E100 - Milestones

The Piggy Bank Chronicles reaches a major milestone with 100 episodes! J.J. sits down for an interview with his AI assistant to discuss the past, present, and future of the podcast.

This episode is a love letter to all those who have listened these past 4 years. It is offered with sincere thanks.

E99 - Indexing, again

Has your humble host lost faith in index investing?

JJ spends way too much time thinking about the strategy of indexing and what kinds of events would lead to under performance compared to other approaches. In yet another rambling chat he discusses his foray into direct indexing (on paper), what smarter people than him think about indexing as a strategy, and how he manages to insert it all into his ever evolving mental model of investing.

If you like buy and hold investing this discussion is for you. If you don’t, then we will win you over eventually!

Investments discussed in this episode:

• Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF (DFAI)

• Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VXUS)

• Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares (VEU)

  
  

Episode 98 - Consequences

If I do this, what happens next? So many people are really bad at thinking about consequences. Are you one of those people?

We can be taught to be critical thinkers. We can also teach ourselves. Sometimes we can get there through a good boss or mentor. Other times it’s up to us.

In this episode JJ explores why this matters and some tools to help you get better at being a critical thinker.

Episode 97 - I can see for miles

If you have been around for a minute, you are familiar with the VISION acronym that JJ uses to make sure you chart a solid course for life. But is it any good? In this episode JJ digs through the Vision acronym to see what it covers, but more importantly what it might be missing.

Key investing takeaways include:

• Insurance is for risk mitigation, investment is for wealth, never mix the two

• Options are optional, just say no

• Margin is dumb, don’t be dumb

• Fees should be low, or they should be avoided

What we hope to find at the end of the road is that the VISION acronym is pretty good. Fingers crossed!

Episode 96 - Concentration

Investors in the S&P 500 are experiencing the highest levels of concentration in the top 10 stock holdings of the index in this century and beyond. What does this mean for the health and diversification of our portfolios?

In this episode JJ shares his thoughts on why we are seeing these levels of concentration in the US market index and what if any actions you might want to consider in response to this historic moment in investing history.

E95 - Don't call it a dividend

ETFs are just wrappers. It's what's inside of them that counts for investors. Do you know what's inside of your ETFs?

JJ, if you haven't picked up on it yet, is a natural born worrier. Lately he's been worrying about what people are saying regarding ETFs, but he has struggled to give voice to what was bothering him. That is until one perfectly pitched video brought his concerns into sharp focus.

High yield ETFs may make you feel good in the short term, but like all drugs they have risks. Join in as JJ shares his concerns about your portfolio when it contains these "sugar rush" investments.

Episode 94 - Indexing for life

Indexing is a great way to be the market rather than beat the market. It is also a great why to beat ourselves as stock pickers.

In this episode JJ waxes nostalgic over stock hits and misses of the past to confirm why he's a die hard index investor and to support the notion that a small amount of direct stock picking, as long as you keep it in check, is a good way to scratch that investing itch.

Episode 93 - Be direct with me

We live in an era of bad, predatory, and just down right dangerous financial products! Given that back drop, it seems like Direct Indexing may be a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Let me share with you why I think that, what’s good, bad, and just plain interesting about direct indexing, and why you might want to pay attention.