Today we’re excited to share our recommendations of podcasts for those working in the investment industry in the broad roles of managing money, providing investment advice, or providing or using financial technology.
The Lowe Group Insider’s List of Investment Podcasts has been many years—and many ears—in the making.
Others have preceded us with their own “best investing” or “best personal finance” podcast recommendations—lists that have invariably included Planet Money and the Motley Fool and sometimes even Jim Cramer. But our objective is not to replicate a list of podcasts that you can find elsewhere or in a quick query to ChatGPT. And, we’re not in the business of declaring who’s best.
Categories
We’ve built our list from the inside out (see the criteria at right). It’s a collection of podcasts that includes some we’ve long listened to and have come to rely on. Others are less than a year old but promisingly fill a niche. The set includes podcasts we’ve placed our clients on, given the quality of their audience and the relevance of their content. We like to bring information seekers together with information providers, and we like to see good work get recognized. That, as a matter of fact, is our core business.
To further curate our curated list, below Jody Lowe, Greg Joslyn and Pat Allen weigh in on their current favorites.
Jody: Make mine smart and informative
My daily podcast feed is eclectic with a mix of news, health and literary interviews. But when it comes to financial podcasts, these longstanding podcasts bubble to the top. Many have also been excellent venues for smart portfolio managers, strategists or advisors who want to share their insights:
The Long View. Morningstar co-hosts Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak cover the gamut of topics from investing, personal finance, estate planning and more. These hard-working hosts do their homework and ask good questions, and their all-star guest list includes many smart financial pros.
Money Life. The workhorse of the podcasting world, host Chuck Jaffe was podcasting before it was called podcasting. Jaffe has produced a daily “radio-like” show, attracting many titans of finance as guests. Chuck thinks on his feet and knowledgably discusses all things finance from the big picture to the esoteric.
Gaining Perspective. The gentleman of the investment podcasting world, AdvisorPerspectives Founder Bob Huebscher interviews investment strategists, fund managers and CIOs. He dives deep into the guests’ investment strategies, while sharing his own unique experience and perspectives in the conversations.
Bonus Pick: Celebrity Estates. This clever podcast hosted by WealthManagement.com’s David Lenok, delves into the often messy and complicated estates of celebrities, politicians and other well-known individuals. Originally called the Dead Celebrities podcast, it often features the mistakes of the uberwealthy and shares important lessons for everyone.
Greg: Looking for insight at 1.5x playback
A new year’s resolution is less time doomscrolling on social media and more time listening to all the great podcasts out there. Here are three that I’ve long followed:
The Meb Faber Show. Combine the hip, Left Coast insouciance and likeability of, say, Jeff Spicoli with the polymath markets insight of, say, William Sharpe, and you’ll get something approximating Meb Faber. The hour flies by (even if you don’t do the 1.5x playback) and you learn something new every time.
The Investors First Podcast. Who would have thought that the Orlando CFA Society (no disrespect; I just mean any local chapter of a national membership group) would create one of the most popular financial podcasts, one that that regularly reels in guests like Eduardo Repetto, Jason Zweig and Cliff Asness. Regular hosts Steve Curley and Colby Donovan make the most of every high-profile opportunity with meticulous preparation and great interview questions.
Barron’s Advisor: The Way Forward. Barron’s weekly podcast offers a dynamic mix of interviews with prominent advisory firm leaders and clever people working with advisors to make them better. It’s usually a pretty quick hit and will benefit anyone working in the intermediary space.
Also, I hope Citywire will reactivate its Mistakes Were Made, which appears to be on hiatus. Is there a better premise in all of podcasting than forcing successful, highly-functioning people to talk about their most colossal professional blunder and what they learned from it?
Pat: Personality, product and perspective
My favorite three represent the range of personality, product and perspective included in the directory overall. They range from the broad to the narrow, covering the overall investing experience, the evolution of what is now the industry’s top product, and a peek inside the wacky wonderful world of investment product distribution.
Animal Spirits. In this massively popular show co-hosted by Ritzholtz Management’s Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson, you have two guys who are obviously smart and fully engaged in the economy, the markets, what investors should and shouldn’t do and what’s likely to happen next. They offer informed insights and opinions. But what sets this podcast apart is its entertainment value. The weekly listener can’t help but get drawn into the saga of Michael and Ben’s personal lives—when they get gouged for a drink at a pricey Chicago bar, their (many) thoughts on Disney World and, to close every episode, reviews of what they’re watching.
ETF Prime. I’ve been listening to this show since its early days when it carried local and not necessarily on-point spots from advertisers in Kansas City, where RIA host Nate Geraci’s ETF Store is based. There’s no local feel to it anymore as Geraci’s command has grown along with the number of products he covers. He’s a polished, expert host who keeps things moving with guests that include fund sponsors and media commentators. Don’t miss when he and Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, VettaFi’s Tom Lydon and others review trends in ETF flows and performance and make their predictions.
Internal Use Only. If you’re an advisor or a fund company wholesaler, the first few seconds of the intro to this podcast will hook you. The show is a passion project (no commercial support) hosted by Dan Sullivan, a former wholesaler who’s delivering guest interviews about fund distribution at a level rarely explored in public. Example: Go behind the scenes with a Putnam wholesaler as he provides several best practice examples of how he creates “presence in his absence.”
Along the same vein, but without Sullivan’s independence, is the Whole Truth: For Financial Advisors, hosted by two Touchstone Investments wholesalers Steve Seid and Kurt Dupuis.
Who did we miss on our list? Let us know in the comments below or send an email to podcasts@lowecom.com.
About the Lowe Group
Insider’s List to Investment Podcasts
How did we curate our filterable, sortable, searchable list? We describe our thinking below. It’s possible we have inadvertently overlooked a podcast or two. Comment below or send an email to podcasts@lowecom.com, and we’ll be sure to consider.
Format. To be included, the podcast needs to be more than co-workers talking to each other—it needs to feature outside guests. Many fine podcasts are produced by financial advisors providing commentary and answering questions, they’re not included. Most asset manager podcasts were excluded for this reason. These rules were bent in a few instances.
Freshness. Only podcasts with at least one 2023 show.
Sponsors. Many podcasts are produced by traditional media companies while others are produced either to support related business ventures, in conjunction with podcast networks, commercial sponsors or even in bootstrap fashion. The Affiliated label indicates an association that you may need to know in order to understand the show’s perspective.
Topics. The list includes many shows about the overall economy or the markets. They tend to have the highest listenership numbers and will be most familiar. Also included are niche shows about an aspect of investing (e.g., ESG or retirement planning) while others are about the work itself (managing an investment advisory practice). Shows about trading or cryptocurrency are not included.
Show descriptions. Mostly repeat what the show producer uses, although we weigh in with our own comments here and there.
Frequency. Our media partners’ shows are delivered on a predictable schedule. As far as the others go, we get it—when your podcast is something extra you do or you’re dependent on guests’ availability, you’ve got to fit in when you can. For some, podcast production dates and even frequency tend to be a fluid concept. The list shows our best guess based on recent publishing patterns.
Learn More button. Our preference is always to link to the podcast producer’s domain, but that isn’t always available. A link to Apple podcasts is offered only when the podcast isn’t available on Spotify.