This week on The Morning Filter podcast, we have a special episode for our audience. Usually, Susan Dziubinski sits down every Monday morning with Morningstar’s chief U.S. market strategist Dave Sekera to talk about the week ahead.

But we’ve got something a bit different for you on the podcast this week. Instead of our usual deep dive into the market and stocks, we’re taking a step back to look at the big picture of investing: things like how to build a smart portfolio, avoid common investment mistakes, and time-tested principles to invest by.

Our special guest is Christine Benz. Christine is Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning. She’s also the host of The Long View podcast and author of the book How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful and Wealthy Retirement.

Episode highlights:

What you need to know from stocks to bonds, and core investments to dividend payers

Things you shouldn’t overlook in retirement and tips for setting yourself up for success

Is “set it and forget it” is a good way to invest in today’s market?

Read about topics from this episode.

Tune in to The Long View podcast.

Access Christine Benz’s article and video archive on Morningstar.com.

Order a copy of Christine’s book, How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful and Wealthy Retirement.

Register for the 2025 Bogleheads Conference.

Watch the How to Retire podcast, a companion podcast to the How to Retire book.

Got a question for Dave? Send it to themorningfilter@morningstar.com.

Follow us on social media.

Dave Sekera on X: @MstarMarkets

Dave Sekera on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesekera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/

X: https://x.com/MorningstarInc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningstar...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5161/

Viewers who’d like more information about any of the stocks Dave talked about today can visit Morningstar.com for more details. Read more from Susan Dziubinski and Dave Sekera.

Subscribe to The Morning Filter to get notified when we post. We’ll see you next Monday!

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Stefan Merkelbach

The AI-powered Podcast Player