Investing Unscripted

Every quarter, thousands of companies report their financial results, and investors of all stripes tune in, read up, and trade their way through the season. Volatility is up, and for many people, so is their stress level. So what's an investor to do? In this episode, Jason and Jeff discuss their mindsets during earnings season, including the frameworks they have implemented to help them navigate the volatilities, and make better investing decisions when emotions can be high.  In the second part of the show, we share our first The Smattering Rough Cut, an unedited, unplanned conversation that starts in one direction, then goes a little bit off the rails.  Companies mentioned: LMND, MSFT, FTNT, LOB We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

Wow, that was fast. In the blink of an eye, The Smattering has turned one year old! In this episode, Jeff and Jason take a stroll down memory lane, sharing some of their favorite stories, episodes, and guests from the first year. We also take a look ahead, and tease a few new ideas coming soon to The Smattering Podcast!  In the second part of the show, we give an update on the 2023 Smattering Portfolio Contest! Jeff finally admits that Jason's portfolio is superior, while Jason remains his typically humble self. We also share our thoughts on where all the stocks are at this point, and what we are watching for going forward. Companies mentioned: AMC, AMZN, BIP, BLNK, BOC, CRWD, DDOG, LMND, MELI, META, NKE, OM, SPG, TREX, TSM, TSLA, TTD We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at: Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

Have you ever been absolutely, utterly confident in an outcome, only to get a rude awakening when things go very differently? Well, you're not alone. Behavioral economics pioneer Peter Atwater has made it his mission to help more people understand the role of confidence in human decision making, outcomes, and how it's rooted in "our desire for certainty and control." In this week's show, Jeff and Jason talk with Peter about his new book, The Confidence Map: Charting a Path from Chaos to Clarity. They discuss his background, his decision to leave a successful banking career and start over at 45, and and how The Confidence Map came to be, and how it can help people make better decisions in many aspects of their lives.  In the second part of the show, Jason and Jeff share their thoughts on the book and the conversation with Peter, and how the concepts in the book can fit in the investor's toolbox.  Companies mentioned: BRK.A, BRK.B Buy The Confidence Map on Amazon. Peter Atwater on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Peter_Atwater  We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

Brian Feroldi is a leading expert in investing, helping hundreds of thousands of people avoid mistakes and make better decisions. But he wasn't always an expert, and over the past two decades he's made plenty of mistakes. In this week's show, Jeff and Jason talk with Brian about his history, including his beginnings as an individual investor, his origin story as a thought leader and expert, and how he's built Long Term Mindset into a business that continues to help a growing number of people find their own success.  Find Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi  Brian's newsletter and education courses: BrianFeroldi.com/newsletter  We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

You have questions? We have answers. In this edition of our semi-regular mailbag, we took listener questions about capital scarcity, measuring CEO performance, the ongoing AI bubble, and whether Threads will prove good for Meta Technologies. We also shared a listener note describing how they've made massive financial strides in recent years.  In the second part of the show, we announce the upcoming Money Collaborative 2023 event we are doing with some of our favorite finance friends! We hope you can join us. For more details on it, visit moneycollaborative.com  Companies mentioned: AAPL, AMZN, BAH, CRWD, FTNT, META, MSFT, NVDA, OKTA, PANW, PTON, SNAP, TSM, ZS We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

It may be hard to believe, but we are already halfway through the year. That means it's time to review the 16 stocks across the five "team" in the 2023 Smattering Portfolio Contest! The good news: The five portfolios are up a combined 31% so far this year! The bad news: The best performing team is the "un-portfolio." It's all Jeff's fault. This week, Jeff and Jason share an update on all of the companies in the contest, and share their latest thoughts.  In the second part of the show, Jason asks Jeff for his thoughts on financial independence, and topic that, surprisingly, we haven't talked very much about.  Companies mentioned: AMC, AMZN, BIP, BLNK, BOC, CRWD, DDOG, LMND, MELI, META, NKE, OM, SPG, TREX, TSM, TSLA, TTD Episode 30: Introducing the 2023 Smattering Portfolio Contest: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-smattering/episodes/30--December-Mailbag-and-Introducing-the-2023-Smattering-Portfolio-Contest-e1s0pgj  Episode 32: 2023 Smattering Portfolio Contest Stocks Reveal: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-smattering/episodes/32--Smattering-Portfolio-2023-Reveal-e1sm10p  We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

Whether it's driving, picking stocks, or fighting chimpanzees, humans often overestimate their actual skill level. In this week's show, Jason and Jeff discuss this reality, and what you can do as an investor to counter your own human nature. Topics include discovering the difference between luck and skill with investing, how to find useful lessons, and the power of humility and giving yourself grace. (Hat tip to Alex Morris for a tweet that inspired part of today's show.)  In the second part of the show, Jason and Jeff argue over whether we're in a bull market or not, and whether it really matters. (Hint, it doesn't, except for when it does.)  Companies mentioned: AAPL, AMZN, FRC, MELI, META, MSFT, RDFN, ZM We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023 Alex Morris' tweet: https://twitter.com/TSOH_Investing/status/1673696074312167425 

Travis Hoium, engineer and founder of the Asymmetric Investing newsletter, shares his journey, lessons learned, and his approach to finding asymmetric opportunities. He discusses the disruption in the automotive industry, extracting value from the internet, and the uncertainty of AI investments. The podcast also covers Tesla's inventory challenges and compares investing in AI and crypto.

Death and taxes are inevitable, as the saying goes. But what if you died right now? What if some cosmic hand snapped its fingers, and you were gone? We often apply this "snap" test to companies to find the most important ones, but we can apply this same test to ourselves, too. Who would be impacted? What would they be left trying to figure out? Would they have enough money to make ends meet?  Would they even know how to access your bank accounts or retirement savings? What would they do?  In this episode, inspired by a young listener's recent health diagnosis, Jeff and Jason talk about this difficult subject, offering their insights and answers to one of the hardest questions we each need to answer. Because the only thing worse than dying young is leaving your loved ones without the resources to move forward with their lives.  In the second part of the show, we play "Signal or Noise" with crypto. The SEC is going hard after trading platforms, and Jeff and Jason debate the potential implications for trading platforms and crypto writ large. Whether you're interested in crypto or not, it's a useful thought exercise on disruption, fraud, and regulatory clarity.  Companies mentioned: NEXT We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio2023

What if you could start over? Just press a button, and voila, you have a portfolio full of cash, and a chance for a fresh start. What would you do differently than you were already doing? In this episode, Jason and Jeff go through this mental exercise, weighing the pros and cons of pressing reset, and discuss the psychological challenges that keep most of us from making the changes we want.  In the second part of the show, we take a look at The 2023 Smattering Portfolio Contest. Jason should be leading, but Jeff picked two of the best-performing stocks of 2023 for his Un-portfolio picks. If we started a 2X Inverse Santoro Bear Picks ETF would you invest?  Companies mentioned: AMC, AMZN, BLNK, BOC, DDOG, FVRR, LMND, META, OM, TSLA, TTD, ZM We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at:  Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow  Check out our YouTube channel for more content:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here:  https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio