Financial Decoder
Host Mark Riepe talks with Schwab experts to decode the cognitive and emotional biases that might cloud your judgment and impact your financial decisions.
Paying for Big Purchases
Learn how to prepare for major expenses by weighing options like cash, investments, or borrowing and understand which approach may suit your situation.
Women's Investing Trends
Mark Riepe is joined by the head of Schwab's branch network, Jeannie Bidner, to discuss survey data about how women investors view themselves and what drives their decisions.
Financial Planning
What Your Advisor Should Know
How much should you share with your financial advisor? Learn why trust, open communication, and the right information matter when working with professional help.
Behavioral Finance
Your Inner Scorekeeper
How do mental scorecards shape your financial decisions? Professor Daniel Stone joins to unpack how reference points can shape risk, reward, and regret.
Behavioral Finance
Did May Day Reshape Investing?
Mark Riepe explores the history of how investing has become more accessible, from key milestones like May Day to the various factors that have shaped who could participate through the last century.
Market Volatility
Proactive Moves in Volatile Markets
Market swings can shake any investor's confidence. Learn ways you can stay grounded, trust your financial plan, and take smart, long-term steps in uncertain times.
Retirement
Milestone Ages for Retirement
Retirement planning is tied to a series of milestone ages. Mark Riepe outlines which birthdays can shape decisions about your financial future.
Behavioral Finance
Common Car Buying Mistakes
Learn how to navigate the decision-making process of purchasing a vehicle by minding these common financial and psychological factors.
Bonds
7 Bond Market Basics
Mark Riepe is joined by Schwab's Chief Fixed Income Strategist Kathy Jones to walk through seven fundamentals investors should understand about the bond market.
Fraud Prevention
Steps to Avoid Cyber Fraud
Mark Riepe and his guest, Lisa Lang, break down emerging trends in the evolving world of cyber fraud and strategies for protecting your financial security.
Financial Planning
How to Set Financial Goals
Mark Riepe is joined by guest Cindy Scott to discuss ways you can align your vision for the future with your values and plan a path to long-term financial success.
Tax Planning
Year-End Tax Strategies
Mark Riepe highlights key updates to tax policy in 2024 and offers helpful year-end tax-planning moves.
Behavioral Finance
How Gratitude Can Improve Your Life
Host Mark Riepe, joined by his team and past guests of 2024, explores the impact of gratitude on our long-term perspective through personal stories and academic research.
Financial Planning
Do You Need a Wealth Advisor?
Host Mark Riepe is joined by Senior Wealth Advisor Stephanie Shadel to explain holistic wealth management and the importance of understanding clients' personal histories and preferences.
Government Policy
Gauging the Impact of Washington
Mark Riepe is joined by Michael Townsend to discuss the cognitive and emotional biases that influence political decision-making and unpack the gap between campaign promises and legislative realities.
Small Business
Planning a Business Succession
Austin Jarvis joins Mark Riepe to discuss succession planning for business owners and the unique challenges faced when keeping a business in the family or selling to a third party.
Behavioral Finance
How to Plan for a New Pet
Mark Riepe and Susan Hirshman discuss how to prepare for the responsibilities, costs, and emotional attachment that come with bringing home a pet.
Estate Planning
Estate Planning & Taxes
Austin Jarvis speaks with Mark Riepe about the complications of estate taxes—and what you can do if the estate tax exemptions change in 2026.
Social Security
When to Take Social Security
Mark Riepe is joined by Rob Williams and Susan Hirshman to examine one of the most critical retirement decisions: When should you take Social Security?
Behavioral Finance
What Can the Olympics Teach Us?
Mark Riepe explains the cognitive and emotional biases that show up across different Olympic choices and judgments and the lessons we can glean from them for our own financial decision-making.
Travel Planning
Saving for Vacations & Travel
Mark Riepe and Cindy Scott discuss how financial planning can help you save for short-term goals like travel and vacations without adding risk to your long-term financial future.
Annuities
What to Know About Annuities
A basic overview of annuities and how they can fit into an investor's retirement plan—with Rob Williams, a managing director and Retirement Income Certified Professional at Schwab.
Financial Planning
Declutter Your Portfolio
In the spirit of spring cleaning, Susan Hirshman returns for a bonus episode to share helpful methods for decluttering your portfolio.
Financial Planning
Making Buy and Sell Decisions
Alex Imas, professor of behavioral science and economics at Chicago Booth, visits to discuss new research into the effects of heuristic thinking on institutional investors' performance.
Financial Planning
How to Save for College
What financial tools and strategies are available to those planning for college expenses?
Equity Compensation
What to Do with Employee Stock
Whether it's stock options, restricted stock units, an employee stock purchase plan, or some other form of equity compensation, many companies offer this vital benefit to employees. But once you have it, what should you do with it?
Behavioral Finance
The Value of a Super Bowl Win
In this short bonus episode from Financial Decoder, host Mark Riepe connects the Super Bowl LVIII matchup to the concept of economic utility.
Trading
Popular Trading Proverbs
When navigating the world of stock trading, what kernels of truth can you take from some of the most ubiquitous trading proverbs?
Financial Planning
Retirement Account Rollovers
What options do you have when leaving a job where you hold an employer-sponsored retirement account?
Financial Planning
Retirement for Freelancers
What options do freelancers have to get the most benefit out of their retirement savings?
Financial Planning
Build Your Pre-Retirement Checklist
What do you need to take care of in the handful of years, months, and days before you retire?
Financial Planning
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Before You Retire?
If you are nearing retirement, does it make sense to pay off your mortgage in advance?
Behavioral Finance
Special Guest: Chuck Schwab (Rebroadcast)
Founder and Chairman of the Board Chuck Schwab joins Mark Riepe for a candid discussion about the decisions he made that disrupted the brokerage industry.