PODCAST · business
Simple, but Not Easy
by Morningstar
Morningstar's podcast for financial advisors.
Episodes
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Helping Financial Advisors Think Through Private Market Investing with Apollo's Lucy Xin
Private markets were once the exclusive playground of institutions and ultra-high-net-worth investors. That's changing. Where's the puck potentially going? It's possible we look up one day and realize private markets aren't a third asset class — they're just equity and credit accessed…
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Rule #1: Be Someone Clients Want to Take a Phone Call From – With Creative Planning’s Jeff Stolper
Creative Planning has been trusted with more than $700 billion in client assets under management and advisement. A simple truth? That doesn’t happen by accident. Jeff Stolper – the firm’s Director of Financial Planning – joined us to discuss how Creative Planning’s client-centric philosophy has...
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Solving Financial Advisors’ Organic Growth Problem with FINNY Founder Eden Ovadia
FINNY founder Eden Ovadia shares how the firm is tackling one of financial advice’s biggest challenges: organic growth. Advisors can spend up to 60 hours to win a single client – consuming their most valuable asset: time. And that doesn’t scale. FINNY’s approach – using AI to identify high-intent...
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Impacting One Million Lives with Savant Wealth CEO Brent Brodeski
Savant Wealth founder and CEO Brent Brodeski shares the firm’s journey to $50 billion in assets under management. In short, compounding isn’t just an investment concept – it applies to building a business as well. The early years now look invisible on a long-term AUM chart, but they were arguably...
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Morningstar Wealth's 2026 Investment Outlook with Chief Investment Officer Philip Straehl
Morningstar’s 2026 Investment Outlook is live, offering clear context on the forces that will shape the year ahead and beyond. If there’s one takeaway for investors, it’s this: Preparation beats prediction. Markets will keep shifting—tariffs, the Fed, geopolitics, and the rapid buildout of AI...
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Where Did the Small Caps Go?
It used to be simple: small companies went public, grew, and investors participated along the way. Today, companies stay private longer, and private markets have claimed many opportunities that once lived in public stocks. Historically a source of some of the strongest market returns, small caps...
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Advisor–Client Relationships Are Stronger When Goals Come First
In this episode of Simple But Not Easy, we’re joined by Ryan Murphy, Morningstar’s Global Head of Behavioral Insights, to explore how financial advisors can help clients set better goals, avoid costly mistakes, and build lasting trust. We discuss why goals—not asset allocation or stock...
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Morningstar Wealth’s Midyear Outlook—Where Is Opportunity Knocking?
In our midyear outlook, we break down some of the biggest factors driving markets in 2025 — tariffs, AI, and the potential for rate cuts — and attempt to help investors sift through the short-term noise while keeping a long-term perspective. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...
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International Stocks – A Portfolio’s Missing Piece?
As of late May, the US ranks 39th out of 44 global stock markets—firmly in the bottom 15%. Meanwhile, international markets are gaining momentum, with 7 of the top 10 performing countries located in Europe. This performance gap appears to be supported by improving fundamentals, favorable currency...
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Stay on Track Through Market Volatility—with Research, Not Reaction
When markets hit a rough patch—as they did in early April—investors often lose confidence. Emotions run high after paper losses, and that’s when many fall into the “ready, fire, aim” trap. Decisions become reactive, not disciplined. It’s common to see investors flee to cash or pivot to more...
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The Public-Private Convergence: How Private Market Investing Is Becoming More Accessible
We explore the growing convergence between public and private markets and what it means for today’s investors. As private market strategies become more accessible, advisors and their clients are gaining new tools to diversify portfolios and pursue long-term growth. We break down what’s driving…
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Financial Advisors Take Back Time with AssetMark
Time is a financial advisor’s most valuable asset. As industry tailwinds push the profession toward greater client-centricity—and as clients demand more from their advisors—many are recognizing the benefits of outsourcing investment management. By doing so, they can focus on what truly drives…
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2025 Outlook: Rotating Between Defense and Offense
Morningstar Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Philip Straehl, and Head of Investments, Ricky Williamson share insights on the key themes shaping the investment landscape for 2025 and beyond. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our…
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Post-Election Recap: Diversification, Fundamental Analysis, and Valuations Will Likely Drive Future Success
While presidential elections often create tension and leave many feeling on edge, the stock market didn’t share this level of apprehension. Remarkably, October was one of the least volatile months in history leading up to a presidential election. Although this might seem surprising, it’s not...
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Strange Times in the US Housing Market – Breaking it All Down
Some have called this the weirdest housing market in recent history due to the unusual mix of high interest rates and declining affordability. And yet, we still have record high home prices across the 20 largest housing markets in the country. This month, we're diving into the U.S. housing…
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Principles-Based Investing, Industry Trends, and Getting to Know Morningstar Wealth CIO, Philip Straehl
Welcome back to Simple But Not Easy. We hope you had an enjoyable summer and are ready to finish the year on a high note. In today's episode, we're excited to dive deep into the world of investing, market strategies, and the future of wealth management. We'll start by getting to know Philip...
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Opportunity Awaits: A Midyear Outlook
A special live episode from the Morningstar Investment Conference. Two of Morningstar Wealth’s investment leaders—Matt Wacher and Ricky Williamson—joined the show to help us dig into what’s already happened this year and where we may be headed. The topics covered included: • The Fed and where…
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Lifetime Financial Advice: Enhanced Personalization by Considering Human Capital
The evolution of financial advice in a few decades time has been nothing short of revolutionary. The industry's transformation has been driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes and evolving investor preferences. Traditional methods of in-person advice have been expanded to include...
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Baby Boomers to Millennials: Working Across Generations to Help Them Achieve Financial Goals
Much of the discussion around financial advice tends to be around asset allocation, product selection, and fund structures. These are all worthy conversations and topics we’ve enjoyed discussing previously on this show. But one topic that feels underexplored: how do advisors deliver financial...
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U.S. Stocks: Beyond the Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven continue to capture the attention of advisors and investors, dominating U.S. equity performance over the last year. Will this trend continue throughout 2024? Will growth stocks continue to beat value? What about large versus small? And what is 2023's signal about where…
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2024 Outlook: Economy, Inflation, Best Ideas, and AI
The topics we're discussing today align with the recent release of Morningstar Wealth's 2024 Market Outlook. A recession seemed to be the consensus view entering the year, but markets love to fool the masses, and a stock market rally followed. However, the rally was not evenly distributed. Bonds,...
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AI's Role in the Future of Wealth Management, Featuring the AI Character "Morningstar Mo"
A lot has already been said about the potential of artificial intelligence, or AI, but how are people actually engaging with it? And how should investors think about their AI exposure in a portfolio? Morningstar has invested heavily in generative AI, with Morningstar Mo taking the stage at our...
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The Cutting Edge of Advisor Technology: Ezra Group's Craig Izkowitz
Financial technology is going through a new wave of change, with artificial intelligence – or AI – taking the world by storm. But the wealth tech space is already incredibly complex, with literally hundreds of tech providers battling for market share across the advisor workflow. So, what does…
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BlackRock's Liz Koehler on Financial Advice, Using Models, and Raising the Bar
The need for great financial advice continues to grow, with a landscape we haven’t witnessed in 15 years. So, what does BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, have to say about this? What might we expect from here? In this episode, we’ll dig into the latest advice trends, covering the use…
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Game-Changing Advisor Trends, With Cerulli and SMArtX
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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30,000-Foot View of Financial Advisor Challenges, Including Data and New Regulations
The complexity of operating a successful financial advice practice continues to grow and significant challenges still exist in operating an effective practice. So, in this episode, we take a 30,000-foot view of financial advisor challenges and dig into the importance of data and regulations in...
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What Actions Add Value in This Environment?
Warren Buffet readily admits “I make many mistakes” when referencing his own investment portfolio. This begs the question, where does that leave the rest of us? We know that today's market uncertainty can surface the best and worst of our investing behaviors. For financial advisors, what are some...
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2023 Outlook: Inflation, Recession, Valuations, and Retirement
What are the positive client messages we can share leading into 2023? With inflation and a recession on everyone’s minds, what actions make sense to support clients? The topics we’re discussing today align with the recent release of Morningstar Investment Management’s 2023 outlook titled “the...
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An Inside Look at Direct Indexing
Direct indexing is becoming a key addition to financial advisors’ toolkits. It provides the ability to tailor an index, like removing a stock or even industry, which can bring the fun back to investing and help with after-tax outcomes. In 2022, Morningstar launched a direct indexing offering for...
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“Advisors Will Want to Run a More Profitable, Growing, Scalable Practice” - Daniel Needham to Financial Advisors
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Latest Research on Stagflation & Market Impacts
Stagflation is now on the radar for financial advisors and the investors they serve. At the same time, our latest research shows that investor sentiment is plummeting. With this in mind, we are delighted to have two of our most senior researchers who will help us unpack the news headlines, where…
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Investing in Today's Volatile Markets: New Season, 100th Episode
Investors can become confused in today’s challenging climate, and understandably so. It can be difficult for advisors and investors of all types and sizes. In this new season of Simple but Not Easy, we welcome Jonathan Linstra as your new host, along with two of Morningstar’s investment chiefs…
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Episode 100 Coming Next: But First, Listen To Our Most Downloaded Episode So Far
Stay tuned for our 100th episode up next! We are reinvigorating the podcast going forward, seeking to equip financial advisors with ideas to remove friction and help clients achieve goals. But before we do, we'd also like to thank everyone who contributed to the first 100 episodes, delivering…
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Behavioral Science & Tips in Volatile Markets
"The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect". Investing is therefore a matter of good behavior. So what behaviors give advisors and their investors an edge? What behaviors are destructive? In this episode, which recycles evergreen behavioral messages and cites…
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Getting Personal: Getting to Know How Advisors Get to Know Their Clients (Episode 13 Rebroadcast)
Getting personal might elicit nervousness, but why does it seem so antithetical to investing? We explore personalization and customization in financial practices: if you’re an investor, how well does your financial advisor know you? And advisors, how much time have you taken to get to know your...
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What Does Good Forecasting Look Like—and Why Are Weather Forecasters So Good at It? (Episode 65 Rebroadcast)
Good decisions are often built on good forecasts. But forecasting is hard, in part because it requires us to be aware of both what we know and what we don’t—or even can’t—know. Morningstar Investment Management Global Chief Investment Officer Dan Kemp and Global Head of Decision Sciences Ryan...
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Our Insights on the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting
We present our thoughts on the recent Berkshire Hathaway conclave. Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger discussed their firm’s ups and downs and weighed in on such topics as their latest investment activity, inflation, cryptocurrency, and what makes their company unique. And we feature the views of Head of...
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Investing Amidst Uncertainty
We’ve got the same thing on our mind as the rest of the market—uncertainty. What’s going to happen? Why? When? And what should we do about it? Well, in this episode, taken from a recently recorded webinar, we do our best to address those concerns. We also hope to allay some of the associated…
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Is Dollar-Cost Averaging Irrational? Compared to What? (Episode 30 Rebroadcast)
Terry Hawkins, sales manager at Morningstar Investment Management and Paul Kaplan, research director for Morningstar Canada, discuss dollar-cost averaging, or the practice of investing slowly over time instead of in one lump sum. Research by Kaplan and others show that dollar-cost averaging might...
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Dump the Dow: Why What You Pay Attention to Matters (Episode 14 Rebroadcast)
In this episode, John Owens and Ryan Murphy talk about why price-weighted indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average can be distracting to investors. John, who's a senior equity portfolio manager at Morningstar Investment Management, explains why investors should disregard single-day Dow point...
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Demonstrating ESG Commitments for Advisors and Investors (Episode 74 Rebroadcast)
In this rebroadcast of an episode from 2021, Paul Arnold and Dan Kemp discuss how advisors can better understand why ESG is important to a client—whether it’s the expression of one’s values or something else. We also look at how advisors might think about matching each client with a portfolio…
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Fear of the Unknown: Inflation and Rising Rates
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,” author H.P. Lovecraft once wrote. “And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Fear of the unknown is no stranger to the investment world these days. We’re living in scary times. And the investors who aren’t feeling…
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Key Investing and Behavioral Messages for Advisor-Client Meetings (Episode 51 Rebroadcast)
In this rebroadcast of an episode from 2020, we explore why advisors might change the focus of annual meetings to progress updates with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at Morningstar Investment Management. And Daniel Needham, president, shares his thoughts on how to keep investors focused…
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Risk, Downside Protection, and the Goal Mindset
Short-term worries versus long-term goals—which are guiding your investment decisions? If you’ve done your homework and you’ve given careful consideration to achieving the financial results you want, that question is easier to answer—even if it remains nerve-wracking to stay the course. Here in...
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Overconfident? Cognitively Rigid? How Investors Can Make Better Decisions by Dealing With Emotions and Biases (Episode 50 Rebroadcast)
"[W]e can’t avoid the reality that we’re experiencing and probably will continue to experience stress, uncertainty, and change. But the question is, how do we cope?" — Sarah Newcomb Given recent market volatility, we thought it might be helpful to revisit this episode from July 13, 2020, which...
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2022 Outlook
Rising Interest Rates. New COVID-19 variants. Inflationary pressures. Those and other factors are on the minds of investors as we head into 2022. Will the new year be one of prosperity, or is it time to fortify your defenses? The truth is that it’s nearly impossible to know. And that’s why we at...
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ESG in 2022: a Simple, but Not Easy Short
Environmental, social, and governance. More commonly called ESG, it used to be seen in many parts of the investment world as a niche specialty that was mostly about virtue—something that was nice to do. But now there’s been no question that it’s something we need to do, particularly coming out of...
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Easing Inflation Worries
Inflation. It's showing up in headlines and in conversations between everyone from political pundits to investment professionals and clients. It’s no different for us here at Morningstar, and most of what we’re hearing boils down to two key questions: what are our views on inflation, moving...
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Sizing up Risks and Opportunities in Chinese Equities
China is a key talking point in the investment community today, as a regulatory crackdown has spooked markets. Chinese regulators have targeted specific sectors such as technology, education and real estate as part of a crackdown aimed at aligning the Chinese private sectors with its long-term...
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The Potential Impact of Corporate Tax Hikes on Equities
Changes in the corporate tax rate can have large, one-time effects on a company’s financial statements. Michael Budzinski, Senior Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager, shares recent Morningstar Investment Management LLC research around corporate tax rate changes. Hosted by Simplecast, an...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Simple, but Not Easy have?
Simple, but Not Easy currently has 135 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Simple, but Not Easy about?
Morningstar's podcast for financial advisors.
How often does Simple, but Not Easy release new episodes?
Simple, but Not Easy publishes regularly with 135 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Simple, but Not Easy on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Simple, but Not Easy?
Simple, but Not Easy is created and hosted by Morningstar.
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