Wealth Actually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViEKPjkjEWI JOHN FICHTHORN, now a two-time "Wealth Actually" interviewee, joins the podcast to discuss his new documentary, "Gaming Wall Street". Directed by Tobias Deml, the two-part documentary debuts on March 3rd on HBOMax. Gaming Wall Street chronicles the 2021 GameStop short squeeze that drew in the retail investor community and galvanized a movement against the traditional financial services industrial complex. It also underscores the complicated and often unfair nature of Wall Street. To add to the intrigue and character of the documentary, Succession star, Kieran Culkin, narrates the story. Outline You were last on when BETTING ON ZERO came out- your documentary on the Herbalife trade. Now you have the new documentary- what got you focused on Gamestop? -Take us through what happened here             -Who were the players?                         -EP1 Wall Street Bets – Gabe Plotkin/Melvin -Robin Hood                         -EP2 Payment for order flow Citadel – Robin Hood                         - How can you have more short interest than outstanding shares?                         - Another Long Term Capital Management?             -Who got outfoxed?             -Gamestop and AMC and others?             -Who made out like bandits and who got destoryed -Why was this different?  -The middle finger to Wall Street? -What happened to “the market can remain rational longer than you can remain liquid?” -Pulling the plug on Robin Hood -The Effect of Margin -Bitcoin analogy -What are the lessons learned from Gamestop? -What is the fallout? -What is the media’s obligation here?  The SEC? -What's next? Any more documentaries? Where to find "Gaming Wall Street" https://collider.com/gaming-wall-street-trailer-kieran-culkin-documentary-hbo-max/ HBOMax https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Occasionally we get a court case that has ripple effects across the fiduciary, asset management and investment management industries. In this episode, we’re going to look at the Potentially massive implications of the recent Supreme Court case, Hughes vs Northwestern The original issue before the Court was whether or not the 403(B) plan participants had properly plead their case in their complaint. The lower courts had dismissed the case, relying on a concept known as the “menu of options” defense. The basic argument of the “menu of options” defense has been that plans satisfy their fiduciary duties under ERISA as long they offered a mixture of investment options-- even if some of those investment options would be considered imprudent under applicable legal standards. In a unanimous 8-0 vote, the Court rejected the “menu of options” defense. The implications of this case could be far-reaching and include investment fiduciaries of all stripes including trustees and potentially RIA’s and other wealth management firms. To help us understand the case and its impact on ERISA matters and the fiduciary landscape in general, I’m going to speak to JAMES WATKINS. Jim provides all manner of fiduciary counsel- He is a Certified Financial Planner® professional, owns the Watkins Law Firm out of Georgia, and has been an attorney since 1981. His career also includes serving as a compliance officer with several national brokerage firms and as the director of financial planning quality assurance for the advisory division of an international insurance corporation. Finally, he is the creator of the Active Management Value Ratio™, a metric that allows investors, investment fiduciaries and attorneys to quickly and easi!y calculate the prudence of actively-managed mutual funds. OUTLINE What are the fiduciary responsibilities of the providers of a fiduciary plan?This falls within ERISA . . . help us understand thatCodification of Restatement of TrustsWhat was at issue in Hughes vs. Northwestern?What happens going forward in this case?With this ruling, there will be a big increase in scrutiny in the stewardship of these plans- what does this look like?Increase in cases (401K and 403B)- against 401K and 403B and BY plans vs advisers. (404A each investment must be prudent)Increase in discovery (and other issues like kickbacks?)Increase in costs for plans?  Fewer providers? E&O Coverage +++Reduce cost of planReduce optionsMonitor planA change in the way investments and stewardship are analyzed and deemed appropriate?Menu doesn’t work anymoreProof of a manager selection process?A new Cost/benefit analysis? (Actively Managed Value Ratio)Who could be liable?  Plan Trustees? Investment Consultants? others?How could this spill over into other areas?Restatement 3rd Sec. 90 Prudent Investor RuleDiversificationCost-EfficiencyCase Law (Tibble et al . . . )Other trustees / fiduciaries?Personal trustsInvestment fiduciariesFoundationsActive vs Passive (Proliferation of cost benefit analysis- AMVR?)Investment consultants giving opinion letters?Private Investments?Intersection with SEC, FINRA other regulatory bodies?  Prudent Investor Rule? LINKS: Hughes vs. Northwestern (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1401_m6io.pdf) Faegre Drinker Summary https://www.faegredrinker.com/en/insights/publications/2022/1/supreme-court-decides-hughes-v-northwestern-university Jim Watkins on Rick Ferri’s Podcast https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-k2fbd-1169847 How do we keep in touch? investsense.com. https://iainsight.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @investsense https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

The world of property and casualty insurance is undergoing a significant business model change- Emerging risks to HNW clients include the impacts of COVID and climate change to their businesses and assets. Additionally, there are two relatively new frontiers of risk: cybersecurity and social media. These lightly understood risks can pose a threat to clients’ assets, businesses and reputations. Helping us learn about the shifting landscape of personal risk is AHMET BIDAV- Ahmet is an insurance executive specializing in the high net worth space. His company, LUX-STR, specializes in insuring the personal and commercial assets of successful families & individuals across the USA Bio Background A little bit on your acting career! A general understanding Risk for the HNW person The State of the Property and Casualty Market Trends Role of the Broker Cybersecurity Social Media Exposure Good practices in dealing with big tech Your experience in developing your business and brand How do we stay in touch? LUX-STR LINKEDIN: AHMET BIDEV YAHOO ARTICLE: SOLVING MEANINGFUL PROBLEMS IN HOME INSURANCE https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

All of us have become more reliant on technology and software to solve problems and improve our lives.  However, many of us understand less and less about the programming that goes into these solutions.  Further, we forget or ignore the human element of this problem solving.   In this episode, I speak with ANDY HUNT who has devoted his life to these issues. Andy Hunt is a programmer turned consultant, author and publisher. He’s authored a dozen books including the best-selling “THE PRAGMATIC PROGRAMMER,” was one of the 17 authors of the AGILE MANIFESTO and founders of the Agile Alliance, and co-founded the PRAGMATIC BOOKSHELF, publishing award-winning and critically acclaimed books for software developers. He’s currently writing science fiction (see conglommora.com) and experimenting with The GROWS Method®. We talk about his early days of programming and the power of community and process in the world of software design as we go into his experience with broader consulting at the enterprise level. Further on, Andy dives into what he considers to be important in the future of programming and advice for young programmers. Finally, as a consummate Renaissance Man, Andy discusses how his hobbies in writing science fiction, music production and woodworking excite his brain and inform his problem solving ability. Andy started in the do-it-yourself days of CP/M and the S100 bus, of Heathkits and Radio Electronics. Andy wrote his first real program, a combination text editor and database manager, for an Ohio Scientific Challenger 4P. It was a great era for tinkering. Andy started hacking in 6502 assembler, modifying operating systems, and wrote his first commercial program (a Manufacturing Resources Planning system) in 1981. He taught himself Unix and C, and began to design and architect larger, more connected systems. Working at large companies, Andy kept an ear on Usenet, and started his early email habit via a direct bang-path to ihnp4. Next he settled into electronic pre-press and computer graphics, and worked on that wondrous eye-candy that was Silicon Graphics machines. By now a firm command of several flavors of Unix, from BSD to System V, led Andy to try consulting in the early 1990’s. His knack for stirring things up really began to come in handy, and it soon became obvious that many of his clients each suffered similar problems—problems that Andy had already seen and fixed before. Andy joined up with Dave Thomas and they wrote the seminal software development book, The Pragmatic Programmer, followed a year later by the original Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer’s Guide, which introduced the Western world to this new language from Japan. Together they founded The Pragmatic Programmers and are well known as founders of the agile movement and authors of the Agile Manifesto, as well as proponents of Ruby and more flexible programming paradigms. They founded the Pragmatic Bookshelf publishing business in 2003, helping keep developers at the top of their game. Andy is a founder of the Pragmatic Programmers, founder of the Agile Alliance and one of the 17 authors of the Agile Manifesto, and author of a dozen or so books on programming, agile methods and learning, as well as science fiction and adventure. He is an active musician and woodworker, and continues looking for new areas where he can stir things up. Comments from Andy on his early career- -Where did your initial interest in programming develop? (The Do-It-Yourself days) -What were the types of problems that attracted your attention? -What languages did you gravitate toward?  Working for larger, more complex situations -What were the big lessons you pick up in those work environments? -Programming considered by laymen as a solitary pursuit- was there an adjustment in delegating work or collobroating?  When does management of strategy get in the way of execution?

In this slight detour for the show, I spoke with New York-based political commentator, DEROY MURDOCK.. We have an invigorating chat about INFLATION and GUN CONTROL, two topics that are galvanizing investors today.  We later focus on the implications of these issues for the 2022 and 2024 elections. Deroy has been a Fox News Contributor since 2012, a Contributing Editor with National Review Online and a Senior Fellow with the Atlas Network, which supports and connects some 500 free-market policy groups in the USA and 95 other countries.  Throughout his career, Deroy has appeared on CNBC, CNN, C-Span, MSNBC, among many media outlets. A first generation American (his parents were born in Costa Rica), Murdock received his bachelor's degree in Government from Georgetown University in 1986 and his MBA in Marketing and International Business from New York University in 1989. His MBA program included a semester as an exchange student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Background First Generation American California upbringing International Experiences Inflation How did the country lose control of the inflation narrative? What can be done about it? Gun Control New York City's fulcrum point on gun control Eric Adams, NYC's new mayor The Role of Police New York Politics Recent NewYork Post Op-ed on his lawsuit challenging the New York's new foreign citizen voting bill: https://nypost.com/2022/02/13/im-suing-to-block-nycs-racist-foreign-citizen-voting-bill/ The National Elections in 2022 and 2024 Who is going to be important? What should we be worried about geopolitically? How Do We Stay In Touch? NY POST FOX NEWS NATIONAL REVIEW https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Anyone who knows me knows that golf is one my main hobbies. It is a huge treat to be able to speak with ROB LABRITZ as he embarks on his first season on the PGA Champions Tour. In addition to playing on the Senior Tour this year, Rob is the Director of Golf at the GLENARBOR Golf Club in Bedford Hills, NY. He is one of the top PGA playing professionals in the U.S. He won the 2022 PGA TOUR Champions Q School to reach the Senior Tour. https://youtu.be/XPhGTpNpf5E Rob’s finished as the low PGA Professional at both the 2010 and 2019 PGA Championships and his hole-out in the 2013 Professional National Championship was the #1 Top Play on SportsCenter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xjK0IwU7xw In this episode, Rob tells us about the role of sacrifice and what it takes to perform well under maximum pressure. Rob talks about his mindset during his Q-School win and exactly what he was thinking and feeling on the final hole as he was about to achieve his lifelong dream. We get unique insight into his golf process and a behind the scenes look at the scheduling and logistics that go into being a Tour Pro. Finally, we dive into some golf-nerddom, as we talk about the state of game, some favorite courses and the role of power (from Daly to Tiger to Bryson) in the sport's future. For hard core player or golf fan or anyone interested in what happens between the ears at the highest levels of performance, this is a terrific listen. What was the process for qualifying? -How did you get to "Q School" ADAM SCHUPAK'S article on Rob Labrtiz's win to get his PGA Tour Champion's Card https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/12/12/schupak-rob-labritz-golf-feel-good-story/ -The Decision to Go For It -The Journey and the Sacrifice The Mental and Emotional Part of Golf How do you get your game so sharp and steady that it holds up under maximum pressure?How did you hold it together in the final round?  What was your mindset?What were the emotions you were feeling standing on the tee of the final hole?What did you feel when the final putt drop? The Logistics of Being a Tour Pro Ok, you've made it- how do you schedule the next year?How do you cover the costs of touring?  Travel / Caddy / Sponsors You've played with the best in the world before via the Canadian Tour and PGA Championships- How is this different in the Senior setting?Whom are you looking forward to playing with?Any particular courses that you are excited to get on?As a teacher, what do you think of the role of power in the game and the BRYSON Phenomenon? What is one of your best shots? The Hole Out During the 2013 PGA Professional Championship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgXoEgqnspc How Do We Keep in Touch? ROBLABRITZ.COM PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS SITE SPECIAL BONUS While our golf games are quite a bit different, we both share one thing in common: our dentist. DR. STAN HEIFETZ is a golf fanatic and a good friend . . . you can find him HERE. https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

In this episode of the Wealth Actually Podcast, I speak with my good friend, Paul Sullivan. Paul wrote the wildly popular Wealth Matters column in the New York Times and currently writes the Money Game column for Golf Magazine.  We certainly talk about those experiences, but the focus of our discussion is on his exciting new project, THE COMPANY OF DADS. This company is the first platform dedicated to creating a community for LEAD DADS. Its mission is to help Lead Dads feel less isolated and more confident In having made the choice to take on the bulk of the parenting and family duties This exciting new venture is ready to launch in February. OUTLINE "The Company of Dads" Paul is the founder of The Company of Dads, the first platform dedicated to creating a community for Lead Dads. Its mission is to help Lead Dads feel less isolated and more confident that they have made the correct choice to take on the bulk of the parenting and family duties - or at the very least not embrace stereotypes around who does what at home. As a Lead Dad himself, Paul understands intimately the joys, frustrations, isolation and reticence around talking about being a Lead Dad. It’s a role that is growing in numbers but is far from normalized. Paul's Background Before starting The Company of Dads in 2021, Paul wrote the Wealth Matters column in The New York Times for 13 years. He also created the Money Game column in GOLF Magazine. As a journalist for 25 years, his articles also appeared in Fortune, Money, Conde Nast Portfolio, The International Herald Tribune, Barron’s, The Boston Globe, and Food & Wine. From 2000 to 2006, he was a reporter, editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He got his start as a reporter at Bloomberg and Institutional Investor. He is the author of two books Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don’t and The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of The Super Wealthy. Paul has been interviewed on podcasts, radio and television programs across America, including NPR, Marketplace, CNN, and Fox News. He has also given key-note talks to audiences from 50 to 500 people in the United States, Mexico and Chile. Paul lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with his family – his wife and their three daughters, three dogs, three cats, and three fish (at last count). He received degrees in history from Trinity College and the University of Chicago. When not running The Company of Dads or being a Lead Dad, he is an obsessive golfer. The Entrepreneurial Journey with the Company Of DadsLessons from your tenure with Wealth Matters ColumnLessons from your golf writing – Money Game in Golf MagazineAdvice to aspiring writers and entrepreneuersHow do we stay in touch? COMPANY OF DADS https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

MAXIMIZING EXECUTIVE AND FAMILY OFFICE TALENT In this 101st episode, we’re going to explore the disconnects in Human Capital Development. This is a crucial issue for family enterprises looking to transition to the next generation, closely held businesses making crucial hires and startups looking to take their business to the next level. To no one’s surprise, Covid, Remote Learning and WFH have had massive impacts on the development of students, business plans, workers and executives.  To help us think through these issues I spoke with DEIDRE KOPPELMAN of PEAR CORE SOLUTIONS Since founding PEAR™ in 2003, Deidre has worked closely with Business owners, Senior-level nce founding PEAR™ in 2003, Deidre has worked closely with business owners, senior-level executives, and organizational teams providing strategic business management consulting across a variety of industries. Deidre puts her focus into strategic planning, organizational development, leadership development, and workplace behavioral issues for her clients. Deidre is one of 5 individuals in the State of New York that is a Kolbe® Certified Consultant. We talk about a variety of issues facing higher education, ways to improve the HR industrial complex and the new employer / employee dynamic. We get into Human Capital Coaching and Performance and talk bout how many typical approaches ignore how people approach certain tasks and how many this approach is different from typical personality and aptitude tests. Deidre also lays out the terms of understanding how people perform (well) We go into detail on the war for talent and performance and the negative effects that can occur with bad decisions around key role hires or the poor management of current teams. Finally, we discuss the need to update the study of people’s hardwiring at the educational and workplace levels. Outline Deidre Koppelman's Background What are the suite of tools out there? The three modes of analysis that you think are important- Conative (Kolbe) “Doing” - Modes of Operation (not about how smart you are or social style it’s your “hardwiring”)Affective- “Feeling”Cognitive – “Thinking” When should this type of testing occur? Workplace? College? High School? How is this self-awareness not incorporated at the high school/college level when people are making huge decisions?  Does this explain “not fitting in” at school/firm/career? How has HR seemed to miss this in the interview process? Expense, Culture? For companies that want to develop their workforce/drive culture, where can this help? How do enlightened managers incorporate these tools with their high performers? How do you use them drive organizational performance/change? Team building?  Is it better to flood the one of have complimentary pieces? Are there differences in functional Parts of organizations? ExecutivesLegalFinanceHRSalesTech/Product development Workforce dynamics- Where does COVID fit in? WFH – remote work – how do people stay motivated? If the job can be done at home, it can be done in Montana . . . or Bangladesh- is that a problem? Safety vs Entitlement at the workplace? Any other future thoughts? How do we stay in touch with you? DEIDRE KOPPELMAN https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Welcome Back to the Wealth Actually Podcast- This episode marks a big milestone.  We have hit the 100th EPISODE. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we have been downloaded in all 50 states and 114 countries. A big thank you to everyone who listens. As always, it’s great for the show’s momentum if you subscribe, leave reviews and share. For this 100th episode, I’m thrilled to have my friend, BRIAN PORTNOY, on the podcast. We talk about the next phase of behavioral psychology in the wealth management industry, the formation of his new company, SHAPING WEALTH, and his entrepreneurial journey. Brian is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of money.   He has written multiple bestselling books, including The Geometry of Wealth, https://www.amazon.com/Geometry-Wealth-shape-money-meaning-ebook/dp/B07CXS9NLG/ Brian is a CFA Charterholder and earned a PhD at the University of Chicago. Last but certainly not least, he is the founder of the wealth education firm, Shaping Wealth which we’re going to talk about here. SHAPING WEALTH -Describe what "Shaping Wealth" does? How is it grounded in your book's teachings? -What is the problem that the Wealth Advice industry has that SA is addressing? -How does reframing the psychology of "enough" advance financial advice for people? -How do advisors evolve to think more "psychologically" and with longer term legacy time horizons? - How does Shaping Wealth integrate with the tools that advisors use to advise their clients? -The entrepreneurial path- what is it like going down this road? -What is the experience of building a company off of your vision/IP? -What has been fun? What has been challenging? OUTRO - How do we stay in touch? How do advisors reach out to you? SHAPINGWEALTH.COM @BRIANPORTNOY on twitter https://twitter.com/brianportnoy https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Welcome back to the 99th episode of the "Wealth Actually" Podcast . . . (We’re recording right before Christmas and I’d like give a special thanks to Matthew Passy who helps me sound good and make the trains run on time.) With the end of the year fast approaching, philanthropy is on the minds of many people. For charitable organizations, the mad rush to meet their goals underscores many challenges they face.  Understaffed, under-resourced, and using old tools, non-profits face an uphill climb every year. By using marketing technology, Artificial Intelligence and data science tools, a new company is trying to help with this problem.  ARJUNA SOLUTIONS applies the same marketing concepts and data science found at the top consumer companies in the world to the non-profit space. To take us through the idea of how technology and the non-profit space can intersect, I’m going to speak to COLIN STEWART. Colin leads Arjuna’s groundbreaking philanthropic practice, which enables nonprofits to adopt new technologies and increase revenue more easily via philanthropic funding.  We focus on how non-profit organizations can increase their revenue through more data-driven and targeted asks. Finally, we talk about how HNW donors and charities can deepen their relationships and multiply the impact of major gifts in measurable ways through technology. OUTLINE: Technology and the Importance of Philanthropy ARJUNA SOLUTIONS background- What does Arjuna solve?  How do you optimize the right amount to ask for so that you get the most out of a donor (without scaring them off)? Arjuna's ExactAsk process-Where does the Artificial Intelligence fit in?  What data are you using? How do you manage the data to get the right ask amount?Where does it integrate with the recipient organizations systems?For which organizations is this right? (Large Donor Bases where there is plenty of data to analyze and marketing systems to optimize).How can the AI process help the donor amplify a large gift to an organization?-  When multiplying the impact, Is this really a case of a $1 gift generating $3?What does the gift process look look like?Besides potentially more donations, how does it it help the charitable organization?How do you measure success? How does the client measure success?What's next?How do we stay in touch? COLIN STEWART https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/