Spencer Jakab, a WSJ reporter and expert on investment strategies, dissects Warren Buffett's surprising decision to sell stocks and hoard a staggering $325 billion in cash. The conversation uncovers the potential reasons behind this pivot and what it signals in today's market. Jakab elaborates on Buffett's cautious approach, exploring his philosophy on safety with U.S. Treasury bills and what everyday investors can learn from his strategic choices. The insights provided could reshape how we think about investment in uncertain times.

#420: Harvard professor Arthur Brooks described two types of intelligence – and explained, in scientific terms, the wisdom that comes with age.Dr. Ellen Vora, M.D., shared insight into the roots of procrastination, offering evidence-based tips for how to overcome our own inner demons of anxiety, fear and laziness.Psychology professor Bill von Hippel described why too much happiness is just as detrimental to our long-term health and wellbeing as too little happiness.Wall St. Journal columnist Spencer Jakab observed the perfect storm of conditions that gave rise to meme stonks and other oddities of our era.Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy argued for “strategic under-diversification” and explained the Sharpe Ratio.Data scientist Nick Maggiulli explains the save-invest continuum.And financial planner Bill Bengen, the creator of the 4 percent retirement withdrawal rule, talks about what most people misunderstand about the safe withdrawal rate.These are just some of the highlights from the Afford Anything podcast in this 2022 year-in-review episode.Enjoy!For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode420 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Financial journalist Spencer Jakab and activist short-seller Andrew Left discuss the GameStop meme stock craze and its characters. They delve into narrative investing, financial nihilism, and the societal factors influencing investing attitudes. The conversation also touches on the dark design of trading platforms and the contradictions within populist investment movements.

Spencer Jakab of WSJ debunks the GameStop and Reddit saga as a revolution, discussing varying outcomes for investors and legality of the situation. The podcast explores the swarm of day traders impacting Melvin Capital, Batesian mimicry in harmless species, and the importance of consistency in capital structure.

Wall Street Journal columnist Spencer Jakab discusses how randomly selecting individual stocks can outperform expert investing strategies in a dart-throwing experiment. The podcast explores the benefits of low-cost index funds over expensive investment managers and offers insights on portfolio diversification, economic well-being, and the pitfalls of frequent market adjustments.