The Long View

Hosted by Morningstar, Christine Benz - Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning, Ben Johnson - Head of Client Solutions, Amy Arnott - Portfolio Strategist

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386

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Empowering long-term investors with actionable insights on retirement, personal finance, and portfolio strategy. Hosts Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson talk with influential leaders in finance and investing every Wednesday.

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60 recent

August 18, 202651 min

Jeff Ptak: The Simple Secret to Becoming a Better Investor

Our guest on the podcast today is Jeff Ptak . He’s a longtime Morningstar employee and currently serves as managing director for Morningstar Research Services. He originally joined Morningstar back in 2002 as a senior mutual fund analyst. Jeff was one of the original two co-hosts of this podcast and regularly posts his thoughts on Morningstar.com , Substack , X , and LinkedIn . Ptak’s work really focuses on investor outcomes. One of the highlights from the podcast today was when Ptak talked about how such a small number of stocks tend to generate a disproportionate amount of the market returns and what that means for diversified actively managed funds. He also discusses what target-date funds get right for investors, as well as what some of them may be missing. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Mind the Gap and Investor Behavior 00:08:04 Crypto ETFs and Timing Mistakes 00:11:33 Active Funds and Letting Winners Run 00:23:00 Improving Investor Outcomes Through Lower Costs 00:30:09 Private Markets, SpaceX, and 401(k) Risks 00:34:15 Thematic ETFs, Speculation, and Fun Money 00:38:40 Market Timing Myths and Portfolio Construction 00:42:16 Is Tech’s Dominance Sustainable? More From Morningstar Read: Mind the Gap 2026 Leyla Kunimoto: Why Investors in Private Markets Need a Louder Voice Will Danoff: ‘Be Very Careful of Unprofitable Companies’ Don Phillips: Encouraging Better Outcomes for Investors If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 11, 202654 min

Nick Maggiulli: Climbing the Wealth Ladder

Today on the podcast we welcome back Nick Maggiulli . He’s the author of a new book called The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life . His first book was called Just Keep Buying . In addition, Nick writes a wonderful blog called Of Dollars and Data , which is focused on the intersection between data and personal finance. In his day job, Nick is the Chief Operating Officer and Data Scientist at Ritholtz Wealth Management . He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Writing The Wealth Ladder 00:05:30 The Six Levels of the Wealth Ladder 00:09:52 How Wealth Changes Across Net-Worth Levels 00:16:16 Why People Rarely Fall Down the Wealth Ladder 00:21:00 Spending Rules and the 0.01% Rule 00:29:25 Career Choices, Income, and Opportunity Costs 00:37:42 Investment Risks and Ascending the Wealth Ladder 00:44:29 Money, Happiness, and Life Beyond Wealth More From Morningstar Jim O’Shaughnessy: Investing Lessons From a Lifelong Learner Dan Haylett: ‘The Retirement You Didn’t See Coming’ David Bach: ‘Start Enjoying Your Life Sooner’ If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 4, 202639 min

Stefan Sharkansky: The Retirement Spending Plan That Adapts as Markets Change

Our guest on the podcast today is Stefan Sharkansky . Stefan is a Ph.D. statistician who specializes in finance. He wrote a provocatively titled paper, “ The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need ,” which was published in the Financial Analyst Journal . Stefan has also developed a related website called, The Best Third , designed to help people with their retirement spending plans and portfolio structures. In addition, he developed and operates the website PersonalFund.com , which provides proprietary cost analysis of mutual funds to financial advisors. Stefan has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Washington. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:43 Why the 4% Rule Can Lead to Underspending 00:07:23 TIPS Ladders vs. Retirement Annuities 00:08:48 Reducing Fixed Spending and Stock Allocation 00:12:09 Why Individual TIPS Beat TIPS Funds 00:18:53 A Formula for Stock Portfolio Withdrawals 00:23:54 Historical Returns vs. Monte Carlo Simulations 00:29:30 Should Retirees Diversify Globally? 00:32:23 Leaving a Bequest Without Underspending More From The Long View Brett Arends: Worried About Outliving Your Money? There’s an Answer Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’ If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 28, 20261 hr 0 min

Ryan Frederick: Why Your Home May Matter More Than Your Portfolio Later in Life

Our guest on the podcast today is Ryan Frederick , an author, speaker, and entrepreneur focused on the intersection of place and healthy longevity. As founder and CEO of HERE , he provides content courses and coaching in place planning, a holistic, research-based approach to help people find the right place for every stage of life. He’s also the author of Right Place, Right Time, a book that helps individuals think through housing decisions for the second half of life. In addition, Ryan provides strategy consulting to organizations looking to create better places, including Fortune 500 companies, institutional investors, health systems, and housing developers and operators. He’s also a member of the Advisory Council for the Stanford Center on Longevity . He previously served on the National Advisory Board of Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center Task Force on Health and Housing. He’s a graduate of Princeton University and Stanford Business School. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Senior Living, Longevity, and 100-Year Life Planning 00:08:39 How Place Influences Health as You Age 00:10:37 The Four Pillars of Place Planning 00:16:19 Income’s Impact on Housing, Home Equity, and Limitations of Aging in Place 00:30:01 Place Planning Tools and Building Community 00:41:43 New Housing Models, Cohousing, and Age Diversity 00:49:13 Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Healthy Aging Dashboards More From Morningstar Your Retirement Countdown, With Christine Benz Harry Margolis: How to Confront Aging Challenges Head-On Joy Loverde: Planning Ahead for Care Needs as You Get Older If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 21, 202652 min

Brett Arends: Worried About Outliving Your Money? There’s an Answer

Our guest on the podcast today is Brett Arends . Brett has been a columnist for MarketWatch , The Wall Street Journal , and other Dow Jones publications since 2007. His regular column for MarketWatch is called ROI , and he has also written for SmartMoney , TheStreet.com , and the Boston Herald . In addition, Brett has written several books including Storm-Proof Your Money: Weather Any Economy, Rebuild Your Portfolio, Protect Your Future . Brett took a double first in history at Cambridge University and did postgraduate research at Oxford University. He’s also a chartered financial consultant. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Financial Journalism Origins and Early Stock-Picking Lessons 00:11:12 Comparing the AI Boom to Dot-Com Bubble 00:21:53 Diversification, Index Funds, and AI Bubble Risk 00:26:25 Why Private Securities Are a Bad Deal 00:33:09 Why TIPS Are Attractive Under Rising Inflation 00:38:10 Generating Retirement Income and Immediate Annuities 00:45:35 Social Security and Policy Risks More From Morningstar GQG: Why We Are Still in an AI Stock Market Bubble Jeremy Grantham: ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’ How to Use TIPS in Your Portfolio If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 14, 202655 min

Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement

Today on the podcast, we welcome back Dana Anspach . Dana’s the author of a new book about retirement called Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement . This is her third book. Earlier books are Control Your Retirement Destiny and Social Security Sense . Dana is also founder and CEO of the financial planning firm Sensible Money , based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and she has been practicing as a financial planner since 1995. In addition, Dana’s the author of the lecture series, How to Plan for the Perfect Retirement , available on The Great Courses, and she has been blogging about her own retirement journey on The Retirement Manifesto website. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 The “Pre-Go” Phase, Unplanned Early Retirement, and Working Longer 00:10:19 “Retirement Red Zone” Risks, Two-Bucket Strategy, and Building a Bond Ladder 00:17:34 Balancing Guaranteed Income and Annuities 00:21:54 TIPS, Cash Flow Projections, and Getting Comfortable Spending 00:31:33 Strategies for Long-Term Care 00:36:19 Planning the Transition to Retirement 00:40:34 Estimating Longevity, Lost Decade Potential, and Inflation Risk 00:46:11 Minimizing Taxes and Mitigating Financial Fraud Risk More From Morningstar Dana Anspach and Fritz Gilbert: ‘This Is What a Joyful Retirement Could Feel Like’ Adam Grossman: Asset Allocation Is an Investor’s Best Defense Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’ If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 7, 202656 min

Cody Garrett and Sean Mullaney: ‘For Most Americans, You’re Going to Pay Less Tax in Retirement’

Our guests on the podcast today are Cody Garrett and Sean Mullaney . They’re both advice-only financial planners, and they’re the co-authors of a new book called Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement . Cody is a certified financial planner and the founder of Measure Twice Money , where he helps DIY investors make informed decisions aligned with their values. He also leads Measure Twice Planners , which is an educational community for financial planners. Sean Mullaney is a certified public accountant and head of Mullaney Financial & Tax . He also writes the blog, TheFITaxGuy.com , which is focused on the intersection between financial independence and taxes. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:27 Defining Early Retirement, the 4% Rule, and Withdrawal Strategies 00:11:03 Fear-Based Tax Narratives and Retirement Calculators 00:15:10 Rethinking Future Tax Rate Assumptions 00:23:14 Retirement Savings Tax Trade-Offs 00:30:08 Taxable Accounts in Early Retirement 00:32:29 Backdoor Roth IRAs, Asset Allocation, and Sequence Risk 00:44:03 RMDs, Roth Conversions, and Retirement Planning Tools More From Morningstar Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’ A Tax-Smart Plan for In-Retirement Withdrawals in 3 Steps Morningstar’s Tax-Planning and IRA Resources for 2026 If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

June 30, 202659 min

Jeremy Grantham: ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’

Today on the podcast, we’re delighted to welcome back Jeremy Grantham to discuss his book, The Making of a Permabear: The Perils of Long-term Investing in a Short-term World , which he co-authored with Edward Chancellor . Jeremy is the long-term investment strategist at his namesake firm, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Company, or GMO , which he co-founded in 1977. He serves on GMO’s asset-allocation committee and board of directors. Prior to GMO, Jeremy was co-founder of Batterymarch Financial Management and, before that, was an economist at Royal Dutch Shell . He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Sheffield and his MBA from Harvard University. Jeremy is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences , holds a CBE from the UK, and is a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy . In 1997, he and his family started the Grantham Foundation for the protection of the environment, which supports research and action to address climate change. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Writing Permabear W ith Edward Chancellor 00:06:44 Value Investing and Identifying Market Bubbles 00:15:07 Current Market Outlook and Valuation Risks 00:20:28 Value Discipline, SpaceX’s IPO, and Past Market Bubbles 00:27:26 Speculative Trading, Indexing, and Zero‑Sum Markets 00:34:24 Market Inefficiencies, Small-Cap Stocks, and the Greater Fool Theory 00:43:27 Artificial Intelligence Hype, Attractive Assets, and Market Pessimism 00:47:02 Climate Risks, Resource Constraints, and Shrinking Populations More From Morningstar 3 Warnings for Investors From the Ultimate Contrarian Ben Carlson: Exploring Risk and Reward What Today’s Index ETFs Get Right, and Wrong, for Investors If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

June 23, 202629 min

Will Danoff: ‘Be Very Careful of Unprofitable Companies’

We’re taping this podcast live at the Morningstar Investment Conference , where we’re delighted to be joined by Fidelity’s Will Danoff. Will runs a number of Fidelity equity strategies , the best known of which is Fidelity Contrafund FCNTX, a mutual fund he’s been managing since September 1990. Morningstar named Will its Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year in 2007 . Prior to becoming a portfolio manager, Will served as a retail analyst at Fidelity and assistant portfolio manager at Fidelity Magellan FMAGX. He graduated from Harvard University and earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Will, welcome back to The Long View . Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:56 Investing Origins and Early Influences 00:00:53 Retail Analysis and Unit Economics 00:10:29 Reg FD Changes and Adapting Research Processes 00:15:00 Identifying Durable Competitive Advantages 00:19:24 SpaceX and Buying Private Companies 00:22:40 Investing Mistakes and Avoiding Unprofitable Companies More From Morningstar 2026 Morningstar Investment Conference: From SpaceX to Safeguarding Retirement Here’s Fidelity Contrafund’s Will Danoff’s Secret Sauce As Legendary Manager Will Danoff Leaves Fidelity, Should Investors Follow Him Out the Door? If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

June 16, 202650 min

Brian Moriarty and Jack Shannon: Putting Private Markets Funds Through Their Paces

Today’s guests are Morningstar’s Brian Moriarty and Jack Shannon . Brian is a principal, fixed-income strategies, for Morningstar. Before assuming his current role in 2015, Brian was a client solutions consultant for Morningstar Office, a practice and portfolio management system for independent financial advisors. Before joining Morningstar in 2013, he was a research assistant for DePaul University’s religious studies department. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in Islamic world studies from DePaul University. Jack Shannon is a principal, equity strategies, for Morningstar. He focuses on actively managed equity strategies and is the lead analyst for MFS and Artisan Partners, among other firms. Before joining Morningstar in 2020, Jack worked in commercial banking and was a consultant providing subject-matter expertise on complex financial litigation. Jack holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from James Madison University. He also holds a master’s of business administration in investments and corporate finance from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:06 What are Private Markets, and What Investment Opportunities Do They Provide? 00:03:13 Do Semiliquid Funds Provide Easier Access to Private Markets? 00:05:57 Applying Morningstar Processes to Evaluate Private Markets 00:09:50 Managing Liquidity in Private Market Investments 00:18:48 Valuation and Transparency: Putting Private Assets Under the Microscope 00:24:07 Payment in Kind as a Valuation Concern 00:28:02 Public vs. Private Markets: Understanding Risk, Language, and Infrastructure Differences 00:39:28 Building Methodology to Explain Private Asset Fees and Incentive Structures 00:44:22 What Morningstar Medalist Ratings Signal for Semiliquid Funds More From Morningstar Morningstar’s Guide to Public/Private Investing Private Equity Funds Step Into the Spotlight Private Credit Pricing: Are Prosecutors Opening Up Pandora’s Box? If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com . Follow Christine Benz ( @christine_benz ) and Ben Johnson ( @MstarBenJohnson ) on X, and Christine Benz , Amy Arnott , and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine , Ben , and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances . If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.