Episodes

Nov. 8, 2023

Finally, a Slowdown

On episode 333 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the cooling labor market, why the 60/40 portfolio looks more attractive now, why the Fed is in a tough spot, why everyone hates this economy, how to …
Nov. 6, 2023

Talk Your Book: Betting on Duration

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Alex Morris, Co-Founder and CIO of the US Benchmark Series to discuss: making bets on duration, risks on the short and long end of the treasury curve, finding asymmetries in the…
Nov. 1, 2023

The Biggest Rug Pull of Our Lives (EP.332)

On episode 332 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: why so many people hate this economy, anecdotes vs. data, a depression in the mortgage industry, the good news about falling stock prices, small caps…
Oct. 30, 2023

Talk Your Book: Investing in Luxury

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Brendan Ahern, CIO of Kraneshares to discuss: the creation of Kraneshares Luxury ETF , demographic trends and utilizing the wealth affect, challenges in investing in internation…
Oct. 25, 2023

Higher for Longer (EP.331)

On episode 331 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: higher growth and higher rates vs. lower growth and lower rates, why there is so much focus on 60/40 portfolios, bears vs. doomers, the annoyance eco…
Oct. 23, 2023

Talk Your Book: Equities With Guardrails

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Hamilton Reiner, MD, PM, and Head of US Equity Derivatives at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discuss: how hedging ladders provide downside protection, the goal of the HELO ETF,…
Oct. 21, 2023

Talk Your Book: The State of Venture Capital

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Samir Kaji, CEO, President, and Co-Founder of Allocate to discuss: what start-up prices look like today, if the free money era is gone forever, VC return dynamics and the power …
Oct. 18, 2023

Does Government Debt Matter? (EP.330)

On episode 330 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: inflation coming down, the continued strength of the US consumer, Howard Marks on investing for a sea change, the risk-reward in bonds, what would ha…
Oct. 16, 2023

Talk Your Book: The All-In-One Home Equity Loan

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Jason Anderson, Regional Vice President of Northpointe Bank to discuss: the All-In-One Loan, how interest rates affect home equity lines of credit, who this product may or may n…
Oct. 11, 2023

The Worst Bear Market Ever (EP.329)

On episode 329 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: why long-term bond yields are rising, the worst bond market sell-off in history, when good news is bad news for the economy, continued strength in th…
Oct. 9, 2023

Talk Your Book: Investing in Music

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by David Schulhof, Founder and CEO of MUSQ to discuss: what the MUSQ ETF is comprised of, whether or not the music industry is undervalued, the affect Taylor Swift is having on the…
Oct. 4, 2023

Yolo Spenders (EP.328)

On episode 328 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: crazy moves in US Treasuries, how prepared the consumer is for a recession, more positive data on inflation, Michael Lewis and the SBF situation, dar…
Oct. 2, 2023

Talk Your Book: Compounding Machine

Description: On today's show, we spoke with Eric Crittenden, CIO of Standpoint Asset Management to discuss: The creation and use of trend following, market changes over time, understanding what investors need vs. what they w…
Sept. 27, 2023

House Poor (EP.327)

On today's show we discuss higher for longer, soft landings, why nothing has broken yet in the economy, where the housing bubbles are, why it's harder than ever to outperform the market, gambling vs. day trading, NFTs are wo…
Sept. 25, 2023

Talk Your Book: Where Leverage Comes From

On today's show, we are joined by Ed Egilinsky, Managing Director and Head of Alternatives at Direxion to discuss: How leverage is created within leveraged ETFs, Why leveraged ETFs should not be held long-term, Investing in …
Sept. 20, 2023

Americans Love Borrowing Money (EP.326)

On episode 326 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: Future Proof, how markets have changed over the past 70 years, why allocations to stocks are higher than they were in the past, small caps vs. large …
Sept. 18, 2023

Talk Your Book: Customizing Alternatives

On today's show, we are joined again by Brett Hillard, CIO of GLASfunds to discuss: wealth managers vs. institutions investing in alternatives, how advisors are utilizing GLASfunds , investing in alts in a rising-rate enviro…
Sept. 13, 2023

Is Apple the Next IBM? (EP.325)

On episode 325 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: Description: On today's show, we are live at Future Proof to discuss: Duncan spills a Miami Vice, what we actually do at RWM, if Apple is the next IB…
Sept. 11, 2023

Talk Your Book: The Macro Case for Crypto

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Jack Neureuter, Senior Research Analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets , and Ramine Bigdeliazari, Director of Product at Fidelity Digital Assets to discuss: - What the SEC ruling me…
Sept. 9, 2023

Talk Your Book: Need to Have Cars With Car Dealership Guy

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined again by CarDealershipGuy to discuss: Ben's car leasing dilemma, leasing vs buying, why car prices have gotten so expensive, Tesla vs everyone, and much more! Find complete show no…
Sept. 6, 2023

The Market Cap of Taylor Swift (EP.324)

On episode 324 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: one of the best years ever for the Nasdaq 100, people who want to see the financial system burn, getting back on trend with economic data, what if ho…
Aug. 30, 2023

Are You on Track For Retirement? (EP.323)

On episode 323 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the outlook for a 60/40 portfolio, dollar cost averaging into a bear market, the evolution of retirement, the best age for making good financial deci…
Aug. 28, 2023

Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Covered Call Strategies

On today's show, Michael and Ben are joined by Hamilton Reiner, MD, PM, and Head of US Equity Derivatives at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discuss: how JEPI is constructed, how volatility affects yield, why JEPI has been s…
Aug. 23, 2023

Rates to the Hilt (EP.322)

On episode 322 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: if bonds are more attractive than stocks right now, a lost decade for bonds, Michael Burry's track record, why the economy is so hard to predict righ…