Money Lessons with Andrew Temte, PhD, CFA

The Three Risks of Owning Stock

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy walks through the three categories of risk that dominate the experience of owning stock: firm-specific risk, market risk, and behavioral risk. He explains why a stock's daily movement is mostly driven by company news, but why the broad market overwhelms those differences when it moves sharply—answering the listener's natural "which is it?" question. 
Using the 2008 financial crisis and the March 2020 pandemic crash as examples, Andy shows how fast and slow declines both punish panic-selling, just on different timelines. He closes with observation that most of the gap between what individual investors earn and what the market returns isn't about picking the wrong stocks—it's about behavior. 
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Leverage and Margin Explained: The Power and Peril of Borrowed Money

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores leverage and margin — what happens when investors borrow money to buy stocks. He traces the story from the unchecked margin trading of the 1920s that fueled the 1929 crash through the regulatory response that reshaped modern markets, including Regulation T and FINRA's maintenance margin requirements. 
Andy walks through a margin call example to show how borrowed money amplifies both gains and losses, then closes with practical questions every investor should ask before borrowing to invest.
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Preferred Stock Explained: The Hybrid Equity Security

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores preferred stock — the hybrid security that sits between bonds and common stock in a company's capital structure. He traces its origins to the Railway Mania of 1840s Britain and the aftermath of the Panic of 1837 in America, where distressed railroads and canal companies invented a new class of shares to attract cautious investors. 
Andy explains how preferred stock borrows features from both debt and equity, defines the critical distinction between cumulative and non-cumulative preferred shares, and shows where preferred shareholders stand in the priority hierarchy alongside bondholders and common shareholders.
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Measuring Equity Returns: The Five Metrics Every Investor Should Know

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy traces the historical shift from dividend-focused investing to earnings-based valuation, showing how mandatory financial disclosure in the 1930s transformed the way investors evaluate stocks. 
He walks through five essential equity metrics—earnings per share (EPS), the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, the dividend payout ratio, the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, and the price-to-book (P/B) ratio—explaining what each one measures and when to use it. 
Andy connects these modern tools back to Benjamin Graham's pioneering work in value investing and shows how they build on dividend and buyback concepts covered in earlier episodes. 

Dividends Explained: How Equity Income Works and Why It Matters

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores how dividends work and why they matter for investors building long-term wealth. He traces the history of dividends back to the Dutch East India Company's first payment in 1610—which was made in spices, not cash—and walks through the four key dates every dividend investor needs to understand. 
Andy also explains dividend yield, why some companies pay dividends while others don't, and how dividend-paying stocks fit into a broader portfolio strategy based on individual risk tolerance.
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Stock Splits and Share Buybacks: What Every Investor Should Know

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy breaks down the three most common ways companies change their share structure. He explains how stock splits work — including Apple's five splits and Warren Buffett's famous refusal to split Berkshire Hathaway—and why reverse stock splits often signal trouble. 
He then explores share buybacks, how they boost earnings per share, and why investors need to look past the headline numbers to see whether real value is being created. The episode also covers dilution and why issuing new shares comes at a cost to existing shareholders. 
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What Shareholders Actually Own: Rights, Claims, and Protections

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explains what you actually own when you buy a share of stock. He explores the concept of the residual claim — why shareholders are last in line during bankruptcy but first to benefit when companies thrive — and walks through the four key rights of common stock ownership: voting, dividends, information, and the right to sell. The episode also covers the bankruptcy priority hierarchy and why the risk-return tradeoff of equity ownership has made stocks the primary engine of long-term wealth creation. 
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Stock Order Types Explained: Market, Limit, and Stop Orders

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy breaks down the three fundamental stock order types every investor needs to understand — market orders, limit orders, and stop orders. He explains how each order type works, when to use them, and the tradeoffs between speed, price control, and downside protection. The episode also covers order duration, how brokerages route your trades behind the scenes, and why regulators require brokerages to seek best execution on your behalf. Whether you're placing your first trade or refining your approach, understanding these tools helps you invest with intention. 
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How Liquidity Affects Stock Prices

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy explores the mechanics of stock trading, focusing on the concept of liquidity. He explains how liquidity affects stock prices, the role of specialists in maintaining market order, and the significance of the bid-ask spread. The conversation also covers the historical context of stock price quotations and the impact of decimalization on trading costs, emphasizing the importance of understanding these concepts for effective investing. 
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Building a Bond Portfolio: How to Put Your Debt Knowledge to Work

In this episode of Money Lessons, Andy wraps up the fourteen-episode debt securities series by exploring how to actually build a bond portfolio. He covers the three roles bonds play in a portfolio — income, stability, and diversification — and walks through the practical differences between bond funds and individual bonds. The episode also introduces the bond ladder strategy, duration matching, and popular guidelines for determining how much of your portfolio should be in bonds. Whether you're decades from retirement or approaching it, this episode turns fourteen weeks of bond knowledge into a practical framework for action. 
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