Animal Spirits is a show about markets, life, and investing. Join Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson as they talk about what they're reading, writing, listening to and watching. Look for new episodes every Wednesday morning. See our disclosures here - https://ritholtzwealth.com/podcast-youtube-disclosures/
Michael and Ben discuss why investors seem to ignore scary headlines, analyzing the historical relationship between markets and war. They explore the slowdown in the labor market, including white-collar cuts and the potential, sometimes unexpected, impacts of AI on jobs. The conversation also covers the rising costs of car ownership, the potential future of stablecoins and financial systems, trends in housing retention among boomers, and the relentless push into private markets and alternative investments.
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Sean O'Hara, Director at Pacer Financial and President at Pacer ETFs to discuss why free cash flow is important, how the index is constructed, how momentum works, valuations within growth stocks, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel f...
On episode 417 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss valuations not mattering, volatility is the new normal, all-time highs in rich people, bubble behavior in AI, gambling is off and running, limit orders on crypto trades, the housing market is not fair, the downside of illiquidity, Michael's email pet peeves and more. This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and Fabric by Gerber Life. Invest like the future is watching. Visit https://www.nuveen.com/future...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Steve Hlavin, Portfolio Manager at Nuveen to discuss the muni market structure, the best states for muni bonds, risks around deficits and liquidity, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@thecom...
On episode 416 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss the stock market bet of the century, the most interesting market environment ever, positive trends in retirement saving, Europe is outperforming, downturns might be different now, the Fed should cut rates, how to invest in AI, crypto is Tradfi now, private market scrutiny, the most 1990s movie ever and much more! This episode is sponsored by T. Rowe Price. Learn more at: https://www.troweprice.com/expl...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Todd Mathias, Head of U.S. Product Strategy & Development at Franklin Templeton to discuss US outperformance vs international, currency headwinds, macro uncertainty in the US, the value factor overseas, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free t...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Daniel Crosby about his book, The Soul of Wealth. Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Check out the latest in f...
On episode 415 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss why technical analysis matters in a downturn, why stockpicking is so hard, do we need a recession, Jamie Dimon is worried about government bonds, how many millionaires there are, AI deflation vs. government spending inflation, when to worry about government debt, the bull market is self-driving cars, it's finally a buyer's market for housing and much more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Get 20% o...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Scott Blasdell, Portfolio Manager and Don San Jose, Chief Investment Officer of the U.S. Value Team at J.P. Morgan to discuss what value means today, looking for quality within value, why valuation still matters, why the wine business is in trouble, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The I...
On episode 414 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss long-term bond yields rising, why government debt won't fall, where all the dry powder is coming from, how often you should expect bear markets, a weird time to be rich, $97 salads, why starter homes died, retail bagholders, why everyone takes Social Security early, Tom Cruise and much more! This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor Solutions and KraneShares Grow your RIA Your way by visiting: ...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Imaru Casanova, Portfolio Manager for the active gold and Precious Metals Strategy at VanEck to discuss gold hitting all time highs, gold miners vs gold performance, macro factors investing in gold, demand from central banks, and much more! Learn more at: https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/investments/international-investors-gold-fund-inivx/overview/ Find complete show notes & VanEck's ...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Samir Kerbage, CIO of Hashdex to discuss price action in 2025, narratives around price action, how the index is constructed, Bitcoin's investment thesis, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with...
On episode 413 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: how retail became the smart money, why long-term investing caught on, where the money is coming from to buy the dips, chances of re-testing the lows, the Moody's downgrade, millionaires next door, takeout food culture, the broken housing market and much more! This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and YCharts. Invest like the future is watching. Visit: https://www.nuveen.com/future to learn more. Learn why 9 out ...
On episode 412 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss the China trade deal, retail was right, Wall Street was wrong, price vs. sentiment, markets saved us from a recession, record stock buybacks, 4-to-1 leverage and private equity in your 401k, Michael's real estate deals and more! This episode is sponsored by STF Management. Visit: https://stfm.com/ to learn more. Sign up for The Compound newsletter and never miss out: thecompoundnews.com/subscribe Find complete ...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Brendan Ahern, CIO at KraneShares to discuss an update on China's economy, China real estate, the AI race with China, stock picking within China, consumerism outside the US, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected]...
On episode 411 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss Warren Buffett's legacy, no one can guess where the market is going, a 9 day win streak for stocks, Americans love to buy the dip, the next recession is going to be wild, Wall Street is very bearish, retail is bullish, Bitcoin didn't decouple yet, a housing market slowdown, the benefits of drinking and more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric By Gerber Life get 20% off your initial YCharts subscription by ...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Shiloh Bates, Partner and CIO of Flat Rock Global to discuss the relationship between income and volatility, how CLOs perform during recessions, what CLO equity is, what happens when loans default, characteristics to look at for CLO managers, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel fr...
On episode 410 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: a wild month of stock market performance, bear market rallies, a shift in tariffs, Amazon fighting back, an update on earnings, thoughts on conferences, a new Netflix recommendation, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Innovator ETFs. Visit: http://innovatoretfs.com/ to learn more. Sign up for The Compound newsletter and never miss out: thecompoundnews.com/subscribe Find complete show notes on our blogs: Ben Car...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Nick Kalivas, Head of Factor & Core Equity Product Strategy at Invesco to discuss the research behind equal weighting, concentration within the S&P 500, looking at flows during the selloff in 2025, factor performance, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email a...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Abundance author Derek Thompson about his new book, what it means in the current environment, why the supply chain is so important for consumers and what comes next in the trade war. This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor Solutions. Grow your RIA your way at: https://www.betterment.com/advisors Find complete show notes on our blogs: Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s...
On episode 409 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: some 1929 and 1932 comparisons, the impact of tariffs on small businesses, supply chain problems are coming, putting the dollar's move into perspective, jumping into a recession, why a recession might feel worse than it actually is, the correction is still relatively mild, retail keeps buying the dip, Bitcoin is decoupling, $145,000 mud rooms and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Grab a copy of their new de...
On this two-part episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Jason Greenblath of American Century Investments about short duration fixed income, remaining active during recessions, inflationary spikes and fixed income. Then, at the 21:30 mark, the guys speak with Christian Hoffmann of Thornburg Investment Management to discuss opportunities in global credit markets, recession risk, heightened volatility, the Fed and inflation, and much more! Find complet...
On this special two-part episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Barry Ritholtz to discuss his new book, How Not To Invest. Barry is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, as well as the host of the popular Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business. Then at the 30:00 mark, the guys talk with Alex Morris to discuss his new book, Buffett and Munger Unscripted. Alex is the founder of The Science of Hitting Investment Rese...
On episode 408 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the tariff tantrum, why a falling dollar matters, yields are rising, betting markets on recession predictions, sentiment is falling off a cliff, buying stocks when they're down 15%, the unintended consequences of Trump's trade policies, panic in the stock market, when you should sell some stocks and much more. This episode is sponsored by NEOS Investments and Fabric by Gerber Life. Learn more about NEOS Investments and th...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick, CFA and Ben Carlson, CFA are joined by Matt Bartolini, CFA, CAIA, Managing Director at State Street Global Advisors and Head of SPDR Americas Research Team to discuss sector exposures in mid caps, why having a profitability screen is crucial, how mid caps are affected by policy uncertainty, an update on ETF flows in 2025, and much more! Our blogs: Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor F...
On episode 407 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss the chaos surrounding tariffs, Dan Ives getting cautious, possible affects on the economy, fake headlines moving markets, cabanas are getting out of control, the White Lotus finale, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor solutions and Morningtstar Investment Conference. Grow your RIA your way at: betterment.com/advisors Don't miss Animal Spirits at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago on...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Rahul Sharma, Portfolio Manager and Executive Director at Schafer Cullen to discuss the catalyst for recent international outperformance, what policies have led to international performance, avoiding/concentrating into different countries, how the US Dollar affects international investments, and much more! Learn more at: https://www.cullenfunds.com/ Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlso...
On episode 406 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: auto tariffs, binary outcomes on Liberation Day, rising uncertainty, why household debt is going to rise, the Mag 7 bear market, the pros and cons of buffered ETFs, the bottom 50%, PE in 401(k) plans, a diverging housing market and more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Register for the YCharts x Nick Maggiulli webinar here: https://ycharts.zoom.us/webinar/register/6017424930774/WN_pt05FhS_SW2Q0dbtqFi8Bg Sign up for ...
On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Fran Rodilosso, Head of Fixed Income ETF Portfolio Management and Bill Sokol, VP and Director of Product Management to discuss what a CLO is, how the portfolio is constructed, the possible risks with CLOs, why spreads have remained so low in 2025, performance during recessions, and much more! Learn more at: https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/investments/clo-etf-cloi/overview/ Find complete show notes on ou...
On episode 405 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: how to become indispensable at work, the stock market comeback, the wealth effect, international stock outperformance, who owns the US stock market, 100 baggers, the Jerome Powell rally, watch what consumers do not what they say, how the GFC messed up the housing market, the shrinking middle class, Severance and more. This episode is sponsored by Kraneshares and Fabric by Gerber Life. Explore the KraneShares China & E...
