Animal Spirits Podcast - podcast cover

Animal Spirits Podcast

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/

Episodes

Talk Your Book: Conviction in Growth Investing

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Charly Travers, Portfolio Manager at Motley Fool Asset Management to discuss how the Motley 100 Index is constructed, growth vs value investing, how Motley analysts approach stock picking, thoughts on S&P top 10 market cap turnover, 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...

Dec 30, 202429 min

Talk Your Book: The Economy is not the Stock Market with David Rosenberg

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by David Rosenberg, Founder and President of Rosenberg Research, to discuss David's macro track record, thoughts on where the economy is today, what Powell has gotten wrong, why the momentum trade has been working, David’s economic views for 2025, policy uncertainty moving forward, and more. Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant ...

Dec 29, 202455 min

All In on US Stocks (EP.392)

On episode 392 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: healthy corrections, rate cuts vs. the stock market, terrible sentiment towards foreign stocks, the crack cocaine of the stock market, addiction in the information age, deflation in China, AI eats the world, houses are getting older, new vs. used cars for your kids, everyone is drinking Guinness, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric by Gerber Life. Get 20% off your initial YCharts Professional su...

Dec 25, 20241 hr 4 min

Talk Your Book: Looking for the Next NVDA

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Nick Frasse, Product Manager at VanEck, and Angus Shillington, Deputy Portfolio Manager at VanEck to discuss NVDA vs everyone else, how the SMH is constructed, why other semiconductor companies are catching up, the issues at Intel, geopolitics and the semiconductor industry, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant...

Dec 23, 202442 min

Eff You Money (EP.391)

On episode 391 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the prospects for another 20% year in the stock market in 2025, the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders, no one is predicting a recession anymore, Hussman is still predicting a crash, why retail traders underperform, chart crimes, when money becomes a liability, when middle age hits, and more! This episode is sponsored by Westwood. Rethink how you approach energy investing and learn more at: westwoodgroup.com Animal S...

Dec 18, 20241 hr 15 min

Talk Your Book: Buy Low, Sell High in China

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson talk to Brendan Ahern from KraneShares about Chinese tech stocks, historically low sentiment towards international stocks, US vs. China tech companies, stimulus measures in China 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@thecompoundnews.com with any feedback, questions, rec...

Dec 16, 202434 min

The Bears Capitulate (EP.390)

On episode 390 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the 4 biggest types of investment mistakes, bears throwing in the towel, Bitcoin hitting $100K, more travel stories, the greatest family movie of all time, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric by Gerber Life. Get 20% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your free trial through Animal Spirits (new customers only). Sign up at: https://go.ycharts.com/animal-spirits Join ...

Dec 11, 20241 hr 10 min

Talk Your Book: Matching Longs with Shorts

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Mick Rasmussen, Portfolio Manager at Wasatch Global Investors, to discuss how to construct a long/short portfolio, factors that make a good long vs a good short, how often the portfolio turns over, stock picking within small cap growth, 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 emai...

Dec 09, 202429 min

The Mother of All Bubbles (EP.389)

On episode 389 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: US exceptionalism in markets and the economy, losing all of your retirement savings, yield sells, financial nihilism, the downfall of the CFA, the greatest trades of all-time, a 10 year outlook on housing prices, the bull market in podcasts on YouTube, the psychology of tipping, and much more! Thanks to Public for sponsoring this episode. Visit: https://public.com/compound and lock in a 6% or higher yield with a Bond Acco...

Dec 04, 20241 hr 8 min

Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Guide to ETFs

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Jon Maier, Chief ETF Strategist and Shayan Hussain, Head of U.S. Investment Specialists at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discuss the growth of ETF products, asset flows in and out of thematic ETFs, fixed income benchmarking, active investing with fixed income, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Pas...

Dec 02, 202435 min

The Leverage Mania (EP.388)

On episode 388 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: great stock market returns so far for 2024, Bluesky vs X, the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy, when to sell Bitcoin, money in college athletics, a lightning round of vacation thoughts, and much more! Thanks to Global X for sponsoring this episode. To learn more about Global X’s entire suite of ETFs, visit: https://www.globalxetfs.com/ Animal Spirits survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBBJ69Q Sign up for The Comp...

Nov 27, 20241 hr 5 min

Talk Your Book: Animal Spirits Live

On today's show, we are live from Chicago with Alex Morris, Chief Investment Officer of F/m Investments to discuss why investors are still crowded on the short end of the curve, thoughts on why rates went up following a Fed cut, why credit spreads have remained so tight, not taking advice from hedge fund 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 free to shoot us an email at animalspirits...

Nov 25, 202432 min

Everybody in the Pool (EP.387)

On episode 387 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: 7 years of Animal Spirits, the miracle of US equities, the wall of worry has fallen, S&P 10,000, massive ETF flows, vibes rule everything around me, are crypto winters a thing of the past, where the low housing price are, becoming a grandparent, and more! Thanks to YCharts for sponsoring this episode. Sign up for the YCharts conversation with Josh Brown on December 3rd! Animal Spirits survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/...

Nov 20, 20241 hr 11 min

Talk Your Book: Investors Love Cash Flow

On today's show, we are joined by Barry Martin, Portfolio Manager of Shelton Equity Income Fund to discuss what it means to have shares called away, what makes a good stock to write a call option on, understanding the relationship between volatility and option premiums, how rates affect call option strategies, 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@the...

Nov 18, 202429 min

The Bitcoiners Won (EP.386)

On episode 386 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: why Trump won, how the Dems fumbled the economic messaging, how this will impact recession spending moving forward, 30% gains in the stock market, credit spreads, the reflation trade, how many people understand tariffs, how Bitcoin won, tiny houses, Mighty Ducks, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Roundhill Investments and Fabric by Gerber Life. Today's show is brought to you by Roundhill Investments and the Magn...

Nov 13, 202453 min

Talk Your Book: Infrastructure Investing

On today's show, we are joined by Jon Levin, CEO of GCM Grosvenor and Mark Gatto, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CION Investments to discuss the basics around the infrastructure asset class, BDC's vs interval fund products, risk and return expectations for infrastructure, thoughts on infrastructure investing during rate cycles and election years, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor ...

Nov 11, 202440 min

A Once in a Lifetime Investment Opportunity (EP.385)

On episode 385 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: Warren Buffett's massive cash pile, the performance of the average stock this year, the Polymarket whale, markets in everything, Twitter replies now and then, the cost of college is going down, Bitcoin is still king, private equity in targetdate funds, politics vs. investing, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts and CME Group. Get 20% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your fr...

Nov 06, 20241 hr 13 min

Talk Your Book: Longevity Income

On today's show, we are joined by Nate Conrad, Head of LifeX at Stone Ridge Asset Management to discuss how longevity income ETFs work, what LifeX is actually investing in, why matching spending with investment products is important, understanding the inflation adjustment for inflation protected income funds, declining LifeX fees over time, 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 u...

Nov 04, 202428 min

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, why the 2020s inflation was so painful, 7% mortgage rates, the downside of Waymo, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Global X and Kraneshares. To learn more about Global X’s entire suite of ETFs from covered ca...

Oct 30, 20241 hr 3 min

Talk Your Book: The Next Big Short

On today's show, we are joined by Jared Dillian, Founder of Jared Dillian Money to discuss Jared's bearishness on private equity, understanding the demand side of private equity, a private equity sentiment bubble, an explosion of HVAC private equity deals, 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@thecompoundnews.com with any feedback, questions, recommen...

Oct 28, 202433 min

Talk Your Book: Marketing is Everything with Seth Godin

On today's show we talk with Seth Godin about his new book, This is Strategy, along with why everyone is in sales, how to produce good content, how to define your audience, how to avoid procrastination, marketing for introverts and much more. Thanks to Wealthbox for sponsoring this episode! Wealthbox® is a CRM platform for financial advisors. Integrated with leading custodians and wealthtech partners, Wealthbox is known for its modern product design and powerful yet intuitive user experience. Th...

Oct 24, 202435 min

The Envy of the World (EP.383)

On episode 383 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: stock market return expectations for the next decade, why there's no euphoria, Nvidia is a unicorn, the American economy is unstoppable, millennials are richer than expected, sports gambling is coming for ETFs, how to buy a house right now, Netflix won, coaching youth sports, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts and CME Group. Get 20% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your fr...

Oct 23, 20241 hr 8 min

Talk Your Book: Factor Investing with Dimensional Fund Advisors

On today's show, we are joined by Rob Harvey, Co-Head of Product Specialists at Dimensional Fund Advisors to discuss how DFA separates itself as an asset manager, details around converting a mutual fund to an ETF, how DFA handled the meme stock craze, value vs growth, 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@thecompoundnews.com with any feedback, questio...

Oct 21, 202436 min

The 1990s Really Were Better (EP.382)

On episode 382 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: an unbelievable run for the stock market, diversification vs. hedging, an unprecedented surge in household wealth, the new normal of negativity, some nostalgia for the 1990s, the stock market doesn't care who the president is, 100% yields, when to ask for an early inheritance, how to crack an egg correctly and much more! This episode is sponsored by Nasdaq and Fabric by Gerber Life. Visit: https://www.nasdaq.com/solutions...

Oct 16, 202452 min

Talk Your Book: Yield at What Cost?

On today's show, we are joined by Jonathan Molchan, Managing Partner at STF Management to discuss how the trend following rules work, issues with traditional call option writing strategies, trend following performance through different cycles, 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@thecompoundnews.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or i...

Oct 14, 202431 min

Money Buys Happiness (EP.381)

On episode 381 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: calling a top in the stock market, why people don't trust data, the economy is still fine, why yields are rising in a rate cutting environment, a bigger innovation than AI, the impact of climate change on the housing market, a nation of trucks, how money actually does buy happiness, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Global X and CME Group. To learn more about Global X’s entire suite of ETFs from covered calls, f...

Oct 09, 20241 hr 4 min

Talk Your Book: Private Equity Deals with Ted Seides

On today's show, we are joined by Ted Seides, founder of Capital Allocators to discuss his new book, Private Equity Deals: Lessons in investing, dealmaking, and operations from private equity professionals. Thanks to Public for sponsoring this episode! Visit: http://public.com/compound and discover how you can lock in a 6+% yield until 2028. 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 ...

Oct 07, 202439 min

The Most Bullish Backdrop (EP.380)

On episode 380 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the biggest risk to the real estate market, why bull markets are different today, gold & stocks both hitting ATHs, the US economy is sitting pretty, wearable AI glasses, bullish housing demographics, Michael's favorite horror movies, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric by Gerber Life. Get 20% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your free trial through Animal Spirits...

Oct 02, 20241 hr 15 min

Talk Your Book: The Next Catalyst for Crypto Assets

On today's show, we are joined by Chris Kuiper, Director of Research, and Matt Horne, Head of Digital Asset Strategists for Fidelity Digital Assets to discuss narratives surrounding ETH and BTC, use cases around ETH, how advisors can work with Fidelity utilizing digital assets, decreasing volatility in crypto, 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@the...

Sep 30, 202439 min

Are You Middle Class? (EP.379)

On episode 379 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: our experience at Future Proof, melt-up possibilities in the stock market, what's left for ETFs, how many people are actually in the middle class, the death of the minivan, housing prices vs. demographics, cutting the cord, why Twitter is getting worse, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Innovator ETFs and CME Group. To learn how you can gain exposure to the Nasdaq-100’s potential upside, with built-in risk manag...

Sep 25, 20241 hr 10 min