In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we explore the biggest lessons we've learned throughout our careers in investing and financial planning. We discuss the importance of diversification, the challenges of balancing long-term strategies with changing market conditions, and the critical role of understanding an investor's true risk tolerance. We also discuss the principal-agent conflict, the potential pitfalls of relying solely on quantitative measures, and the necessity of...

In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we discussed the key insights and lessons learned from our 12-hour live podcast event, "PNL for a Purpose." Throughout the day, we interviewed 24 guests on a wide range of topics, including macro investing, quantitative investing, value investing, and technology. We delved into the importance of being open to changing one's opinion when presented with new evidence, the challenges of navigating the complexities of the current economic...

In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we return to our Fact of Fiction framework. We cover a diverse set of investing and financial planning topics that are on many investors' minds. We debate whether inflation can truly be predicted, if legendary investment managers are a thing of the past in today's market environment, and how much emphasis to place on fees and taxes when constructing an investment strategy. Additionally, we dig into the question of whether your house...

In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we dive deep into the world of trend following investment strategies. We explain what trend following is, discuss the potential benefits such as downside protection during bear markets, and explore some of the challenges involved, including false signals, whipsaw risk, and the difficulty of sticking with the strategy during underperforming periods. We also talk about how trend following can be incorporated as one component of a...

In this episode of Two Quants and a Financial Planner, we dive into the important topic of withdrawal rates and retirement planning. We discuss how Monte Carlo simulations can help us understand the potential outcomes and risks associated with different withdrawal strategies. We also explore the concept of sequence of returns risk and how it can impact a portfolio's longevity. Additionally, we examine how utilizing different asset classes and employing factor investing can potentially enhance...

In investing, there is supposed to be a clear tradeoff between return and risk. Strategies that reduce risk are also supposed to come with a corresponding reduction in return But one factor defies that tradeoff. In this episode, we look at the low volatility factor. We discuss how it is measured, why it works and how it can be used in portfolios. We also examine some popular low volatility ETFs and look at the key criteria investors should look at when evaluating them. We hope you enjoy the...

When we start in the investing world, many of us think building the perfect investment strategy is about data and numbers and theory. We think the strategy that works best on paper will also work best in the real world. But it doesn't work that way. And the main reason is that all of us are not what economic theory would call "rational actors". All three of us owe a huge debt to Danny Kahneman for his groundbreaking research that taught us that. Danny recently passed away and as a tribute to...

With the rise of inflation in the past few years, many investors have been paying attention to metrics that they largely ignored for decades. Measures like the CPI and PCE have now become front page news when they are released each month. But despite quoting them all the time, many investors don't understand what goes into them and how they are calculated. In this episode, we try to correct that. We take a deep dive into the metrics that are used to measure inflation and the details behind...

Warren Buffett recently released his 2024 annual letter. And this one was a particularly notable one since it was the first since the passing of Charlie Munger. Buffett wrote a beautiful tribute to Munger in the letter and as is always the case also shared many timeless investing lessons. In this episode, we share our biggest takeaways from the letter and the lessons we think investors can learn from it. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST...

Academic research can seem inaccessible for many investors. But behind all the complicated concepts and formulas are usually some simple core lessons that all investors can benefit from. In this episode, we are joined by Alpha Architect's Jess Bost to help us pull those core lessons out of the work of Eugene Fama and Ken French. We discuss ten timeless lessons investors can take from their research and look at some simple examples that make them easy to understand. We also look at what it all...

The top ten companies in the S&P 500 currently represent 35% of the index. Some market pundits have talked about that being a significant risk factor for the market going forward. In this episode, we take a look at the facts to see if those concerns are warranted. We look at how the current level of concentration compares to history, whether the fundamentals of the biggest companies justify their valuations and what it all means for investors. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE...

In a recent appearance on the Masters in Business podcast, David Einhorn claimed that the stock market is broken. He discussed how he has adjusted his strategy to reflect his belief that the market doesn't seem to care about fundamentals anymore. In this episode, we take an in depth look at this idea and the facts both supporting and refuting it. We discuss how the rise of passive investing has changed the market, how that impacts fundamental investing and some potential changes fundamental...

In the first episode of our new series, the Intentional Investor, Matt Zeigler sits down with RLS Wealth founder Justin Castelli to discuss his personal mission and the tools he uses to achieve it. They discuss Justin's life planning mission, why he prefers visions over goals, the $1,000,000 check he wrote to his future self and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST...

We all know risk in investing when we see it. But defining it can be a much bigger challenge. In this episode, we work through the concept of risk from both an investing and financial planning perspective. We discuss the ways to measure it, how active investors can think about it, the importance of considering it in a behavioral context and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST...

Private equity, private credit and private real estate have traditionally been areas that are reserved for large investors and institutions. But new fund structures are beginning to change that. The question is whether that is a good thing or a bad thing for investors. In this episode, we are joined by Lee Boudouris to tackle that question. We take a detailed look at these asset classes in general, how the evergreen fund structures that have made them more accessible work and the things...

In our first "Fact of Fiction" episode, we tackle some of the questions we have been asked or have seen out in the world recently. We discuss whether stocks and bonds are sufficient in a portfolio, retirement planning, factor investing, whether an AI driven bubble could be coming. why there wasn't a #1 rap song in 2023 and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST...

Active ETFs have grown exponentially in recent years, especially in the equity space. One of the big benefits of that for investors in more investment strategies to choose from. The challenge, though, is that is can be hard to filter through them all to find the right strategy for a specific need. In this episode, we try to help solve that problem. We walk through the key criteria we look at when evaluating active ETFs from both and investing and financial planning perspective. We also work...

In this episode, we walk through our experience of launching a small-cap value ETF in 2014, running it for 6 years and then shutting it down in 2020. We look at what we learned from the experience and what investors can learn about how ETFs work behind the scenes from our experience. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.validea.com/financial-planning-podcast⁠⁠⁠ FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VALIDEA...

Technology booms can lead to massive change in our society. They can also lead to huge profits for investors who invest in them. But those huge gains can also be followed by major losses when they inevitably run their course. There is probably no better way to understand the lessons for investors from these periods than to look at the story of ARK Investments. ARK's flagship innovation ETF generated eye popping returns in the years leading up to 2021. Then it gave many of those returns back...

2023 was a very interesting year in markets. The pessimism many investors had at the beginning of the year turned out to be unfounded as markets produced well above average returns. And the economy also remained more resilient than many thought, with inflation falling more than expectations throughout the year. Now that 2023 has come to a close, we wanted to take a look back and share the biggest lessons we learned from the year. We discuss what we learned in markets and what we learned in...

Forecast season is once again upon is. It is the time of year where many market strategists will tell us where the S&P 500 will end 2024 and do it with conviction. There is just one problem. Almost all of them will be wrong. But despite the fact that the evidence that forecasting the market is a losing game, many of us who follow markets still think we can do it. So we decided that the best way for us to overcome that bias is to try to do it ourselves. In our first annual forecast...

Many value investors may see momentum as the antithesis of their approach to investing. But the reality is that there are a variety of ways that value investors can use momentum to enhance their approach. In this episode, we discuss four of them. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.validea.com/the-education-of-a-financial-planner-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VALIDEA...

Stocks and bonds have their best returns in history over the past 40 years. But history tells us that the period is more the exception than the rule. With the outlook for stocks and bonds not looking as rosy as the past, many investors have questioned whether a portfolio consisting of just stocks and bonds is enough. In this episode, we tackle that question. We look at the future outlook for stocks and bonds and evaluate a variety of alternative strategies investors could consider. We hope...

One of the most common pieces of advice given to investors is to have a process. But figuring out what that process should be is much more challenging. And determining when to change it is even harder. In this episode, we tackle both issues. We look at the characteristics of a good investment process. We also look at international diversification, the 60-40 portfolio and the struggles of value investing as examples of how to think about when to change it. We hope you enjoy the discussion....