Episodes

The $3.9 Trillion Land Grab
April 2, 2026

The $3.9 Trillion Land Grab

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick is joined by Stephen Caruso, Associate Director of Wealth Management at Cerulli Associates, to unpack the rise of the RIA and the growing pains that come with scaling it. The...
The Missing Layer in Wealth Management
March 26, 2026

The Missing Layer in Wealth Management

On this episode of Ben with Benefits on Talking Wealth, Ben Carlson sits down with Joe Mrak , CEO of Foundation Source, to discuss the often-overlooked role philanthropy plays in wealth management. Joe shares his background i...
The Inside Story of OpenArc’s $129 Billion Breakaway with Dynasty’s Shirl Penney
March 19, 2026

The Inside Story of OpenArc’s $129 Billion Breakaway with Dynasty’s Shirl Penney

On this episode of Talking Wealth, On this episode of Talking Wealth, Josh Brown speaks with Dynasty CEO Shirl Penney about OpenArc Corporate Advisory’s $129 billion breakaway from Merrill Lynch.They discuss how a team of tha...
How to Borrow Against Your Portfolio For Less
March 12, 2026

How to Borrow Against Your Portfolio For Less

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Ben Carlson is joined by Joseph Wang, co-founder and CRO of SyntheticFi, a company that helps clients borrow against their portfolios for lower financing rates using box spread loans. They c...
The Extinction Event in Wealth Tech
March 5, 2026

The Extinction Event in Wealth Tech

Last week, Anthropic’s Claude announced integrations with Orion and LPL — not as a demo, not as a side tool, but embedded directly into the advisor workflow. That’s a big deal. When AI plugs into the plumbing of wealth manage...
Private Credit: Now Youse Can’t leave
Feb. 23, 2026

Private Credit: Now Youse Can’t leave

For years, private credit investors were told they could have it all — higher yields, low volatility, and relatively little risk. Semiliquid funds became the bridge between Wall Street’s private deals and Main Street’s capita...
Demographics are Destiny in the Housing Market
Feb. 19, 2026

Demographics are Destiny in the Housing Market

On this episode of Ben with Benefits, Ben Carlson sat down with Eric Finnigan , Vice President of Demographics Research at John Burns to break down why demographics are destiny in the housing market and what that means going ...
Why 3,000 Financial Advisors Are Meeting up to Discuss AI
Feb. 12, 2026

Why 3,000 Financial Advisors Are Meeting up to Discuss AI

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick sits down with Matt Middleton , the founder and CEO of Future Proof, the fastest-growing and now largest event in wealth management. What started as an ambitious idea — to re...
Private Equity's Liquidity Problem
Feb. 4, 2026

Private Equity's Liquidity Problem

Secondaries used to be a niche corner of private markets — a way for institutions to quietly offload old fund positions. Today, they’re becoming a core feature of modern finance. In this conversation, Marc Rubinstein and Mich...
Is Social Security Going Bankrupt?
Jan. 28, 2026

Is Social Security Going Bankrupt?

On this episode of Ben With Benefits, Ben Carlson is joined by Mike Piper, creator of the Oblivious Investor blog and author of a number of books including Social Security Made Simple. They discuss Social Security from every ...
Why Advisors Go Independent
Jan. 21, 2026

Why Advisors Go Independent

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Josh Brown sits down with Kevin Thompson, Founder of 9i Capital Group, to unpack the biggest issues facing financial advisors and investors today. They break down Wealthfront’s rocky IPO and...
The Lie on Both Sides of Investment Management
Jan. 14, 2026

The Lie on Both Sides of Investment Management

Investment management has become strangely polarizing in the advisory industry. On one end, many “planning-led” firms treat portfolios as a commodity—something clients can DIY or outsource entirely because “markets are effici...
Be the GP: How to Invest in the 2 & 20
Jan. 7, 2026

Be the GP: How to Invest in the 2 & 20

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick sits down with Todd Owens, Managing Partner at Cantilever to break down the rapidly growing world of GP stakes investing. They discuss why asset managers are selling minority...
How to Beat the 4% Retirement Spending Rule | Ben with Benefits
Dec. 22, 2025

How to Beat the 4% Retirement Spending Rule | Ben with Benefits

On this episode of Ben with Benefits, Ben Carlson is joined by Stefan Sharkansky, author of the new research paper “The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need.” Millions of retirees and advisors are trying to sol...
When Alts Go Bad: The BlueRock Blowup and a Liquidity Wake-Up Call
Dec. 19, 2025

When Alts Go Bad: The BlueRock Blowup and a Liquidity Wake-Up Call

On this episode of Talking Wealth, we’re diving into one of the most misunderstood—and increasingly controversial—corners of investing: alternatives. Over the past few years, interval funds and other semi-liquid vehicles have...
FINNY Reveals New $150 Million Valuation!
Dec. 18, 2025

FINNY Reveals New $150 Million Valuation!

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Josh Brown is joined by Eden Ovadia and Victoria Toli, two of the three founders of FINNY AI. FINNY AI is one of the hottest startups in the wealth management industry fresh off a major new ...
BOMBSHELL - 90 Percent of RIAs are Actually Shrinking!
Dec. 10, 2025

BOMBSHELL - 90 Percent of RIAs are Actually Shrinking!

On this episode of Talking Wealth, we’re doing something special as part of the Compound Insights Research Program, our initiative to bring original data, white papers, and strategic intelligence to the wealth management prof...
Here’s What Your Competitors Are Doing. A Deep Dive Into Schwab’s 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study
Dec. 3, 2025

Here’s What Your Competitors Are Doing. A Deep Dive Into Schwab’s 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick is joined by Lisa Salvi, Managing Director of Business Consulting and Education at Charles Schwab Advisor Services. We’re diving deep into Schwab’s RIA Benchmarking Study, wh...
The Yield Mania: Why Investors Are All in On Income
Nov. 26, 2025

The Yield Mania: Why Investors Are All in On Income

On this episode of Talking Wealth, we’re diving into one of the biggest shifts in the advisory world: the surge in income-oriented products. From covered-call ETFs and bond ladders to private-credit funds and interval structu...
The Age of Easy AUM Is Over
Nov. 19, 2025

The Age of Easy AUM Is Over

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick and Ian Wenik go deep on the RIA industry’s two biggest stress fractures: the organic growth slowdown and the unraveling of some of private equity’s largest wealth rollups. F...
How to Start Your Own ETF
Nov. 12, 2025

How to Start Your Own ETF

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Ben Carlson is joined by Cullen Roche , founder and CIO of Discipline Funds. They'll explore how Cullen turned his blog, Pragmatic Capitalism, into a funnel for wealth management clients, wh...
The Kyle Busch Insurance Scam Explained
Nov. 5, 2025

The Kyle Busch Insurance Scam Explained

Josh Brown and Kevin Thompson are back for an all new edition of Talking Wealth. They'll discuss the Kyle Busch IUL scam, ChatGPT bans “tailored financial advice”, CFP & being young, what does everyone do to inoculate retirin...
This AI Tool Is Changing How Advisors Work
Oct. 29, 2025

This AI Tool Is Changing How Advisors Work

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Michael Batnick sits down with John Connell , Co-Founder and CEO of Focal, the AI-powered productivity platform transforming how advisory firms document, automate and scale client service. W...
How AI Can Help Advisors Get Bigger Clients
Oct. 22, 2025

How AI Can Help Advisors Get Bigger Clients

On this episode of Talking Wealth, Ben Carlson sits down with Nick Downer, Head of Advisory Services at Opto Investments. Opto Investments is a tech-driven platform that helps financial advisors and family offices better mana...