Animal Spirits Podcast

On today's show, we talk with Bill Sweet about the different options investors should consider when thinking about what type of vehicle they should use for their retirement money. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Talk Your Book, we speak with Matthew Bartolini about options for diversified investors going forward, how to think about volatility in fixed income investments, cyclical stocks in 2021, the different types of income investments and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why inflation isn't being understated, why the economy is so difficult to understand, why growth is outperforming value, the case for higher returns even with valuations so high, why Bitcoin is a religion, how incomes rose during the pandemic 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's last show of the year, we look back at the biggest stories from 2020 as well as our favorite books, movies and TV shows. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss the luck of the draw in the economy this year, our new fantasy trading game, pockets of froth in the markets, Tesla speculators, ARK inflows, why Roths are overrated 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, Michael and Ben talk with Joe Terranova of Investment Partners about the lessons from 2020, and the launch of his new investment ETF. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss the new stimulus bill, why the stock market isn't always this easy, Tesla investors who made a boatload of money, Robinhood lawsuits, the potential for a Roaring 2020s and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we discuss financial topics for young people including how much you should spend on an engagement ring, how to talk about money with your significant other, how much a wedding costs, managing money when you're married, starting to save for retirement, buying your first house and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss the Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs, similarities and differences between now and the 1990s dot-com boom, why IPOs rise so much on the first day of trading, YOLO structured notes, why the vaccine is our moon landing and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, Michael and Ben talk with Brie Williams of State Street Global Advisors about the momentum behind ESG investing. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we discuss AT&T vs. Verizon, why we could see the highest CAPE ratio ever, the end of movie theaters, why selling is the hardest part of investing, when we'll get the vaccine, the best movies you haven't seen 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inspired by the new book, How I Invest My Money, Ben shares how he manages his own money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben reads a chapter from his new book, Everything You Need to Know About Saving For Retirement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we talked with Jason Barsema, co-founder and CEO of Halo Investing, an online marketplace for structured products, annuities, and buffered ETFs. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this wee's show we discuss bitcoin vs. gold, billionaires and the minimum wage, there is no perfect number for your savings goals, the downside of FIRE, why credit card debt it falling, the pros and cons of Robinhood on investor habits, Ben's new book about saving for retirement and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago on a Zoom conference call, Michael was asked "Is Robinhood good for investors?" In this episode, Michael shares how this question caused him to think more deeply about his answer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we talk about the bitcoin bull market, the generational wealth gap, who owes all the student loan debt, why poor people still buy luxury goods, investing in TikTok mansions, young people entering the housing market and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, Michael and Ben talk with Rusty Vanneman, Chief Investment Officer at Orion Advisor Solutions about all things related to direct indexing. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss vaccine Mondays, why the market doesn't care about increasing cases, what's the best age to die, making emergency funds obsolete, too much cash on the sidelines and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben looks at one of the hardest problems for most people when it comes to building wealth -- regularly saving money and shows why $20/month could be worth more than you think. And he has an announcement for his all new book about saving for retirement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben and I are trying something new. Once or twice a week we're going to read a blog post and drop it in Animal Spirits. If you like it, we'll keep going, if not, we'll stop. The first post from Michael was inspired by Josh Brown and Brian Portnoy's new book "How I Invest My Money" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we talk with Michael Arone, Chief Investment Strategist at State Street Global advisors about how elections impact the market, and why we might be on an unsustainable path going forward. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss what a vaccine would mean for the markets and economy, why a post-pandemic market will be so difficult to handicap, the potential for a massive boom post-vaccine, market moves after the election, corporate America as our strongest institution, why this year has been so challenging for investors and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss how to think about your portfolio in relation to the presidential election, how markets tend to react during the post-election period, is it finally time for value to outperform growth, the resistance of the U.S. economy, the best new show of 2020 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Talk Your Book we welcomed back Bruce Bond from Innovator Capital Management to talk about the new Stacker ETFs. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why the price of oil is losing its luster as a macro indicator, who owns the stock market, the rise of new investment classes, Robinhood as the financial hub for millennials, why people aren't happier and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Talk Your Book, Michael and Ben speak with Marvin Loh of State Street Global Markets about all things related to interest rates, the federal reserve, and inflation. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why baby boomers are selling out of stocks, the 4% rule, the newest star fund manager, why FICO scores are rising this year, companies piling on debt, how social media is making people miserable, some optimism on the pandemic front 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Talk Your Book we spoke with Laurence Black, founder of The Index Standard about how to pick the right products, ETFs and indices for your portfolio. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why it's impossible to invest based on the outcome of the election, how the market's reaction evolves over time, the coming travel spending boom, how healthcare costs have hurt incomes, baby bonds and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Talk Your Book we sat down with Simplify Asset Management's Paul Kim to discuss how investors can protect their portfolios from both upside and downside volatility in the stock market. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss how crazy it is to live through a period of time that will go down in the history books, why this recession has been devastating to working women, the next Robinhood, the IPO boom, dividend stocks as a bond substitute and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we sat down with Burton Malkiel, author of the classic book A Random Walk Down Wall Street. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss some bright spots from the pandemic, the massive real estate boom, the housing shortage, more diversity in the stock market, when asset allocation doesn't matter, the SPAC boom and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we spoke with George Milling-Stanley, Chief Gold Strategist at SSGA about all things related to investing in Gold. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss a minor correction in the stock market, why the upper middle class has so much debt, why fame and wealth don't always lead to more happiness, how baby boomers are messing up fund flow data, keeping politics out of your portfolio, the next big bull markets and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this show we do a deep dive on everything retirement-related including how much you need to save, how much is enough, what happens when you get a late jump on retirement planning 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss some work from home backlash, parents vs. single people in the office, where inflation comes from, the new fiscal policy regime, why markets are so hard, experts on an earlier version of the world, the two beers and a puppy rule, the growth in sports gambling and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why tech stocks are finally selling off, why the best companies have to crash, stopping a depression in its tracks, the TINA market in bonds, benchmarking endowment funds, investing in timeshares, Airbnb and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode we discuss the finances of parenting from what you need to buy, how to prepare yourself financially and emotionally, the cost of daycare, saving for college, teaching your kids about money and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss modern market cap theory, the continued move higher in Tesla shares, the Fed's new inflation mandate, millennials are finally buying houses, Michael is never going into a car dealership again and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Talk Your Book we sat down with State Street's Matt Bartolini to discuss investing in different sectors of the stock market and what these sectors can tell us about where we are in the business cycle. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss the potential for a spending boom when the pandemic is over, what happens to all of the government debt we're racking up, what happened to the middle class in America, the red hot housing market, a tough fall ahead for students and parents 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, we do a deep dive on budgeting, conscious spending, classflation, the two types of budgets, how to plan for infrequent expenses, how to make your budget obsolete and much more as it pertains to one of the most important topics in all of personal finance. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss the speed of bear market recoveries, signs of inflation, the hardest problem in finance right now, which stocks day traders favor, what makes investing so difficult, being right for the wrong reasons, how the real estate market is changing on the fly and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss what low bond yields may be telling us, why the stock market is smarter than people give it credit for, the rise of investment newsletters, the bull market in gold, when the world will go back to normal, TikTok and Twitter, annuities vs. bonds 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we talk about one of the most important topics in personal finance, home ownership. Michael and Ben discuss renting versus buying, how to think about starter homes, where your house fits into your retirement plan, 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss tech stock monopolies, Microsoft potentially buying TikTok, why more people are buying houses, what to do if your friends are speculating in stocks, Vanguard vs. Robinhood, the counterintuitive nature of this recession and 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Talk Your Book we discuss the challenges of investing in a bond market will generationally low interest rates with Marvin Loh from State Street. 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show we discuss why market cycles are happening in record time, parallels to the 1990s, speculative frenzy, anecdotal stock market signals, the red hot real estate market, commercial real estate, how work from home will change in the future, gold going crazy, how much to pay for an engagement ring, 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 [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices