Tiffany Cianci discusses the growing risks in private equity and private credit, including excessive debt, questionable valuations, limited transparency, and struggling investment funds that cannot exit their holdings. She explains how continuation funds and shadow banking may be concealing financial problems while shifting risks onto pension funds and everyday investors. We also examine speculative AI investments, unprofitable data centers, rising borrowing costs, and the potential consequences of allowing private equity and private credit into more 401(k) plans. Tiffany shares practical steps investors can take to question their retirement plan trustees, evaluate investment risks, and advocate for greater accountability.

We discuss...

• The growing risks in private equity and private credit, including excessive debt, questionable valuations, and limited transparency.
• How private equity firms are increasingly struggling to sell their investments, leading to a growing backlog of unsold businesses and greater reliance on continuation funds.
• Continuation funds can create conflicts of interest when firms move assets between funds to provide liquidity to existing investors.
• Weak oversight and limited disclosure make it difficult for investors to assess the true value and risks of private equity and private credit investments.
• How private equity firms use leverage and repeated acquisitions to increase debt burdens and potentially push businesses toward bankruptcy.
• Rising interest rates and adjustable-rate debt are putting additional pressure on private equity-backed companies and private credit lenders.
• The expansion of private credit has created a shadow banking system that operates with fewer safeguards and transparency requirements than traditional banks.
• How allowing private equity and private credit into more 401(k) plans could shift investment losses onto everyday Americans and retirement savers.
• High management and performance fees can significantly reduce returns for individual investors compared with traditional index funds.
• Pension funds are exposed to private market risks, with reported returns sometimes falling far short of the estimates used to justify investments.
• Concerns about financial arrangements between AI companies, chipmakers, and data center operators that may obscure underlying risks.
• How corporate consolidation and lobbying can create monopolies that harm small businesses and consumers.
• How regulation can be used by dominant corporations to limit competition and drive smaller businesses out of the market.
• The need to enforce antitrust laws and improve oversight without imposing disproportionate regulatory burdens on small businesses.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management
• Greg Dupont | Advocate Wealth Solutions

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/private-equity-tiffany-cianci-862

John Demartini discusses how understanding your personal values can help you build confidence, find purpose, and achieve financial success. He shares his journey overcoming dyslexia and learning challenges, explaining how obstacles can become opportunities when you focus on your strengths and intrinsic motivations. John explores why people often prioritize immediate gratification over long-term financial independence, the importance of investing and compound growth, and how aligning your goals with your highest values can improve decision-making and fulfillment. He also explains how to identify your most meaningful and productive activities, delegate low-priority tasks, and structure your time around what you do best to create a more successful and rewarding life.

We discuss...

• John Demartini's journey overcoming dyslexia and learning challenges to become an educator, author, and international speaker.
• Hw perceived weaknesses and obstacles can become opportunities for personal growth and achievement.
• How understanding your personal hierarchy of values can reveal what motivates you and helps you succeed.
• Why people often struggle to achieve their goals when their actions do not align with their true priorities.
• The difference between intrinsic motivation and relying on external pressure or encouragement to succeed.
• Why people often confuse the desire for financial independence with the desire for an expensive lifestyle and immediate gratification.
• How investing, compound interest, patience, and deferred gratification can help build lasting wealth.
• The importance of letting your money work for you rather than becoming financially burdened by your lifestyle.
• Strategies for identifying your strengths, building confidence, and choosing career paths that align with your values.
• How comparing yourself to others and pursuing goals that do not reflect your priorities can lead to frustration and self-doubt.
• How understanding your values can help young people identify their interests and make more informed career decisions.
• How prioritizing meaningful, high-value activities and delegating lower-priority tasks helped him grow his business and increase profitability.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
• Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/build-wealth-that-matters-john-demartini-860

David Miller discusses the unexpected strategy that can win when stocks are at their lowest. David shares about trend following, managed futures, and the importance of combining investment strategies that perform differently across market environments. He explains how Catalyst Mutual Funds uses trend following alongside equities to help reduce drawdowns, the challenges of whipsaw markets, and why diversification should mean combining uncorrelated strategies rather than simply owning more stocks. We also talk the impact of the Iran war, oil prices, gold, interest rates, and the upcoming midterm elections on markets.

We discuss...

• David Miller shares his journey from an early passion for investing to launching Catalyst Mutual Funds.
• Catalyst was built around the idea of using free cash flow yield and return on capital to identify attractive companies.
• Trend following can perform particularly well during major bear markets when traditional equities are struggling.
• Combining managed futures with equities can create a portfolio with stronger risk-adjusted returns and smaller drawdowns.
• Investors should think of diversification as combining uncorrelated strategies rather than simply owning more stocks.
• Mean-reversion strategies can complement trend following by performing better when markets are volatile but lack a clear direction.
• How oil prices, gold, interest rates, and the Iran war have affected markets in 2026.
• Why the U.S. economy has been more resilient to higher oil prices because the country is now a major oil exporter.
• How the upcoming midterm elections could influence U.S. policy, oil prices, inflation, and the Federal Reserve.
• Investors should build portfolios that can perform across different economic and market environments rather than relying on a few high-growth stocks.
• Combining complementary strategies may be more practical than trying to predict the next Apple or Nvidia.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
• Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/strategy-that-can-win-david-miller-858

AI companies are worth zero and we are going to tell you why. Today we discuss the rapid evolution of AI, what AI and AGI actually mean, and the importance of clean, reliable data. We also talk the risks of AI hallucinations and misinformation, privacy concerns, and the possibility that open-source models will eventually become good enough to challenge expensive frontier models. We also ask if AI companies really have durable competitive advantages, it's impact on jobs, the parallels to the internet bubble, and the difficulty of knowing which companies will ultimately benefit from AI. Investors should remain cautious as always and avoid chasing AI hype and expensive valuations. Protect yourselves from the eventual market revaluation, and recognize that future opportunities may emerge after the current AI boom loses momentum. Today we discuss...

• AI as an advanced form of machine learning and an interactive interface for analyzing large amounts of data.
• Why clean, reliable data is essential for AI to produce useful results.
• Whether artificial general intelligence has a clear definition and whether current AI has already surpassed traditional versions of the Turing test.
• How AI can create value by identifying patterns in large datasets that would be difficult for humans to analyze manually.
• The AI boom compared to the early internet and argue that today's leading AI companies may not necessarily be the long-term winners.
• Open-source AI models could eventually become good enough for most users and eliminate the need for expensive frontier models.
• Whether calls for AI regulation could partly be an attempt by large companies to limit competition and create regulatory capture.
• AI's potential impact on employment, arguing that most jobs will likely change rather than disappear entirely.
• The importance of protecting private information and avoiding putting sensitive data into public AI systems.
• Whether AI-generated content and AI agents could create a declining chain of increasingly unreliable information.
• Being bullish on AI technology does not necessarily mean being bullish on AI stocks or companies.
• The possibility of overinvestment in AI-related computing infrastructure and semiconductors.
• An eventual AI market revaluation could create significant losses but also produce major investment opportunities.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/ai-companies-are-worth-zero-heres-why-857

Colin Steinberg discusses tax planning for high-earning W-2 employees. He focuses on executive compensation and non-qualified plans. He explains how deferred compensation plans can help executives save additional income on a pre-tax basis beyond traditional 401(k) limits, the eligibility requirements, investment options, and the risks associated with having deferred assets tied to the financial health of an employer. We also talk after-tax strategies such as life insurance, how companies can use tax-efficient compensation to retain key employees, and why understanding tax planning opportunities before accepting a promotion, changing jobs, or receiving a large bonus can play an important role in long-term wealth building.

We discuss...

• Colin Steinberg explains his transition from financial advising to tax planning and executive compensation strategies.
• Tax-saving opportunities available to high-earning W-2 employees beyond traditional retirement accounts.
• Deferred compensation plans allow eligible executives to save additional income on a pre-tax basis beyond 401(k) limits.
• Non-qualified plans are generally designed for highly compensated employees, including executives and high-earning sales professionals.
• Deferred compensation plans can offer investment options similar to a 401(k), with some additional opportunities in private markets and alternative investments.
• A key trade-off of deferred compensation is that the money can be tied up for many years and remains subject to the financial health and creditors of the employer.
• Companies can use tax-efficient compensation strategies to reward and retain key employees without simply increasing their taxable salaries or bonuses.
• Life insurance can provide an additional after-tax vehicle for tax-deferred growth and potentially tax-free withdrawals in retirement.
• W-2 employees should generally maximize available qualified retirement plans and employer matches before exploring additional tax-planning strategies.
• Companies can potentially combine multiple compensation and tax-planning strategies to address issues such as partner buyouts, employee retention, and executive compensation.
• Proactive tax planning and working with knowledgeable advisors can help high-income individuals make more informed decisions about building long-term wealth.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
• Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/tax-planning-for-high-earners-colin-steinburg-856

Today we bring the AI fake news as we talk the growing impact of AI on investing, education, privacy, creativity, and everyday life. AI can improve research and productivity but it's also flattening individual creativity, encourage overreliance, and create risks when users feed sensitive information into public AI models. We explore the importance of protecting private data, keeping valuable information separated from AI tools, and using AI as a supplement rather than a substitute for learning and critical thinking. We also talk rising interest rates, inflation, oil prices, tariffs, market volatility, global financial pressures, and the risks of becoming emotionally attached to an investment thesis.

We discuss...

• How AI can make research, content creation, and productivity easier, but it can also flatten creativity and make everyone's work look the same.
• The "golden rule" of AI is to avoid using it to save yourself time by wasting someone else's time with low-quality content.
• Overreliance on AI can prevent people from developing the knowledge, skills, creativity, and critical thinking that come from doing the work themselves.
• Sensitive personal, financial, business, and intellectual property information should be kept away from public AI models because data shared with AI may not remain private.
• Open-source AI models are becoming increasingly capable and can provide alternatives to expensive frontier models.
• AI is disrupting education as students increasingly rely on it for homework and assignments, raising concerns about declining math, reading, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• AI may be most useful as leverage for existing knowledge rather than a replacement for learning and independent thinking.
• Changing expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike and the potential effects of tighter monetary policy on employment, housing, and markets.
• Market strength beneath the surface, including technology and AI leadership, institutional positioning, short covering, and risks in emerging markets.
• How historical market comparisons, including similarities to 2008, need to be considered in the context of today's different economic conditions.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/ai-fake-news-855