In this month’s episode of Onward, Fundrise CEO Ben Miller is joined by Ben Carlson, Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management, for a wide-ranging discussion that offers fresh, critical thoughts on the state of the market, plus new perspective on our current moment in financial history. A familiar message: The most critical factor in today’s economy is inflation and how the Fed is choosing to respond. With that in mind… does the Fed have the capacity to steer the economy through the turbulence with the correct policy decisions?

Ben C’s additional experience as an author of multiple books and co-host of his own financial podcast, Animal Spirits, opens the door to some provocative questions, including why wealthy individuals are historically most susceptible to financial fraud, and whether cryptocurrency itself qualifies as a “scam.” More broadly, Ben C explains, his study of financial history has shown that many factors are in flux between eras, but one element that always stays the same is human nature and people’s capacity to behave irrationally. Other topics in this episode include:

  • The unusual balance between a strong labor market and weak financial market.
  • How the 2008 financial crisis helped shape a generation of skeptical, realistic investors, like Ben and Ben.
  • How the stock market’s returns are “lumpy” between years and how that helps shape investors’ decisions to work with financial advisors.
  • Why the ability to price real estate based on fundamentals gives it an edge over the stock market’s pricing.
  • And much more.

Join us for this latest episode of Onward anywhere that you listen to podcasts.