Podcast
Talking Real Money - Investing Talk
Hosted by Don McDonald · EN
Financial talk radio veteran, Don McDonald and former host of Serious Money on PBS, Tom Cock, join forces to talk about real money issues. In each episode, they solve real money problems, dole out real investing (not speculating) advice, and really explain the financial issues that effect all of us. Plus, it's actually fun! Talking Real Money is a podcast designed to provide the real help we all need to enjoy a really great future. Call in with your questions anytime at 855-935-TALK (8255).
58episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Another Day of Q and A
5d ago00:23:59Tap to summarizeCan 21 funds deliver useful global diversification—or mostly camouflage overlap, cost, and complexity? Don opens the Friday Q&A by giving one listener a sharper set of questions to take back to an advisor, including what each fund actually contributes and what would be lost by owning fewer.The questions then move from portfolio architecture to retirement reality. A listener learns why RMDs and Roth conversions should not wag the retirement dog, and another faces a sudden $15,000-a-month skilled-nursing bill that changes the investment plan for good reasons—not because of market timing.There’s also a timely Roth-conversion opportunity for a young worker headed back to school, a warning about state charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities, and a sober return estimate for a balanced portfolio. Add one lovingly brutal critique of Competitive Don, and the listener mailbag is officially doing its job.00:39 Welcome to Friday Q&A02:50 Are 21 funds too many?05:40 Don’t let RMDs wag the retirement dog09:13 Investing for a $15,000-a-month care bill12:44 A low-income-year Roth conversion15:30 Competitive Don gets reviewed18:04 State charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities19:05 What return should a 60/40 portfolio expect?Questions? Comments? Click!
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The Index Ate Their Homework
1w ago00:30:36Tap to summarizeActive fund managers have a new explanation for years of underperformance: index funds have made their old job harder. Don and Tom examine that award-winning excuse, revisit how indexing reshaped the business, and return to the stubborn arithmetic—when active management charges more, matching the market still means losing to it after fees.Listener questions widen the lens. A UK investor wants to move from 60/40 to 50/50 without taking needless currency risk, while a family needs a sensible plan for a $200,000 windfall, a near-term car purchase, Roth contributions, and the money left for a brokerage account.The show closes with a federal retiree’s TSP allocation and a critique of an AI-built income portfolio stuffed with dividend funds. The throughline is simple: start with the job the money must do, favor total return over yield theater, and keep the plan easier to understand than the sales pitch.00:33 AI jingles on demand02:31 Active managers blame index funds08:34 A Social Security benefit wrinkle10:00 A UK investor moves from 60/40 to 50/5016:11 Planning a $200,000 windfall and car purchase20:20 A federal retiree’s TSP choices22:59 AI builds a dividend-income portfolio28:24 The jingle experiment continuesQuestions? Comments? Click!
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The Big Question Pile
1w ago00:38:19Tap to summarizeListener questions take over the studio as Don and Tom work through a very big pile without sacrificing any more forests than necessary. The quick tour runs from life insurance in retirement to the seductive yield on floating-rate bank-loan ETFs—and why extra income usually comes with extra risk.Then a live call turns asset allocation into an actual retirement plan: how a couple can move from 90/10 to 70/30, use Roth space intelligently, and rebalance without guessing what the market will do next. The hosts also weigh simplifying banking at Fidelity or Schwab, the Social Security shortfall, and the limits of retiring at 53 on a $2.8 million 401(k).It’s a brisk, practical Q&A about making portfolios safer, simpler, and realistic—plus expensive vacations, old television, and the strange persistence of paper.00:00 A special midweek Q&A03:29 Life insurance after retirement06:47 The risk behind high-yield bank-loan ETFs11:12 Bonds inside Roth accounts13:14 Moving a portfolio from 90/10 to 70/3022:54 Spending more after years of saving25:18 Consolidating banking at a brokerage26:53 How to repair Social Security31:10 Can $2.8 million fund retirement at 53?Questions? Comments? Click!
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Bubble Trouble?
1w ago00:31:50Tap to summarizeAI stocks are booming, valuations are stretched, and capital spending is surging. Does that add up to a bubble—or just another story investors cannot reliably time? Tom and Don walk through Fidelity’s warning signs without pretending anyone can ring a bell at the top.The practical conclusion is less exciting and more useful: stay diversified, keep realistic expectations, include the fixed income your plan needs, and do not mistake a recent gain for money the market owes you forever.Then a caller pressure-tests the flexible 5% withdrawal idea, followed by questions on delaying Social Security after leaving work and why convertible bonds add complexity without much benefit for individual investors.00:00 Time compression and the AI boom02:42 Is artificial intelligence in a bubble?04:51 Earnings, cash flow, and valuation signals07:14 Capital spending and the rate-cycle argument08:56 Fidelity’s verdict—and the diversified response11:13 The greed hidden inside market timing13:04 How flexible is a flexible 5% withdrawal?19:56 Delaying Social Security after stopping work23:44 Convertible bonds and a very expensive C-share fundQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Fluctuation Is the Feature
1w ago00:31:53Tap to summarizeMarkets fluctuate. That sounds obvious—until a favorite stock climbs for years and investors start treating gravity as optional. Tom and Don revisit Financial Physics and the essential difference between a temporary market decline and permanent single-company damage.The cure is not predicting the next dip. It is connecting the return you need with the volatility you can tolerate, then owning thousands of companies and rebalancing instead of reacting.Questions range from IRA eligibility for business owners to building a global portfolio in Singapore, choosing bonds near retirement, using a self-directed 401(k) window, and making a retirement plan before the calendar makes one for you.00:00 Money Monday and the law of financial fluctuation02:57 Why individual winners eventually stumble05:04 Temporary market declines versus permanent stock losses06:56 Return, volatility, and the tradeoff nobody escapes09:32 Diversification across roughly 10,700 companies12:16 IRA contributions for LLCs, partnerships, and corporations15:54 A listener’s investing journey from Singapore18:08 Fixing a concentrated U.S. portfolio overseas21:17 Bonds as retirement approaches23:40 Self-directed 401(k) windows and overthinking24:31 Build a retirement life—not just a retirement dateQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Brakes, Balance & $5 Million
2w ago00:34:19Tap to summarizeBonds are supposed to be the brakes in a portfolio—but should those brakes be BND, a shorter-term fund, CDs, or a Treasury ladder? Don explains why duration, yield stability, and personal comfort make the answer more nuanced than one ticker.The Friday questions keep coming: pairing AVGE with VT, moving $5 million from real estate into a retirement portfolio, understanding an emerging-markets fund that became legally non-diversified, and building 529s for grandchildren.The final stretch is all planning: Roth conversions and IRMAA, choosing a HELOC over a 401(k) loan, and resisting the urge to let the tax tail wag the retirement dog.00:00 A full inbox of financial questions02:30 BND versus short bonds, CDs, and Treasury ladders06:45 AVGE plus VT—or unnecessary overlap?10:23 Moving $5 million from real estate into markets14:51 When an index fund becomes legally non-diversified18:18 Building 529s and Roth head starts for grandchildren22:16 Roth conversions, RMDs, and IRMAA25:23 HELOC or 401(k) loan for renovations?28:01 The tax tail and a long Roth-conversion planQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Robot Advisor, Human Judgment
2w ago00:31:17Tap to summarizeAI can crunch a portfolio, harvest losses, and explain an investment concept in seconds. But can it stop a nervous investor from selling at exactly the wrong moment—or understand the life behind the spreadsheet?Tom and Don test the robot-advisor promise, even asking ChatGPT to weigh in. The verdict is a useful division of labor: let technology handle repeatable mechanics, while human judgment, fiduciary responsibility, and behavior coaching remain hard to automate.Then the questions get wonderfully strange: whether a 0.70% advisory fee earns its keep, how a concentrated tech fund hides risk behind a huge return, whether a $100 million Bitcoin Roth story adds up, and how to invest an inherited account.00:00 Are AI advisors coming for financial planners?03:06 ChatGPT offers its own cautious verdict04:14 Where automation helps—and where humans matter09:36 What investors should ask their advisory firms12:10 Is a 0.70% advisor fee earning its keep?16:50 The concentrated tech fund with a dazzling record21:12 A purported $100 million Bitcoin Roth25:22 Building an inherited-account portfolioQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Kid Money, Sorted
2w ago00:36:22Tap to summarizeA quarter in the piggy bank has grown into a maze of UTMAs, 529s, custodial Roth IRAs, and the new child investment accounts. Tom and Don sort the options by what the money is actually for—and who keeps control.The 529 emerges as the flexible favorite, especially with its education uses and limited Roth rollover. Then the conversation turns to concentrated factor ETFs, the familiar Bitcoin argument, and whether private markets are really swallowing public investing.The through-line is refreshingly simple: match the account to the goal, favor broad diversification, and resist stories that make investing sound more complicated than it needs to be.00:00 Pshaw, Wordle, and the kid-money maze03:00 UTMAs and UGMAs: control has an expiration date05:34 Why 529 plans remain the flexible favorite09:01 Custodial Roth IRAs and an enormous head start11:15 New child accounts versus the 52916:02 MOAT and COWZ: clever ticker, concentrated portfolio20:48 Bitcoin, volatility, and the meaning of value26:51 Public markets versus the private-market storyQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Chasing Returns, Catching Losses
2w ago00:27:55Tap to summarizeChasing performance feels like the easiest way to make money—but buying what has already gone up often means arriving late and leaving with less.In this episode of Talking Real Money, Tom and Don examine the “behavior gap”: the difference between an investment’s return and what investors actually earn after buying high, selling low, and chasing the latest market story. They explain why disciplined diversification and a sensible asset allocation usually beat a portfolio built around hot ideas.They also answer listener questions about retirement withdrawal order, Roth conversions, reinsurance funds, high investment costs, and whether financial recommendations are influenced by commissions.00:20 Why buying what’s hot usually means arriving late01:42 Chasing performance without ever catching it03:03 How Bitcoin rose while Bitcoin ETF investors lost money04:58 The costly confusion between “has gone up” and “is going up”05:53 Morningstar’s “Mind the Gap” research06:44 AI, chips, and the latest performance-chasing cycle07:37 Asset allocation versus a collection of hot ideas09:21 Why trying to beat the market often backfires10:16 Listener Question: Retirement accounts and withdrawal order12:29 Taxable, pre-tax, or Roth—which money should come first?15:35 Listener Question: Do reinsurance funds belong in a portfolio?16:58 Catastrophe risk, complexity, and nearly 2% in expenses21:33 Listener Question: Are fund recommendations influenced by compensation?23:27 Why “trust us” isn’t a convincing financial argumentQuestions? Comments? Click!
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Less Means Paying More
2w ago00:36:27Tap to summarizeThe episode covers market bubbles, diversification, Social Security timing, and retirMarkets aren’t mysterious—they’re driven by one of the oldest economic principles there is.In this episode of Talking Real Money, Tom and Don explain why supply and demand can send prices soaring in the short run… and why disciplined investors should usually ignore the excitement.You’ll also hear practical answers to listener questions about Social Security timing, investment clubs, umbrella insurance, and protecting retirement assets.00:12 Financial Fysics returns: Rule #2—Supply and Demand02:04 Tom returns from vacation03:32 Reviewing Rule #1 before diving into Rule #204:10 Why supply and demand mostly affects short-term prices05:25 The difference between investors and traders06:18 The dot-com bubble and today’s AI enthusiasm08:35 Market efficiency, trading volume, and why surprises matter10:55 Every bubble eventually runs out of buyers12:35 Listener Question: Delaying Social Security versus investing the money17:55 Why Social Security decisions are always personal19:25 Listener Question: Are investment clubs worthwhile?23:48 Listener Question: IRA protection, lawsuits, and umbrella insurance30:05 What actually determines umbrella insurance costs31:42 AI accidentally creates an extremely “chunky” TomQuestions? Comments? Click!
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