Money Lessons with Andrew Temte, PhD, CFA

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 d...

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 Mar...

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 g...

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 fr...

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—ex...

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 h...

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 whe...

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...

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 t...

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...

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 determinin...

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 mathema...

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 de...

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 ratin...

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 high...

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 ris...

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 unders...

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, whic...