November 19, 2025 • 26 mins
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, advanced lithography, and AI moving from tool to advisor create durable moats and new cash flows. This isn’t the old dot‑com play where clicks replaced profits; earnings and margins now anchor the thesis, even if some names have run ahead of themselves.
We get honest about risk. Trimming concentrated AI winners, keeping cash ready for pullbacks, and holding gold as ballast form a simple, resilient playbook. We compare global prices through travel stories to make inflation tangible, then credit scientific breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines and GLP‑1 therapies for improving both lives and economic stability. Despite policy noise and tariff headlines, markets have shown surprising resilience—another reason to respect liquidity and stay skeptical of crowded trades. We also champion the humble 401(k) for compounding discipline and urge caution before stuffing complex private equity into retirement menus without strong guardrails.
Across it all, a theme emerges: align money with meaning. Use gratitude to set pace, define purpose, and choose when to act. Own quality growth with valuation discipline, keep dry powder, and let compounding work while you live the life you’re funding. If this conversation sparked a new habit or helped you tune out the noise, share it with a friend, subscribe for more thoughtful finance, and leave a quick review telling us what you want us to tackle next.
Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None
Please check out our other podcasts:
https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com
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.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Clem Miller (00:26):
Hello, everybody, and welcome to Skeptic's Guide
to Investing.
, this is Clem Miller.
I'm here with Steve Davenport.
and today in this episodewe are going to be talking
about what we're thankful forconsidering that a week from
(00:47):
tomorrow is Thanksgiving inthe United States.
And so it's worthwhile talkingabout Thanksgiving.
And we're gonna talk not justabout what we're thankful for
personally, but also what we'rethankful for in the markets.
So, really those two differentareas we're going to be
(01:08):
talking about.
And so let me let me start offby asking you, Steve, what what
are you thankful for in youknow personally, and what are
you thankful for when it comesto the markets?
Steve Davenport (01:22):
Well, thank thanks, Clem.
, I'm thankful for you as mypartner on these podcasts.
I think we've you know youwere gone for a month there in
Japan, and I I had to hold downthe fort and try to keep things
going um at the skeptics guide,and it was you know, it was a
challenge.
So it's good to have youbearing the load with me on
(01:44):
these pieces.
I guess I would say that umpersonally I think that um of
yourself and I think about myoverall wellness, and part of it
is you know mental, part of itis physical, and part of it is
um spiritual.
(02:04):
And I would look at myself andsay, right now, um, you know, we
just finished a big project atour house, putting a porch on
the back, and we're sitting atlooking at the leaves change
here in North Carolina, andwe're feeling pretty good about
you know where we are and ourkids coming to visit for
Thanksgiving.
So we're you know, we'refeeling good in terms of overall
(02:28):
wellness.
, I think that what I what Ilike to do is to just break it
down into something simple,which is, you know, um we we
have a a very good opportunityright now in this market to to
preserve and grow what we have.
(02:49):
And I think that personally,um, you know, there's always
something on the horizon thatyou're looking at and trying to
figure out what you should do.
And I think it's the same inmarkets, right?
I think that we can look at thepresent and say, okay, here's
the balance sheet, here's my,you know, overall for Davenport
(03:11):
and Co.
Here's my, you know, the valueof my assets, the value of my
liabilities, and you know, howare all of my children doing?
, I I find that they're thebiggest investment I've ever
made, and they're the thingsthat I think about every day as
I think about how to how to makethings better.
(03:32):
So in my mind, um, you know,all my kids are doing great.
, my son just came back fromThailand and he was there for
two weeks or almost 15 days whenyou had the travel time.
And , you know, he was flyingback from Riyadh and he went
around the world that way.
And it's it's kind of aninteresting world when you think
(03:56):
about you know everything goingon and you know, how do we
travel safely?
How does he get throughairports?
You know, he tells me about youlosing his ear earbuds in the
conveyor belts when he wastrying to get the things through
in the the checkpoints.
And I I just think it's anamazing process.
(04:17):
You know, he was telling usabout a dinner he had at, you
know, um, and he said, Yeah, youknow, we could go out for
dinner, and the two of us wouldhave, you know, three entrees, a
couple of appetizers, and acouple of sodas, and the whole
bill was $10.
And he says, coming back toAmerica, he says, this food cost
(04:39):
is just killing me.
And I I tried to take that witha grain of salt, but I think
it's interesting how he looks atthe basics and how we could
survive in Thailand, um, even inthe touristy sections, versus
um the life we have here inAmerica.
(05:00):
It is expensive.
And I think that you know, wecan be thankful for all the
choices and all the access todifferent things, but there is a
question about costs andinflation.
And I think when we travel, weget a perspective for what's
going on in the rest of theworld and how what we have and
(05:22):
what we do fits.
And I think it createsperspective, and I'm glad, you
know, he's we're looking forwardto going through his pictures
and and and seeing the differentareas.
And , I was surprised that hedidn't give it a higher mark.
I've heard of Thailand being abeautiful place to visit, and he
only gave it like a high six ora low seven.
(05:44):
And I, you know, asked him whatdid he think about um, you
know, compared to his othertrips in Japan and Iceland and
Hawaii, and he put Hawaiiahead and he put um Japan and
Iceland ahead.
So I think it's interestingthat we all have different ideas
(06:06):
of paradise, right?
And we all have different ideasabout what other people are
doing.
And the thing that I realizedis I really enjoy the fact that
my children are traveling.
And my daughter went to awedding in South Korea, or my
other daughter went to aconference in um Turkey.
So it's it is a becoming a muchsmaller world.
(06:29):
I think that the informationand the opportunities we have to
listen on and learn aboutdifferent cultures, I think it
makes us um better people.
And travel in my mind helpsopen up the mind and helps you
think about how and what isimportant to you.
What do you think about what'simportant and personal
(06:52):
gratitude?
Do you have anything to jumpout at you there?
Traveler boy.
Clem Miller (06:58):
Well, I would say that um I am very grateful, you
know, being in retirement now, Iam very grateful about the fact
that I have a lot of timethat I didn't have previously
when I was working.
(07:19):
I used to be something of aworkaholic.
I wouldn't take off a lot oftime.
I would always have my phone onto answer things while I was
away.
It was just , you know, it waswhat I was used to, right?
When the pandemic came along,and as bad as the pandemic was,
(07:42):
and it was horrible, and I don'twant to take away from the
horrificness of it, , it kindof opened my eyes to you know
some important things.
And you know, I could spend anhour here talking about all the
things that are important, butone of the things that it really
opened my eyes to is the valueof time and how time is is so
(08:07):
important, and you know, to toyou know, take advantage of
walking around nature, , tospend time relaxing, , to spend
time reading and writing and umyou know doing things that are
interesting to you, like myteaching my class at
(08:28):
Georgetown.
Very interesting to me to dothat.
travel.
I've tried to get a lot oftravel in this this year.
I pretty much have been awayfor almost two months.
earlier this year I was upin Canada um looking at puffins,
icebergs, and whales inNewfoundland and Labrador.
(08:53):
And and then this fall Iwas in in Japan for a month.
so in Tokyo and Kyoto, whichis probably one of my favorite
places in the world, Kyoto.
so so I love the time.
you know, the time is superimportant.
It's time I wouldn't have hadhad I continued to work.
(09:16):
And and honestly, you know, Ithink a lot of people when
they're working, you know,they don't they can't envision
themselves having enough moneyto retire on.
And it's actually not as bad.
it's actually pretty easy toretire, I think, to tell you
the truth.
Maybe I'm just lucky or maybeI'm just skilled or some
(09:39):
combination of that.
But I just feel like I justfeel like it's it's not that
difficult to to to manageretirement and to afford
retirement.
I can see why some people wouldI can see why some people would
say, well, what am I gonna doin retirement?
And certainly there are peoplewho you know retire and they've
(10:03):
got absolutely nothing to do.
And you know, my biggest adviceof all for people in terms of
thinking about retirement isreally think about what you're
gonna do.
Right.
I know some people say, Oh, I'mgonna do some woodworking.
Oh, that's that's BS.
You gotta you gotta think aboutthings you really enjoy doing.
And I think those people whohave known me the longest know
(10:25):
that , you know, gettinginvolved in you know, analyzing
things and writing things andteaching things are really
things that that I enjoy doing.
And I get an even bigger chanceto do these now than I ever
(11:00):
did, you know, during my worklife.
So I think that I think thatI'm grateful for you know for
all of those things, , andfamily, of course, right?
but you know, I can't, Ican't, but you know, in terms of
our limited time here, I wantedto be you know grateful for
retirement.
Steve Davenport (11:21):
Nice.
I mean, I I look at um the nextquestion, which is a little
harder, which is , what are wegrateful for in markets?
And what do we think aboutthings that, you know, I I know
we have ideas of risks andthings, but I overall um I I I
look at the technology boom thatwe've had, and it comes from a
(11:45):
lot of great companies that wehave located in the US, but also
great companies like TSMC andASML around the world.
So to me, the you know, thedeep, deep thinkers at some of
these companies who are thinkingforward and even going into the
whole quantum space, I I Ithink it's an exciting time
(12:10):
because I think that thesecompanies are going to get
rewarded by the ones who havethe better designs and the
better software.
And I think it's a kind of ,you know, internet 3.0.
If we, you know, the firstinternet was, you know, okay, it
was over dial up, and then thesecond invalid, you know, was
over 4G, 5G, and more images andand than we ever thought
(12:36):
possible being transmittedacross all the different
platforms.
And I think now we're into thethird generation, which is the
computer as aid or as advisor.
, and I think that it's anexciting time.
I don't think it, you know, Ithink there is room for fear,
but I also think there's a lotof room for success in terms of,
(12:59):
you know, would it be nice forme to be able to say to Alexa,
hey Alexa, tell me what my, youknow, what my medicine is for
today and what I need to take.
You know, tell me, you know,and have have these ideas about,
okay, , you know, I just gotan a nudge to to buy some
(13:20):
more fresh vegetables today.
And you know, I I think thatwe're getting to an age where
there's going to be a lot ofways that our the quality of our
life can be improved.
And I I think that we alwaystalk about job losses, but what
about enhancements?
I mean, are there gonna beenhancements to our life as we
(13:40):
go forward?
I think you and I, being olddogs, we'll probably see some,
but I really look at mychildren, you know, in the 20s
and 30s and think their world at62 is gonna be a lot different
than mine.
I think there's gonna be a lotof um things that happen over
the next 20 years that are gonnabe transformational in people's
(14:03):
lives.
So I appreciate that themarkets are trying to think into
the future and trying to get anadvantage, and they're not
laying down and saying, well,that's not my job.
You know, Google is saying,hey, if we want to be great, we
have to have our own chips.
Okay, you know what I mean?
Like the companies that havefigured it out, just like when
(14:27):
the you know, we talk abouttechnology in the terms of the
auto taking over for the horseand buggy, I think that, you
know, we talked about thecomputer taking over for the
mainframe.
I think we're, you know, in oneof those kind of once in a
hundred years type of change.
And I think it's you know gonnabe interesting to see what and
(14:51):
how it affects the lives ofothers.
And what I would say aboutbeing thankful personally and
for markets is that we have tostop and appreciate it.
, I think we have to stop andappreciate, like you said, we
have the time to go for a walkor do some meditation or read a
book or an article on somethingthat's more than 10 minutes.
(15:13):
You know, it used to be I'd I'dspeed read through articles
because I felt like I had toread it, but I really didn't
have the time to fully digestit.
And now I think I have a littlemore time to do that.
So in my mind, I think we're,you know, we're kind of in a
great point in our lives.
We're very fortunate.
(15:34):
I realize I, you know, I didn'tthink I would ever be here when
I was 32 years old and startingout in my career and trying to
figure out whether I want to bean engineer or whether I want to
be in finance.
And , you know, I'm very happywith um the result.
But I guess I'd say for ourlisteners out there who are
(15:55):
interested in financialwellness, um, you know, I I
think we should all be thankfulfor the 401k system.
It's a great way for companiesto contribute to your
retirement.
I realize they're they gave upa payment to us in the pension
form of a pension that was evenbetter.
But I do think that for peoplewho, you know, have the
(16:18):
discipline and can do somethingwith their other assets, , I
think the 401k and expansion ofthe 401k is a great thing.
I think that maybe addingprivate equity with some kind of
guardrails around it.
I don't know.
I I think it involves a lotmore risk than people are
familiar with.
And I think it's probablygetting the last you know gasp
(16:40):
of those assets that are chosenare not the assets that got
chosen by CalPers and not theassets that got chosen by you
know the different foundationsand endowments.
It's you know, these are what'sleft for the people who are you
know at the lower end of thefood chain.
but look look, it overallmarkets up 21, 22, and I don't
(17:04):
know what this year will end up.
, we've had a good run.
And I think that good runs areusually a signal to, you know,
put a little aside and you knowbe willing and able to sustain a
downturn.
So I guess I'd say as we headinto Thanksgiving, I'm thankful
(17:25):
that markets are as liquid andhave been as strong as they've
been.
, and I'm hopeful thatthey're gonna continue to
deliver new solutions forpeople, you know, like we
haven't talked about the GLP andthe you know obesity drugs.
But I think it's a what we saidwas the human genome, when it
gets mapped, we're gonna findand discover things.
(17:48):
And I think this is a bigexample of how some people's
lives can be improved for youknow diabetes and other weight
management stuff.
So I'm pretty happy with theoverall.
, you know, there's a lot tobe thankful for.
And I don't know, I just wrapit up by saying that I I think
we're in a um a golden age,really.
(18:09):
So I think that all of usshould be looking at ourselves
and our situations and saying,you know, what can you do to
make them better?
But boy, there's there'sreally some good things
happening.
How would you wrap it up, Clem?
Clem Miller (18:24):
Well, I mean, one thing I w I w I would be
remiss if I didn't mention thefact that things would look a
lot different in society and theeconomy and in markets if we
had not invented the COVIDdrugs.
I can't imagine what societywould be like had we not had
(18:48):
fast implementation, fastdevelopment and fast
implementation by Pfizer andModerna and the others of
those drugs.
even even with thedevelopment and implementation
of those drugs, you know, wehave a society that was to some
degree damaged, I would say,by the whole COVID experience.
(19:11):
it could have been a lotworse.
Could have been far worse.
So I think I, you know, itthat's not a 2025 development,
those drugs, but it's you know,it's it's a it's a persistent
positive benefit, regardless ofwhat Maha people might say or or
what.
right.
(19:32):
we're in a much better placeright now um you know, about
those drugs.
And it even allows people tolook back and say, well, did we
really need them?
Well, that that tells you thatwe did need them.
The fact that they they havethe the leisure of being able to
go back and and make thatkind of judgment.
So I'm pretty happy about that.
(19:52):
, you know, my I think theI think it's about markets.
Steve Davenport (20:00):
Are you happy with markets?
Yeah, I think I think this isI mean you're you you've been
in gold, and gold is up 50% withan average return of seven.
So I don't know how you can'thave gold on your list of things
to be happy about.
Clem Miller (20:15):
I'm very happy about my gold holdings.
and I'm very happy about myAI holdings, , although I've
been trimming them over thelast couple of months, as I've
been mentioning on this program,on this podcast.
I have been trimming them.
I'm a little nervous thatyou know the market is getting
(20:39):
out over its skis with regard tosome of these AI stocks.
I do believe that it's youknow it's a long-term benefit
AI.
I believe that there will befurther rounds of growth in
this.
It's not the , you know, thisis not the internet bubble,
right?
The internet bubble, you know,2000, 2001, that was all about
(21:04):
eyeballs.
Yeah, eyeballs, clicks, stocksthat that had no profits.
You know, we have profits, wehave growth, we have long-term
growth prospects.
It's just a question of whethervaluations are too high.
And , and I think that becauseof that, we're going to see
some pullbacks now and then.
, I'm a little concerned thatwhat we're seeing right now
(21:28):
might be the beginning of one.
I'm not a hundred percent sure,but it could well be the
beginning of one.
But I have a lot of cash, Ihave a lot of gold.
that's stuff that I cantranslate into purchases of
stocks, you know, if the marketspull back.
So I mean, I I think it'shealthy.
Steve Davenport (21:47):
I mean, I've said all along that I don't like
seeing everybody on one side ofthe boat.
And I think that people now arestarting to, you know, and I I
don't know whether the sellingin crypto is a sign of more
reasonable holders.
I don't know if it's a sign of,you know, people who are using
margin to buy crypto are nowseeing their underlying names go
(22:10):
down.
And so they have they want tosell their long, you know, their
crypto positions becausethey've had a nice run from the
40s to the 120.
, you know, we've seen a goodmore than 20%, you know,
decline in crypto.
And I think that if you look atthe riskiest asset, I'd put
that there because of the lackof earnings.
(22:32):
And um I think that's like youtalk about have high multiples,
but at least it's multiples onreal earnings and it's not you
know fictional.
So um, you know, I I thinkwe're in a pretty good place.
And I guess.
Clem Miller (22:47):
Oh, let me just say, Steve, one more thing um,
you know, before we quit, whichis that you know, the the great
performance we've had from thestock market this year has
surprisingly been resilientin terms of being able to
(23:08):
not be too overly influenced byall the policy developments and
confusion that comes out ofWashington.
So you could have had a lotmore chaos.
you know, you had the chaoson the original tariff
announcement, the so-calledLiberation Day, , but there's
been so much chaos that I thinkmarkets have shown some
(23:32):
resilience to that.
And I'm you know, I'm quitehappy about that.
Steve Davenport (23:36):
Yeah, I think the last person, I guess, or
the last group I'd like to thankis our listeners.
we're now up to 110episodes.
we've been doing this fortwo years, and it feels like
there's a you know, there's areal um joy when we get together
(23:57):
and talk about these ideas andtry to toss around and try to
give people who are trying toimprove their financial wellness
um something to think about.
And I think we've tried todeliver a timely discussion and
we've tried to deliver, youknow, um some yin and some yang
and some, you know, quantitativeand some fundamental and and a
(24:19):
little bit of everything.
And I'd say thanks to thelisteners for sticking with
us, and we've tried to talk tomore guests, and you know, as
always, this is your show.
So let us know what you think.
And we've got a survey outthere under Clem um about what
type of things you want us to tofocus on in the new year.
(24:41):
So give us your thoughts,give us an email, give us a
text, let us know what youthink.
, and I guess I'll call ita call it a day.
Thanks for listening,everybody, and we appreciate you
and we want you to have thebest.
Happy Thanksgiving, and justenjoy wherever you are, whatever
(25:03):
you're doing.
Take a moment and just feelsome gratitude, and I think it's
a great time of year to remindus.
after the harvest in thefall with the leaves falling,
it's you know, there's a lotto think about this year and a
lot of things in people's lives.
And , I think everybody shouldhave a great Thanksgiving.
(25:24):
Okay.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Hello, everybody, and welcome to Skeptic's Guide
to Investing.
, this is Clem Miller.
I'm here with Steve Davenport.
and today in this episodewe are going to be talking
about what we're thankful forconsidering that a week from
(00:47):
tomorrow is Thanksgiving inthe United States.
And so it's worthwhile talkingabout Thanksgiving.
And we're gonna talk not justabout what we're thankful for
personally, but also what we'rethankful for in the markets.
So, really those two differentareas we're going to be
(01:08):
talking about.
And so let me let me start offby asking you, Steve, what what
are you thankful for in youknow personally, and what are
you thankful for when it comesto the markets?
Steve Davenport (01:22):
Well, thank thanks, Clem.
, I'm thankful for you as mypartner on these podcasts.
I think we've you know youwere gone for a month there in
Japan, and I I had to hold downthe fort and try to keep things
going um at the skeptics guide,and it was you know, it was a
challenge.
So it's good to have youbearing the load with me on
(01:44):
these pieces.
I guess I would say that umpersonally I think that um of
yourself and I think about myoverall wellness, and part of it
is you know mental, part of itis physical, and part of it is
um spiritual.
(02:04):
And I would look at myself andsay, right now, um, you know, we
just finished a big project atour house, putting a porch on
the back, and we're sitting atlooking at the leaves change
here in North Carolina, andwe're feeling pretty good about
you know where we are and ourkids coming to visit for
Thanksgiving.
So we're you know, we'refeeling good in terms of overall
(02:28):
wellness.
, I think that what I what Ilike to do is to just break it
down into something simple,which is, you know, um we we
have a a very good opportunityright now in this market to to
preserve and grow what we have.
(02:49):
And I think that personally,um, you know, there's always
something on the horizon thatyou're looking at and trying to
figure out what you should do.
And I think it's the same inmarkets, right?
I think that we can look at thepresent and say, okay, here's
the balance sheet, here's my,you know, overall for Davenport
(03:11):
and Co.
Here's my, you know, the valueof my assets, the value of my
liabilities, and you know, howare all of my children doing?
, I I find that they're thebiggest investment I've ever
made, and they're the thingsthat I think about every day as
I think about how to how to makethings better.
(03:32):
So in my mind, um, you know,all my kids are doing great.
, my son just came back fromThailand and he was there for
two weeks or almost 15 days whenyou had the travel time.
And , you know, he was flyingback from Riyadh and he went
around the world that way.
And it's it's kind of aninteresting world when you think
(03:56):
about you know everything goingon and you know, how do we
travel safely?
How does he get throughairports?
You know, he tells me about youlosing his ear earbuds in the
conveyor belts when he wastrying to get the things through
in the the checkpoints.
And I I just think it's anamazing process.
(04:17):
You know, he was telling usabout a dinner he had at, you
know, um, and he said, Yeah, youknow, we could go out for
dinner, and the two of us wouldhave, you know, three entrees, a
couple of appetizers, and acouple of sodas, and the whole
bill was $10.
And he says, coming back toAmerica, he says, this food cost
(04:39):
is just killing me.
And I I tried to take that witha grain of salt, but I think
it's interesting how he looks atthe basics and how we could
survive in Thailand, um, even inthe touristy sections, versus
um the life we have here inAmerica.
(05:00):
It is expensive.
And I think that you know, wecan be thankful for all the
choices and all the access todifferent things, but there is a
question about costs andinflation.
And I think when we travel, weget a perspective for what's
going on in the rest of theworld and how what we have and
(05:22):
what we do fits.
And I think it createsperspective, and I'm glad, you
know, he's we're looking forwardto going through his pictures
and and and seeing the differentareas.
And , I was surprised that hedidn't give it a higher mark.
I've heard of Thailand being abeautiful place to visit, and he
only gave it like a high six ora low seven.
(05:44):
And I, you know, asked him whatdid he think about um, you
know, compared to his othertrips in Japan and Iceland and
Hawaii, and he put Hawaiiahead and he put um Japan and
Iceland ahead.
So I think it's interestingthat we all have different ideas
(06:06):
of paradise, right?
And we all have different ideasabout what other people are
doing.
And the thing that I realizedis I really enjoy the fact that
my children are traveling.
And my daughter went to awedding in South Korea, or my
other daughter went to aconference in um Turkey.
So it's it is a becoming a muchsmaller world.
(06:29):
I think that the informationand the opportunities we have to
listen on and learn aboutdifferent cultures, I think it
makes us um better people.
And travel in my mind helpsopen up the mind and helps you
think about how and what isimportant to you.
What do you think about what'simportant and personal
(06:52):
gratitude?
Do you have anything to jumpout at you there?
Traveler boy.
Clem Miller (06:58):
Well, I would say that um I am very grateful, you
know, being in retirement now, Iam very grateful about the fact
that I have a lot of timethat I didn't have previously
when I was working.
(07:19):
I used to be something of aworkaholic.
I wouldn't take off a lot oftime.
I would always have my phone onto answer things while I was
away.
It was just , you know, it waswhat I was used to, right?
When the pandemic came along,and as bad as the pandemic was,
(07:42):
and it was horrible, and I don'twant to take away from the
horrificness of it, , it kindof opened my eyes to you know
some important things.
And you know, I could spend anhour here talking about all the
things that are important, butone of the things that it really
opened my eyes to is the valueof time and how time is is so
(08:07):
important, and you know, to toyou know, take advantage of
walking around nature, , tospend time relaxing, , to spend
time reading and writing and umyou know doing things that are
interesting to you, like myteaching my class at
(08:28):
Georgetown.
Very interesting to me to dothat.
travel.
I've tried to get a lot oftravel in this this year.
I pretty much have been awayfor almost two months.
earlier this year I was upin Canada um looking at puffins,
icebergs, and whales inNewfoundland and Labrador.
(08:53):
And and then this fall Iwas in in Japan for a month.
so in Tokyo and Kyoto, whichis probably one of my favorite
places in the world, Kyoto.
so so I love the time.
you know, the time is superimportant.
It's time I wouldn't have hadhad I continued to work.
(09:16):
And and honestly, you know, Ithink a lot of people when
they're working, you know,they don't they can't envision
themselves having enough moneyto retire on.
And it's actually not as bad.
it's actually pretty easy toretire, I think, to tell you
the truth.
Maybe I'm just lucky or maybeI'm just skilled or some
(09:39):
combination of that.
But I just feel like I justfeel like it's it's not that
difficult to to to manageretirement and to afford
retirement.
I can see why some people wouldI can see why some people would
say, well, what am I gonna doin retirement?
And certainly there are peoplewho you know retire and they've
(10:03):
got absolutely nothing to do.
And you know, my biggest adviceof all for people in terms of
thinking about retirement isreally think about what you're
gonna do.
Right.
I know some people say, Oh, I'mgonna do some woodworking.
Oh, that's that's BS.
You gotta you gotta think aboutthings you really enjoy doing.
And I think those people whohave known me the longest know
(10:25):
that , you know, gettinginvolved in you know, analyzing
things and writing things andteaching things are really
things that that I enjoy doing.
And I get an even bigger chanceto do these now than I ever
(11:00):
did, you know, during my worklife.
So I think that I think thatI'm grateful for you know for
all of those things, , andfamily, of course, right?
but you know, I can't, Ican't, but you know, in terms of
our limited time here, I wantedto be you know grateful for
retirement.
Steve Davenport (11:21):
Nice.
I mean, I I look at um the nextquestion, which is a little
harder, which is , what are wegrateful for in markets?
And what do we think aboutthings that, you know, I I know
we have ideas of risks andthings, but I overall um I I I
look at the technology boom thatwe've had, and it comes from a
(11:45):
lot of great companies that wehave located in the US, but also
great companies like TSMC andASML around the world.
So to me, the you know, thedeep, deep thinkers at some of
these companies who are thinkingforward and even going into the
whole quantum space, I I Ithink it's an exciting time
(12:10):
because I think that thesecompanies are going to get
rewarded by the ones who havethe better designs and the
better software.
And I think it's a kind of ,you know, internet 3.0.
If we, you know, the firstinternet was, you know, okay, it
was over dial up, and then thesecond invalid, you know, was
over 4G, 5G, and more images andand than we ever thought
(12:36):
possible being transmittedacross all the different
platforms.
And I think now we're into thethird generation, which is the
computer as aid or as advisor.
, and I think that it's anexciting time.
I don't think it, you know, Ithink there is room for fear,
but I also think there's a lotof room for success in terms of,
(12:59):
you know, would it be nice forme to be able to say to Alexa,
hey Alexa, tell me what my, youknow, what my medicine is for
today and what I need to take.
You know, tell me, you know,and have have these ideas about,
okay, , you know, I just gotan a nudge to to buy some
(13:20):
more fresh vegetables today.
And you know, I I think thatwe're getting to an age where
there's going to be a lot ofways that our the quality of our
life can be improved.
And I I think that we alwaystalk about job losses, but what
about enhancements?
I mean, are there gonna beenhancements to our life as we
(13:40):
go forward?
I think you and I, being olddogs, we'll probably see some,
but I really look at mychildren, you know, in the 20s
and 30s and think their world at62 is gonna be a lot different
than mine.
I think there's gonna be a lotof um things that happen over
the next 20 years that are gonnabe transformational in people's
(14:03):
lives.
So I appreciate that themarkets are trying to think into
the future and trying to get anadvantage, and they're not
laying down and saying, well,that's not my job.
You know, Google is saying,hey, if we want to be great, we
have to have our own chips.
Okay, you know what I mean?
Like the companies that havefigured it out, just like when
(14:27):
the you know, we talk abouttechnology in the terms of the
auto taking over for the horseand buggy, I think that, you
know, we talked about thecomputer taking over for the
mainframe.
I think we're, you know, in oneof those kind of once in a
hundred years type of change.
And I think it's you know gonnabe interesting to see what and
(14:51):
how it affects the lives ofothers.
And what I would say aboutbeing thankful personally and
for markets is that we have tostop and appreciate it.
, I think we have to stop andappreciate, like you said, we
have the time to go for a walkor do some meditation or read a
book or an article on somethingthat's more than 10 minutes.
(15:13):
You know, it used to be I'd I'dspeed read through articles
because I felt like I had toread it, but I really didn't
have the time to fully digestit.
And now I think I have a littlemore time to do that.
So in my mind, I think we're,you know, we're kind of in a
great point in our lives.
We're very fortunate.
(15:34):
I realize I, you know, I didn'tthink I would ever be here when
I was 32 years old and startingout in my career and trying to
figure out whether I want to bean engineer or whether I want to
be in finance.
And , you know, I'm very happywith um the result.
But I guess I'd say for ourlisteners out there who are
(15:55):
interested in financialwellness, um, you know, I I
think we should all be thankfulfor the 401k system.
It's a great way for companiesto contribute to your
retirement.
I realize they're they gave upa payment to us in the pension
form of a pension that was evenbetter.
But I do think that for peoplewho, you know, have the
(16:18):
discipline and can do somethingwith their other assets, , I
think the 401k and expansion ofthe 401k is a great thing.
I think that maybe addingprivate equity with some kind of
guardrails around it.
I don't know.
I I think it involves a lotmore risk than people are
familiar with.
And I think it's probablygetting the last you know gasp
(16:40):
of those assets that are chosenare not the assets that got
chosen by CalPers and not theassets that got chosen by you
know the different foundationsand endowments.
It's you know, these are what'sleft for the people who are you
know at the lower end of thefood chain.
but look look, it overallmarkets up 21, 22, and I don't
(17:04):
know what this year will end up.
, we've had a good run.
And I think that good runs areusually a signal to, you know,
put a little aside and you knowbe willing and able to sustain a
downturn.
So I guess I'd say as we headinto Thanksgiving, I'm thankful
(17:25):
that markets are as liquid andhave been as strong as they've
been.
, and I'm hopeful thatthey're gonna continue to
deliver new solutions forpeople, you know, like we
haven't talked about the GLP andthe you know obesity drugs.
But I think it's a what we saidwas the human genome, when it
gets mapped, we're gonna findand discover things.
(17:48):
And I think this is a bigexample of how some people's
lives can be improved for youknow diabetes and other weight
management stuff.
So I'm pretty happy with theoverall.
, you know, there's a lot tobe thankful for.
And I don't know, I just wrapit up by saying that I I think
we're in a um a golden age,really.
(18:09):
So I think that all of usshould be looking at ourselves
and our situations and saying,you know, what can you do to
make them better?
But boy, there's there'sreally some good things
happening.
How would you wrap it up, Clem?
Clem Miller (18:24):
Well, I mean, one thing I w I w I would be
remiss if I didn't mention thefact that things would look a
lot different in society and theeconomy and in markets if we
had not invented the COVIDdrugs.
I can't imagine what societywould be like had we not had
(18:48):
fast implementation, fastdevelopment and fast
implementation by Pfizer andModerna and the others of
those drugs.
even even with thedevelopment and implementation
of those drugs, you know, wehave a society that was to some
degree damaged, I would say,by the whole COVID experience.
(19:11):
it could have been a lotworse.
Could have been far worse.
So I think I, you know, itthat's not a 2025 development,
those drugs, but it's you know,it's it's a it's a persistent
positive benefit, regardless ofwhat Maha people might say or or
what.
right.
(19:32):
we're in a much better placeright now um you know, about
those drugs.
And it even allows people tolook back and say, well, did we
really need them?
Well, that that tells you thatwe did need them.
The fact that they they havethe the leisure of being able to
go back and and make thatkind of judgment.
So I'm pretty happy about that.
(19:52):
, you know, my I think theI think it's about markets.
Steve Davenport (20:00):
Are you happy with markets?
Yeah, I think I think this isI mean you're you you've been
in gold, and gold is up 50% withan average return of seven.
So I don't know how you can'thave gold on your list of things
to be happy about.
Clem Miller (20:15):
I'm very happy about my gold holdings.
and I'm very happy about myAI holdings, , although I've
been trimming them over thelast couple of months, as I've
been mentioning on this program,on this podcast.
I have been trimming them.
I'm a little nervous thatyou know the market is getting
(20:39):
out over its skis with regard tosome of these AI stocks.
I do believe that it's youknow it's a long-term benefit
AI.
I believe that there will befurther rounds of growth in
this.
It's not the , you know, thisis not the internet bubble,
right?
The internet bubble, you know,2000, 2001, that was all about
(21:04):
eyeballs.
Yeah, eyeballs, clicks, stocksthat that had no profits.
You know, we have profits, wehave growth, we have long-term
growth prospects.
It's just a question of whethervaluations are too high.
And , and I think that becauseof that, we're going to see
some pullbacks now and then.
, I'm a little concerned thatwhat we're seeing right now
(21:28):
might be the beginning of one.
I'm not a hundred percent sure,but it could well be the
beginning of one.
But I have a lot of cash, Ihave a lot of gold.
that's stuff that I cantranslate into purchases of
stocks, you know, if the marketspull back.
So I mean, I I think it'shealthy.
Steve Davenport (21:47):
I mean, I've said all along that I don't like
seeing everybody on one side ofthe boat.
And I think that people now arestarting to, you know, and I I
don't know whether the sellingin crypto is a sign of more
reasonable holders.
I don't know if it's a sign of,you know, people who are using
margin to buy crypto are nowseeing their underlying names go
(22:10):
down.
And so they have they want tosell their long, you know, their
crypto positions becausethey've had a nice run from the
40s to the 120.
, you know, we've seen a goodmore than 20%, you know,
decline in crypto.
And I think that if you look atthe riskiest asset, I'd put
that there because of the lackof earnings.
(22:32):
And um I think that's like youtalk about have high multiples,
but at least it's multiples onreal earnings and it's not you
know fictional.
So um, you know, I I thinkwe're in a pretty good place.
And I guess.
Clem Miller (22:47):
Oh, let me just say, Steve, one more thing um,
you know, before we quit, whichis that you know, the the great
performance we've had from thestock market this year has
surprisingly been resilientin terms of being able to
(23:08):
not be too overly influenced byall the policy developments and
confusion that comes out ofWashington.
So you could have had a lotmore chaos.
you know, you had the chaoson the original tariff
announcement, the so-calledLiberation Day, , but there's
been so much chaos that I thinkmarkets have shown some
(23:32):
resilience to that.
And I'm you know, I'm quitehappy about that.
Steve Davenport (23:36):
Yeah, I think the last person, I guess, or
the last group I'd like to thankis our listeners.
we're now up to 110episodes.
we've been doing this fortwo years, and it feels like
there's a you know, there's areal um joy when we get together
(23:57):
and talk about these ideas andtry to toss around and try to
give people who are trying toimprove their financial wellness
um something to think about.
And I think we've tried todeliver a timely discussion and
we've tried to deliver, youknow, um some yin and some yang
and some, you know, quantitativeand some fundamental and and a
(24:19):
little bit of everything.
And I'd say thanks to thelisteners for sticking with
us, and we've tried to talk tomore guests, and you know, as
always, this is your show.
So let us know what you think.
And we've got a survey outthere under Clem um about what
type of things you want us to tofocus on in the new year.
(24:41):
So give us your thoughts,give us an email, give us a
text, let us know what youthink.
, and I guess I'll call ita call it a day.
Thanks for listening,everybody, and we appreciate you
and we want you to have thebest.
Happy Thanksgiving, and justenjoy wherever you are, whatever
(25:03):
you're doing.
Take a moment and just feelsome gratitude, and I think it's
a great time of year to remindus.
after the harvest in thefall with the leaves falling,
it's you know, there's a lotto think about this year and a
lot of things in people's lives.
And , I think everybody shouldhave a great Thanksgiving.
(25:24):
Okay.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.