Charles Schwab’s Insights & Ideas Podcast

Many people set New Year’s resolutions, but sadly, most don’t keep them. In this episode Mark Riepe offers several suggestions for keeping you on track with your resolutions, as well as proposing some specific resolutions that can help you better manage your financial life—whatever the date you choose to implement them.Mark talks with Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz about two of the most popular resolutions: setting and sticking to a budget and how to pay off debt.Then Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning and retirement income, discusses ways you can optimize your portfolio—and how you can prepare for the unexpected.Choiceology host Katy Milkman contributed to research about the “fresh start effect,” which is the tendency for people to get motivated to change their life after temporal landmarks like New Year’s Day or anniversaries.To read more about setting—and sticking to—your own financial resolutions, check out Rob’s article “New Year’s Financial Resolutions.”Follow Financial Decoder for free on A

After a tough year for the markets, what's in store for 2023? In this year-end bonus episode, Schwab experts look ahead to consider what investors might expect from the markets in the new year.First, Mark talks with Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab's chief investment strategist. Liz Ann offers her perspective on the direction of the U.S. economy and stock market. She and Mark discuss inflation, interest rates, company earnings, and the job market, among other topics.Next, Mark speaks with Kathy Jones, Schwab's chief fixed income strategist. Kathy looks at what bond investors might expect from the Federal Reserve and fixed income assets in the new year.Then, Jeffrey Kleintop—Schwab's chief global investment strategist—joins the show and examines what 2023 might hold for the global economy and markets.Finally, Mike Townsend, Schwab's managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs, offers his outlook on what to expect from a divided Congress and a busy regulatory environment.Subscribe to Financial Decoder for fr

The cryptocurrency landscape is vast. There are well over 10,000 types of cryptocurrencies. For investors who are looking for exposure to this space, are there indirect opportunities that might reduce some of the risk? In this episode, Mark Riepe is joined by Inga Rachwald, a senior portfolio strategist for Schwab Asset Management. They discuss the development of various crypto and blockchain technologies, various use cases for specific cryptocurrencies, and financial instruments available to investors looking for indirect exposure.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Important DisclosuresInvestors should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus or, if available, the summary prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Please read

In this special episode, we hear the story of Mary Anne. Mary Anne and her twin sister Virginia were very close growing up. But as they pursued different careers, they lived on different sides of the country. After her sister's untimely passing, how did Mary Anne find a way to honor her sister's memory?The event that Mary Anne organized benefited one of her sister's favorite organizations, the Hingham Historical Commission.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab.If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts.Important DisclosuresThe information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. The investment strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own particular situation before making any investme

Taxes are a big issue for any investor. For people likely to incur federal estate tax, does it make sense to give away assets to family members sooner rather than later? The answer to that question can be fraught with all kinds of psychological and emotional issues. But it's important to contemplate the details of different lifetime gifting strategies if you want to maximize what you leave for your heirs. To understand more, Mark Riepe speaks with Susan Bober, a director in Schwab's Wealth Strategies Group in Indianapolis. Mark and Susan discuss why the idea of giving money to family members can cause so much fear and anxiety, the annual exclusion gifting strategy, and the importance of finding an advisor you trust.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Important DisclosuresThis

Anyone who has invested for more than a few years has seen their share of bear markets, bull markets, down economies, and recessions. But each circumstance is different. Heraclitus said that you can't step into the same river twice: The person is different, and the river is different. When the economy turns downward, what are some strategies you should keep in mind? What's the context around the current market and macroeconomic conditions? In this episode, Mark Riepe interviews Schwab's chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders.A few of the issues Mark and Liz Ann discuss include:How and why we label the economy as being in a recession;What an "earnings recession" and a "rolling recession" are;Inflation and interest rates;Unemployment, the housing market, and many other topics.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder. If you enjoy the show, please leave u

What do you do if you haven't put enough money into your retirement account over the course of your working life, and you know you don't have enough money or time to fund the retirement you want?You might be tempted to act like a losing football team and throw caution to the wind with a Hail Mary pass. But your financial life is more consequential than a football game, and what you don't want to do is to make a bad situation even worse.If your retirement plan has gotten off track, there are still some actions you can take to try to get it back on track. In this episode, Mark Riepe speaks with Cindy Scott. Cindy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with Schwab in Westlake, Texas, and has helped hundreds of people in setting retirement goals and creating plans to pursue those goals and achieve them. She was a guest on the show back on Season 8, Episode 3: "How Can You Set Better Goals?"A few of the issues Mark and Cindy discuss include:How to get an accurate assessment of how much money you'll need in

When you spend your working life saving and investing, it can be a little scary when it comes time to shift your mindset and start withdrawing from those accounts. Whether you have a 401(k) or an IRA, what strategies can help you make the most of your retirement nest egg? In this episode, Mark Riepe speaks with Daniel Stein. Daniel is a vice president and branch manager for Schwab in Bethesda, Maryland. He's a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a Chartered Financial Analyst.A few of the issues Mark and Daniel discuss include:What investors can do if they haven't yet retired and can still take advantage of higher contribution limits on tax-deferred accounts;The importance of coordinating accounts between spouses;How hard it can be to get a accurate assessment as to how much money you'll be spending;Required minimum distributions, and many other topics.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on t

Instinctively, most people know that it's a good idea to save money for the future. But when it comes to saving for retirement, there are complex decisions each person must face—and typically when they are just starting out in the workforce. Is it better to contribute to a 401(k) or a Roth IRA? When can a traditional IRA make sense? How can you convert a traditional account to a Roth account? In this episode, Mark Riepe speaks with Hayden Adams. Hayden is director of tax and wealth management at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. He's also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and certified public accountant, and he provides analysis and insights on topics like income tax planning, tax-efficient investing, asset allocation, and retirement withdrawal strategies. Hayden and Mark discuss the history of IRAs, the various types of accounts, how to invest once the account is open, and many of the pressing decisions facing younger investors when they are deciding how best to save for their future. Taxes

The Fed is hiking short-term interest rates to slow the economy. Now the bond market is starting to expect less inflation longer term, and so yields on Treasury bonds have declined from their peak. What should bond investors do?In this episode, Mark Riepe speaks with Kathy Jones, Schwab's chief fixed income strategist. Kathy has analyzed global bond, foreign currency, and commodity markets extensively throughout her career as an investment analyst and strategist, working with both institutional and individual clients. Kathy makes regular broadcast appearances on CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg TV, and many other networks and is often quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, and Reuters.Kathy and Mark discuss the reasons why investors typically hold bonds in a portfolio, how the yield curve tends to function, quantitative tightening, and many other topics related to bonds and the current interest-rate environment.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you

Balancing the trade-off between risk and return is one of the most fundamental decisions an investor makes. But it can be difficult to "know thyself" and truly understand your risk tolerance. Myriad psychological factors may cause you to behave differently than your stated risk profile when confronted with market volatility. And beyond weathering the ups and downs of the market, there are other types of risk that can impact the pursuit and achievement of your financial goals.   In this episode, Mark is joined by Susan Hirshman, CFA®, CFP®, CDFA®—director of wealth management for Schwab Wealth Advisory. Susan shares her perspective on risk from her years working as an advisor to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Susan and Mark discuss the difference between risk tolerance and risk capacity, how to determine your true risk tolerance, and how a wealth management plan can help you stay the course when your risk tolerance is tested.Follow Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever yo

Creating a will has several benefits. A will can help your loved ones carry out your wishes, it can protect your assets, and it can allow you to designate a guardian of your children. Inevitably, some people never get around to making a will, even though they intend to do it. This type of procrastination can be difficult to overcome. Procrastination isn't a bias per se, but it's a close cousin to present bias, which causes us to avoid doing work now because the future benefits seem microscopic when compared to the immediate costs of doing the work today.In this episode, Mark talks with Nancy Murphy, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and Schwab senior financial planner in Indianapolis who was previously a guest on the episode about senior and vulnerable investors. Mark and Nancy help demystify the process of making a will by explaining all the components, and they discuss the various legal documents that can make up an estate plan. They also discuss the benefits of having a trust and some common mist

Is it possible for your portfolio to reflect your beliefs? ESG could be one way to help. ESG is an umbrella term to describe investing strategies that emphasize environmental, social, or governance factors, in addition to traditional measures of risk and return. Within this umbrella framework are strategies like SRI, or socially responsible investing; values-based investing; sustainable investing; and impact investing.In this episode, Mark talks with Malik Sievers, head of ESG strategy for Schwab Asset Management. They discuss how to personalize your portfolio, the average performance of ESG funds, and how ESG funds may help make a difference in the world.Subscribe to Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder.If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Important DisclosuresInvestors should consider carefully information contained in

Many people do not enjoy the process of thinking through what happens to their assets after they pass away. But the decisions to be made are a crucial part of estate planning. Life can be complicated, and there are many advantages to having a trust in place. But the jargon surrounding trusts can be overwhelming. How can you determine which trust is right for your particular situation?In this episode, Mark talks with Austin Jarvis. Austin is a director of estate, trust, and high-net-worth tax advice at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. He’s worked as an advanced-planning attorney and in the estate and gift tax section of the Internal Revenue Service.They discuss how a variety of different trusts work, including the SLAT, ILIT, special-needs trust, credit shelter trust, and the most common type—the revocable living trust.You can learn more about choice overload on the “Spoiled for Choice” episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman.Subscribe to Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you l

Throughout the holiday season, you might encounter dozens of appeals for charity. If you decide to give, or if you donate throughout the year, how can you maximize the impact of your gift? In this episode, Mark talks with Sam Kang, president of Schwab Charitable, a nonprofit organization established with the support of The Charles Schwab Corporation to make charitable giving simpler and more tax-efficient.They discuss direct cash gifts, donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions, and other ways of giving—and which types of investors can benefit from each approach.You can learn more about the science behind why helping others makes us feel good on the “Happiness” episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman.Subscribe to Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder.If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Important Disclosures

In assessments that show women to be less financially literate than men, is that gap due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of confidence? One recent study revealed that women tend to disproportionately respond “do not know” to questions measuring financial knowledge, but when this response is unavailable, the gap closes substantially.In this episode, Mark tells the story of Monique Currie—a highly successful basketball player in college and the WNBA. Despite all her talent and achievements, Currie has noted how women basketball players tend to be less confident than their male counterparts. Lacking confidence when it comes to complex tasks, such as investing in a diversified portfolio or mapping out a financial plan, can seem intimidating to anyone of any gender, but are there strategies that can help you overcome some forms of underconfidence? Mark speaks with Laura McDowell, a regional director at Schwab. Laura is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA),

Special purpose acquisition companies (or SPACs) aren’t entirely new, but they’ve made headlines in 2020 and 2021. SPACs take funds from investors in order to buy or merge with another company. They’re sometimes called “blank check” companies because it’s as if investors are giving the companies a blank check to buy whatever sort of business they want. Until a merger is announced, investors in a SPAC don’t know exactly what they’re buying or trading.In this episode, Mark Riepe interviews Schwab’s chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders. Mark and Liz Ann discuss how SPACs work, how SPACs compare to the traditional IPO process, and whether they are right for you as an investor. Subscribe to Financial Decoder for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder.If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Important Disclosures:The information provided here is f

Financial planning is an ongoing, iterative process. But it always starts with identifying and defining goals. Why are you saving money? When do you plan to retire? How much do you spend now? Are you saving for college? The more specificity that can be added to each goal, the more likely it is to be achieved.No matter your stage in life, whether you are just starting out saving and investing or are well into your working years with a plan already in place, you need to evaluate your goals regularly. Our circumstances in life often change—and so should our plans. In this episode, Mark speaks with Cindy Scott. Cindy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and wealth advisor with Schwab in Westlake, Texas. She shares several stories of real investors who have faced challenges when setting or defining their goals.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder.If you enjoy the show, please leave a ★★★★★ rating or review on Apple Podcast

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the Federal Reserve has engaged in a great experiment: They are testing whether massive amounts of new money can heal the damage from macroeconomic catastrophes, such as the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, investors have asked persistent questions about the likelihood of high inflation and how to help protect a portfolio against it.In this episode, Mark speaks with Kathy Jones, Schwab’s chief fixed income strategist. They discuss the history of inflation in the U.S. economy—including the gold standard and the key players at the Federal Reserve—as well as hyperinflation and recent fears of rising prices.Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab.To learn more, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder.If you enjoy the show, please leave a ★★★★★ rating or review on Apple Podcasts.  Important Disclosures:Investors should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus or, if available, the summary prospectus, including investment obj

In this special bonus episode, Mark Riepe talks with Katy Milkman, host of Choiceology and author of a new book titled How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.Katy’s book focuses on overcoming the barriers that too often prevent us from making positive changes. Katy and Mark discuss some of these obstacles, including procrastination and the difficulty forming good habits, as well as techniques that research has shown can help us overcome them. Katy also shares what led her down the path of studying behavioral economics, including the lightbulb moment she had when she first saw this pie chart from a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. She also explains how her research into the fresh-start effect was inspired by her own experiences as a graduate student.Finally, Katy and Mark discuss which biases Katy sees in herself, in her students, and in her own family. Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab.To learn more, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDe