Long Story Short

Should you open a 529 before your child is born? A Wall Street Journal piece about a retirement researcher who won't fund 529s for his own kids got Adam and Andy talking about a debate that comes up often with clients. Two brothers, similar incomes, completely opposite approaches. They walk through the real trade-offs and why the most important question has nothing to do with which account you...

Spring break had Andy thinking about something that comes up often with clients who have accumulated wealth: the value of spending on experiences over things. Adam connects this to a broader shift toward the experience and convenience economies, and Andy shares a personal story about his grandmother sponsoring family trips that still shape how he thinks about money and memory. That leads into a pr...

The bond market is bigger than the stock market at $130 trillion globally, and a lot of investors treat it like a fortune teller. Adam and Andy dig into what bond market moves actually signal, why rising yields don't always mean bad news, and how the recent spike tied to oil prices fits into the bigger picture. Adam walks through a surprisingly consistent story in US tax history. Despite top m...

The average IRS tax refund is up 10.6% this year, and Adam explains why: the new tax bill reduced liability, but withholding tables on paychecks never got updated, so millions of people over-withheld through the back half of 2025. A good surprise this year, but a reason to revisit your withholding now. Adam and Andy open with listener feedback on fraud and financial conversations with adult childr...

Oil jumped above $100 a barrel after last week's Iran episode podcast aired. Markets stayed choppy through the back half of the week, and Adam and Andy open episode 37 by following up with data that might surprise you. When oil prices are rising, average annual S&P 500 returns have historically been higher than when oil prices are falling. Then Andy pulls back the curtain on how Burney act...

Markets opened down Sunday night after the US launched a full-scale military operation in Iran. By Monday afternoon, all major indexes were in the green. Since that initial reaction, the market has moved down for the week. Adam and Andy dig into what history actually shows about how markets respond to geopolitical events and why the phones have been quiet. Then they answer two listener questions....

The US men's hockey team won gold for the first time in 40 years. Private credit is making headlines as the next 2008 crisis. And the Rule of 55 might help early retirees access their 401(k)s penalty-free. Adam and Andy start with the miracle on ice moment, then get into the private credit panic sweeping financial media. Blue Owl's pricing shock revealed a 16% discount between stated value...

A viral essay claimed AI is taking over knowledge jobs right now, not in the future. Elon Musk said retirement planning is irrelevant for anyone retiring 10+ years from now. And Trump accounts launched with a free $1,000 for qualified children. Adam and Andy break down the AI panic sweeping through feeds this week, starting with Matt Shumer's " Something Big is Happening " essay that...

Markets hit all-time highs while major stocks crashed. Bitcoin dropped nearly 50%. And clients are asking a big question: where should I actually withdraw money from in retirement? Adam and Andy break down the bizarre market rotation where the S&P 500 sits less than 1% from all-time highs while Netflix, Coinbase, and Adobe are down 40-60%. They explain why this is healthy, whether the shift fr...

What happens when someone who actually worked at the Fed joins the podcast? We brought in Hannah Sheldon, our firm’s newest research analyst and former Fed policy analyst, to break down Kevin Warsh's nomination as the next Fed chair. Hannah explains what Warsh's inflation hawk history means for interest rates, why shrinking the Fed's balance sheet could shake things up, and how his vie...

Social Security going broke? AI stocks too hot to handle? Wondering when you should stop chasing growth and start protecting what you've built? Adam and Andy discuss three questions they're hearing frequently from clients right now. First, they break down what "going broke" actually means for Social Security (it's not as dire as the headlines make it sound). Then they throw c...

The quarterly webinar live Q&A session covered the topics clients care about most right now. Adam and Andy spent 30 minutes answering questions on international investing, market volatility, tariffs, Bitcoin, gold, and what to expect in 2026. International stocks dominated the questions. Clients wanted to know how Burney accesses these markets (through funds with on-the-ground analysts), wheth...

The headlines around Morningstar's updated safe withdrawal rate study sent many retirees into a panic. The so-called "4% rule" just became the "3.9% rule," which sounds like a rounding error worth ignoring. But Adam breaks down why the assumptions behind that number matter much more than the headline itself. The conversation moves to estate planning and an interesting Wall...

In this look back at 2025, Adam and Andy break down the charts and trends that defined the year. From international equities quietly outperforming U.S. stocks by nearly double, to gold unexpectedly beating Bitcoin, the year delivered some surprises most investors missed. They discuss why bonds finally delivered the returns investors have been waiting for since 2022, what drove the massive AI infra...

Welcome to 2026. In this episode, Adam and Andy kick off the new year by breaking down the financial housekeeping tasks you should tackle in January, plus key tax law changes taking effect this year. They also address the question everyone's asking: Can this bull market keep going? Adam walks through historical data showing that the current 38-month, 90% rally is actually quite average compare...

Adam and Andy tackle an important investment decision: how to divide your portfolio across cash, bonds, stocks, and alternatives. They start by explaining the two factors that actually matter for determining asset allocation: your personal risk tolerance and how much income you need from the portfolio. Age-based rules like "subtract your age from 100" completely miss these critical input...

Adam and Andy explain required minimum distributions (RMDs) after fielding countless year-end questions from clients. If you've ever been confused about when RMDs start, how they're calculated, or what happens if you mess them up, this episode covers everything you need to know. The conversation shifts to CNN's Fear & Greed Index hitting "extreme fear" after just a 5% mar...

Adam and Andy dissect a Wall Street Journal article calling for a prolonged bear market to "fix" investor behavior. Spoiler: the argument falls apart under scrutiny, considering we've had five bear markets since 2008. The conversation shifts to Bitcoin's recent decline from all-time highs and why retail investors might actually be getting smarter about crypto volatility. Then the...

As Thanksgiving approaches, Andy and Adam tackle money conversations at every life stage. From teaching kindergarteners about spending, saving, and giving to helping retirees navigate Social Security claiming decisions. Andy shares his new allowance system for his 5-year-old, designed to build lifelong financial habits through three buckets: give, save, and spend. The conversation then shifts to c...

Post-Halloween candy rankings lead into two big topics: life insurance strategies and bubble fears. Adam discusses term versus permanent life insurance, explaining why term policies make sense for most people and when permanent policies might actually fit. He covers laddering strategies, the investment component of permanent policies, and why most people just need pure coverage at the lowest cost....

Andy dresses up as an index fund for Halloween (yes, really). The costume sparks a conversation about what index funds actually are, why they've dominated recent returns, and what happens when mega-cap stocks stop outperforming. Plus, Adam breaks down three approaches to retirement spending - from detailed spreadsheets to the famous 4% rule to a more flexible guardrails method. They also discu...

Open enrollment season is here, which means it's time to review your Medicare coverage. Adam walks through the ABCs of Medicare, explains the difference between original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and shares why even if you're happy with your plan, an annual review matters. Plus, Andy and Adam tackle two common retirement questions: how to reduce those dreaded required minimum distri...

Markets dropped 1% and the headlines went wild. Andy and Adam cut through the noise to explain why this is completely normal, what the recent data tells us about stock picking versus index investing, and why all-time highs aren't something to fear. They also tackle a critical retirement question: how do you know when you've saved enough to actually spend your money? Plus, Adam shares why a...

Andy lives right outside DC, where government shutdowns actually matter. For the rest of the country? Not so much. Markets barely react to these political theatrics anymore. Seven out of ten shutdowns since 1980 saw positive stock returns. The worst decline was 2% back in 1990. But there's a tax change coming in 2026 that does matter: if you make over $145,000 and contribute catch-up dollars t...