...not really. There is lot's of discussion about the impact of the election on the stock market, interest rates and the economy. In this episode we will break it down and discuss the real impact elections have (or don't have) on markets. We cove...

Happy New Year! It's resolution time, but instead of focusing on 5 "check boxes" for a financially successful 2024, what if we took a step back to make a giant leap forward? In this short episode, I dive into a better approach for financial resolutions: aligning your life with your resources. Here are four questions to ask yourself as you kick off 2024: Why am I here? How am I uniquely gifted? How...

Will we have a recession in 2024? How will inflation and interest rates impact my job, my investments and the economy? Where should I consider investing in 2024? We dive into those questions and more in our latest outlook. Topics: (0:00) - Intro (1:13) - Post-Covid Economic History 101 (4:29) - Normal vs. The Sugar High (6:08) - Where are We Really on The Investment Journey? (8:21) - Recession Deb...

TAX TIME IS NOW! Not in March of next year. Now is the time to start thinking about strategies to manage your 2023 taxes and it’s also a great time to find professional support to help prepare your tax returns. In this episode we discuss year end planning, including: Tax Loss Selling in Bond Portfolios Retirement Account Contributions, Distributions and Charitable Contributions ROTH Conversions Ma...

The interest rate on the 10-year U.S. Treasury has risen from less than 1% in 2020 to almost 5% today. Everyone is talking about mortgage rates, but the implications of higher rates are broader than simply higher mortgage payments. In this episode, we discuss the changes we believe investors should consider for their portfolios and financial plans in this new interest rate environment. We discuss:...

In part two of our series on real estate investing we discuss our outlook for the real estate market. We cover both the residential and commerical real estate markets from the perspective of a long-term, generational investor. We discuss: The different types of real estate investors should consider owning Our outlook for residential real estate The profitability of current and new short-term renta...

One of the most anticipated recessions in U.S. history has not occured yet in 2023. Is this time different? We discuss why markets have been strong so far, and why they may slow down going forward. As always, we discuss what actions investors should consider based on what's happening in the economy and markets. We discuss: 0:00 Overview + Long-Term Perspective 6:18 Labor Market 8:20 Inflation 13:3...

We get tons of questions about real estate. Should I invest in real estate? How should I invest in real estate; through funds or direct property owenship? How much should I own and how do I think about real estate in the context of my total invstment portfolio. In this episode we discuss long-term real estate investing. In our next episode we will provide an outlook for real estate given today's e...