Weekend Reading – Do Factors Work? And The Very Best Financial Podcasts.
Weekend Reading is a collection of Investment Research and Lifestyle topics from all corners of the Web. We source the highest quality insights from Wall Street and Main Street that you may apply to your investment process. Unlike the rest of Bankeronwheels.com, this series is provided without additional guidance. As usual, everything is to be used at your own risk. Below is the type of content we shortlist:
The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.
Featured
Is Your Overconfidence In Understanding Risk Leading You To Financial Ruin? (Banker on Wheels)
Investing comes with various risks. One of the most critical is not achieving your goals. To reduce it, a certain amount of equity risk is needed. In today’s article, Larry argues that being on the conservative side and thinking of equities as ‘uncertain’ is more prudent. More than the specific terms of the framework, focus on Larry’s key takeaway – for a lot of investors the perception of the equity market often flips from measurable ‘Risk’ to ‘Uncertainty’ we cannot measure when unprecedented events unfold. Misjudging how our brain works when faced with black swans increases your risk of ruin.
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation
1928-2024 Returns For Stocks (incl. Small Caps), Bonds, Cash, Real Estate and Gold (A Wealth of Common Sense)
One of my favorite market datasets just got its annual update.Aswath Damodaran at NYU publishes a yearly update of returns for stocks (S&P 500), bonds (10 year Treasuries), cash (3-month T-bills), real estate, gold and inflation going back to 1928. Plus this year he added small caps to the mix.1. Inflation averaged right around 3% per year for the past 97 years for the real return people.
- Re-thinking portfolio diversification (JP Morgan)
- Passive Funds: The Secret Ingredient to Smarter Active Portfolio Management (CFA Institute)
- The 2024 Sector Quilt (A Wealth of Common Sense)
- Asset Allocation Interactive at 10 Years: The Good, the Not Too Bad, and the Ugly (Research Affiliates)
- Is It Time To Lock in 5% Yields? (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Understand Financial Markets
What’s up with bond yields? (FT - click on first link)
We love bonds, but we hate it when they make the front page. Let’s face it, while they are intellectually fascinating, there are no good news stories about bond markets. Readers would have found it hard to miss the excellent coverage that rising bond yields have generated over the past few months. Or indeed the front-page news that gilts have generated over the past 24 hours. But we think it is worth unpicking a simpler nerdier question: what has happened to bonds over the past few months?
- Lots More on the Global Selloff in Government Bonds (Oddlots)
- Why financial booms and busts are the key to our progress (Riskgaming)
- The Seven Pillars of Market Bubbles (The Compound)
- Is There a Problem with Passive Investing? (Of Dollars and Data)
- Market Impact: the flurry of Trump 2.0 executive orders (JP Morgan)
- An Investigation into the Causes of Stock Market Return Deviations from Real Earnings Yields (SSRN)
How To Invest
In this episode of Excess Returns, Jack Forehand and special guest host Perth Tolle sit down with Rob Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates and pioneer of fundamental indexing. Rob discusses his thought-provoking article "50 Years of Innovation, Myth Making and Myth Busting," written for the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Portfolio Management. The conversation covers several critical investing myths and insights. Rob brings over four decades of investment experience to this discussion. His insights are particularly valuable for investors trying to navigate today's complex market environment.
Active Investing
Factor Investing
Do Factor Strategies Beat the Market? Sometimes Yes. Sometimes No (Edward F. McQuarrie)
Following two decades of skepticism and doubt, factors such as size and value have re-emerged as statistically robust effects, verified by multiple author teams using larger and more comprehensive datasets than heretofore available. Historical evidence simultaneously shows that even well-attested factors have repeatedly underperformed the market for periods lasting a decade or more. This paper counterposes the historical and statistical evidence and suggests an integration.
In this episode of Excess Returns, we sit down with Kai Wu, founder of Sparkline Capital, for a fascinating discussion about intangible value investing and its global applications. We explore why U.S. firms have historically outperformed many international counterparts, with Kai explaining how the gap in intangible asset investment has been a crucial factor. This episode offers valuable insights for investors interested in both value investing and international diversification. Whether you're a quantitative investor or just interested in understanding how modern companies create value, you'll find plenty to think about in this discussion.
Discretionary Investing
Sustainable Investing
Alternative Asset Classes
Redefining equity market portfolios with venture capital (Morningstar)
Venture capital has emerged from the shadows. It accounts for a growing share of the global equity market and has become too large to be overlooked. The venture capital market is worth $8.26 trillion,1 divided almost equally between the United States and the rest of the world. Global investors, who would never overlook key economies like Germany, Japan, or the United Kingdom in their portfolios, understand the benefits of portfolio diversification. Why, then, would they exclude private equity from their consideration?
Wall Street
- Unicorns and the Growth of Private Markets (Morningstar)
- Balancing Innovation and Trust: Jason Hsu on Technology and the Future of the Investment Industry (CFA Institute)
- The world’s 100 largest asset owners (Thinking Ahead Institute)
- Jensen Huang: Founder of Nvidia (Colossus)
- Which S&P 500 Sectors Hold the Most Cash? (Visual Capitalist)
ETFs
UCITS ETFs
What Are UCITS Equivalents Of Popular Vanguard Funds? (Banker on Wheels)
This article is Part 7 of our definitive guide to Equity Index Investing. While Vanguard is a relatively small Asset Manager in Europe, you can still build a 100% Vanguard Index Fund Portfolio. As a European or UK Investor, you would have to slightly adjust the way to construct a typical two, three or four Fund Portfolio using UCITS ETFs. Here are some questions, that European and UK Investors frequently ask.
US ETFs
Wealth Management
Personal Finance
What drives the best financial planning decisions? In this episode, Ben Felix and Mark McGrath sit down with Ben Mathew, a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago and author of Economics: The Remarkable Story of How the Economy Works. The discussion explores the lifecycle model of economics, a powerful yet underutilized framework for financial planning, and contrasts it with traditional approaches like safe withdrawal rates (SWR).
Stuck On The Tube: How I Discovered The Road To Financial Independence as a Self-Employed (Banker on Wheels)
Bankeronwheels.com is dedicated to helping you become Financially Independent. Some of our readers are also part, or interested in, the Financial Independence, Retire Early Movement (also known as “FIRE”). As part of Bankeronwheels.com Lifestyle series, Kathrin will share why and how she started pursuing financial independence and how the concept has shaped her life. Today, we’ll discuss the discovery process.
Platforms
(Early) Retirement
13 Financial Steps To Take Five Years Before You Retire (Rob Berger)
With five years to go before retirement, there are several steps you can and should take to prepare. In this video, I'll cover 13 things to consider as your retirement date draws closer. This includes: creating a retirement plan, how much to spend in retirement, asset allocation, creating a retirement paycheck, figuring out what help you want/need & where to hold your money.
Financial Advice
22 Top Financial Advisor Podcasts To Listen To In 2025 (Kitces)
There is no shortage of written content available for financial advisors. Luckily there is also a growing ecosystem of podcasts aimed at financial advisors, covering everything from practice management and career development to technical topics, such as investment, tax, and estate planning. Which gives advisors the opportunity to gain new ideas to improve their businesses (and careers) as well as stay on top of emerging planning opportunities while commuting, working out at the gym, or walking the dog.
Design Your Lifestyle
Personal Development
- The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy (Talking Billions)
- Why You Should Pursue the “Unnecessary” Things in Life (the root of all)
- How to Succeed by Living on Your Own Terms and Getting Into Good Trouble (The Tim Ferris Show)
- 9 Harsh Truths About How Relationships Work (Modern wisdom)
Health & Wellness
Careers & Entrepreneurship
Travel
Tech & Economy
Economy
Stanley Druckenmiller: Tariffs are simply a consumption tax that foreigners pay for some of it (CNBC)
Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the most successful investors, Duquesne Family Office chairman and CEO, joins CNBC's 'Special Report' as President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president, becoming the second to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Tech & Science
And Finally
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)
Trade Wars, Real Wars, but Equities Close To All-Time Highs: Is It A Good Time To Invest?
7 Reasons Why Japan May Be Your Next Cycling Adventure
Nomads in 2026: Genki vs SafetyWing – Which Travel Insurance Wins?
How You Can Cycle The World – A Practical Guide
Weekend Reading – Vanguard Cuts Fees across 15 ETFs & IBKR launches prediction markets
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