Gift and Estate Taxes
Giving away assets in one's lifetime might make sense tax-wise, but the issue is deeply emotional and personal for most people.
Retirement Off Track?
Some people start to take unnecessary risks when their portfolio gets off track. What are other options?
Drawing Down Your IRA
What's the best way to shift your mindset when it's time to withdraw from your IRA?
IRAs: Just Starting Out
What are some of the incentives for younger investors to start saving for retirement?
When Interest Rates Rise
Bonds can play an important role in your portfolio, but how do rising interest rates affect fixed income?
How Much Risk Is Right for You?
Every investor wants to maximize return—but you must first consider how much risk you can stomach.
Should You Get Out of the Market?
Whenever there's a rapid drop in the stock market, whatever the cause, some investors wonder whether they should just get out of the market for a while. Here's why that approach usually doesn't work.
Trading Mistakes
Making mistakes is part of the learning process, but how can we improve our ability to learn from trading mistakes?
Creating an Estate Plan
Estate plans aren't just for the wealthy. So why do people tend to procrastinate making one?
ESG Investing and Your Values
How can you customize your portfolio in ways that align with your own personal values? ESG investing might help you achieve your goals beyond just risk and return.
Equity Compensation for Entrepreneurs
Equity compensation is an increasingly common part of a benefits package. Why are younger workers driving demand for it?
Which Trust May Be Right for You?
There are many advantages to having a trust in addition to a will, but is a trust right for you?
How Can You Best Give to Charity?
Decisions about what you do with your financial assets are just as important as the decisions you make while you're accumulating them. Most of us want to help others, but is there a smarter way to give to charity?
How Can You Be More Confident?
Underconfidence in financial matters can affect anyone, but women can be especially prone to undervaluing their expertise. Are there steps you can take to feel more empowered?
Should You Invest in a SPAC?
Is investing in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) right for your portfolio?
Financial Decoder S9 Trailer
Season 9 of Financial Decoder arrives on November 1. Check your listening app to make sure you are subscribed.
Should You Invest in Crypto?
What are some things to keep in mind when you are considering investing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies?
How Can You Set Better Goals?
Many people have a vague notion of what they want to achieve financially, but it takes specificity to make those goals a reality.
How Can You Protect Against Inflation?
As investors eye rising prices, are there ways to manage a portfolio that can offset some of the effects of inflation?
Special Guest: Katy Milkman
Mark sits down with Choiceology host Katy Milkman to discuss some of the barriers to change in her new book How to Change.
Financial Perils of Aging
It's normal for aging investors to experience at least some cognitive decline. Are you taking the right steps to prepare your finances for the future?
Rationalizing Investing Mistakes
What sorts of things do people say when making an emotional financial decision?
Managing Emotions While Trading
How do our emotional biases affect our decisions while trading stocks?
When Should You Sell? Part 2
The decision of when to sell a mutual fund or ETF can be complex. What should you keep in mind before you sell?
When Should You Sell? Part 1
Successful investing is about what you buy and when you buy it, but also what you sell and when you sell it. So how do you decide which stocks and bonds to sell when?
Familiarity Bias & Investing
Choosing investments that are familiar can be comforting, but how can you choose more objectively?
Measuring Portfolio Performance
Almost everyone wants high returns from their portfolio, but how do you know if you are using the right benchmarks to measure those returns?
Why Now Is a Good Time to Give
There is no question that there is a greater need for charitable giving right now, but are there also advantages for donors and charities?
Planning and the Pandemic
How are investors adapting their plans and investing strategies to the global pandemic?
The Market vs. the Economy
With unemployment at its highest level in generations and whole sectors struggling, is the stock market really correlated to the economy?
Roll Over Your Old 401(k)?
If you've left a job recently, what are your options for your old 401(k)?
Should You Tap Retirement Savings?
If you are short on cash, when does it make sense to tap into your retirement accounts?
Which Bond Should You Buy?
If you are considering two bonds, should you buy the one with the higher yield?
How Should You Invest $1,000?
Whether you're new to investing or have an established portfolio, how would you invest an extra $1,000? Here are some strategies to help you decide.
Should You Get Out of the Market?
Whenever there's a rapid drop in the stock market, whatever the cause, some investors wonder whether they should just get out of the market for a while. Here's why that approach usually doesn't work.
Roth IRA or Traditional IRA?
When choosing between a Roth or traditional IRA, it comes down to whether or not you think it's smarter to pay now or pay later, given your particular situation.
When You Have to Sell
No one likes to sell when the market is down, but some investors don't have a choice. In that case, what's the best approach?
Reboot Your Resolutions
If you set New Year's resolutions, have you fallen off track? Were you too overwhelmed to set resolutions? In either case, we have some helpful strategies to reboot your New Year's resolutions or get started on some new goals.
Do You Need a Financial Plan?
We all have goals. Juggling multiple goals in a world of finite time and money can be tough. Whatever your goals in life are, can you name the steps you need to take in order to actually achieve them?
Paying Yourself in Retirement
Building a nest egg for retirement is a massive, multifaceted project. But after decades of saving and accumulating wealth, there comes a time when you need to transition into spending mode.
What to Do With Employee Stock
Whether it's stock options, restricted stock, an employee stock purchase plan, or some other form of equity compensation, most companies offer this vital benefit to employees. But once you have it, what should you do with it?
How Should You Give to Charity?
Decisions about what you do with your financial assets are just as important as the decisions you make while you're accumulating them. Most of us want to help others, but is there a smarter way to give to charity?
How Much Should You Borrow?
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz discusses good debt versus bad debt and some of the common mistakes people make with borrowing.
Special Guest: Chuck Schwab
Founder and Chairman of the Board Chuck Schwab joins Mark Riepe for a candid discussion about the decisions he made that disrupted the brokerage industry.
Biases Across Generations
Scientists and researchers have identified over a hundred cognitive and emotional biases, but which ones are most likely to affect you? It partly depends on your age.
Washington D.C. & Investing
Politics can affect many of your financial decisions. What's the best way to understand the impact of policy and political changes on your investments?
Should You Trade More?
There are a lot of ways your emotions and biases can get in the way of buying or selling a stock. What are some strategies to try to overcome these traps?
Is an Estate Plan Necessary?
You don't have to be super wealthy to have an estate plan. In fact, most people could benefit from one. So why do we tend to procrastinate?
When Should You Retire?
There's no one retirement age that's right for everyone, but what are the factors that can help you make your own decision?
Retirement Savings Catch-Up
If you're behind on saving for retirement, it can seem almost impossible to get on the right track. Can our built-in biases actually help make the catch-up process easier?
Are You Truly Diversified?
The more stocks you own, the more diversified you are, right? Not necessarily. There could be other factors—including your own built-in biases—holding you back from creating a truly diversified portfolio.
What to Do with Your 401(k)?
Most people with a 401(k) realize it's critical to achieving their retirement goals, but what's the best way to take care of it and help it grow?
Risks in Bond Investing
As investors get closer to retirement, they often start to think more about bonds—and about reducing risk.
How Can You Save More?
People are hardwired to value earning money more than saving it. In this episode, Mark Riepe and Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz discuss both saving and spending strategies.
Evaluating Your Portfolio
Calculating the performance of your portfolio can be tricky. If you don't get it right, you might not be able to answer the pivotal question of whether or not you need adjust your mix of investments. How do your built-in biases affect the way you think about your investments' performance? In this episode, Mark Riepe looks at some ways to mitigate common errors and avoid miscalculating past performance.
When to Take Social Security
Social Security is a complex topic. And if you're nearing retirement, when to claim your benefits is a critical decision. There's no single correct answer, but in this episode, Mark Riepe and Rob Williams offer ideas to help you formulate a Social Security plan that's right for you.
What Should You Sell?
In this episode of Financial Decoder, host Mark Riepe, head of the Schwab Center for Financial Research, examines the psychological forces that impact a common investing decision: What should you sell?
Introducing Financial Decoder
In this new podcast, host Mark Riepe, head of the Schwab Center for Financial Research, unpacks important financial decisions and the biases that may prevent you from choosing wisely. Subscribe for free to get the first episode when it launches November 5.