Claim OwnershipSKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING
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© 2025 SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING
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Straight Talk for All, Nonsense for None
About - Our podcast looks to help improve investing IQ. We share 15-30 minutes on finance, market and investment ideas. We bring experience and empathy to the complex process of financial wellness. Every journey is unique, so we look for ways our insights can help listeners. Also, we want to have fun😎
Your Hosts - Meet Steve Davenport, CFA and Clem Miller, CFA as they discus the latest in news, markets and investments. They each bring over 25 years in the investment industry to their discussions. Steve brings a domestic stock and quantitative emphasis, Clem has a more fundamental and international perspective. They hope to bring experience, honesty and humility to these podcasts. There are a lot of acronyms and financial terms which confuse more than they help. There are many entertainers versus analysts promoting get rich quick ideas. Let’s cut through the nonsense with straight talk!
Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.
115 Episodes
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Please text and tell us what you like Gratitude can be a powerful investing edge. We open with what matters most—health, family, and the gift of time—and show how a calmer life widens the gap between impulse and action. That space lets us think in seasons, not seconds: read more deeply, travel for perspective, and build portfolios that can withstand surprise. From there, we pivot to the markets we’re thankful for, spotlighting a technology arc that’s reshaping the real economy. Custom chips, ...
Please text and tell us what you like Markets don’t break because of a single headline—they bend under the weight of what we choose to trust. We dig into where confidence belongs right now, from focused bets on innovation to the steady ballast of cash and gold. Along the way, we spotlight an underrated growth engine: America’s university system, where research, endowments, and relentless training keep producing the people and ideas that power AI, advanced chips, health tech, and the next wave...
Please text and tell us what you like A courtroom showdown over tariffs just forced the biggest question in trade policy: who gets to tax Americans in the name of national interest? We sat down to parse a marathon Supreme Court argument and why the Justices sounded skeptical of using emergency powers as a back door for sweeping tariffs. From first principles to practical fallout, we translate the legal jargon into plain English and outline what it could mean for markets, supply chains, and th...
Please text and tell us what you like We unpack what Mamdani's win signals for New York’s markets and whether capitalism is shifting toward protectionism and cronyism rather than socialism. We weigh crime, taxes, housing, and transit funding against ratings risk, capital mobility, and the city’s tech-and-finance future. • election results as the context for market sentiment • is capitalism evolving or declining in practice • Mamdani's platform and business community reaction • crime and poli...
Please text and tell us what you like A surprise rate cut without fresh data sounds bold on the surface, but the real story lives in the yield curve the Fed doesn’t control. We unpack why trimming the short end won’t guarantee cheaper mortgages or easier financing, how long-term yields respond to inflation expectations and Treasury supply, and where tariff rulings at the Supreme Court could tilt the outlook. Rather than chasing a tidy headline—“rates down, stocks up”—we map the messy mechanic...
Please text and tell us what you like Five trillion is a headline; the harder story is what comes next. We dig into NVIDIA’s historic market cap, the AI hardware and software flywheel behind it, and the reality that scale turns leaders into targets. From Blackwell-class GPUs to ecosystem partnerships like Palantir, we map how compute, tooling, and customers reinforce each other—and where fragility hides when growth expectations run ahead of execution. We get candid about market structure. Li...
Please text and tell us what you like If the world’s most powerful magnets can move turbines and EVs, what might happen when their supply chain starts to seize up? We take you inside the rare earths story—why these elements are abundant in the ground yet scarce in your portfolio—and connect the dots to AI infrastructure, defense systems, and the global energy transition. We break down China’s processing dominance and the environmental trade-offs that shaped it, then look at how non-Chinese s...
Please text and tell us what you like We unpack gold’s surge, why central banks—especially China—are buying, and how to balance conviction with risk. We share how we trimmed, built a cash buffer, and considered collars to cut downside while staying in the trade. • Central bank demand as a structural tailwind • China’s reserve ambitions and gold accumulation • Dollar and U.S. policy risk shaping safe‑haven flows • Rate cuts, inflation hedges, and market plateau • Trimming exposure after parab...
Please text and tell us what you like The U.S. government's unprecedented move to take a 10% ownership stake in Intel raises serious questions about the appropriate boundaries between government and private enterprise in American capitalism. • Government equity ownership in Intel marks a significant shift in U.S. industrial policy • Argument for equity stakes: if taxpayers provide subsidies, they should share in potential upside • Critical questions about who manages these positions and how ...
Please text and tell us what you like Aradhana Kejriwal shares insights on her work as an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) and discusses how women are reshaping the investment landscape with their growing control of wealth and unique perspectives on risk. • OCIOs function as dedicated investment departments for advisory firms, providing sophisticated research and investment management while allowing advisors to focus on client relationships • AI serves as a companion in finance, ma...
Please text and tell us what you like We delve into the controversial topic of allowing private equity, real estate, debt, and even cryptocurrency into 401k retirement accounts, offering a skeptical analysis of this potential shift in retirement planning. • Government is willing to allow private markets and crypto in 401ks, though these options aren't widely available yet • Private markets involve less transparency and liquidity than traditional investments • Historically, private investment...
Please text and tell us what you like Retirement investing has lost its way. While Wall Street fixates on asset growth and total return, millions of retirees struggle with a fundamental question: how do I generate reliable income without depleting my savings? Steve Selengut, veteran investor and former RIA owner who managed $100 million in assets, challenges the industry's growth-obsessed paradigm with a refreshingly old-school approach. His investment philosophy centers on four principles l...
Please text and tell us what you like The financial markets are running hot as we head into Q4 2025, but are we witnessing sustainable growth or dangerous froth? In this thought-provoking episode, Clem Miller and Steve Davenport tackle the pressing question on many investors' minds: what's ahead for the markets? Steve kicks things off with a bold prediction - the market appears to be discounting an overly optimistic future, particularly in AI-related stocks. When companies merely mentioning ...
Please text and tell us what you like Women are consistently outperforming men in investment returns—by about four basis points—yet they're starting later and investing less. This fascinating paradox lies at the heart of our conversation with financial services veteran Megan Smith, who brings decades of experience in alternative investments and client advising to the table. "Investing is more about patience and consistency than it is about number crunching," Smith reveals, challenging the no...
Please text and tell us what you like Gene Natali, CFA, joins us to discuss his mission to solve America's financial literacy crisis through his innovative platform Troutwood and his bestselling book "The Missing Semester." We explore how technology can scale financial education and planning to reach millions of Americans who lack basic financial knowledge despite good jobs and education. • Gene's journey from institutional asset management to becoming a financial literacy champion • The ins...
Please text and tell us what you like Joe Sroka of NovaPoint Capital shares his journey from West Point graduate and military officer to financial advisor, explaining how military discipline informs his investment approach for clients. • From buying savings bonds during military service to becoming a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch • West Point education provided strong math and analytical skills that transferred well to finance • NovaPoint specializes in dividend growth investing rather ...
Please text and tell us what you like What if your investment dollars could create positive change while still generating competitive returns? In this eye-opening conversation, financial expert Mimi Locke joins hosts Steve Davenport and Glenn Miller to explore the world of values-aligned investing and women's financial empowerment. Mimi shares her journey from being the lone woman in a room of 60 stockbrokers to co-leading courses for Invest for Better, a nonprofit helping women align their ...
Please text and tell us what you like When politics collides with economic data, investors face a troubling dilemma: can we trust the numbers that drive markets? The unprecedented firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics head by President Trump signals a concerning shift in how government economic data might be manipulated for political gain. The BLS produces critical labor and inflation statistics that power Federal Reserve decisions and investment strategies worldwide. Now, this foundation...
Please text and tell us what you like Joe Ryu, manager of Prospect Capital's private real estate credit fund, shares his journey from investment banking through the Great Financial Crisis to his current role in real estate credit investing. He explains how private credit offers attractive risk-adjusted returns through specialized financing structures that combine agency lending with subordinated positions. • Real estate private credit involves loans on commercial properties that don't freely...
Please text and tell us what you like What does the market look like through the eyes of a seasoned Wall Street veteran? Adam Parker, founder of Trivariate Research and CNBC contributor, joins us to share his institutional perspective on today's investment landscape. The conversation begins with Adam's surprising take on political developments – while headlines focus on tariffs and tax policy, institutional investors are looking elsewhere. He shares what's really dominating client conversati...
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