With the rise of podcasts as an accessible learning medium, there are many great options for beginners looking to start learning investing basics. The key is finding shows that break down concepts clearly without overloading new investors with too much complex finance jargon. When starting out, it’s important to focus on understanding principles around assessing risk, building a balanced portfolio, passive investing strategies, and overall best practices.
Break down key money concepts clearly
A top pick is the InvestED podcast, which lives up to its tagline of “investing basics for beginners.” The host does an excellent job explaining core topics like dollar cost averaging, assessing risk tolerance, reading financial statements, and differentiating investment products and account types in straightforward language. The episodes follow a nice learning progression and the host brings on some great guests who share investing success stories.
Learn from the masters
For those looking to emulate the most legendary investors, the We Study Billionaires podcast analyzes famous investors like Warren Buffett and breaks down how beginners can apply their proven philosophies. While it focuses more on stock picking, it still explains many fundamental analysis concepts that are applicable beyond stocks, like margin of safety, intrinsic value, and viewing market price versus business value.
Develop a personal finance foundation first
Since investing is just one piece of overall personal finance, the Motley Fool Money podcast provides a nice balance of investing education alongside other critical money topics. The hosts discuss timely market news but also explain broader concepts like managing debt, saving for retirement, building an emergency fund, and creating a budget. This can help beginners develop good financial habits before jumping into the market.
Understand passive index fund investing
The Meb Faber Show is great for learning about academic research around passive investing strategies, which are a lower maintenance way to participate in market growth. Meb breaks down key papers in layman terms covering topics like portfolio allocation, volatility, momentum investing, smart beta funds, and quant-based approaches. This can help beginners grasp some more advanced methodologies before picking individual stocks.
Get a global macro perspective
While not strictly about investing, the Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast helps provide important global business and economic context for beginning investors to consider. The short episodes concisely analyze wider trends, risks, and opportunities across sectors, countries, and asset classes that can influence investment decisions and portfolio positioning, helping build a more informed worldview.
The best investing podcasts for beginners focus on clearly explaining foundational concepts, financial literacy fundamentals, proven long-term investment principles from top investors, passive investing strategies, and macroeconomic perspectives. A combo covering both theories and practical application helps new investors gain knowledge and confidence to start participating wisely in capital markets.