Money For the Rest of Us
A personal finance and investing podcast on money, how it works, how to invest it and how to live without worrying about it. J. David Stein is a former Chief Investment Strategist and money manager. For close to two decades, he has been teaching individuals and institutions how to invest and handle their finances in ways that are simple to understand. More info at moneyfortherestofus.com
Episodes
The U.S has traditionally been a safe haven for investing, but that hasn't been the case in 2025. We explore three economic and narrative regimes and consider why we may be witnessing a shift after 12 years of U.S. outperformance.
Topics covered include:
- What was the narrative and economic and financial performance from 1995-2001, 2002-2012, and 2012 -2024.
- How the performance of the U.S. dollar impacted returns
- Why did ec...
In this episode, we explore what it means to invest in a non-ergodic world—where time, not averages, determines outcomes. We unpack concepts like volatility drag, ensemble vs. time averages, and the implications for portfolio strategy, while also reflecting on how AI and zero-click search are reshaping business and investor behavior.
Topics covered include:
- What is ergodicity and why it matters
- How path dependency and eme...
What will the impact be now that the U.S. has one of the highest tariff rates in the world?
Topics covered include:
- Why the Trump administration raised tariffs
- How the last round of U.S. tariffs led to higher prices and lower economic growth
- Four ways the world remains close to record connectivity
- Who have been the winners and losers from global trade
- What will be the impact of this trade war
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Greg Dowling of FEG interviews Max Belmont, a gold specialist and portfolio manager at First Eagle Investments. Greg and Max discuss the historical, philosophical, and practical reasons for owning gold.
Topics covered include:
- Where does gold’s reputation as a safe haven come from, and why it trades differently than other commodities.
- How gold differs from other asset classes including Bitcoin, which is sometimes referred...
We compare three approaches to closed-end fund investing: Opportunistic trading, the buy and hold income factory, and a systematic approach of selling closed-end funds after 5% gains.
We also explore the pros and cons of closed-end funds relative to open-end mutual funds and ETFs.
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How trade deficits are making the U.S. poorer, while in the past they have made the U.S. wealthier.
Topics covered include:
- Two ways countries can increase their competitiveness
- How savings always equals investment
- Why excess savings flows to the U.S. leading to a drop in U.S. domestic savings
- Why the U.S. current trade situation could lead to a debt crisis
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How the Trump administration is using tariffs as a negotiating tool to weaken the U.S. dollar and increase the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
Topics covered include:
- Why U.S. stocks are falling, and recession risk is increasing
- How the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency is becoming a burden on the U.S.
- How the Trump administration aims to reduce its trade deficit and make it less attractive for foreign gove...
This week on episode 514, we share a conversation between Howard Smith of Indus Capital and Greg Dowling of FEG Investment Advisors on why Japan could surprise investors over the next decade with strong investment returns. David introduces the episode by sharing his key takeaways from the discussion.
FEG Investment Advisor is David's former institutional advisory firm, where he worked for 17 years, before founding Money for...
We consider the incongruency of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the latest crypto exchange hack, and how most participants lost money on the Trump meme coin. Given all that, we review some areas where cryptocurrency is helping individuals and businesses.
Topics Covered
How using a deferred income annuity can increase retirement income compared to an immediate annuity or a bond ladder.
Topics covered include:
- How immediate annuities and deferred income annuities work
- What are mortality credits, and why they are a key diversifier
- Examples of how mortality credits lead to a 1% to 1.5% higher annualized return over several decades
- How to decide whether an annuity is right for you
Epis...
The U.S. and the UK each announced they were establishing sovereign wealth funds. We explore the purposes and types of sovereign wealth funds, how they invest, and some concerns with the U.S. establishing one.
Topics covered include:
- What are the four types of sovereign wealth funds, and why the U.S. doesn't fit the typical use case
- How sovereign wealth funds navigate between politics and generating high returns
- Why a U.S....
This week on episode 510, we share a conversation between Ben Inker of GMO and Greg Dowling of FEG Investment Advisors on contrarian investing, deep value stocks, and the rise of passive investing. David introduces the episode by sharing his key takeaways from the discussion.
FEG Investment Advisor is David's former institutional advisory firm, where he worked for 17 years, before founding Money for the Rest of Us. Greg Dow...
We explore what private credit, or direct lending, is and how to invest in it. We also show how it is similar and different from investing in leverage loans and CLOs.
Topics covered include:
- Why more companies are staying private
- How private credit differs from the leverage loan market
- Why private credit is growing so rapidly
- What are the benefits to private credit investing
- What are liquid and less liquid ways to invest in ...
Natural disasters are becoming more severe and costly—who should bear the financial burden? We explore the tension between socialized risk and market-based insurance.
Topics covered include:
How geography contributes to economic growth and can increase or lower the cost of living.
Topics covered include:
- Why living in a developing country like Costa Rica is still relatively expensive
- How Amazon and e-commerce platforms lower the cost of living
- Why we should consider slowing down our rate of consumption
- How geography is impacting the rollout of AI
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In episode 506, Joshua shares the pros and cons of living outside of your home country. He convinces David why he needs more than one passport. Finally, Joshua makes a strong case for not retiring, and if one does, under what circumstances.
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In our final episode of the year, I converse with author and data scientist Coco Krumme about the benefits and costs of optimization in finance, industry, and our daily lives. We explore AI and its overlap with optimization. We also consider the pros and cons of life optimization and finally discuss the extreme challenge of opting out.
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How asset class returns move in cycles with periods of above-average returns followed by periods of lower returns. How has the rise of passive indexing led to higher stock valuations, and what does that mean for markets?
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What are the tangible and intangible factors that have contributed to long-term U.S. stock market outperformance compared to the rest of the world? Despite these advantages, why might we still want to continue to be globally diversified?
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Why has there been renewed interest in nuclear power generation in the last couple of years, and how can we invest in it?
Topics covered include:
- Why did Microsoft sign an agreement to reopen a nuclear reactor at the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear facility
- How much does nuclear energy contribute to global power generation
- Why is demand for electricity accelerating
- What are the advantages and challenges with nuclear ener...
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