Why Listen?

In this conversation, we sat down with Garrett Baldwin to talk about the role liquidity plays in financial markets, investing, and personal finance. We explore why liquidity isn’t just about having cash on hand. It is about breathing room—and the ability to keep your options open for individuals and families. As Garrett puts it, having liquidity is essential to every financial plan because “liquidity is permission.” It is permission to borrow, to expand, to take risks and to make financial decisions without stress or anxiety.

Garrett breaks down how liquidity influences market behavior, the often-overlooked “financial plumbing” of the system, investment strategies in your portfolio, and the broader economic landscape. We also dig into the behavioral side of liquidity and why it matters so much for financial planning, especially during periods of market volatility. We wrap up with practical takeaways for investors on managing portfolios in a fast-changing environment.

About Our Guest

Garrett Baldwin is a macro and commodity economist from Maryland. He is the author of the Substack site Me and the Money Printer and the host of a daily trading show at TheoTrade. He is a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism with advanced degrees from the University of Indiana, Purdue University, and Johns Hopkins University.

This conversation breaks down the following article: What Do You Mean By Liquidity?

Key Takeaways

• Liquidity is having a margin of safety, providing breathing room for financial decisions.
• Wealth is not just net worth; it’s about having options.
• Liquidity acts as a shock absorber for our lives.
• Markets respond to liquidity conditions, not just earnings.
• The structure of the market has shifted significantly over the past 30 years.
• Investors must consider liquidity when making investment decisions.
• Behavioral finance plays a crucial role in how individuals react to liquidity changes.
• Understanding the plumbing of the financial system is essential for investors.
• Planning for liquidity events is critical for retirement success.
• Ongoing communication with your financial planner is vital for effective liquidity management.

As retirement approaches, one of the most important, and most misunderstood, decisions is when to begin Social Security benefits. There is no universal “right” answer. Some individuals choose to start benefits early out of concern about the program’s long-term stability. Others view Social Security as a temporary income bridge to help pay down debt or ease the transition into retirement. The reality is that every situation is different, and the decision carries meaningful financial consequences. Small missteps can permanently reduce lifetime benefits, making careful planning essential.

In our latest Off the Page episode, we sat down with Tom Barrett. Tom is a managing director of applied insights for Hartford Funds. Tom engages and educates financial professionals and their clients about emerging opportunities in financial services. These opportunities range from tactical strategies in areas such as retirement-income planning and legacy planning to anticipating and preparing for long-term demographic and lifestyle changes.

It was a great conversation, and we encourage you to listen to the episode and reach out to our team with any questions.

In our latest episode, we sat down with our own Jude McDonough, who heads up our Retirement Plan Consulting business. We discussed the parties to a corporate retirement plan and their roles in servicing the plan.It was an informative conversation for anyone in charge of a corporate retirement plan. We encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions about your corporate retirement plan.The corporate retirement plan is a key benefit to the employees that is easy to overlook. There is no renewal for the plan, so it is something that is put off until a later date. In reality, it is usually a major investment from the employer and is important to the employees. The service providers that you choose can make or break your plan and can have a major impact on your employees.The different parties to the plan are replaceable and often interchangeable. If you are not getting the service you need from one of the parties to your plan, you can replace that service provider. Some changes have more disruption than others. The most difficult provider to replace is the recordkeeper. A good Investment Advisor can help you improve your situation with your recordkeeper without necessarily having to move the plan.If you are not getting any service from your Investment Advisor, they are the easiest party to replace. Your employees deserve to have access to someone who can help them with their retirement plan and be a resource for their financial needs. Furthermore, the Investment Advisor can help you select and monitor the fund lineup, review your recordkeeper relationship, benchmark your plan fees, and act as a liaison between you and the other service providers. If you are paying an Investment Advisor and not getting any service, you should consider looking at alternatives to benefit you and your employees.

We were very excited to support the 28th annual Go Joe Bike Ride to benefit Saint Joseph’s Center. We had a lot of fun in the Backyard on WNEP with Meteorologist Joe Snedeker and were honored to have Sister Maryalice Jacquinot, IHM, President & CEO of Saint Joseph’s Center, as a guest on our Podcast. We discussed the history of their annual summer festival, and the important role it plays in helping them support the vital work they do. We also highlight the work some of the their amazing staff and volunteers do to help the most vulnerable members of our community each and every day.

Saint Joseph’s Center is a staple in our community as their work has a direct impact on so many families here in Northeast PA. The Go Joe Bike Ride and Telethon are major fundraisers for this great cause. The bike ride ends at the Saint Joseph’s Center Summer Festival, where many community members gather to enjoy some great food and family fun. Please follow this link for more information on the festival and ways to support Saint Joseph’s Center.

We hope you enjoy the interview with Sister Maryalice. We were honored to have her as a guest! The festival is this weekend (July 25th-27th) at Marywood University- we hope to see you there!

Disclosures: Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC (“Alliance”) is an SEC Registered investment advisory firm that is independently owned and operated. The information in this interview is provided for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, or tax advice. Opinions expressed in this interview are subject to change without notice. Alliance also does not make any representations as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party mentioned in this communication and takes no responsibility. Our guest, Sister Mayalice Jacquinot did not receive any compensation for this interview, not otherwise affiliated with, the firm and not client of Alliance Wealth Advisors at the time of this publication. For more information regarding Alliance, please visit alliancewealthadvisors.com/legal-disclosures.

For episode 20, our guest is Alex Morris, founder of TSOH Investment Research and author of the newly released book Buffett and Munger Unscripted: Three Decades of Investment and Business Insights from the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meetings. Before starting his own firm, Alex spent a decade as a buy-side analyst. He earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of Florida and is a CFA Charterholder.

We sat down to talk about his new book, which pulls together decades of insights from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. It is organized by topic and covers everything from investing and business operations to decision-making, leadership, and more. A lot of what’s in the book goes beyond investing. It applies to how you think, work, and live.

We talked about what drew us to their work and the different themes Alex uncovered while writing the book. We also discussed why so many have been drawn to Buffett and Munger over the years- it is not just because of their returns, but because of how clearly and authentically they communicated. They stuck to an approach that worked for them but never stopped learning and evolving, even after achieving massive success.

Alex and I also discussed how their thinking has shaped his investment approach, what it was like to take the leap and start his own research firm, and why many of their core lessons tie closely to our own Foundations of Investing. We talked about some of the common misconceptions too. These guys aren’t just two old, rich stock pickers with clever quotes and some Midwestern charm. They’re two of the best strategic thinkers of our time, and their business insights can help cut through the noise and stay focused on what really matters at a time when that is incredibly hard to do.

Whether you’re a longtime follower of Warren and Charlie or just curious to learn more, this conversation is full of practical wisdom. In a world that’s increasingly focused on the short term, the lessons in this book offer a real edge—whether you’re thinking about investing, your business, your career, or your life.

With the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway meeting coming up this weekend, the timing couldn’t be better. Big thanks to Alex for joining us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

As advisors, we help clients navigate life’s big decisions by asking the right questions, not rushing to provide answers or relying solely on spreadsheets and algorithms. Our podcast began with a simple idea: to interview business owners, high performers, and industry leaders about the pivotal decisions that shaped their lives.By exploring these “inflection points,” we aim to share real-life stories and offer insight into the types of conversations we have with clients. Nineteen episodes in, we’re embracing this concept further by renaming it Inflection Points. Each episode will highlight how people became financially resilient, took risks, pursued their interests, and become more focused on what truly matters. By sharing these stories, we hope to inspire others to navigate their own "inflection points" and create space for more great stories to unfold.Who is this episode for?This episode is for anyone considering a major career move or life change in 2025. It’s especially relevant for those feeling unfulfilled in their careers but unsure of what to do next.What is this episode about?Khe Hy and Lou Marchetti may seem like opposites at first, but their journeys share common threads. Khe’s story began with his parents arriving in New York City from Cambodia with $500. A top student and avid “Magic: The Gathering” player growing up, Khe studied Computer Science and Economics at Yale and quickly rose through the ranks on Wall Street, becoming one of BlackRock’s youngest managing directors. Yet, he walked away from it all with no plan after realizing he was “comfortably numb”. Now, over a decade later, he surfs daily and shares insights on lasting career and life satisfaction through his company, RadReads (his newsletter has over 50,000 subscribers). Dubbed the “Oprah for Millennials,” Khe helps ambitious professionals rethink how to get what they want out of life.Lou, in contrast, grew up the “All-American” kid from a big family in Nashville, excelling in sports—eventually walking on and starting for The University of North Carolina football team. With a degree from Wharton and a career spanning investment banking, private equity and foreign policy, Lou thought he checked every box of what being “successful” meant. But in 2019, his constantly hard-charging lifestyle caught up with him when he collapsed in a gym and nearly died. Later fired from his job at Vista Equity Partners, Lou is now navigating a major life transition.In this episode, Khe and Lou share how they each faced “identity earthquakes” that forced them to reevaluate their lives and what was important to them. They talk about the challenges of leaving the “money game” in search of deeper fulfillment. Their stories highlight the pressures of maintaining an image, stepping away from the hamster wheel of chasing wealth without a purpose, and practical steps and questions they asked themselves as they work towards building more meaningful lives. This was an incredible conversation filled with honesty and wisdom. Thank you to Khe and Lou for sharing their stories authentically. We hope you enjoy it!

To learn more about Lou and how to get involved in the work he’s doing, check out https://www.thevitalityproject.com

Recently, members of our team sat down with two tax experts—Brian Kelly of Brian Kelly & Associates and Allan Karaffa of Kronick Kalada & Berdy. Both are experienced CPAs who work closely with clients on tax-related matters. For our latest episode of Off the Page, we asked them questions about how both business owners and individuals can be proactive and avoid surprises at tax time. A big thanks to Brian and Allan for joining us—it was a fantastic conversation packed with valuable insights. 

As an independent firm, we have the flexibility to partner with market leaders to better serve our clients. Stephanie Aliaga is a Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, based in New York. Stephanie helps shape and communicate economic views, deliver timely commentary, and maintains forecasting models for weekly submissions to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. She is also responsible for publications such as the Guide to the Markets and the On the Minds of Investors blog. Additionally, she serves on the committee that produces the Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions, which underpin J.P. Morgan’s strategic asset allocation process. In her research, Stephanie focuses on issues related to the U.S. economy and artificial intelligence. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.