How Your Instincts Are Actually Hurting You, Your Team, and Your Wealth
Release Date: 05/10/2024
Greenland, China, Market Rotation and What Actually Matters for Your Money
Off The Wall
Some weeks call for rain boots because the conversation is going somewhere most people would rather avoid. This episode steps into charged territory on purpose: geopolitics, tariffs, China and Taiwan, Greenland, and the policy decisions shaping today’s headlines. There’s no posturing here and no outrage bait, just a willingness to talk through complex questions instead of skirting around them. From there, the focus shifts to what actually matters for investors: how markets tend to react when policy dominates the news cycle, why short-term volatility shows up, and how data and discipline...
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What Last Year Taught Us About Staying Invested
Off The Wall
A new year always brings fresh predictions, louder headlines, and plenty of pressure. In the first Off the Wall episode of the year, Nate W. Tonsager, CIPM and David B. Armstrong, CFA take a step back and anchor the conversation in the reality of what happened in 2025, and why that context is essential as we head into 2026. They reflect on the surprises that shaped last year and connected those lessons to the environment ahead. Key topics: Global markets and why international equities outpaced U.S. stocks in 2025 Volatility, drawdowns, and what last year revealed about investor behavior ...
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What Investors Asked: Predictions, Bitcoin, and Gold
Off The Wall
In this Ask Monument Anything episode, we’re answering real questions from listeners of the show. From a question about Michael Burry’s bold predictions and why they continue to draw attention, to a discussion of Bitcoin’s unusual performance in 2025 and the renewed curiosity around gold as a potential safe-haven asset, the conversation then shifts to private credit’s emerging role inside 401(k) target-date funds. Key takeaways: • The patterns that show up again and again when attention-grabbing forecasts circulate • Forces that pushed Bitcoin into an unexpected...
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The Guide to Less Stressful Holiday Giving
Off The Wall
The holidays come fast and somehow the shopping and gifting part always seems to catch us by surprise. In this episode of Off The Wall, host David B. Armstrong, CFA is joined by Cathleen Phelps and Cecelia Gilliam from our Client Experience team as they sit down in full holiday mode to share ideas that make gifting feel fun again. From opening Roth IRAs for teens, funding 529 plans for nieces and nephews, and introducing kids to charitable giving, to practical strategies like shared family experiences, subscriptions, organizing spreadsheets, and even planning for parents who “don’t need...
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The Biggest Questions Shaping Portfolios Right Now
Off The Wall
Markets feel noisy right now, and investors are asking sharper questions than usual. In this episode of Off The Wall, Nate W. Tonsager, CIPM® and David B. Armstrong, CFA open with the surge in tech valuations and the unusual weight a handful of companies now hold inside the S&P 500. We’ll hear about what that concentration means for volatility, why some portfolios feel out of sync with the index, and how listeners can think about risk when the market feels lopsided. Next, they talk about the current labor environment, which is a mix of hiring freezes and productivity changes, and what...
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3 Trends in Charitable Giving that May Change How You Give This Year
Off The Wall
2025 has been a rough year for charities. Economic uncertainty, decreased federal funding, political polarization – in many ways, nonprofits are facing a lot of the same challenges they did during Covid, as well as a few new ones. Charitable organizations need your donations now more than ever. In this episode, we’re joined by former OFF THE WALL co-host and Partner at Monument, Jessica Gibbs, CFP® as she highlights three current trends in charitable giving and how you can adjust your giving strategy to help make a bigger impact. If you’re currently looking at end-of-year giving...
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Q3 Market Recap: Alternatives, Gold, and the Bull Market Debate
Off The Wall
It’s the start of a new quarter, which means it’s time for a market recap and our special “Ask Monument Anything” segment. David Armstrong, CFA, gets back together with Erin Hay, CFA, CMT, and Nate Tonsager, CIPM, to walk through the latest market moves, where momentum is showing up, and what investors should be paying attention to. This quarter, they dig into alternatives, gold’s surprising surge, and whether today’s bull market has more room to run. They also share candid thoughts on cash, dividends, and why being intentional with your portfolio matters more than chasing the...
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5 Years Until Your Last Day: How to Handle the Shift from Career to Retirement
Off The Wall
When you hit 60, there’s a mental shift that begins to occur. After spending 30+ years earning and saving, you are suddenly just a few years away from beginning to spend your retirement income. It’s a challenge every retiree faces: How do you step away from regular paychecks to drawing down your savings every month? In this episode, we discuss how to create an option-rich life in retirement, where your money will come from, how to handle taxes, how to stay flexible, and much more! Tune in to hear the whole conversation. 0:00 – Disclosure 0:48 – Kicking off the 75th episode...
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Dow Jones, S&P, NASDAQ: What’s the Difference (and Which Should You Use to Track Your Own Portfolio)?
Off The Wall
For many investors, the Dow Jones or S&P 500 or NASDAQ might as well be the same thing, but that’s not true at all. In today’s episode, Dave, Nate, and Erin dive into the differences between the big three indices and whether you should look to them as indicators of how your own portfolio is doing (spoiler alert: no, you shouldn’t). So what should you be tracking to get the best picture of your performance? And how can you avoid the most common mistakes people make when trying to track their portfolio on their own? Tune in to find out! Please see important...
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Should You Wait to Invest? The Q2 Market Review
Off The Wall
In this special Q2 Market Review episode of Off the Wall, we’re introducing a new segment: Ask Monument Anything (AMA). Dave, Nate, and Erin answer questions from clients and listeners, and also cover what went down in the markets during the second quarter of 2025. They cover everything from interest rates and inflation to timing your investment strategy and understanding international diversification. If you are wondering how to approach market timing, if cash is still king, or if international stocks should fit into your portfolio, this episode is for you! Dedicated email address for...
info_outlineThink you have great instincts? Think again.
Judgments and decision-making are common threads that run through not only your investing, wealth management, and business decisions, but also your quality of life. What impacts these decisions and judgments? Your instincts… (and your counter instincts). Today’s episode is all about how your instincts might be hurting your real-time decisions, your team, your wealth, and even your quality of life—and what you can do about it.
In this Off the Wall chat, host David Armstrong and guest co-host Dean Catino speak with Krishna Pendyala, Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer at The ChoiceLadder Institute, as well as Co-Founder and President of The Mindful Nation Foundation. Krishna is an award-winning speaker, author, entrepreneur, and advisor who helps executives and entrepreneurs exercise better judgment and make wiser choices in business and leadership.
Listen in as Krishna breaks down examples of how our instincts and counter-instincts affect our decisions. He also highlights the easiest way to pause before making decisions and why it’s so critical for executives, leaders, and business owners to pause before every decision. He also shares some great tips for managing impulsive decisions and reactions to fear-based narratives around wealth and finance.
“If you do want to behave differently and not be impulsive, not make hasty decisions, which really end up creating new problems that you end up cleaning up, or in your industry, losing money… that’s where I think counter instincts come in.” – Krishna Pendyala
Tune in to find out how your instincts are impacting your judgment and financial decisions.
Episode Timeline/Key Highlights:
[00:00] Intro
[00:27] Learn about Krishna Pendyala & the topic of today’s episode.
[03:23] How our instincts work and how they impact our decisions.
[06:48] Examples of instincts and counter instincts.
[12:22] Fear and greed are driving the markets.
[16:32] The Power of Pause & The meaning of “Beyond the PIG and the APE”.
[20:35] How do we help clients see how their finances are impacted by their instincts?
[27:10] How to manage impulsive financial decisions.
[36:02] The Power of Loss Aversion: Navigating the emotional impact of loss.
[40:28] The 1 in 60 Rule.
[41:39] Judgment: A common thread in your investing, wealth management, and quality of life.
Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.
Resources Mentioned:
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: https://amzn.to/3W7kUky
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About Krishna Pendyala:
Krishna Pendyala is the Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer at The Choice Ladder Institute. The Choice Ladder Institute helps entrepreneurs, executives, and financial advisors exercise better judgment and make wise choices to achieve a higher quality of life and not just a better standard of living. Good goal setting and leadership skills enable driven individuals to accomplish their goals. However, we often notice that these same people aren't as fulfilled as one would think. Too much emphasis seems to be placed on success and leadership development and too little if any on developing basic choice-making or judgment skills. Leadership skills alone aren’t enough to move the needle. It takes both raising judgment and leadership skills to improve the quality of our life and of those around us.
Krishna is an award-winning speaker, Instinctive Behavior Evangelist, and the author of “Beyond the PIG and the APE”. He has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, The New York Times, TEDx, Vistage, Inc. & Thrive Global.
Connect with Krishna Pendyala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishnapendyala
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About “Off the Wall”:
OFF THE WALL is a podcast for business professionals and high-net-worth investors who want to build wealth with purpose. A little bit Wall Street, a little bit off-the-wall; it's your go-to for straightforward, unfiltered wealth advice on topics that founders, business owners, and executives care about.
Learn more about our hosts, Dave and Dean on our website at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com.