Episodes

Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Guide to ETFs
Dec. 2, 2024

Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Guide to ETFs

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Jon Maier, Chief ETF Strategist and Shayan Hussain, Head of U.S. Investment Specialists at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discu...
The Leverage Mania (EP.388)
Nov. 27, 2024

The Leverage Mania (EP.388)

On episode 388 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: great stock market returns so far for 2024, Bluesky vs X, the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy, when to sell Bitcoin, money in college athletics,...
Talk Your Book: Animal Spirits Live
Nov. 25, 2024

Talk Your Book: Animal Spirits Live

On today's show, we are live from Chicago with Alex Morris, Chief Investment Officer of F/m Investments to discuss why investors are still crowded on the short end of the curve, thoughts on why rates went up following a Fed c...
Everybody in the Pool (EP.387)
Nov. 20, 2024

Everybody in the Pool (EP.387)

On episode 387 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: 7 years of Animal Spirits, the miracle of US equities, the wall of worry has fallen, S&P 10,000, massive ETF flows, vibes rule everything around me, a...
Talk Your Book: Investors Love Cash Flow
Nov. 18, 2024

Talk Your Book: Investors Love Cash Flow

On today's show, we are joined by Barry Martin, Portfolio Manager of Shelton Equity Income Fund to discuss what it means to have shares called away, what makes a good stock to write a call option on, understanding the relatio...
The Bitcoiners Won (EP.386)
Nov. 13, 2024

The Bitcoiners Won (EP.386)

On episode 386 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: why Trump won, how the Dems fumbled the economic messaging, how this will impact recession spending moving forward, 30% gains in the stock market, cre...
Talk Your Book: Infrastructure Investing
Nov. 11, 2024

Talk Your Book: Infrastructure Investing

On today's show, we are joined by Jon Levin, CEO of GCM Grosvenor and Mark Gatto, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CION Investments to discuss the basics around the infrastructure asset class, BDC's vs interval fu...
A Once in a Lifetime Investment Opportunity (EP.385)
Nov. 6, 2024

A Once in a Lifetime Investment Opportunity (EP.385)

On episode 385 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: Warren Buffett's massive cash pile, the performance of the average stock this year, the Polymarket whale, markets in everything, Twitter replies now a...
Talk Your Book: Longevity Income
Nov. 4, 2024

Talk Your Book: Longevity Income

On today's show, we are joined by Nate Conrad, Head of LifeX at Stone Ridge Asset Management to discuss how longevity income ETFs work, what LifeX is actually investing in, why matching spending with investment products is im...
The Cost of the American Dream (EP.384)
Oct. 30, 2024

The Cost of the American Dream (EP.384)

On episode 384 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: changing narratives in the markets, why interest rates are rising, why you should never take macro advice from hedge fund managers, why the S&P 500 is...
Talk Your Book: The Next Big Short
Oct. 28, 2024

Talk Your Book: The Next Big Short

On today's show, we are joined by Jared Dillian , Founder of Jared Dillian Money to discuss Jared's bearishness on private equity, understanding the demand side of private equity, a private equity sentiment bubble, an explosi...
Talk Your Book: Marketing is Everything with Seth Godin
Oct. 24, 2024

Talk Your Book: Marketing is Everything with Seth Godin

On today's show we talk with Seth Godin about his new book, This is Strategy , along with why everyone is in sales, how to produce good content, how to define your audience, how to avoid procrastination, marketing for introve...
The Envy of the World (EP.383)
Oct. 23, 2024

The Envy of the World (EP.383)

On episode 383 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: stock market return expectations for the next decade, why there's no euphoria, Nvidia is a unicorn, the American economy is unstoppable, millennials a...
Talk Your Book: Factor Investing with Dimensional Fund Advisors
Oct. 21, 2024

Talk Your Book: Factor Investing with Dimensional Fund Advisors

On today's show, we are joined by Rob Harvey, Co-Head of Product Specialists at Dimensional Fund Advisors to discuss how DFA separates itself as an asset manager, details around converting a mutual fund to an ETF, how DFA han...
The 1990s Really Were Better (EP.382)
Oct. 16, 2024

The 1990s Really Were Better (EP.382)

On episode 382 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: an unbelievable run for the stock market, diversification vs. hedging, an unprecedented surge in household wealth, the new normal of negativity, some ...
Talk Your Book: Yield at What Cost?
Oct. 14, 2024

Talk Your Book: Yield at What Cost?

On today's show, we are joined by Jonathan Molchan, Managing Partner at STF Management to discuss how the trend following rules work, issues with traditional call option writing strategies, trend following performance through...
Money Buys Happiness (EP.381)
Oct. 9, 2024

Money Buys Happiness (EP.381)

On episode 381 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: calling a top in the stock market, why people don't trust data, the economy is still fine, why yields are rising in a rate cutting environment, a bigg...
Talk Your Book: Private Equity Deals with Ted Seides
Oct. 7, 2024

Talk Your Book: Private Equity Deals with Ted Seides

On today's show, we are joined by Ted Seides, founder of Capital Allocators to discuss his new book, Private Equity Deals: Lessons in investing, dealmaking, and operations from private equity professionals . Thanks to Public ...
The Most Bullish Backdrop (EP.380)
Oct. 2, 2024

The Most Bullish Backdrop (EP.380)

On episode 380 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the biggest risk to the real estate market, why bull markets are different today, gold & stocks both hitting ATHs, the US economy is sitting pretty, w...
Talk Your Book: The Next Catalyst for Crypto Assets
Sept. 30, 2024

Talk Your Book: The Next Catalyst for Crypto Assets

On today's show, we are joined by Chris Kuiper, Director of Research, and Matt Horne, Head of Digital Asset Strategists for Fidelity Digital Assets to discuss narratives surrounding ETH and BTC, use cases around ETH, how advi...
Are You Middle Class? (EP.379)
Sept. 25, 2024

Are You Middle Class? (EP.379)

On episode 379 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: our experience at Future Proof, melt-up possibilities in the stock market, what's left for ETFs, how many people are actually in the middle class, the...
Talk Your Book: Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate Debt
Sept. 24, 2024

Talk Your Book: Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate Debt

On today's show, we are joined by Richard Byrne, President of Benefit Street Partners to discuss the chaos within the commercial office space sector, the opportunity for commercial real estate debt, what separates one asset m...
The Michael & Ben Origin Story (EP.378)
Sept. 18, 2024

The Michael & Ben Origin Story (EP.378)

On episode 378 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: how Ben got started in the industry and eventually arrived at Ritholtz Wealth Management, the best movies to watch on an airplane, and more! This epis...
Talk Your Book: Investing in Free Cash Flow
Sept. 16, 2024

Talk Your Book: Investing in Free Cash Flow

On today's show, we spoke with Michael Mack, Associate Portfolio Manager for Victory Capital to discuss how to calculate free cash flow, if the Mag 7 would have shown up on a free cash flow screen, avoiding value traps, secto...