You and Tom spend this episode unpacking a surprisingly liberating idea for investors: that average is good enough. Kicking off with your own story about a two-star podcast rating, you two stumble into a bigger truth—most peo...
Don and Tom open with the investor mistakes Christine Benz highlighted in Morningstar: portfolio sprawl, concentration in the same large-cap tech names, clinging to ancient active funds, ignoring reallocations, and failing at...
You and Tom take on the myth of hard-and-fast financial rules by walking through Real Simple’s list of nine “rules you can break.” From the latte factor to credit cards, budgeting, bulk shopping, and the old “retire at 65” tr...
A listener’s nightmare 401(k) story sparks a deep dive into how small employers can delay, misuse, or even lose employee retirement contributions before they ever reach the plan custodian. Don and Tom explain the Department o...
Don fields a full slate of listener questions on everything from SGOV vs. high-yield savings accounts to the differences between AVUV and DFSV, why international stocks belong in a portfolio (but shouldn’t dominate it), and w...
Don and Tom question a surprising Wall Street Journal column arguing that annuities should become the default option in 401(k) plans. They explore why the idea is gaining traction, where the logic breaks down, and how the ins...
Tom and Don grade Gen Z investors from a recent Wall Street Journal article, discussing their portfolios, common mistakes like stock picking, active management, and crypto speculation. They move into practical retirement and ...
Don and Tom tackle investor “magical thinking,” especially the belief that private equity, non-traded REITs, and other illiquid “exclusive” investments offer hidden superior returns. They walk through Jason Zweig’s recent rep...
Tom welcomes consumer advocate Herb Weisbaum (ConsumerMan) to talk through the rising headaches of modern travel and everyday scams. Herb shares a recent Delta Airlines ordeal where he was nearly stranded overseas because he ...
This Friday Q&A tackles a familiar voice: Bitcoin Bob tries again to make the case for crypto as protection against currency debasement. Don breaks down what “debasement” actually means, why inflation gradually reduces purcha...
Don and Tom take listeners on a wild ride through the booming (and frequently disastrous) world of leveraged ETFs. They break down how these funds promise double or triple the excitement but mathematically bleed away returns ...
Don and Tom tackle the universal truths of investing — namely, that most investors underperform the market due to their own behavior. They discuss the persistence of emotional decision-making, the dangers of market timing, an...
Don and Tom tackle the timeless question: why do you invest? They challenge the “TINA” mindset (“There Is No Alternative”) and dissect new research claiming retirement savers should own no bonds at all. They argue that while ...
Don and Tom unpack why even smart, financially literate people sometimes need a financial advisor — prompted by Morningstar’s Christine Benz explaining why she hires one. They explore the value of second opinions, professiona...
Don answers a range of listener questions covering topics from Fidelity’s fully paid lending program to the Roth 401(k) decision and mortgage payoff strategies. He explains why stock lending rarely adds much value for ETF inv...
Don and Tom open with an honest reflection on market déjà vu—how today’s investing climate echoes the speculative excesses of 1929 and 2008. Citing Andrew Ross Sorkin’s new book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street ...
Don and Tom go after one of their favorite targets: bad actors in the financial industry—especially those who flee regulation by becoming insurance salesmen. They break down a shocking new study showing that 98% of brokers ki...
Don and Tom tackle the timeless topic of diversification — why it’s back in style, why it’s so hard to maintain, and why most investors (and pros) still get it wrong. They walk through how market “leadership” shifts over deca...
Tom Cock and Apella Wealth advisor Roxy Butner team up for a lively listener Q&A episode covering everything from the new wave of penny-stock IPOs to retirement readiness and tax traps. Tom opens with a warning about the surg...
Don and Tom tackle another full “Q Day,” answering listener questions on Roth fund selection, bond fund gimmicks, real estate returns, California’s odd HSA tax treatment, switching from Vanguard to Avantis, copying politician...
Don and Tom revisit the Social Security debate after new Wall Street Journal and New York Times articles challenge long-standing advice to delay claiming. They dismantle clickbait claims that “waiting doesn’t make sense,” hig...
Don and Tom dive into common misconceptions about what’s really been the top-performing asset class over the past five years—spoiler: it’s not the S&P 500. They compare U.S. large-cap growth with international small-cap value...
Don and Tom kick off by joking about their “record-breaking” call drought before diving headlong into the week’s biggest speculative loser: crypto. The duo dismantle the mythology around Bitcoin and its countless imitators, c...
Don and Tom tackle a mix of market mania and listener questions, skewering speculative fads like meme stocks, SPACs, private credit ETFs, and covered-call funds. Don opens with a scam text story before the duo dive into the a...
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