Money Lessons with Andrew Temte, PhD, CFA

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy turns from the money machinery listeners build themselves to the machinery that gets installed before they arrive.  He starts with the default — what happens if you do nothing — and shows how much of a household's money moves according to settings that somebody at a company chose in advance.  The workplace retirement plan serves as the rare example of a default that works in the saver's favor, along with a caution that plenty of employers are still exempt from it.  From there he takes up friction, the effort standing between wanting something and having it, and traces how the same business will strip every step out of a purchase and then build steps into the exit.  AndrewTemte.com

In this special edition of Money Lessons, Andy takes on a question that sits underneath most of personal finance: why change is so hard.  A complaint about his band's setlist leads to the research on why musical taste is set around age fourteen — and to the study showing that appetite for financial risk locks in the same way, set by whatever the markets were doing when a person first had money in play.  Neither one was a decision. Both feel like one. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy opens up the machinery that moves money out of a household without ever passing through a decision.  He starts with the narrow definition psychologists use for the word "habit" — a behavior repeated in the same surroundings until conscious decision-making drops out — and walks through the 2002 wristwatch studies that measured how often people's minds were somewhere else while they acted.  He makes the case that habits are not a character defect but a feature that buys back mental energy, then shows why the same mechanism that makes a habit useful is what makes it nearly impossible to recall.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy turns from the map of your personal economy to the thing that moves money across it — decisions.  He explains why good and bad decisions never arrive in the same size, and why one large mistake can undo a decade of quiet good ones.  The centerpiece is present bias, the mental shortcut that treats anything happening right now as far more important than the same thing months from now, illustrated by a study of 7,752 health club members who left roughly six hundred of every fourteen hundred dollars on the table.  Andy also revisits four biases from March 2025 that turn up constantly in money decisions, and hands listeners a question to carry through the rest of the series: what bias is this product designed to exploit? AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy launches a brand-new series on personal financial management by drawing the map: the six jobs your money has — earn, spend, borrow, protect, grow, and give.  He explains why spending feels so effortless in a consumer-driven economy where household spending makes up about 68 percent of everything the U.S. produces in a year. Along the way, he introduces the idea that will guide the entire series: managing your money is stewardship of your own small economy, held in trust for your future self and the people who count on you.  The episode closes with one simple assignment — watch the flow this week, and name the job each dollar is doing. New episodes every Saturday morning. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy closes the series on equity by turning to the hardest part of owning stocks: holding on.  He explains why volatility is the price investors pay for the equity risk premium, and why the market's steepest falls and sharpest recoveries tend to arrive back to back — which is what makes market timing a losing game.  He looks at the evidence that the more investors trade, the less they tend to keep, and at how modern trading apps are built to encourage the very activity that erodes long-run returns.  #financialliteracy #moneylessons #personalfinance #investing #stockmarket #markettiming #buyandhold #longterminvesting #volatility #compounding

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy makes the long-run case for owning stocks — why, over a lifetime, equities have rewarded the patient owner.  He unpacks the equity risk premium, the extra return stocks have paid over bonds and cash since 1928, and shows how compounding turns that yearly edge into life-changing wealth.  Andy closes with direct advice for young investors — start early, invest steadily, and give compounding the decades it needs to build the wealth a last-minute scramble never can. It's a lesson about patience, access, and the quiet power of starting now. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy widens the map beyond American markets to make the case for owning international stocks.  He explains home-country bias — the natural pull to invest only in the companies of your own country — and points out that more than a third of the world's stock market value sits outside the United States.  Andy walks through the two practical ways an ordinary investor can own foreign companies: broad international index funds and ETFs, and American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, for a single overseas company.   AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy answers a question he has been holding since last year: if your stock trades are free, how does a broker make its money?  He explains payment for order flow — the arrangement where your broker sells your order to a wholesale market maker that fills it and pays for the privilege. Andy walks through why your everyday orders are so valuable, where the real conflict of interest hides, and what the 2020 Robinhood settlement revealed about the true cost of "free."  The takeaway: free isn't free — and the cost that matters most is the one that tempts you to trade too often. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explains the exchange-traded fund — the ETF — the vehicle most people now use to own a whole index in a single trade.  He traces it back to the first one, State Street's SPDR, launched in 1993 to track the S&P 500, and shows how an ETF differs from the index mutual fund Jack Bogle created in 1976: one trades all day on an exchange like a stock, the other prices just once, after the close.  Andy pulls back the curtain on the creation-and-redemption process — the quiet arrangement with large firms that does the real index buying and keeps an ETF's price tied to the value of the stocks it holds. The takeaway: an ETF lets you trade like a stock, but the soundest way to own one is to hold it like a long-term investor. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy tackles a phrase we lean on without ever defining it: "the market." He explains what a stock market index is, where the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq-100 come from, and how each one measures the market differently — the Dow by share price, the others by company size. He unpacks the Dow's hidden divisor and the outsized power of a denominator, shows how a handful of giant companies can carry an entire index, and explains why SpaceX's arrival on the Nasdaq means millions of index-fund holders are about to own a stock they never picked. The lesson: an index is a set of choices, and a fund that tracks one hands you all of them. #financialliteracy #moneylessons #personalfinance #investing #stockmarket #SP500 #DowJones #Nasdaq #indexfunds #SpaceX AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy uses the 2021 GameStop saga to reveal the hidden machinery that runs underneath every stock trade.  He explains how a struggling video-game retailer became the most heavily bet-against stock on Wall Street, why ordinary investors banded together to buy it, and how its price rocketed from about $17 to around $483 in a matter of weeks.  Then he answers the question that left millions of people furious: why did Robinhood suddenly stop letting them buy? The culprit turns out to be the market's plumbing — the two-day settlement delay, the clearinghouse that guarantees every trade, and the collateral deposit that exploded into the billions when prices swung wildly.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores information asymmetry—the gap between what some market participants know and what others know—and the rules that try to keep that gap from getting too wide.  He walks through the structural advantages built into the architecture of the market itself, the meaningful distinction between buy-side and sell-side analysts that financial pundits throw around without explanation, and the legal line that separates productive research from criminal insider trading.  Andy then unpacks Regulation Fair Disclosure—the SEC rule adopted in 2000 that ended the worst of selective disclosure to favored Wall Street clients. The closing message: the retail investor is structurally on the wrong side of many information gaps, and the most reliable response is to focus on what you can actually control. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores one of the most misunderstood practices in financial markets — short selling. He traces the origins of the practice to Isaac Le Maire and the Dutch East India Company in 1609, walks through the mechanics of borrowing shares to sell them, and explains the asymmetric risk that makes short positions fundamentally different from owning a stock.  He brings the lesson to life with the spectacular 2008 Volkswagen short squeeze, when the German automaker briefly became the most valuable listed company in the world. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy picks up where last week's IPO episode left off and walks through what changes once a company is publicly traded.  He explains the lockup period that follows every IPO — using Airbnb's May 17, 2021 lockup expiration and six-percent drop as the concrete example — then breaks down the SEC's three core disclosure filings (10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K) that drive the rhythm of public-company life.  Andy then tackles the real cost of all this — short-termism — citing Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon's 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed and drawing on his own experience to show how the quarterly cycle shapes corporate behavior at public and private companies alike.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy walks through what happens when a company goes public — how a private business with a small group of owners becomes a publicly traded stock that anyone with a brokerage account can buy.  The episode covers the five reasons companies decide to go public, the underwriting process and the role of investment banks, the road show and how the offering price gets set, and what happens on the first day of trading — including why the price you and I pay is almost always different from the price the institutions paid the night before.  Using Airbnb's December 2020 IPO as a concrete example, Andy unpacks the "pop" between offering price and opening price, then revisits the three risks of stock ownership from two weeks ago to highlight how cognitive biases — particularly the urge to follow the crowd — make hot IPOs especially dangerous territory for everyday investors. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy tackles one of the most foundational questions in investing: what is a stock actually worth? Returning to value-investing pioneer Benjamin Graham, Andy walks through the three primary lenses professional analysts use to estimate stock value—relative valuation, asset-based valuation, and cash-flow-based valuation—and shows how each one offers a different angle on the same question.  Using the dot-com bubble as a cautionary tale, Andy illustrates what happens when relative valuation becomes untethered and stock prices disconnect from underlying business fundamentals. The unifying principle: speculation can run for surprisingly long stretches, but eventually a business must generate cash, or its price will be revalued to reflect what's actually there. 

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy walks through the three categories of risk that dominate the experience of owning stock: firm-specific risk, market risk, and behavioral risk. He explains why a stock's daily movement is mostly driven by company news, but why the broad market overwhelms those differences when it moves sharply—answering the listener's natural "which is it?" question.  Using the 2008 financial crisis and the March 2020 pandemic crash as examples, Andy shows how fast and slow declines both punish panic-selling, just on different timelines. He closes with observation that most of the gap between what individual investors earn and what the market returns isn't about picking the wrong stocks—it's about behavior.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores leverage and margin — what happens when investors borrow money to buy stocks. He traces the story from the unchecked margin trading of the 1920s that fueled the 1929 crash through the regulatory response that reshaped modern markets, including Regulation T and FINRA's maintenance margin requirements.  Andy walks through a margin call example to show how borrowed money amplifies both gains and losses, then closes with practical questions every investor should ask before borrowing to invest. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores preferred stock — the hybrid security that sits between bonds and common stock in a company's capital structure. He traces its origins to the Railway Mania of 1840s Britain and the aftermath of the Panic of 1837 in America, where distressed railroads and canal companies invented a new class of shares to attract cautious investors.  Andy explains how preferred stock borrows features from both debt and equity, defines the critical distinction between cumulative and non-cumulative preferred shares, and shows where preferred shareholders stand in the priority hierarchy alongside bondholders and common shareholders. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy traces the historical shift from dividend-focused investing to earnings-based valuation, showing how mandatory financial disclosure in the 1930s transformed the way investors evaluate stocks.  He walks through five essential equity metrics—earnings per share (EPS), the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, the dividend payout ratio, the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, and the price-to-book (P/B) ratio—explaining what each one measures and when to use it.  Andy connects these modern tools back to Benjamin Graham's pioneering work in value investing and shows how they build on dividend and buyback concepts covered in earlier episodes. 

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores how dividends work and why they matter for investors building long-term wealth. He traces the history of dividends back to the Dutch East India Company's first payment in 1610—which was made in spices, not cash—and walks through the four key dates every dividend investor needs to understand.  Andy also explains dividend yield, why some companies pay dividends while others don't, and how dividend-paying stocks fit into a broader portfolio strategy based on individual risk tolerance. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy breaks down the three most common ways companies change their share structure. He explains how stock splits work — including Apple's five splits and Warren Buffett's famous refusal to split Berkshire Hathaway—and why reverse stock splits often signal trouble.  He then explores share buybacks, how they boost earnings per share, and why investors need to look past the headline numbers to see whether real value is being created. The episode also covers dilution and why issuing new shares comes at a cost to existing shareholders.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explains what you actually own when you buy a share of stock. He explores the concept of the residual claim — why shareholders are last in line during bankruptcy but first to benefit when companies thrive — and walks through the four key rights of common stock ownership: voting, dividends, information, and the right to sell. The episode also covers the bankruptcy priority hierarchy and why the risk-return tradeoff of equity ownership has made stocks the primary engine of long-term wealth creation.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy breaks down the three fundamental stock order types every investor needs to understand — market orders, limit orders, and stop orders. He explains how each order type works, when to use them, and the tradeoffs between speed, price control, and downside protection. The episode also covers order duration, how brokerages route your trades behind the scenes, and why regulators require brokerages to seek best execution on your behalf. Whether you're placing your first trade or refining your approach, understanding these tools helps you invest with intention.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the mechanics of stock trading, focusing on the concept of liquidity. He explains how liquidity affects stock prices, the role of specialists in maintaining market order, and the significance of the bid-ask spread. The conversation also covers the historical context of stock price quotations and the impact of decimalization on trading costs, emphasizing the importance of understanding these concepts for effective investing.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy wraps up the fourteen-episode debt securities series by exploring how to actually build a bond portfolio. He covers the three roles bonds play in a portfolio — income, stability, and diversification — and walks through the practical differences between bond funds and individual bonds. The episode also introduces the bond ladder strategy, duration matching, and popular guidelines for determining how much of your portfolio should be in bonds. Whether you're decades from retirement or approaching it, this episode turns fourteen weeks of bond knowledge into a practical framework for action.  AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy introduces the concept of duration in bond investing, explaining its significance in understanding how bond prices react to changes in interest rates. He discusses the historical context of duration, its mathematical underpinnings, and its practical implications for investors. The conversation highlights the importance of duration in managing interest rate risk and the role of advanced mathematics in financial decision-making. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the concept of the yield curve, its various shapes, and implications for the economy and investors. He discusses the normal upward slope of the yield curve, the significance of flat and inverted curves, and how these indicators can signal economic conditions and potential recessions. Andy also emphasizes the importance of understanding the yield curve for making informed investment decisions and interpreting financial news. #yieldcurves #bondmarkets #financialliteracy #personalfinance #financialeducation #moneylessons #recessionsignals

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the failures of credit ratings through historical examples, including the Penn Central bankruptcy, the Enron collapse, and the 2008 financial crisis. He discusses the inherent conflicts in the credit rating system, particularly the issuer-pay model, and the implications of these failures for investors. The episode concludes with lessons learned and the importance of using credit ratings as one of many tools in risk assessment. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy discusses the world of credit ratings, explaining their significance in the bond market. He introduces the historical context of credit ratings, their development by John Moody, and how they provide a simplified measure of bond quality. The episode covers the different rating scales, the factors influencing ratings, and the implications of these ratings on investment decisions. Temte also highlights the importance of credit ratings in assessing default risk and the limitations inherent in the rating system. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the landscape of bond types, focusing on the reasons behind varying yields. He discusses Treasury bonds as the safest investment, corporate bonds and their associated risks, and municipal bonds with tax advantages. The conversation emphasizes the relationship between risk and return in bond investing, providing insights into how investors can make informed decisions based on their risk tolerance and investment goals. #financialliteracy #personalfinance #riskreturn #bondtypes #bondmarkets #interestrates #financialeducation

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy discusses the concept of yield on bonds, explaining their significance in evaluating investment returns. He breaks down various yield measures, including nominal yield, current yield, and yield to maturity, highlighting their differences and importance in bond investment. The episode also covers callable bonds and the hierarchy of yield measures, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of how to compare bonds effectively. AndrewTemte.com

In this SPECIAL EPISODE of Money Lessons, Andy discusses the implications of the U.S. government's interest in acquiring Greenland, arguing that such a move could exacerbate global tensions, undermine the country's financial stability, and have direct negative consequences for the average citizen. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong global alliances, particularly in light of the U.S.'s significant national debt, which stands at over $38 trillion. Temte warns that escalating tensions could lead to foreign governments selling U.S. Treasury bonds, destabilizing financial markets and increasing borrowing costs for both the government and consumers. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy discusses the world of bonds, explaining their mechanics, pricing, and the INVERSE relationship between interest rates and bond prices.  He emphasizes the importance of understanding these concepts for making informed investment decisions and introduces the topic of yield, which will be explored in the next episode.

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the evolution of bond markets from the aftermath of World War II to the present day. He discusses the regulatory reforms that laid the groundwork for modern bond investing, the rise of institutional investors, the transformation brought by electronic trading, and the impact of globalization. Andy highlights how these changes have democratized bond investing, making it accessible to ordinary investors and creating a diverse and liquid market. AndrewTemte.com

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the historical context and implications of the bond market collapse during the Great Depression, the subsequent regulatory reforms, and their lasting impact on today's financial landscape. He discusses the failures of the credit rating system, the introduction of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, and the significance of the Glass-Steagall Act in protecting investors. The episode concludes with a reflection on the ongoing debate surrounding regulation in financial markets. #financialliteracy #moneylessons 

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the evolution of corporate bond markets, highlighting their historical significance, the role of credit ratings, and the legal protections that make corporate lending viable. He emphasizes the importance of understanding corporate bonds as a stable investment option compared to stocks, and discusses the current state of the bond market.   #financialliteracy #bondmarkets #corporatebonds #financialhistory #personalfinance

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the complexities of sovereign debt, focusing on historical examples of nations that have defaulted on their obligations. He discusses the immediate relief that defaults may provide, but emphasizes the long-term consequences, including loss of credibility, economic isolation, and political instability.    The episode highlights the importance of understanding the implications of broken promises in government borrowing and sets the stage for future discussions on corporate debt.

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the evolution of sovereign debt from its early origins in ancient Mesopotamia to its transformation into a systematic foundation for modern nation-states.  He discusses the role of the Fugger family in early sovereign lending, the impact of the Glorious Revolution on government borrowing, and the establishment of the Bank of England, which revolutionized the way governments manage debt. Temte emphasizes the importance of institutional credibility in sovereign lending and warns of the risks of complacency in borrowing practices.

This episode of Money Lessons with Andrew Temte explores the evolution of equity investing, highlighting how technology has transformed stock ownership from an exclusive privilege to a widely accessible opportunity.    Andy discusses the historical context of investing, the impact of regulatory changes, and the rise of online trading platforms. The conversation emphasizes the importance of financial literacy in navigating this new landscape, where accessibility does not guarantee wisdom in investment decisions.

** News Flash ** The Saturday Morning Muse is now MONEY LESSONS with Andrew Temte, PhD, CFA! Since the beginning of 2025, the show has been focused on the topic of financial literacy and we’ll be creating financial literacy lessons for the foreseeable future! In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy discusses the evolution of equity securities markets, focusing on mutual funds and index funds. He explains how these investment vehicles democratized access to the stock market, allowing ordinary Americans to achieve diversification and participate in equity markets. The episode highlights the historical context of mutual funds, the revolutionary impact of index funds, and the future of investing with technology. #financialliteracy #moneylessons #mutualfunds #stockmarket #personalfinance #indexfunds #diversification

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of financial markets, focusing on the investor optimism of the 1920s, the catastrophic market crash of 1929, and the subsequent regulatory reforms that shaped modern securities laws.    The discussion highlights the role of margin trading, the impact of speculation, and the necessity for investor protection through regulatory oversight.   You can find The Saturday Morning Muse on your favorite podcast streaming platform as well as out on YouTube. https://youtu.be/w9v5Evl_rl4             Here’s the link to the show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saturday-morning-muse/id1741154728   Here’s the link to the article on my website: https://www.andrewtemte.com/a-crash-sparks-the-rise-of-market-regulation                   #smoothawley #crashof1929 #economichistory #stockmarket #financialliteracy #personalfinance #financialeducation #margintrading #greatdepression #sec

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of financial literacy and the impact of information technology on stock trading. He discusses how the telegraph revolutionized communication in the 19th century, enabling faster and more efficient trading. The introduction of the stock ticker further democratized access to market information, but also led to new challenges such as manipulation and speculation.

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of stock markets, focusing on the democratization of equity investments through railroads in the 19th century. He discusses the rise of “the market” as an economic barometer, the impact of the Panic of 1873, the creation of the first stock market indices, and the fundamental shift in understanding investment versus speculation, culminating in the principles established by the “father of financial analysis,” Benjamin Graham.

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of equity ownership and stock trading from the Dutch East India Company to the establishment of the London Stock Exchange. He discusses the challenges of informal trading, the catastrophic South Sea Bubble, and the eventual need for organized stock markets, highlighting the principles that govern modern financial markets today.  

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of financial markets, focusing on the innovations of the Dutch Republic in the early 1600s. He discusses the limitations of previous equity ownership models and how the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) revolutionized investment through the introduction of transferable shares and a secondary market.    You can find The Saturday Morning Muse on your favorite podcast streaming platform as well as out on YouTube. https://youtu.be/SIVkx7_Td78          Here’s the link to the show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saturday-morning-muse/id1741154728   Here’s the link to the article on my website: https://www.andrewtemte.com/saturday-morning-muse/the-dutch-east-india-company                    #financialliteracy #personalfinance #StockMarket #EquitySecurities #EconomicHistory #FinancialHistory #VOC #Liquidity

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the historical evolution of stock ownership, beginning with the Roman Publicani and the Venetian Commenda. He discusses how these early systems of equity ownership laid the groundwork for modern financial practices through capital pooling and risk spreading for investment in major infrastructure projects and trading expeditions. #financialliteracy #personalfinance #StockMarket #EquitySecurities #EconomicHistory #FinancialHistory #CapitalPooling

In this episode of Saturday Morning Muse, Andy explores the evolution of insurance and its democratization in the late 19th century. He discusses how industrial life insurance, expanded property coverage, and the rise of automobile insurance transformed the industry into a mass market service accessible to ordinary families.    Andy highlights the significant innovations that made insurance affordable and essential, as well as the role of insurance companies as major institutional investors in the early 20th century.