Rule Seven of Financial Physics says there is no new news: by the time public information reaches you, the market has already reacted.

Don and Tom explain why neither headlines nor illegal insider tips offer ordinary investors a durable edge, why fast trading and miracle systems disappoint, and why accepting market returns is the saner path.

Then they compare JAAA with BND, help a student balance FAFSA concerns with emergency savings and a Roth IRA, warn against reaching for yield, and untangle a Roth 401(k) rollover.

0:44 The shortest investing book
1:54 Rule Seven: No New News
3:27 Public information versus insider information
6:48 Why trading the headlines is futile
9:37 Efficient markets and accepting market returns
11:27 The trouble with miracle trading systems
14:13 Talking Real Money music online
17:17 JAAA versus BND for bonds
20:21 FAFSA, emergency savings, and a Roth IRA
22:28 Reaching for yield with riskier bonds
24:49 Rolling over a Roth 401(k)

Questions? Comments? Click!

Friday’s question pile ranges from the safest bond fund around to the harder question of what retirement is actually for. Don sorts through the choices with his usual preference for simple, sturdy answers.

He weighs the TSP G Fund against BND, checks the bona fides of Raisin and The College Investor, and argues that leaving work makes sense only when something better is waiting on the other side.

Then comes a candid disagreement over 21-fund portfolios, followed by a pension decision for a well-funded couple who can afford to self-insure. The court may have advisors, but Don is still happy being its jester.

Topics
03:26 Is the TSP G Fund enough fixed income?
05:47 Raisin and The College Investor: useful and legitimate?
09:44 Retirement needs a purpose, not just an age
12:37 Twenty-one funds, advisor complexity, and honest disagreement
16:11 Single-life versus joint-survivor pension choices
18:57 Social Security timing, RMDs, and a very strong retirement plan

Questions? Comments? Click!

Being great at running a company does not make anyone a market oracle. Don and Tom unpack the money regrets of successful CEOs—and the costly confidence that often follows success.

They draw the line between business skill and investment skill, explain why financial literacy matters, and make the case for diversification over hindsight, stock-picking games, and concentrated bets.

Then they turn to listener questions on catching up at 43, investing a church endowment, an underperforming robo portfolio, and where stock dividends should go near retirement.

Topics
03:46 CEOs, money regrets, and false confidence
08:10 Financial literacy without the stock-picking game
10:21 Tesla hindsight and the bets we didn’t make
11:41 Asset allocation and the cost of being too conservative
15:20 Business owners and concentration risk
17:48 Catching up on retirement saving at 43
21:22 A 60/40 church endowment with a 2.5% draw
23:12 When a robo portfolio badly trails the market
25:35 Dividends, bonds, and rebalancing near retirement

Questions? Comments? Click!

Could a nation of steadier 401(k) investors make markets calmer—or will algorithms, options, and meme-stock behavior keep the ride bumpy? Tom and Roxy weigh the forces pulling volatility in both directions.

Next, an almost-80-year-old with a $4 million portfolio asks who should coordinate the inheritance plan. The answer is a team effort, with the financial advisor calling the plays and the CPA and estate attorney handling their specialties.

They also decode RIA versus IAR, flag the conflicts that can come with dual registration, and tackle asset location, TSP diversification, inherited money, and whether to sell Vanguard ETFs before adding DFA or Avantis.

Timestamps:
0:44 A French café opening
2:40 Will more investors mean less volatility?
7:12 Who quarterbacks an estate plan?
10:15 RIA, IAR, broker-dealer, and fiduciary conflicts
15:25 Inherited money, TSP, Roth, and brokerage choices
21:21 Adding DFA or Avantis to Vanguard ETFs

Questions? Comments? Click!

AI’s appetite for data centers is sending tech giants to the bond market—and some of that debt will still be around in 2075. Don and Tom look at the scale of the borrowing and why a tempting yield deserves a closer look.

They separate coupon rate from yield to maturity, explain senior unsecured debt, and show how brutally interest-rate-sensitive a 50-year bond can be. The verdict: these bonds may belong in a broad index, but they don’t belong on your personal shopping list.

Listener questions cover sequence-of-return risk, Roth IRAs versus 529s for children, and the smart savings order for a 19-year-old earning real money for the first time.

Timestamps:
0:38 AI, data centers, and corporate debt
3:40 The $50 trillion U.S. bond market
5:21 Big Tech’s borrowing binge
7:06 Coupon rate versus yield to maturity
8:10 The danger in a 50-year bond
12:45 Sequence-of-return risk in retirement
16:05 Roth IRAs and 529s for children
20:14 A young saver’s order of operations

Questions? Comments? Click!

Why is financial forecasting so persuasive when its track record is so poor? Don and Tom open the Book of Financial Physics to Law No. 6—“Nobody Knows Nothing”—and explain why stock pickers, market timers, and highly paid pundits cannot reliably tell you what comes next.

Then they answer listener questions about permanent life insurance and deferred income annuities, trusted contacts and two-factor authentication, and whether a wealthy client can copy an advisor’s portfolio while paying for advice on only part of the assets.

Finally, they simplify a 529 allocation for a three-year-old and detour through vacation smoke, Disneyland prices, and the value of ignoring suspicious messages.

00:39 The sixth law of financial physics
01:48 Nobody Knows Nothing
04:19 The real cost of active management
05:14 What prediction makes investors miss
07:00 Active funds lose market share
10:22 Pundit performance versus the index
12:00 Send in your questions
13:27 Permanent life insurance and deferred annuities
17:36 Securing investment accounts
21:02 Why trusted contacts matter
22:14 AUM fees and copying a portfolio
25:45 The simple 529 allocation
28:24 Smoke, Disneyland, and family vacation

Questions? Comments? Click!

Required minimum distributions don’t have to trigger a fire sale. Don explains how an in-kind transfer can move an investment from an IRA to a brokerage account while preserving the holding and resetting its cost basis.

Then it’s back to school: a cut-off Coverdell question, the unusual strength of the TSP G Fund, and a surprisingly useful 4% money market account that can behave a lot like checking.

The finale sorts out UTMA 529 rules, beneficiary control, and why a low-cost age-based portfolio is often the simplest college-saving choice.

Timestamps:
0:43 Friday listener Q&A begins
3:26 RMDs without selling investments
7:16 Moving a Coverdell into a 529
8:24 Why the TSP G Fund stands out
10:12 A 4% money market checking alternative
12:50 UTMA 529s, control, and age-based funds

Questions? Comments? Click!

Wall Street can promise dazzling returns, but private equity’s fees, illiquidity, and tax drag may leave investors with far less than the headline number. Don and Tom unpack research showing how ordinary index funds and municipal bonds can deliver comparable after-tax results with much less risk.

Then a startling poll claims many Americans believe stocks only help the richest—and that gambling may beat investing. The hosts push back with the math, then tackle when taxable brokerage accounts belong after retirement savings.

They close with practical answers on international bonds, paying college costs from a 529, and the surprisingly complicated quest for a signed copy of Don’s novel.

03:47 — Private equity promises vs. after-tax reality
10:38 — Do stocks only benefit the top 1%?
13:03 — Gambling or investing: which odds win?
16:36 — Retirement accounts before taxable brokerage
19:47 — Do you need international bonds?
21:08 — The cleanest way to use 529 money
22:32 — A signed copy of The Line Uncrossed?

Questions? Comments? Click!

Fresh from passing the CFP exam, Roxy Butner joins Tom to work through a classic retirement fork: take the richer lifetime teacher pension, or accept a $315,000 lump sum and invest it. The math matters, but so do longevity, survivor benefits, liquidity, investing temperament, and the temptation to spend the pile.

Next comes a clever tax-payment question: can IRA withholding replace quarterly estimated payments during Roth-conversion years? They explain why paying conversion taxes from taxable money usually preserves more long-term value.

The show closes with a 5.25% mortgage-versus-investing decision and a portfolio x-ray that finds a dividend-heavy international fund missing small companies, value stocks, and emerging markets.

00:58 Roxy passes the CFP exam
02:46 Teacher pension or $315,000 lump sum?
08:36 Rolling a pension lump sum to an IRA
09:33 IRA withholding versus estimated taxes
13:48 Pay off a 5.25% mortgage or invest?
17:34 Fixing an under-diversified retirement portfolio
21:50 Living—and spending—with a sound plan

Questions? Comments? Click!

Just when you thought America had invented every possible retirement account, along comes the Radish. Don and Tom dig into the proposed employer-funded savings plan, the man who helped create the 401(k), and whether workers really need another tax-advantaged vegetable in an already crowded garden.

The practical answer is simpler: start saving now. A Roth IRA and one broad global stock ETF can do more good than waiting for the perfect account—or learning every acronym in the retirement alphabet.

Listener questions cover diversifying beyond rental real estate, whether spreading accounts across custodians is useful cyber insurance, moving emergency cash from Ally to SGOV, Roth 401(k) matching, and Roth IRA withdrawal timing.

00:37 Mountain music and backyard radishes
02:40 The retirement-account alphabet
04:36 What exactly is a Radish plan?
09:04 Save now; simplify later
11:53 Diversifying beyond rental real estate
16:15 TSP, SEP IRA, and custodian cyber risk
19:06 SGOV for an emergency fund
21:26 Roth 401(k) matching and Roth IRA access

Questions? Comments? Click!