Animal Spirits Podcast

On this week's Talk Your Book we discuss why market cap weighting is so hard to beat when constructing a fund, why cash outperforms the majority of stocks, the thinking behind reverse cap weighting the S&P 500, how to invest in companies with high customer satisfaction, some surprisingly strong consumer brands, qualitative investment factors and much more.   Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

On this week's show we discuss Robinhood's checking & savings debacle, do Millennials care about financial regulations, where to find higher yields on your savings, putting fund flows into context, the number of bear markets around the globe, can individual stocks be in a bear market, the student loan crisis, the "everything" bubble, market valuations, lifestyle creep, Jimmy Butler's minivan and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

We discuss US outperformance over foreign stocks, comparing valuations across countries and markets, why it still makes sense to diversify internationally, does factor investing work better overseas, S&P 500 envy, the problem with single variable stock picking analysis and much more.

Are we in the late cycle, why every correction always feels different, why losses this year are perfectly normal, why a shallow recession and "normal" bear market would be a good thing, why more money doesn't make rich people happier, the labor market is heating up, alpha is getting harder to find but institutional investors are still willing to pay up to try and find it, millennials really like Amazon Prime, the unbelievable ending to the Madoff saga, Michael's coat-buying experience, the new Tom Cruise movie and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

On this week's how we discuss Michael's CNBC appearances, the FIRE movement, making your savings last for 50+ years, when FIRE goes bad, the average amount people spend in retirement, steak dinners paired with investment pitches, where is the Vanguard of annuities, the pressure to work long hours in the finance industry, normal accidents & much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

We speak with Will Rhind of Graniteshares about the reasons to invest in commodities, expected returns in gold, is bitcoin a commodity, why it's so difficult to stick with an allocation to commodities, the unbelievable run in gold prices in the 1970s, how to win any argument in the markets and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

Why monetizing content is so difficult, the myth of passive income, is it even possible to sell out in 2018, the difference between investing & gambling on options, how private equity ruined the grocery industry, Amazon as a scapegoat, when cash outperforms everything else, the chances of a recession, investing in art & much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The 40-year history of the 401k, why the retirement system is far from perfect, the problem with cashing out your 401k, the pros & cons of multi-factor funds, competitive in factor investing, morning routines, financial regrets of the elderly, why the American dream is dying for so many in the middle class, why no one finishes non-fiction books and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

Universal basic income, the cost of paying every citizen $1,000/month, the perfect hedge fund, the language of money, the reason for the decline in youth sports, million dollar homes in San Francisco, how income variability should impact your savings rate, career advice for a new mom and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

A timetable for the next bear market, what impact the mid-term elections have on the markets, how much money FANG CEOs have lost in the downturn, how often bonds outperform stocks over 30 year periods, the number of Americans who consider themselves financially healthy, the psychology of different price points, the government's role in the student loan crisis, why real estate returns less than you think and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The one thing we're certain of about the markets going forward, why volatility begets more volatility in the markets, expectations vs. the economy, what to do if you've been sitting in cash, when to panic, why investors are fleeing bonds, are all the economic gains really going to the wealthy and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The housing market, homebuilder stocks, how much mortgage rates matter to the economy, what if there is no next subprime, how to think about inflation and your portfolio, the difficulty of owning bonds when inflation is rising, the Fed's thoughts on inverted yield curves, where chocolate milk comes from, asset location and much more.  Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The current market correction, the myth of the 401k market floor, the problem with 401k loans, the downfall of Sears, the massive size of the student loan market, what's holding back young homebuyers, value investing in taxi medallions, Amazon wants to know when you're sick, who benefits from HSAs and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The rise of social media in finance, reflections on the humble beginnings of this podcast, the case for investing in bonds, more hedge funds closing, your children are eating your retirement savings, the myth of short-termism by public companies, Amazon's minimum wage, Fed cartoons, the relentless bid and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The new Howard Marks book on cycles, why super-investors may not be as helpful as you think, how the first Vanguard index fund was run by a part-time worker, SoftBank's lofty tech aspirations, choosing the right asset allocation for your portfolio, our beef with surveys, the fraud of the week, when to buy a house and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

Bond market losses, why stocks diversify bonds, pot stocks & mini bubbles, Amazon's new microwave, the massive decline in world poverty, parallels to the 1990s, why retirement calculators aren't perfect but can still be useful and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

Taking financial advice from billionaires, Ray Dalio's work on debt cycles, how to think about government debt levels, why it's so hard to quantify the true amount in index funds, millennial banking habits, shrinking hedge funds, investing in foreign markets during a U.S. recession and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

How the financial crisis impacted young people, why the Fed pays attention to the 1970s, AQR's recent struggles, the difference between insurance and investing, how much money you'll spend in retirement, Kevin Garnett's accountant, Rusty the stock-picking bull and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

The FIRE movement, why you're paying so little for stuff, the private jet college tour, the new technology sector, bounties on new brokers, why celebrities are terrible with their money and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.

What 8 different market indicators are telling us, the growth of the intangible economy, chart crime sell signals, the decline in high schoolers playing football, the poor performance of managed futures funds, a bad idea by Chicago, can indexing become too popular and much more. Find complete shownotes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Like us on Facebook And feel free to shoot us an email at animalspiritspod@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.