30 Quotes From the First 30 Episodes of The Long View

It's been about seven months since my colleague Christine Benz and I launched The Long View, a weekly personal finance and investing podcast that we co-host. We've recorded 30 episodes in that time, interviewing acclaimed authors, leading financial planners, successful entrepreneurs, business executives, and other subject-matter experts.

We've had a lot of fun recording The Long View and learned a ton. We owe that to the star-studded roster of guests we've been lucky enough to assemble. They've been as articulate and generous in sharing their perspectives as they are learned and accomplished in their different fields.

In that spirit of sharing, we thought we’d look back and pick out one indelible quote or moment from each conversation we’ve had thus far. We’d encourage you to listen to episodes in their entirety, as some of the best insights reveal themselves over the span of a full conversation. But not everyone has that kind of time, so, to help you pick and choose, here are 30 of the choicest quotes from our first 30 episodes of The Long View.

Episode 1 | William Bernstein: If You’ve Won the Game, Stop Playing

Noted author and investment advisor Bill Bernstein riffs on the role of bonds, hazards in the market today, and fixing the system.

“Investment is a process that transfers wealth to people that have a strategy and can execute it from those who don’t and can’t.” (26:22)

Episode 2 | Don Phillips: We’re All in the Behavior Modification Business

Longtime fund observer Don Phillips on the importance of investor psychology, the uptake of passive and ESG investing, and Jack Bogle's enduring legacy.

“Sir John Templeton is my personal money manager.” (2:45)

Episode 3 | Morgan Housel: No One Hires a Luck Manager

Investment writer Morgan Housel on coping with behavioral biases, the evolution of the investment industry, and the role of luck in investing.

“Investing isn't the study of finance. Investing is the study of how people behave with money." (29:18)

Episode 4 | Tim Buckley: There’s No One Even Close to Us

Vanguard's CEO on balancing growth with delivering good client outcomes, the future of advice, and the trend toward 'free' products.

“All the money flowing to index funds--it’s not because active doesn’t work. It’s because high-cost active doesn’t work.” (12:41)

Episode 5 | Carolyn McClanahan: There's More to Money Than Just the Numbers

Carolyn McClanahan on her shift from practicing medicine to financial planning, how to model health and long-term care costs, and troubleshooting financial risks later in life.

“A client's biggest risk to their financial security is actually themselves." (32:43)

Episode 6 | Michael Kitces: The Model Has to Change Again

Financial planning guru Michael Kitces on the future of financial advice: technology, specialization, planning versus investment guidance, and how to pay for it.

“Technology is going to allow us to completely disintermediate not just mutual funds but most of the ETF complex as well.” (24:07)

Episode 7 | Aron Szapiro: You Can't Fix What You Can't Measure

Morningstar's director of policy research on what's ailing the U.S. retirement system, the new SEC rule on advisor conflicts of interest, and why policy recommendations must be data-driven.

"There are a lot of people who have been left behind by the fragmented system that we have." (19:52)

Episode 8 | Harold Evensky: It's an Unmitigated Disaster

Financial-planning guru Harold Evensky on the shortcomings of the SEC's newly enacted Regulation Best Interest, the bucket approach to retirement portfolios, and evolving business models for financial advice.

"Brokers and, much to my surprise, trust officers … hide under their desks." (12:16)

Episode 9: Josh Brown: Standardize the Process, Personalize the Advice

The Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO discusses his transition from broker to advisor and why less is often more in devising planning and investment solutions for clients.

"Financial planning is the highest calling within our profession." (14:54)

Episode 10 | Rick Ferri: There Are No Average Investors

The financial advisor and asset-allocation specialist discusses conflicts in advice-giving, which asset classes he avoids, and 'factor renters.'

"The software doesn't seem to be very good at (decumulation)." (31:46)

Episode 11 |James Montier: How Do I Get Paid for Owning This Asset?

Amid a weak stretch for value strategies, the asset-allocation specialist discusses why GMO remains pessimistic in its outlook for U.S. stocks.

“Investing is one of those fields where there is almost constant evidence that we are all wrong." (4:32)

Episode 12 | Sheryl Garrett: The Industry Thought I Was Nuts

The pioneer in hourly financial-planning guidance weighs in on choosing an advisor and rapidly evolving business models for financial advice.

“I see financial planning as a job and I see ongoing investment advice as a different job."

Episode 13 | Maria Bruno and Joel Dickson: Building a Better Retirement

Catch-up strategies for pre-retirees, 'off-label' ideas for supersavers, and how the investment industry can make 'mountains out of molehills.'

“The most important part of the financial planning process is the goal discovery.” (51:28)

Episode 14 | Jonathan Clements: It's in Wall Street's Interest to Make Everyday Investors Think That They Are Stupid

The influential financial writer on what's driving higher market valuations, the challenges of retirement drawdown, and the myth of the 'dumb' investor.

“The financial conversations we have today are so much better informed than the financial conversations we had 20 or 25 years ago.” (4:49)

Episode 15 | Bill Nygren: A Stock That Doesn't Look Cheap on the Surface Might Be One of the Cheapest

The Oakmark manager discusses the lasting lessons of the financial crisis and how traditional value metrics aren't necessarily the best gauge of an inexpensive stock.

“We have consistently found that if we can identify those companies where the GAAP accounting is obscuring the true value and hold them during a time period where that value becomes apparent, that those tend to be successful investments.” (12:06)

Episode 16 | Mark Miller: Less Investment Choice = Better Retirement Outcomes

The nationally recognized expert on retirement and aging discusses the state of retirement readiness in the U.S. and how reducing choice could improve success rates.

“I think two of the things that are terrific about Social Security and defined-benefit pensions is that they are so automatic, and they work in the background.” (11:08)

Episode 17 | Rob Arnott: Don't Sleep on Value Investing (Especially Emerging-Markets Value)

The Research Affiliates founder thinks 'value' is cheap, sees shades of the 2000 tech bubble in today's market, and takes issue with multifactor investing, among other matters.

“And the spread between growth and value is wide enough that just coming back to historic norms, just getting repriced to the normal growth value, valuation spread, would deliver over 2,500 basis points of incremental performance in the U.S. and over 4,000 basis points of incremental performance in emerging markets.” (2:55)

Episode 18 | Rupal Bhansali: FAANG Stocks Are 'Extremely Risky'

Ariel International's manager discusses why she emphasizes downside protection and what the market is getting wrong about many of the largest companies.

“So, in the case of Apple, people think it's a low-risk, high-quality business model. And we would argue it's the opposite.” (15:33)

Episode 19 | Allan Roth: I Embrace Dumb Beta

The hourly financial planner and columnist on navigating clients' behavioral biases and the virtues of plain-vanilla index funds.

“...five years ago, I couldn't be at a conference and go more than 60 seconds without hearing smart beta, factor investing--and money pours into part of the market, and that means, all things being equal, it's likely to underperform going forward…and small-cap value has underperformed large-cap growth I think the last time I looked at Morningstar over the last five years by almost 10 percentage points a year.” (28:16)

Episode 20 | Dan Ivascyn: Building a Portfolio to Bend but Not Break

Pimco's group CIO explains the firm's cautious outlook and why it's stressing liquidity in managing assets.

“You've also seen it within the banking sector ... where you've had massive regulation requirements that these banks and other financial institutions hold a lot more capital than they've been required to hold historically. And they've been limited in their ability to take risk like they have in the past. Those are all great characteristics from the perspective of institutions or funds lending into those companies.” (16:40)

Episode 21 | David Blanchett: If You're Retiring Now, You're in a Pretty Rough Spot

Morningstar's lead retirement researcher on retiree spending patterns, asset allocation, and mitigating the risks in a plan.

“...I don't think we have a retirement crisis. I think we have maybe a retirement-savings crisis. If we didn't have Social Security, we'd have a retirement crisis, because you'd have people that are destitute in retirement.” (18:05)

Episode 22 | Judith Ward: Planning Well at Every Life Stage

T. Rowe Price's senior financial planner shares planning and portfolio to-dos for 20-somethings, people in their 70s and beyond, and everyone in between.

“I don't think your kids want to be a burden to you. So, I think they're more than willing to compromise if they have that whole picture.” (29:46)

Episode 23 | Michael Finke: Here’s What Makes Retirees Happy

A respected retirement researcher discusses what types of spending are correlated with a better retirement--and which are not.

“And when we look at what makes people happy in retirement, some of them might be happy driving around an RV if that actually enhances opportunities for social interaction, if they go to those RV parks, and they like talking to people, then they're going to get satisfaction out of buying an RV. But if all they do is just drive around for a month, and it doesn't actually enhance their ability to interact with other human beings, then that's not going to make them happy.” (3:37)

Episode 24 | Alicia Munnell: Married Couples Are in the Retirement Danger Zone

The prominent retirement researcher discusses Social Security's viability, the role of housing wealth, and a surprising new finding about married couple's retirement preparedness.

“In the calculations that we do, we find that younger people tend to be less well prepared (for retirement), basically because of the declining amounts that are going to be coming from Social Security and the increase in life expectancy.” (4:28)

Episode 25 | Ben Johnson: Index Funds Are Not 'Zombie Investors'

Morningstar's director of global ETF research on fee wars, performance-chasing investors, and whether passive funds are doing their fair share for corporate governance.

“In no other field does it apply that just kind of sitting tight and being happy with doing nothing yields good results, right? I mean, you don't get to the top of Mount Everest by failing to train; you don't win a marathon by failing to train; you don't win a spelling bee by failing to train, by failing to try. Whereas in indexing, it just fundamentally breaks that logic.” (2:22)

Episode 26 | Dana Emery: You're Not Getting a Valuation Discount for Free

The Dodge & Cox CEO and bond-fund manager on overseeing a fundholder-friendly firm and why she believes in an active approach to fixed-income investing.

“I've had a lot of young people in our industry say that, you know, seeing a woman leader is something that attracted them to the firm. And so, I think that's wonderful.” (41:24)

Episode 27 | Meir Statman: We Are All Normal

The behavioral finance expert discusses what our financial choices say about us and whether investors' decisions are becoming more rational.

“One thing that I remind people is that the people who are going to help you most when you're old and frail and ill are not the staff of the nursing home, but your kids. So, you know, treat your kids well, because they are a good chunk of your medical insurance.” (44:15)

Episode 28 | Dennis Lynch: Have a Growth Mindset and Be Willing to Learn New Things

An accomplished growth investor, Lynch explains how his team seeks to gain an edge, susses out the difference between innovation and mission creep, and applies different frameworks to mitigate biases and errors.

“So, the real question was, can that translate, or does that translate, directly to mobile? So, the confidence in our willingness to stay the course (with Facebook) was really that the core of the thesis was around the social network and how strong it was.” (14:40)

Episode 29 | Barbara Roper: Protections Have Been Under Attack

A leading consumer advocate discusses whether small investors should have access to private markets, fee trends, and how recent financial-advisor regulation falls short.

“And so, now you have teachers who are already, I think, almost universally underpaid, who in many cases are buying classroom supplies out of their own meager paycheck, and we've saddled them with the worst retirement plan we have. It just strikes me as appalling.” (42:39)

Episode 30 | Charles de Vaulx: Why Value Investing Has Slumped but Will Rebound

A value-investing maven explains why bargain-hunting has lagged.

“So, yes, good riddance to all these fake active guys. The active guys that deserve to survive are those that are truly active, again either in a concentrated way or our way, and active funds that have shown a willingness to be attentive to their size, make sure they don't get too big and as a result cannot deliver the goods, cannot perform.” (29:18)