The Phil Bak Podcast

Nick Maggiulli joins Phil Bak to talk through The Wealth Ladder — a thoughtful framework for building wealth and using money as a tool for freedom, rather than ego. Nick explains the psychology of spending, lifestyle creep, risk management, and the difference between grocery freedom and yacht regret.

After a near-death experience on a mountain trail, Adrian Jones rethinks everything and emerges with a clear mission to help others live more authentic lives.

Charles Frischer runs a family office and is the largest shareholder of Regional Health Properties. He explains his battle to unlock value in the micro‑cap "zombie" REIT. He exposes ignored $4‑plus offers, skewers management's merger ploy, and invites real operators to seize an easy eight‑figure upside.

Eric Balchunas is the author of The Bogle Effect and The Institutional ETF Toolbox. He is the host of ETF IQ on Bloomberg and the Trillions podcast. On this episode we talk about the bitcoin ETF approval saga, whether independent issuers were treated fairly by the SEC, and why mutual fund ETF share class filings are the bigger story.

Hunter Hopcroft dissects why passive indexing fails in real estate, builds a case for economic realism in "a world the Keynesians built", and shares reflections on writing and the role of AI in modern finance in a smart, sharp and soulful podcast episode.

Bob Pisani has covered markets for CNBC for 35 years. He is the author of "Shut Up and Keep Talking: Lessons on Life and Investing from the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange". On this podcast we talk about how financial media is changing, the creator economy, AI, the NYSE trading floor, and reflections on Bob's legendary CNBC career.

How fraud and waste turned affordable housing initiatives into a fee machine Elliott White writes on Substack and Twitter/X under the handle ResetBasis. At Hayden Glade, Elliott oversees the company's strategic direction through acquisitions, financing, and investor relations. Under Elliott's leadership, Hayden Glade has acquired more than 3,000 units through relationships with public/private for-profit owners, nonprofit partnerships, and the trust of various public entities in different municipalities. Before founding Hayden Glade, Elliott was the head of acquisitions for Weston Associates, a regional affordable housing developer in Boston. At Weston Associates, Mr. White worked on various acquisition-rehab projects in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, and Mississippi. These projects utilized many different programs, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (federal and state), 1602 exchange programs, Section 8 rental assistance, Section 13A, Section 202, Section 236, HOME funds, CDBG funds, NHTF, and other subordinate debt.

Carol Roth writes a weekly newsletter, sign up at CarolRoth.com/news. She has a Legacy Planning System at futurefile.com, and she is the author of The War on Small Business and You Will Own Nothing.

Phil is joined by friend of the show Ben Hunt for his fourth appearance on the podcast. Ben Hunt holds a PhD in Political Science from Harvard University, is the co-founder and CIO of Epsilon Theory, and co-founder of Second Foundation Partners. Ben and Phil discuss narratives driving flows in markets, the incentivization of risk-taking by financial and government institutions, and the issues that have arisen within American academia over the past several years.

Richard Adler was a co-founder and former Managing Director of EII Capital Management, an investment advisory firm for over 38 years managing REIT portfolios beginning in 1986. He has sat on the advisory board of Armada since its founding, and is a storied entrepreneur and business leader. Richard joins Phil to discuss REITs, investment, and reflect on his career spanning over 4 decades.