Don and Tom mark Labor Day weekend with a lively discussion of the so-called September Effect—Wall Street’s superstition about historically negative returns in September. They remind listeners that short-term market timing is a losing strategy and that knowing (not guessing) your risk tolerance and asset allocation matters most. The conversation ranges from Florida’s endless summer and biblical rains to ETF overload, collective investment trusts, tax quirks, and the futility of dodging volatility. Along the way, there’s humor about Costco, fertilizer, wrong numbers, and shameless plugs for Don’s LitReading podcast.

0:04 Labor Day banter, Florida heat, biblical rains, Asheville trip

2:12 September Effect explained—history and hype

4:41 Why you should know, not do, with your portfolio

6:15 Average September returns since 1928 and investor psychology

8:28 Market timing pitfalls and missing best days

10:28 Costco’s Jim Sinegal quote and life’s sugar vs. manure metaphor

12:29 Bogle wisdom: don’t peek at your portfolio

14:05 Listener correction: senior deduction phase-out details

19:14 Don plugs LitReading’s return with an O. Henry story

20:34 ETF explosion—4,300 funds in U.S., 12,000 worldwide

26:15 How to eliminate bad ETFs (fees, leverage, active management)

29:11 Don tests a new GPS analogy ad for Appella Wealth

31:12 Listener question on state tax burdens (California vs. Washington)

34:05 Call-in about 401(k) funds converting to CITs

37:19 CIT regulations, reporting, and transparency explained

39:39 Apple vs. Spotify podcast listener demographics

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