#117: Author and financial advisor Ben Carlson joins Chris to share insights on the current state of the market. They discuss the impact of aggressive Fed rate hikes and the unintended consequences, including the debt ceiling and regional bank collapses. Ben also shares his expertise on where to park cash, comparing I bonds, high-yield savings, short-term Tr ... Show More
Jul 22
Where to Keep Your Cash for the Highest Return
#288: Chris breaks down exactly where to park your cash to earn the most, whether you have $10,000 or a few million. From high-yield savings accounts and Treasury ETFs to brokerage bonuses and cash management accounts, he explains the tradeoffs that actually matter—and why the hi ... Show More
58m 18s
Jul 8
Are Credit Card Points Still Worth It? and More Listener Q&A
#286: With credit card fees climbing, credits getting harder to use, and points constantly devaluing, it's fair to ask whether earning points and miles is even worth it anymore. In this AMA, Chris breaks down why the fees are still worth it for him (and who they're not worth it f ... Show More
1h 13m
Jan 2025
Talk Your Book: 3 Reasons to Buy Bonds
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Dave Braun, Managing Director and Generalist Portfolio Manager at PIMCO to discuss why rates have been moving higher, if the Fed will get us a soft landing, why mortgage bonds look at ... Show More
31m 53s
Jan 2024
Talk Your Book: What's Going on in the Bond Market?
On this episode of Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Alex Morris, CIO of F/m Investments to discuss: 2024 rate cut possibilities, the difficulty of forecasting, and why everyone got 2023 so wrong, utilizing spreads as a forecasting tool, why solving fo ... Show More
37m 36s
Jun 2024
Talk Your Book: Growth Stock Concentration
On today's show, Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick are live from Charleston, joined by Kathleen McCarragher, a Portfolio Manager for Jennison Associates and Harbor Capital to discuss market concentration within the S&P 500, how growth managers combat high-flying stocks within the i ... Show More
38m 48s
Feb 2024
Talk Your Book: Putting a Floor on the Nasdaq 100
On today's show, Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick are joined by Bruce Bond, Co-Founder and CEO of Innovator Capital Management to discuss: behavioral finance, and the popularity of defined outcome products during bull markets, how equity floor ETFs work, Innovator's latest defined ... Show More
38m 1s
Oct 2024
The Cost of the American Dream (EP.384)
On episode 384 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: changing narratives in the markets, why interest rates are rising, why you should never take macro advice from hedge fund managers, why the S&P 500 is so hard to beat, living paycheck-to-paycheck on $150k, ... Show More
1h 2m
May 2024
Talk Your Book: Growth Stage Debt Investing
On today's show, Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick are joined by Kyle Brown, CEO, President, and CIO of Trinity Capital to discuss how the Trinity Capital structure works, how venture debt investing works, understanding execution risk vs technology risk, Trinity's 5 income-generati ... Show More
33m 4s
Oct 2023
Talk Your Book: Equities With Guardrails
On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Hamilton Reiner, MD, PM, and Head of US Equity Derivatives at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discuss: how hedging ladders provide downside protection, the goal of the HELO ETF, hedged equity strategies vs traditional 60/40 portfolio ... Show More
31m 18s