Episode 5: Passive Investing, Money Printing & Stock Buybacks — The Liquidity Mirage

Why did the stock market rise so dramatically for more than a decade? Was it simply stronger companies—or did powerful structural forces reshape markets?

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen examines how passive investing, unprecedented monetary expansion, and corporate stock buybacks combined to create one of the strongest and longest-running bull markets in history. He explains why these forces reinforced one another, why market liquidity may not be as deep as it appears, and what could happen as demographics, higher interest rates, and slowing money creation begin to change the investment landscape.

In this episode you'll learn:

• How passive investing changed the behavior of financial markets

• Why 401(k) plans, target-date funds, and index funds created a powerful "Passive Bid"

• How money creation and monetary policy influenced asset prices

• Why corporate stock buybacks amplified rising stock prices

• The relationship between buybacks, executive incentives, and market valuations

• Why ETF liquidity can weaken during periods of market stress

• How retiring Baby Boomers may affect long-term investment flows

• Why future market cycles may differ significantly from the last fifteen years

Whether you're an investor, financial professional, or simply interested in how modern markets function, this episode provides a framework for understanding the structural forces that have driven markets—and why those forces may be changing.

Next Episode: We continue examining the incentives and structural changes reshaping today's financial markets.

If you enjoy Markets Without Spin, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with someone who wants to better understand today's markets.

Follow Franz Amussen on LinkedIn for additional commentary and future episodes.

Episode 4: Passive Investing, Market Flows & the Hidden Machinery of the Stock Market

Why do stock prices often move even when there seems to be no news?

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen explores the hidden forces that increasingly drive today's financial markets. While most investors focus on earnings, economic reports, and headlines, a growing share of market activity is driven by passive investing, index funds, ETFs, corporate buybacks, and other systematic flows.

Learn how automatic retirement contributions, target-date funds, index rebalancing, and market structure influence prices regardless of valuation—and why demographic changes may alter those flows in the years ahead.

In this episode you'll learn:

• How markets have shifted from valuation-driven to flow-driven

• Why passive investing has become one of the largest forces in U.S. equities

• How 401(k) plans and target-date funds create the "Passive Bid"

• Why retiring Baby Boomers may change long-term market flows

• How corporate stock buybacks affect liquidity and share prices

• What index funds and ETFs do during index additions and rebalancing

• Why market liquidity can disappear during periods of stress

• How inflation, earnings pressure, and demographics interact with market structure

Whether you're an investor, financial advisor, or simply curious about how modern markets really function, this episode provides a practical framework for understanding the mechanics operating beneath daily price movements.

Next Episode: We examine why traditional valuation measures may matter less than many investors believe—and what could cause that to change.

If you enjoy Markets Without Spin, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with someone who wants to better understand today's financial markets.

Follow Franz Amussen on LinkedIn for additional commentary and future episodes.

Episode 3: The Incentive Mirage — Executive Compensation, Buybacks & Insider Selling

Are corporate executives truly aligned with shareholders—or do today's compensation systems reward something entirely different?

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen examines how executive compensation, stock buybacks, insider selling, and equity awards create incentives that often favor short-term value extraction over long-term ownership. Using publicly available information from proxy statements, Form 4 filings, and SEC disclosures, Franz explains how modern compensation structures work and why many investors misunderstand the relationship between executive pay and shareholder interests.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why executive "alignment" with shareholders is often more appearance than reality

• How restricted stock units (RSUs), performance shares, and stock options are awarded

• The relationship between stock buybacks, executive compensation, and share dilution

• What proxy statements reveal about executive incentives

• How Form 4 filings help investors track insider buying and selling

• Why Rule 10b5-1 trading plans make many insider sales legal

• How passive index investing can absorb large amounts of insider selling

• Why understanding incentives can provide a different perspective on corporate decision-making

Whether you're an investor, financial professional, or simply interested in how public companies operate, this episode offers a framework for understanding the incentives that influence executive behavior.

Next Episode: Episode 4 explores the hidden plumbing of the financial markets, including indexing, ETFs, liquidity, market makers, and why market flows can matter more than fundamentals.

If you enjoy Markets Without Spin, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with someone who wants to better understand the forces driving today's markets.

Follow Franz Amussen on LinkedIn for additional commentary and future episodes.

Episode Title: Episode 2 — The Buyback Machine: How Modern Incentives Drive Corporate Behavior

Summary: In this episode, Franz Amussen breaks down the real reason stock buybacks dominate corporate America: executive incentives. From EPS targets and TSR windows to dilution cycles and mega-grants, this episode reveals the internal machinery shaping corporate decision-making today.

Key Topics:

• How executive compensation drives buyback behavior
• EPS manipulation through denominator shrinkage
• TSR windows and 3-year vesting cycles
• Case studies: IBM, Apple, Salesforce
• Airline buybacks before COVID
• Why buybacks accelerate wealth concentration
• Investor choice vs. management choice

Mentioned Companies: IBM • Apple • Amazon • Microsoft • Salesforce • Delta Air Lines • American Airlines • United Airlines • Southwest Airlines

Next Episode: Episode 3 — The Passive Avalanche

Episode 1 — How "Safe Companies" Become Dangerous: Montana Power, Boeing, and the Incentives Behind Corporate Failure

Welcome to the first full episode of Markets Without Spin, the show where Franz Amussen breaks down the real forces that drive corporate decision-making.

Today we explore why companies with strong reputations — and even strong credit ratings — can collapse from the inside out when incentives shift.

This episode tells two powerful stories:

1. Montana Power

Once a stable, conservative utility held by retirees across the Northwest, Montana Power collapsed after new leadership pursued a risky telecom pivot during the dot-com boom. A century of stewardship was wiped out when incentives changed.

2. Boeing

For decades, Boeing was the global symbol of American engineering excellence. But a shift toward financial-first executive leadership, massive buybacks, and EPS-driven incentives hollowed out the culture that made Boeing great — with tragic results.

Topics covered:

• Why credit ratings don't measure today's management
• How buybacks distort EPS and executive compensation
• How boards unknowingly reward short-term extraction
• The dilution → buyback → compensation loop
• Why companies that look healthiest are often most vulnerable

If you care about investing, corporate governance, capital allocation, or the incentives behind modern markets… this episode will reshape how you see "quality" companies.

Chapters: 00:00 — Intro 02:00 — What credit ratings really measure 05:00 — The Montana Power collapse 09:00 — Boeing: When engineering stopped leading 14:00 — How buybacks manipulate incentives 17:00 — How incentives hollow out companies 19:00 — Closing + Episode 2 teaser

Next episode: We examine the opportunity costs behind buybacks — and what corporate America isn't building.

👍 If this episode helped you see markets more clearly, please like, subscribe, and share. Your support helps bring transparency to corporate incentives.

Welcome to Markets Without Spin.

In this pilot episode, Franz Amussen introduces the central idea behind the show: incentives drive behavior. Markets, governments, corporations, and investors all respond to incentives—and understanding those incentives is often more important than following the headlines.

This podcast explores why things happen, not simply what happened.

Follow the incentives. Follow the money. Follow the behavior.