Episode summary
Markets Are Crazy. Is This the New Normal?
Ask The Compound
· · Hosts: Ben Carlson, Duncan Hill · Guests: Bill Sweet
Summary
The episode centered on whether today’s stock-market swings are a new normal or just a familiar pattern showing up faster. The host argued that the 2020s have felt unusually chaotic, but the broader history of markets shows that big intra-year drawdowns and sharp recoveries are common, especially when the information cycle is faster and investors watch prices constantly. He pointed to 2020 and 2025 as examples of large ranges of outcomes within a single year, then contrasted that with the lower-volatility stretches of 2023 and 2024.
Bill Sweet joined for a long tax-planning segment focused on a 56-year-old with $30 million, including a large taxable brokerage balance and traditional IRA assets. Sweet argued that delaying investment or holding cash for decades to reduce future RMD pain is usually weak advice, especially when the client is comfortable with risk and has a long time horizon before required withdrawals begin. He preferred putting cash-producing assets inside tax-advantaged accounts and noted that wealthy clients may be better served by estate planning and charitable giving strategies than by artificially suppressing returns.
The rest of the episode covered what makes a good client, why consolidation of accounts usually simplifies planning, and how advanced tax strategies such as long/short, put writing, and 351 exchanges can help defer taxes but are not free lunches. The final question weighed buying a house versus renting, and the host and Sweet both leaned toward not buying if the monthly cost, commute, and roommate requirement would meaningfully worsen the client’s life.
Key takeaways
- The host argued that big drawdowns followed by sharp recoveries are normal market behavior, even if the 2020s feel faster and more dramatic.
- Bill Sweet said keeping traditional IRA assets in cash for decades to reduce future RMDs is usually poor advice for a 56-year-old with a long runway.
- Sweet said tax-optimization tools like long/short funds, put writing, and 351 exchanges can defer taxes, but they come with fees, complexity, and performance trade-offs.
- The host and Sweet agreed that the best client behavior is transparency, communication, and sharing major spending decisions before they become problems.
- On the housing question, the host and Sweet both emphasized that owning is not mandatory if the extra monthly cost, commute, and roommate setup would strain the buyer's life.
Notable quotes
“I think fast, I talk fast. If you guys want to get out, you need to listen to me”
“So, to me, like holding cash to reduce R&D exposures uh 20 years from now, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me”
“your tax rate is never uh and also people people talk ill of the CFA. Vincent's got a CFA”
“risk cannot be destroyed, but it can be transformed, right”
“owning a home is not for everyone. you don't have to do it just because a bunch of your friends are getting rich”
How the episode opens
Welcome back to Ask the Compound, the show where you ask and we answer. I'm your host, Ben Carlson. We've seen some crazy moves in the stock market this decade.
Meme stocks, quick crashes, even quicker recoveries. Is this the new normal? Should investors expect this volatility to continue going forward, or is this just another cycle that will go away in the future?
We answer these questions and much more on today's show. All right, welcome to everyone in the live chat on YouTube as usual and watching on Twitter. Did you come up with that off the fly?
You ask and we answer. It's pretty good. Pretty good, right?
Yeah, I like that. I probably stole it from chat GBT, but I'll I'll take it as my own. I don't know.
Um, ask the compound showow@gmail.com is our email here. Send us all your questions. A ton of them this week.
On today's show, we answer questions straight from our compound audience. Is all the market volatility in the 2020s normal? How to manage RMDs in retirement?
We have $30 million. This is true. Uh, how to be a good client for your financial advisor?
New tax alpha strategies and how they work, where all of your assets should be located, and whether or not a guy in Colorado should back out on a house purchase to keep saving and investing. Today's show is sponsored by Public, the place where serious investors go to manage their money. Public isn't just another investing app.
It's a powerful platform where you can build a diversified portfolio across stocks, bonds, crypto, options, even treasuries, all in one place. Want your cash to work a little harder? Public offers a 4.1% APY on your uninvested cash.
No fees, no minimums. Plus, Public has AI baked into the entire experience already.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- stock market volatility
- tax-optimized investment management
- withdrawal strategies
- buying vs renting
- diversifying among custodians and advisors
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Public
- Ritholtz Wealth Management
Watch the episode
Watch “Markets Are Crazy. Is This the New Normal?” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Ask The Compound, this episode and its artwork belong to The Compound. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
