Ask The Compound – "10 Things Every Stock Market Investor Needs to Know"
Podcast Summary
Hosts: Ben Carlson & Duncan Hill
Date: December 17, 2025
Theme: Essential knowledge, mindsets, and frameworks for everyone entering the stock market or looking to improve their investment approach, with practical advice, entertaining banter, and a range of listener-submitted questions.
Episode Overview
This episode is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the foundational truths of stock market investing. Ben and Duncan take audience questions on the most common mistakes new investors make, the 10 non-negotiable lessons for investing in stocks, understanding market cycles, the role of bonds in retirement, the 15 vs. 30-year mortgage debate, and more. The tone is informal yet highly informative, peppered with personal anecdotes, friendly debates, and a dash of pop culture.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Simple Portfolio Fixes and Mistakes Most Investors Make
(03:11–07:13)
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Automate & Simplify:
Ben emphasizes automating contributions, asset allocation, and rebalancing.“The less you look, the less you do, the better your results are going to be.” — Ben Carlson [03:31]
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Portfolio Perspective:
Rather than focusing on each investment individually, view your holdings as part of a whole.“Think about your investments in context of your entire portfolio, not in isolation.” — Ben [04:05]
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Aggregation of Accounts:
Ben has consolidated accounts to Schwab & Fidelity for easier oversight. -
Track Performance (Benchmarking):
Manually track how much you’ve contributed each year, what your returns are, and compare against benchmarks.“You should have some sort of benchmark…are you actually doing better than the market or could you just index the whole thing?” — Ben [05:32]
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Define Your Time Horizon:
Know if your investment is a trade, a buy-and-hold, or something else before you invest. -
Save More Each Year:
Ben’s data shows steadily increasing your savings rate trumps chasing higher returns.“Saving more money can improve your performance better than investment returns.” — Ben [06:28]
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Pay Off Credit Card Debt First:
Duncan reminds listeners that carrying expensive debt undermines any market gains.“If you’re investing in Robinhood but carrying a balance on credit cards, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.” — Duncan [07:40]
2. 10 Things Every Stock Market Investor Needs to Know
(08:28–15:58)
Ben delivers a rapid-fire, Letterman-style breakdown—complete with illustrative charts—of the core principles every equity investor must master:
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Stocks Mostly Go Up, But Sometimes They Go Down
Volatility is normal and expected. -
Returns Are Lumpy
Long stretches of stagnation (e.g., 2000–2009), followed by meteoric runs."You don’t get these numbers just going up on a stair step approach..." — Ben [09:04]
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No Such Thing as Average
Annual returns rarely match the long-term averages. -
Time Horizon Matters
The longer you invest, the better your odds—market is a compounding machine. -
Stock Market Can Be a Basket Case
Periods of extreme daily swings, as in March 2020, are rare but happen. -
Don’t Be Afraid of All-Time Highs
New highs happen often during bull markets; not always a precursor to a crash. -
Prepare for Crashes
Three 50%+ drawdowns since 1950; expect two to three such crashes in a lifetime.“Charlie Munger says you should be prepared for two or three 50% crashes in your investing lifetime.” — Ben [12:38]
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Bear Markets Are Normal
Expect 20–35% drawdowns every five to six years. -
Stock Market is a Compounding Machine
$10,000 in 1980 would be worth $2 million+ today, compounding is powerful. -
You Own Corporate Profits and Innovation
Owning stocks = owning a share of real businesses, with their profits and growth.“It’s really magical that this system even exists that allows us to invest beside these corporations.” — Ben [15:44]
Notable Moment
Ben and Duncan discuss the difference between stock market drawdowns and individual stock collapses, reminding listeners that while markets as a whole recover, individual companies may not.
“There’s a difference between investing in a crash in the stock market versus a stock...Some stocks do come back. A lot of them don’t.” — Ben [17:22]
3. Cyclical vs. Secular Bull/Bear Markets Explained
(17:54–21:31)
- Secular: Long-term trend (decades), e.g., 1982–1999 bull.
- Cyclical: Short/intermediate (months to a few years); can occur within secular moves.
“Cyclical is short term...Secular is long term...A short-term bear within a long-term bull, or vice versa.” — Ben [18:25]
- It's hard to identify these cycles until after the fact. Ben notes only about six major secular markets in the last century.
“We argue about it after the fact. You don’t know it in the moment.” — Ben [19:56]
4. Are Bonds Now a Prudent Substitute for Cash in Retirement?
(23:37–25:54)
- With interest rates now higher, Ben agrees bonds (especially high-quality, short/intermediate-term) make sense as part of the “safe” bucket for retirees’ withdrawal strategies.
- No one-size-fits-all approach: “I don’t think that there is a perfect retirement withdrawal strategy...it’s so dependent on different assumptions and variables and flexibility and needs.” — Ben [25:17]
5. Should Young Buyers Choose a 15- or 30-Year Mortgage in Today’s Higher-Rate Environment?
(27:02–31:17)
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Example: On a $500,000 mortgage at current rates (~6.3% for 30-year, ~5.75% for 15-year).
- 15-year means much higher monthly payment but over $360k saved in interest vs. 30-year.
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Best Approach for Flexibility:
Ben suggests opting for the 30-year mortgage and making extra principal payments whenever possible rather than being locked into higher payments.“Take out the 30-year fixed loan...But you can always make extra principal payments on the loan. This strategy gives you way more flexibility and doesn’t lock you into the higher payment.” — Ben [30:20]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On simplifying portfolios:
“I'm trying to simplify as much as I can because it's so much easier to understand the entire picture of your investment plan when everything is under the same roof.” — Ben [04:33] -
On handling bear markets:
“You either diversify, or you're just a psycho and you can sit through these things...” — Ben [14:22] -
On new investors’ attitudes:
“To me, the main one is just...drawdowns are not something to be afraid of...if you have a decent time horizon, then it's actually something that can be a good thing for you.” — Duncan [16:37] -
Star Wars Pop Culture Beatdown:
Lighthearted debate about the merits (or lack thereof) of Star Wars, with Ben provocatively declaring:“One of my hot takes is it's the most overrated movie of all time.” — Ben [22:21]
Timestamps by Topic
| Segment | Start | End | |--------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------| | Automate and Portfolio Simplification | 03:11 | 07:13 | | Top 10 Things Investors Should Know | 08:28 | 15:58 | | Individual Stocks vs. Broad Market | 16:15 | 17:47 | | Secular vs. Cyclical Bull/Bear Markets | 17:54 | 21:31 | | The Bond/Cash Retirement Debate | 23:37 | 25:54 | | Mortgage: 15 vs. 30 Years | 27:02 | 31:17 |
Overall Tone and Takeaways
Ben and Duncan manage to make fundamental investing principles feel fresh and relatable. The discussion is practical, sometimes counterintuitive, and deeply rooted in actual investor experience—as well as humility about market unpredictability. The hosts are approachable, funny (the Star Wars sidebar brings levity), and self-deprecating, but never lose sight of what matters: helping investors build better financial habits, resist behavioral pitfalls, and keep a long-term, holistic view.
Listener Value:
Ideal for both novice and intermediate investors, this episode is a handbook of "what everyone wishes they'd known sooner"—delivering actionable advice, context for why markets behave the way they do, and some much-needed humor for the rollercoaster that is investing.
Key Actionable Advice:
- Automate everything possible (savings, investments, rebalancing).
- Focus on the portfolio, not individual bets.
- Benchmark your performance.
- Know and respect your time horizon.
- Save more, early and often—compound interest does the heavy lifting.
- Be mentally and strategically prepared for bear markets and crashes.
- Think of stocks as owning pieces of businesses.
- Embrace flexibility, whether in retirement withdrawals or mortgage strategies.
Contact/Community:
Questions for future episodes? Email: askthecompoundshowmail.com
Live chatters on Twitter & YouTube contribute further education and community vibe.
Next Episode:
Ben promises a holiday sweater, more questions answered, and the same no-BS financial wisdom.