Don and Tom dissect a Morningstar article naming the “best core stock funds” for 2026, noting the sharp decline in recommended actively managed funds and the dominance of low-cost index funds. While they applaud the shift away from expensive stock pickers, they argue Morningstar’s “core” approach still leads to unnecessary complexity and heavy large-cap (especially S&P 500) concentration, with little exposure to small-cap, value, and emerging markets. They advocate instead for simple, globally diversified, factor-tilted funds like DFAW, AVGE, or AVGV. Listener questions cover switching from AVGE to AVGV inside an IRA (risk tolerance matters), improving a 32-year-old’s 401(k) allocation (use a Roth IRA to add small/value exposure), and a sharp analogy comparing passive investing to driving with traffic rather than weaving aggressively for no gain.

0:04 Investing in a “wonderful world” by ignoring noise

1:14 AI audio tools that may replace editors (and shorten meetings)

5:06 Morningstar’s 2026 “Best Core Funds” list shifts toward indexing

6:39 Why “core” still means large-cap heavy and incomplete diversification

9:50 The problem with piling into multiple S&P 500 funds

12:14 Why Dimensional and Avantis are missing from the list

13:26 One-fund global solutions: DFAW, AVGE, AVGV

17:44 Listener analogy: aggressive driving vs. active investing

19:08 IRA question: Switching from AVGE to AVGV and risk tolerance

20:34 32-year-old’s 401(k) allocation and using a Roth IRA to add small/value

28:40 Retirement workshop plug and who should attend

30:21 Free fiduciary advice vs. actually hiring an advisor

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