Real Money Pros

Real Money Pros

Money: you make it, you want more of it, and you want to protect it. We are The Real Money Pros, a show hosted collaboratively by experts who specialize in investing, financial and estate planning, taxes, insurance, and any other way to grow wealth. Plus, we make it fun! We help you know good advice from bad – especially when everyone seems to want a piece of your money.

  1. Sep 29

    Private Infrastructure, Private Equity, & Liquidity with Christian McCormick (9/26/2026)

    Private markets have historically been dominated by pensions, endowments and other large institutional investors. But as access expands, individual investors are increasingly encountering private equity, private credit and other investments outside the traditional public markets. This week, Jeremiah Bates and Alex Lundgren are joined by Christian McCormick, CFA, Head of Client Portfolio Management at Meketa Capital, for a three-hour deep dive into how private markets actually work. Christian explains the differences between public and private investments, why companies are staying private longer, and how private equity firms invest in and work with businesses. They also break down venture capital, growth equity and buyouts, along with the due diligence involved in evaluating private investments. Then, the conversation turns to the investor's side of the equation: liquidity, long holding periods, drawdown funds, evergreen and interval funds, portfolio allocation and the tradeoffs that come with investing in assets that can't simply be sold with the click of a button. Finally, Christian takes a closer look at private infrastructure, including power generation, transportation, pipelines, digital infrastructure and data centers. They discuss why infrastructure has attracted more investor attention, how these projects can generate income and returns, and where inflation protection and diversification can fit into the picture.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com Christian McCormick & Meketa Capital https://meketacapital.com/profile-mccormick ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

  2. Sep 21

    Selling a Business & Investing Beyond Wall Street (9/19/2026)

    Selling a business can be one of the biggest financial events of an owner's life, but getting a good deal takes more than simply finding a buyer. This week, Jeremiah Bates is joined by Rob Wolfe, Managing Director at Apollon Wealth Management, to discuss what makes a business attractive to potential buyers and how owners can prepare years before an exit. They cover the difference between owning a practice, a business and an enterprise, along with owner dependency, recurring revenue, customer concentration, clean financials, due diligence and the factors that can ultimately influence what someone is willing to pay. They also answer real questions from business owners approaching a sale, including how to determine what a company is actually worth, who should be involved before responding to an offer, taxes after a sale and how to turn the proceeds from a business into long-term financial independence. Then, the conversation shifts to investing beyond traditional stocks and bonds. Jeremiah and Rob break down private equity, private credit and other private-market investments, how access to these investments has expanded, where they may fit within a portfolio and one of their biggest tradeoffs: liquidity.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

  3. Sep 14

    Rising Treasury Yields, Social Security & Year-End Tax Moves (9/12/2026)

    What do rising Treasury yields actually mean for your portfolio, and should market volatility change the way you're investing? This week, Nic Daniels and Alex Lundgren start with September market volatility, rising Treasury yields and the relationship between bond prices and yields, while explaining why investors should be careful about making long-term portfolio decisions based on elections, geopolitical events or short-term market swings. A listener preparing to retire after 37 years with the Postal Service asks about using a Social Security survivor benefit while delaying her own benefit, along with coordinating her pension and inherited IRA. Later, Nic and Alex cover year-end tax surprises from bonuses, vested RSUs, property sales and other windfalls, including estimated-tax penalties and why Form 2210 and Schedule AI can matter when income arrives unevenly during the year. They also share a real retirement-planning case involving a federal employee deciding how to sequence her pension, TSP and Social Security, before wrapping up with open enrollment and life insurance considerations.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

  4. Aug 31

    What Does a Great Financial Plan Actually Look Like? with Bob Ruelle (8/29/2026)

    What does financial planning actually mean beyond managing an investment portfolio? Jeremiah Bates and Nic Daniels are joined by Bob Ruelle, Senior Vice President of Financial Planning at Apollon Wealth Management, to walk through how an experienced planner approaches a client's entire financial picture. Bob explains why good planning starts with understanding a person's goals, lifestyle, concerns and priorities before recommending anything—and why the financial plan itself should ultimately be the benchmark for whether a strategy is working. The guys cover tax planning, Roth conversions, retirement withdrawal strategies, RMDs, Social Security, Medicare IRMAA, insurance, risk management and estate planning—and, more importantly, how those decisions affect one another. Bob explains why a good financial plan organizes your finances, while a great one connects them, prioritizes the biggest opportunities and continues evolving as life changes. Later, they discuss common estate-planning mistakes, including outdated trusts and assets that were never properly titled. A caller whose husband is incapacitated after a bicycle accident brings the importance of powers of attorney and incapacity planning into real life. And to wrap it up, whether it can make sense to give children part of their inheritance while you're still alive, including annual gift exclusions, gift-tax reporting, appreciated property, cost basis and the tradeoffs between gifting assets now versus leaving them at death.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

About

Money: you make it, you want more of it, and you want to protect it. We are The Real Money Pros, a show hosted collaboratively by experts who specialize in investing, financial and estate planning, taxes, insurance, and any other way to grow wealth. Plus, we make it fun! We help you know good advice from bad – especially when everyone seems to want a piece of your money.