The Generational Investors Podcast

In Episode 22 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III and Matthew Blades, CFP® recap our recent cybersecurity seminar at Forsyth Country Club and share the most important lessons from it.

Criminals now use artificial intelligence to write flawless messages, clone a voice from seconds of audio, and impersonate the people you trust most, including your own advisor. The old advice about watching for bad grammar and obvious red flags no longer applies.

John and Matt walk through how these schemes actually unfold, the warning signs worth memorizing, the one verification habit that defeats nearly all of them, and the practical steps you can take today to secure your passwords, your phone, your email, and your credit

We have put these tips into a client guide called Protecting What You Have Built. To request a copy, call our office at 336-998-7000 or email [email protected].

John’s Weekly Pick this week: finishing strong.

In Episode 21 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III and WCAMG founder and president John Woodard Jr. recap a choppier third quarter.

The S&P 500 set a record high in August, gave part of it back in September, and still finished up 2.0%. The defining story was the bond market: the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since 2023, and the 10-Year Treasury closed the quarter at 5.29%, a level last seen in 2002.

John and his father discuss why corporate earnings still have them optimistic, whether a 5.3% 10-Year is high or simply normal, and what they are watching heading into year end.

John's Weekly Pick this week: Beef Tallow.

In Episode 20 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with Matthew Blades, CFP® for a rapid-fire run through the financial misconceptions they hear most often from clients.

These are not obscure technicalities. They are things people believe confidently and act on, and some of them cost real money. The conversation covers whether Social Security is really going broke, why Medicare is not free and what it will not cover, the divorced spousal benefit almost nobody knows about, why you may not land in a lower tax bracket in retirement, the spousal IRA most single-income households overlook, and what a raise into a higher tax bracket actually does to your paycheck.

If you have ever wondered whether something you believe about your money is true, this is the episode.

John's Weekly Pick this week: cast iron and stainless steel cookware.

In Episode 19 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with WCAMG Chief Financial Officer and CPA Joan Woodard to break down one of the most tax-efficient and underused strategies available to retirees: the Qualified Charitable Distribution.

Joan explains what a QCD is and how it works, who qualifies, the contribution limits, and the year-end deadline that leaves no room for error. The conversation covers why a QCD is so valuable once required minimum distributions begin, and how keeping that money out of your taxable income can lower your adjusted gross income, and with it, your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. They also cover what changed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including the new deduction now available to the roughly ninety percent of filers who take the standard deduction.

If you are charitably inclined and over seventy, this episode could save you real money.

John's Weekly Pick this week: walking.

In Episode 18 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with WCAMG founder and president John Woodard Jr. to tell the story behind the four words that close every episode of this show: Always Buy Quality and Diversify.

John Woodard Jr. explains why those two principles, quality and diversification, became the foundation of the firm in 1985, using real examples of what happens to a portfolio when either one is missing. The conversation moves into how that philosophy comes to life today in the firm's Market Leaders Portfolio, and how an idea that has now stood unchanged for four decades became the compass for everything the firm does.

If you have ever wondered what our motto actually means in practice, this is the episode.

John's Weekly Pick this week: Daingerfield's at Westglow in Blowing Rock.

In Episode 17 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with a special guest and good friend of the firm, Stu Epperson Jr., founder and president of The Truth Network, host of the nationally syndicated Truth Talk, author, and member of the Salem Media Group Board of Directors.

Stu shares the story of how he came into broadcasting and built a network that now reaches more than 400 affiliates nationwide, and why he has always seen the work as a calling rather than a career. The conversation covers what it means to run a business rooted in faith, the role gratitude plays in his life and leadership, how he adapted through decades of sweeping change in media and technology, and his advice for anyone who wants to start a business of their own.

It is a conversation about purpose, positivity, and building something that matters. John's Weekly Pick this week: the power of prayer.

In Episode 16 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with WCAMG founder and president John Woodard Jr. for a full recap of a strong second quarter in the markets.

After a first quarter defined by the shock of the Iran conflict, stocks staged a broad and powerful recovery, with the S&P 500 up 14.9 percent, the Dow closing at a record high, and the Russell 2000 surging more than 21 percent. John and his father discuss the strong corporate earnings and AI-driven demand behind the rally, the Federal Reserve under new Chairman Kevin Warsh, and the strengthening U.S. dollar and its ripple effects across international markets and commodities like oil, gold, and silver. They close with a measured look at what could lie ahead in the second half.

John's Weekly Pick this week: farming.

In Episode 15 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with advisor Matthew Blades, CFP® to break down one of the most talked about new savings vehicles in the country: the Trump Account.

Launched on July 4, 2026, Trump Accounts are a brand new type of retirement account for children, and they come with a one-time $1,000 contribution from the federal government for eligible kids. Matt explains exactly what these accounts are, who qualifies for the free money and how to claim it, the contribution rules and investment options, and the important fine print that trips families up, including the per-child contribution limit and how the money is actually taxed when it comes out. If you are a parent, a grandparent, or a business owner, this is the episode that tells you what to do and when to do it.

John's Weekly Pick this week: ketosis and the keto diet.

In Episode 13 of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III sits down with WCAMG founder and president John Woodard Jr. for a look inside how the firm actually invests.

The conversation opens with a brief look at Tactical Asset Allocation, one of the firm's two complementary management styles, before turning to the heart of the episode: the Market Leaders Portfolio. John Woodard Jr. walks through the history of the strategy, which has been run on essentially the same principles since the firm's founding in 1985, and explains the philosophy behind it. Why the firm chooses to own the leaders of each industry, the best of the blue chips with the management, capital, and durability to weather a full market cycle. He also breaks down the research process that supports the portfolio and the disciplined buy and sell policies that guide every decision, where positions are held for the long term and sold only when the underlying thesis deteriorates. If you have ever wondered how a fee-only fiduciary firm approaches building a stock portfolio, this is the episode.

John's Weekly Pick this week: Charleston Grill.

In this special Fourth of July edition of The Generational Investors, host John Woodard III celebrates America's 250th birthday with the story of the American stock market, from its humble birth under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street in 1792 to the global powerhouse it is today.

As the nation marks 250 years of independence, John walks through the founding of the New York Stock Exchange, the original handful of securities that started it all, and the oldest company still trading today, one founded by Alexander Hamilton before the Constitution was even ratified. Along the way he marks the milestones that shaped modern investing, including the creation of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896 and the rise of the S&P 500, and shares a series of striking then-and-now comparisons. How many millionaires America had at its founding versus today, how stock ownership went from a privilege of the few to a habit of the many, and what a single share of the nation's oldest stock would be worth if it had never split.

It is a story of resilience, growth, and the long arc of American prosperity, fitting for a nation turning 250. John's Weekly Pick this week: a reverse osmosis water filter.