A Fool and His Money...

In this classic swirl of candor, humor, and financial sense, Don and Tom tackle the human habit of financial foolishness—from betting big on speculative ETFs to ignoring global diversification. They call out the irony of investment products like ELON, roast the current state of the Motley Fool, and offer real-world perspective on international investing, market timing myths, and retirement portfolio design. They even sprinkle in a few thesaurus gems for good measure.

0:04 Welcome and warning: this episode is full of tangents, tomfoolery, and truth

0:48 Netflix documentary detour: why are people (and investors) so dumb?

2:01 International investing: why people ignore it and why that’s… dumb

3:49 U.S. vs international returns in early 2025—surprise! It’s not all about the S&P

5:16 Market irony and the value of global diversification

6:09 A disappointing turn from The Motley Fool (and a very public grudge)

6:59 Enter the ELON ETF—double Tesla, short Ford, and down 64%

9:41 What happens when leverage meets marketing in the worst way

11:10 A $750K fund that made… $675 in fees. Yep.

11:57 Foolish investor behaviors: feelings ≠ foresight

13:37 The (simple) path to real investing: low-cost, tax-efficient, diversified portfolios

14:28 Punchline investing: don’t be a dunce—be global, be patient

15:52 Listener Q: Is my mix of S&P 500, TDFs, and Roth diversification enough?

17:26 Portfolio allocation advice: stock/bond mix first, account strategy second

19:28 Suggestion: get a professional plan before retirement

20:00 Buffered ETFs: what they are, why they’re pricey, and why they disappoint

23:22 Returns reality check: buffered funds vs plain S&P 500

24:47 The big lie of hedged products—"all the upside, none of the risk"

25:19 Wrapping up with more Q&A, grandkids, and international call jokes

29:33 Tom’s latest investment: soccer team ownership (yes, really)

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