Don and Tom take listeners on a “mountaintop” look at today’s frothy markets, exploring elevated valuations, retail trading spikes, and record margin debt. They unpack what these numbers really mean, warn against trying to time the market, and reiterate the need for diversification and a long-term plan. Listener questions include a young investor’s Fidelity-heavy portfolio, a 30-something’s aggressive allocation and risk score mismatch, and a listener inquiry about “investwithroots.com,” which Don dissects as a private real-estate fund with fees and risks that outweigh its glossy promises.

0:04 Opening from the market “peak” and climbing metaphor

1:38 Market valuation discussion: P/E ratios, concentration in top 10 stocks

3:21 Surge in retail trading, meme stocks, margin debt, Robinhood sentiment

5:13 Economic uncertainty and why market timing doesn’t work

6:11 Staying with your plan and portfolio diversification

7:15 Risks of U.S. large-cap concentration in typical portfolios

8:03 The need to include small-cap, value, and international stocks

9:14 Eugene Fama’s “trading is like soap” warning and why trading destroys wealth

10:46 Practical advice: stop trying to outsmart the market, build a plan

13:22 Listener Q1: 18-year-old’s portfolio—too much large-cap, not enough international or small value

16:15 Listener Q2: 30-year-old with $100K—good diversification but needs bonds for risk profile

19:25 Listener Q3: Investwithroots.com analysis—fees, geographic risk, private REIT red flags

24:16 Why public REITs like Vanguard’s VNQ offer better diversification/liquidity

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