Episodes

A sharp market drop can rattle investors, but Don and Tom explain why global diversification and a portfolio matched to your real risk capacity matter more than reacting to headlines. Then they answer four listener questions: whether a debt-free household with roughly $5 million can afford retirement, how to balance pre-tax and Roth contributions near the 24% bracket, whether a federal money market fund is safe for a large cash balance, and how a young investor can improve on an expensive targe...

When GameStop took off, Dimensional sold as the stock moved outside its small-value rules. Don McDonald and Tom Cock revisit the meme-stock frenzy and explain how factor funds differ from broad index funds. They also answer listener questions about where to hold stocks and bonds across retirement accounts, how 403(b) and 457(b) plans differ, and what happens when a spouse inherits a 401(k). 00:00 Opening 01:33 GameStop and the meme-stock frenzy 07:34 Index funds, factor funds, and diversificati...

Merchant cash advances promise quick relief for a business in trouble—but the convenience can hide brutal costs and daily withdrawals that make a cash-flow crisis worse. Don and Tom explain why a local bank, an SBA loan, SCORE counseling, or even a hard look at whether the business should continue may be safer than easy money. Then a Rhode Island caller asks how to place stocks and bonds across Roth, taxable, and traditional retirement accounts without losing control of overall risk. The answer...

A provocative academic study says retirees should hold 100% stocks—an all-gas, no-brakes strategy that looks great in a spreadsheet. Don and Tom explain why higher expected returns alone ignore sequence risk, the emotional reality of a 50% drawdown, and the practical value of bonds when retirement withdrawals begin. Then a listener asks about an employer-backed indexed universal split-dollar life insurance plan promising tax-free growth and distributions. The pitch sets off every alarm: complic...

Three famous companies in three different industries can still add up to a total loss. Don and Tom revisit Rule 17 from Financial Physics: diversification means much more than owning a handful of familiar stocks. From Enron and WorldCom to hometown favorites, they explain why confidence in a company is no substitute for spreading your investment risk. They also distinguish investments from the firms that hold them, then tackle listener questions about micro-cap funds, building an emergency rese...

Five listener questions take Don from retirement income to a young investor’s first $100 a month. When does an immediate annuity make sense? What changes—and what doesn’t—when eligible Vanguard mutual funds become ETFs? And how can a 20-year-old get started with a simple, diversified retirement portfolio? Don also explains where interest from brokered CDs goes and weighs the appeal of a promotional 6% account against the hassle of moving your banking. First, a listener has a paper-saving sugges...

Harvard, Yale, and other elite endowments hire armies of experts and pour billions into private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, and real estate—yet simple public-market investing often leaves them behind. Don and Tom unpack the numbers, the fees, and the small college that took a much simpler route. Then Darcy calls with a retirement portfolio that gets an enthusiastic A+: globally diversified stocks, a bond ladder, smart asset location, and a flexible spending plan. Her biggest challenge...

Your grocery bill, insurance premium, and home maintenance costs can tell a very different story from the headline inflation rate. Don and Tom explore why rising prices hit households differently, how lifestyle creep quietly absorbs pay raises, and why a diversified investment portfolio matters when protecting long-term purchasing power. A listener nearing retirement asks whether an annuity or a change to her target-date portfolio makes more sense. Plus, why a fixed bond payment can fall behind...

A $50 sports bet can cost more than the money you lose today. Don and Tom explore why treating gambling as an investment can put decades of potential growth at risk—and why patient, low-cost, diversified investing offers a very different proposition. They discuss the pull of betting apps, the power of compounding, and the habits that make saving automatic. Listener questions bring the conversation back to flexibility: How firmly should a retiree follow an investment policy statement during a ma...

Financial products rarely come with a zero price tag—even when the salesperson insists that “the company pays.” Don and Tom unpack Rule 16 of Financial Physics, expose the hidden commissions and ongoing expenses behind that pitch, and compare a costly Nationwide target-date fund with a far cheaper Vanguard alternative. The real question is not whether you pay, but whether you know how much—and what service you receive in return. Then a burned-out 53-year-old nurse asks whether a $1.4 million ne...

On Halloween Eve, Don takes four listener questions about starting young, retiring early, managing risk, and making the most of Social Security. The costumes may be spooky, but the answers are practical. First, he weighs whether an 18-year-old without earned income should keep an Acorns account or move to a taxable brokerage account. Then he explains why someone retiring before 59½ may still benefit from pre-tax workplace contributions, with Rule 72(t) and Roth basis providing potential bridges...

Market timing always looks easy in hindsight: just miss the 30 worst days. The catch is that the market’s best and worst days cluster together, so getting out means risking the rebound. Don and Tom unpack the seductive math, the impossible two-part prediction, and why diversified buy-and-hold investing remains the boring answer that actually works. A 73-year-old widow asks what to do after an insurance agent who sold her two EquiTrust annuities calls with another idea. Don and Tom question whet...

Finding an advisor means looking beyond the word “fiduciary.” Don and Tom explore what it takes to find someone who puts your interests first all the time, why experience and a team matter, and what an ongoing fee should buy beyond portfolio management. They also discuss the challenge of handing over the financial reins—and making sure your spouse has someone to call. Listener questions tackle adding bonds before a career change, the tax tradeoffs of bonds in a brokerage account, why retirement...

Rising interest rates can make bond prices fall—and still be good news for savers. Don and Tom explain the bond-price mechanics, why higher yields matter, and why bonds belong in a portfolio for stability rather than excitement. They compare BND, money markets, and bond ladders, then explain how rebalancing and holding high-quality bonds to maturity can quiet the noise. Listener questions cover why money markets alone aren't enough and a blunt review of the costly, illiquid Ares Core Infrastruc...

Financial Physics Rule 15 says to follow the money. Don and Tom explain why an advisor's compensation still matters, how commissions and fee-based arrangements can muddy the picture, and why transparent fee-only advice and peer-reviewed evidence remain the better starting points. Listener questions cover choosing broad, low-cost bond ETFs without panicking over tiny short-term moves, a correction to the S&P 500's streak of double-digit gains, and why Roth conversions should be evaluated ...

Don takes five listener questions with no magic tricks required: how simple a young investor’s Roth IRA can be, whether socialist economies have stock markets, and what rising U.S. debt really means for Treasury investors and the dollar. He explains why a globally diversified fund can do most of the heavy lifting, why modern economies are hybrids rather than neat ideological labels, and how stocks, TIPS, and global diversification can help with inflation risk—without pretending there is a perfe...

0:43 Don and Tom turn up the heat on factor investing: why small, value, and profitable companies have historically earned higher returns, why tracking error can be brutal, and why a modest tilt may be easier to live with than a portfolio built entirely around factors. 12:20 A listener’s 457(b) includes a non-U.S. value fund holding roughly 45% cash. The hosts explain why that unusually high cash position, active management, and higher expenses make the simpler international index option more a...

Indexed annuities promise market-like gains without market losses—but Don and Tom explain how commissions, surrender charges, spreads, participation rates, and even changing contract terms can leave investors with disappointing returns and very little transparency. They also discuss how much cash belongs in a retirement “reservoir,” why falling bond prices do not make high-quality bonds riskier than stocks, and how MYGA tax deferral works through a 1035 exchange. 01:31 Musical royalties and an...

Don and Tom dismantle the idea that investors need to choose one narrow “style.” Growth, value, small companies, momentum, and passive investing are ingredients—not competing identities—and the sensible answer is a globally diversified, low-cost portfolio built to work together. They also answer questions about arranging stocks and bonds across a Roth and rollover IRA, helping a late-starting saver use a 403(b) and Roth IRA, and whether a 30-year Treasury yielding more than 5% is really a safe ...

The “Buggy Whip Theory” is a reminder that even when investors correctly see the future coming, they rarely know which company—or which part of a new industry—will actually win. Don and Tom trace the lesson from ice delivery and buggy whips to streaming, airlines, and artificial intelligence. They also explain why rebalancing is portfolio maintenance rather than market timing, what falling municipal-bond prices really mean, and how to calculate international exposure as a percentage of the stoc...

Episode 2001 begins a new millennium of money questions—with Don sorting out the numbering before tackling inherited IRAs, CD ladders, Roth conversions, workplace retirement plans, Warren Buffett’s famously simple portfolio advice, and capital-gains harvesting for children. The common thread is simplicity with enough diversification and tax planning to avoid expensive surprises. 01:07 Welcome to Episode 2001 04:27 Simplifying inherited IRAs 09:13 Building an automatic CD ladder 11:46 Roth conv...

Bond prices are falling as yields rise—and that does not mean diversification has failed. Don and Tom explain why high-quality bonds can decline when stocks and the economy are strong, why that behavior is normal, and why chasing high-yield or “alternative” bond funds can quietly turn the conservative side of a portfolio into more stock-market risk. They also answer questions about Roth conversions after required minimum distributions have begun, whether conversion taxes should ever come from r...

Some IRA mistakes cannot simply be reversed. Don and Tom explain the traps around non-spouse beneficiary transfers, the one-rollover-per-year rule, 72(t) plans, the same-property rollover rule, outdated beneficiaries, qualified charitable distributions, missed RMDs, and portfolio drift. Then Mike from Salt Lake City asks how aggressively he should convert a traditional IRA to Roth before Social Security and future inherited assets change the tax picture. Don and Tom discuss bracket management, ...

Don and Tom compare the S&P 500 with total-market and globally diversified investing, explain the danger of home bias, and show why owning more of the world can reduce concentration risk. Then they answer questions about Roth conversions, bond-fund losses, CD ladders, and matching a risk score to a stock-bond allocation. 00:00 Oktoberfest musical intro 01:23 S&P 500 versus the whole market 04:18 Why global diversification matters 09:07 Home bias around the world 13:11 A lost decade for the S&P ...