Today on the podcast, we welcome back Jean Chatzky. Jean is the author of a new book about retirement planning called The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less, and Never Run Out of Money. In addition, she has written several other New York Times bestselling books about money and investing. She’s also CEO of HerMoney.com and host of the podcast Her Money with Jean Chatzky. She served as the financial editor of NBC Today for 25 years and is the financial ambassador for AARP. She appeared frequently on CNN and MSNBC, and was a recurring guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

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00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:00 Why Retirees Struggle to Spend

00:05:18 Creating a Retirement Paycheck

00:09:25 Choosing Annuities and Financial Advice

00:20:40 Bridging the Social Security Gap

00:23:40 Managing Sequence-of-Returns Risk

00:28:42 Retirement Planning for Couples and Working Longer

00:37:17 Protecting Against Financial Fraud

00:40:39 How Jean Chatzky Reimagined Retirement

Brett Arends: Worried About Outliving Your Money? There’s an Answer 

Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement 

Stefan Sharkansky: The Retirement Rule That Leaves Too Much Money Behind 

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected]. 

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances. 

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights. 

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Today’s guest on The Long View is David Booth. David is a repeat guest, the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, and has just released a new book titled Stay Calm: Learn to Embrace Uncertainty in Investing and Life. One of the interesting through lines on the episode really centered on data. David explained that without data, people are just arguing beliefs. There was so much time within the industry where investors really were in a data desert. That foundational layer was critical to everything that David, his colleagues at Dimensional, and so many others around the broader investing industry have ultimately brought to bear for the benefit of so many investors over the years. Plus, David explained that having access to a more complete dataset can really help provide a sense of calmness and reassurance for investors, even in an uncertain environment.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:21 How Market Data Revolutionized Investing

00:09:22 Learning From Eugene Fama

00:16:16 Communicating Financial Science

00:20:40 What is the Efficient-Market Hypothesis?

00:24:11 Diversification and the Limits of Indexing

00:32:37 Is Dimensional Active or Passive?

00:34:24 The Science Behind Factor Investing

00:40:29 Trusting Markets and Embracing Uncertainty

David Booth: ‘Usually the Great Ideas Start Out as Small Ideas and Then You Build on Them’

Don Phillips: Encouraging Better Outcomes for Investors

Charley Ellis: Indexing Is a Marvelous Gift

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guests on the podcast today are Andy Clarke and Nelson Wicas, co-authors—along with Ganesh Suntharam—of the new book, The Architecture of Wealth: The Art and Science of Portfolio Construction. Andy has spent more than three decades as an investment researcher and writer. He has worked at Morningstar and Vanguard, where he served as assistant to Vanguard Founder and indexing pioneer, John C. Bogle. Andy has published research in practitioner journals such as the Journal of Index Investing. He is the author of Wealth of Experience and a CFA Charterholder. Nelson has developed and managed quantitative equity strategies for more than 30 years. Most recently, he worked at Redpoint Investment Management, where he was a founder and research analyst. After completing his PhD in economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Nelson joined Vanguard to help establish its quantitative equity management function. Nelson later helped found Vanguard’s investment counseling and research team to produce portfolio construction insights for clients and internal teams. Nelson has been a visiting professor of economics at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

00:00:00 The Architecture of Wealth

00:06:42 Why Portfolio Construction is an Art and Science

00:10:03 Bogle’s Approach to Active Management

00:15:38 Why Index Investing Isn’t Passive

00:22:09 The Birth of Modern Portfolio Theory

00:26:58 Behavioral Finance, Investor Biases, and Impact of Education

00:36:13 Why Index Funds Finally Took Off

00:39:25 Evaluating Active Managers

00:43:27 The Small-Cap Effect

Charley Ellis: Indexing Is a Marvelous Gift

Jeff Ptak: The Simple Secret to Becoming a Better Investor

Andy Reed: Inertia Is the Most Powerful Force in Behavioral Finance

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guest on the podcast today is Jeff Ptak. He’s a longtime Morningstar employee and currently serves as managing director for Morningstar Research Services. He originally joined Morningstar back in 2002 as a senior mutual fund analyst. Jeff was one of the original two co-hosts of this podcast and regularly posts his thoughts on Morningstar.com, Substack, X, and LinkedIn. Ptak’s work really focuses on investor outcomes. One of the highlights from the podcast today was when Ptak talked about how such a small number of stocks tend to generate a disproportionate amount of the market returns and what that means for diversified actively managed funds. He also discusses what target-date funds get right for investors, as well as what some of them may be missing.

00:00:00 Mind the Gap and Investor Behavior

00:08:04 Crypto ETFs and Timing Mistakes

00:11:33 Active Funds and Letting Winners Run

00:23:00 Improving Investor Outcomes Through Lower Costs

00:30:09 Private Markets, SpaceX, and 401(k) Risks

00:34:15 Thematic ETFs, Speculation, and Fun Money

00:38:40 Market Timing Myths and Portfolio Construction

00:42:16 Is Tech’s Dominance Sustainable?

Read: Mind the Gap 2026

Leyla Kunimoto: Why Investors in Private Markets Need a Louder Voice

Will Danoff: ‘Be Very Careful of Unprofitable Companies’

Don Phillips: Encouraging Better Outcomes for Investors

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Today on the podcast we welcome back Nick Maggiulli. He’s the author of a new book called The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life. His first book was called Just Keep Buying. In addition, Nick writes a wonderful blog called Of Dollars and Data, which is focused on the intersection between data and personal finance. In his day job, Nick is the Chief Operating Officer and Data Scientist at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.

00:00:00 Writing The Wealth Ladder

00:05:30 The Six Levels of the Wealth Ladder

00:09:52 How Wealth Changes Across Net-Worth Levels

00:16:16 Why People Rarely Fall Down the Wealth Ladder

00:21:00 Spending Rules and the 0.01% Rule

00:29:25 Career Choices, Income, and Opportunity Costs

00:37:42 Investment Risks and Ascending the Wealth Ladder

00:44:29 Money, Happiness, and Life Beyond Wealth

Jim O’Shaughnessy: Investing Lessons From a Lifelong Learner

Dan Haylett: ‘The Retirement You Didn’t See Coming’

David Bach: ‘Start Enjoying Your Life Sooner’

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guest on the podcast today is Stefan Sharkansky. Stefan is a Ph.D. statistician who specializes in finance. He wrote a provocatively titled paper, “The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need,” which was published in the Financial Analyst Journal. Stefan has also developed a related website called, The Best Third, designed to help people with their retirement spending plans and portfolio structures. In addition, he developed and operates the website PersonalFund.com, which provides proprietary cost analysis of mutual funds to financial advisors. Stefan has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Washington.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:43 Why the 4% Rule Can Lead to Underspending

00:07:23 TIPS Ladders vs. Retirement Annuities

00:08:48 Reducing Fixed Spending and Stock Allocation

00:12:09 Why Individual TIPS Beat TIPS Funds

00:18:53 A Formula for Stock Portfolio Withdrawals

00:23:54 Historical Returns vs. Monte Carlo Simulations

00:29:30 Should Retirees Diversify Globally?

00:32:23 Leaving a Bequest Without Underspending

Brett Arends: Worried About Outliving Your Money? There’s an Answer

Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement

Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guest on the podcast today is Ryan Frederick, an author, speaker, and entrepreneur focused on the intersection of place and healthy longevity. As founder and CEO of HERE, he provides content courses and coaching in place planning, a holistic, research-based approach to help people find the right place for every stage of life. He’s also the author of Right Place, Right Time, a book that helps individuals think through housing decisions for the second half of life. In addition, Ryan provides strategy consulting to organizations looking to create better places, including Fortune 500 companies, institutional investors, health systems, and housing developers and operators. He’s also a member of the Advisory Council for the Stanford Center on Longevity. He previously served on the National Advisory Board of Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center Task Force on Health and Housing. He’s a graduate of Princeton University and Stanford Business School.

00:00:00 Senior Living, Longevity, and 100-Year Life Planning

00:08:39 How Place Influences Health as You Age

00:10:37 The Four Pillars of Place Planning

00:16:19 Income’s Impact on Housing, Home Equity, and Limitations of Aging in Place

00:30:01 Place Planning Tools and Building Community

00:41:43 New Housing Models, Cohousing, and Age Diversity

00:49:13 Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Healthy Aging Dashboards

Your Retirement Countdown, With Christine Benz

Harry Margolis: How to Confront Aging Challenges Head-On

Joy Loverde: Planning Ahead for Care Needs as You Get Older

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guest on the podcast today is Brett Arends. Brett has been a columnist for MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal, and other Dow Jones publications since 2007. His regular column for MarketWatch is called ROI, and he has also written for SmartMoney, TheStreet.com, and the Boston Herald. In addition, Brett has written several books including Storm-Proof Your Money: Weather Any Economy, Rebuild Your Portfolio, Protect Your Future. Brett took a double first in history at Cambridge University and did postgraduate research at Oxford University. He’s also a chartered financial consultant.

00:00:00 Financial Journalism Origins and Early Stock-Picking Lessons

00:11:12 Comparing the AI Boom to Dot-Com Bubble

00:21:53 Diversification, Index Funds, and AI Bubble Risk

00:26:25 Why Private Securities Are a Bad Deal

00:33:09 Why TIPS Are Attractive Under Rising Inflation

00:38:10 Generating Retirement Income and Immediate Annuities

00:45:35 Social Security and Policy Risks

GQG: Why We Are Still in an AI Stock Market Bubble

Jeremy Grantham: ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’

How to Use TIPS in Your Portfolio

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Today on the podcast, we welcome back Dana Anspach. Dana’s the author of a new book about retirement called Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement. This is her third book. Earlier books are Control Your Retirement Destiny and Social Security Sense. Dana is also founder and CEO of the financial planning firm Sensible Money, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and she has been practicing as a financial planner since 1995. In addition, Dana’s the author of the lecture series, How to Plan for the Perfect Retirement, available on The Great Courses, and she has been blogging about her own retirement journey on The Retirement Manifesto website.

00:00:00 The “Pre-Go” Phase, Unplanned Early Retirement, and Working Longer

00:10:19 “Retirement Red Zone” Risks, Two-Bucket Strategy, and Building a Bond Ladder

00:17:34 Balancing Guaranteed Income and Annuities

00:21:54 TIPS, Cash Flow Projections, and Getting Comfortable Spending

00:31:33 Strategies for Long-Term Care

00:36:19 Planning the Transition to Retirement

00:40:34 Estimating Longevity, Lost Decade Potential, and Inflation Risk

00:46:11 Minimizing Taxes and Mitigating Financial Fraud Risk

Dana Anspach and Fritz Gilbert: ‘This Is What a Joyful Retirement Could Feel Like’

Adam Grossman: Asset Allocation Is an Investor’s Best Defense

Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

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Our guests on the podcast today are Cody Garrett and Sean Mullaney. They’re both advice-only financial planners, and they’re the co-authors of a new book called Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement. Cody is a certified financial planner and the founder of Measure Twice Money, where he helps DIY investors make informed decisions aligned with their values. He also leads Measure Twice Planners, which is an educational community for financial planners. Sean Mullaney is a certified public accountant and head of Mullaney Financial & Tax. He also writes the blog, TheFITaxGuy.com, which is focused on the intersection between financial independence and taxes.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:27 Defining Early Retirement, the 4% Rule, and Withdrawal Strategies

00:11:03 Fear-Based Tax Narratives and Retirement Calculators

00:15:10 Rethinking Future Tax Rate Assumptions

00:23:14 Retirement Savings Tax Trade-Offs

00:30:08 Taxable Accounts in Early Retirement

00:32:29 Backdoor Roth IRAs, Asset Allocation, and Sequence Risk

00:44:03 RMDs, Roth Conversions, and Retirement Planning Tools

Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’

A Tax-Smart Plan for In-Retirement Withdrawals in 3 Steps

Morningstar’s Tax-Planning and IRA Resources for 2026

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at [email protected].

Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.