13 finance podcasts investors need to listen to

THERE are many sources of information investors can use to stay on top of their finances.

Podcasts have emerged as one of the most convenient and entertaining ways to do it. But their success has led to a boom in new shows, with hundreds now available covering every conceivable topic. That can make it difficult to know where to start when looking for a new podcast to give your investments a boost.

What you really need is a list of the best podcasts, already handpicked so you can get straight to the shows you’ll find most useful. So, here’s a list of our favourite money podcasts covering a whole range of areas that affect your money and investing. 

While we’re here we’ll point you to our own podcast - The Personal Investor presented by me and featuring Fidelity investment director Tom Stevenson - which is closing in on one million downloads. Subscribe here or wherever you get your podcasts.

1. Unhedged

Twice-weekly tales from the investment world with the Financial Times’ self-confessed ‘market nerds’. Unhedged is essential listening for anyone looking for a high-altitude look at the issues affecting markets today. Macro-economic concerns and big movements in markets are explained while high-profile companies - and their key protagonists - are tackled in focus. Perhaps the quickest way to get up to speed with where the market is now.

2. This is Money Podcast

Everyday money matters are up for discussion with host Georgie Frost and senior journalists from Thisismoney.co.uk, the UK’s most popular finance news website. There’s a ‘cradle-to-grave’ feel with all aspects of family and household finances under the microscope - from saving for children to the future of the state pension. Not just for finances geeks, the This is Money podcast is as likely to major on holiday spending and energy bills as it is inflation and interest rates.

3. Freakonomics Radio

Blowing minds since 2005, Freakonomics is the non-fiction publishing smash that applies an economist’s eye to everyday phenomena. Now co-author Stephen Dubner hosts Freakonomics radio with the same aim. Listeners get explanations of the free market’s impact on our lives - the good and the bad - with regular challenges to orthodox thinking on issues like the gender pay gap, working-from-home, GDP and one-hit wonders.      

4. The Rest is Money

A new offering from the stable that has already delivered the table-topping The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics podcasts. The thoroughbred presenter line-up of Robert Peston and Steph McGovern promises unsurpassed insight into the financial issues of the day, and how they intersect with our politics. One for serious news junkies.

5. Planet Money

High-production value tales from NPR - the US public broadcaster that is the gold-standard in global podcasting. Episodes are a deep dive on stories you’re almost certainly unfamiliar with, but which help explain the world around us in financial terms. Recent episodes include explorations of the writers’ strike in Hollywood, why Europeans gets more holiday than Americans and who owns the rights to Spiderman.

6. The Retirement Café

Retirement isn’t what it used to be. Longer living means there’s a whole stage of life that our predecessors didn’t have to plan for, and The Retirement Café will help you do it. From long-term care to getting a personal trainer as a pensioner, episodes are packed with expert voices from finance and academia.

7. Making Money

The best podcasts don’t always come from established media. Making Money hosts Damo and T are self-confessed newbies keen to learn from the experts to give themselves the financial education they never got at school. Episodes are irreverent and skew to a younger audience, but the focus is always on the most important decisions we all have to make to achieve financial security.

8. Money Clinic with Claer Barrett

Claer Barrett is the FT’s consumer editor and one of the most trusted voices on money issues in the UK. Money Clinic zero in on everyday issues that affect our pockets, with interviews and advice packaged together in radio-quality episodes. Topics range from the escalating cost of being a wedding guest, to the benefits of topping up NI contributions. Works as both easy listening while you do something else and super-usable practical advice.

9. Work Life with Adam Grant

Your finances are umbilically linked to your work. In Work Life, psychologist Adam Grant examines the dynamics of work, and how to make it ‘not suck’. Productivity and why work can make us unhappy are underlying themes, while an eclectic roll-call of guests brings expert perspectives from the worlds of business, sport and entertainment. Listen to make work a happier place.

10. Rich Dad Radio Show

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, author Robert Kiyosaki promised to pass on the lessons that the wealthy give their own children. The ‘Rich Dad’ of the book’s title was the entrepreneurial and savvy father of a friend, while ‘Poor Dad’ was his own, hardworking but never financially secure. The podcast version proffers advice in the same spirit, tackling global economic issues and challenging received wisdom about how best to invest.

11. Merryn Talks Money

Merryn Somerset Webb is a one-woman financial publishing empire. Currently at home at Bloomberg, Webb presents Merryn Talks Money where she gathers expert voices to explain what’s going on in markets ad the economy. Always punchy, Webb looks for practical answers on investments and tax that you can put to use in your own portfolios.

12. The Financial Independence Show

Looking for some inspiration for why you should put money aside and invest? The Financial Independence Show tells the tales of people in the ‘FIRE’ movement - that stands for ‘Financial Independence, Retire Early’. They’ve secured significant investment wealth and are now living from the proceeds - often at unfeasibly young ages. Episodes are alternately aspirational and practical, with recent topics ranging from a postman retiring at 27, to the pros and cons of ETFs versus index funds.

13. The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

The brainchild of financial planner Pete Matthews, the Meaningful Money podcast offers educational and actionable info to help you get your own finances sorted. A lot of financial planning advice podcasts are aimed at a broad audience without reference to the specific rules and regs that will affect you as a UK listener. Meaningful Money hears from professional working at the coal face of UK financial planning to give hyper-relevant guidance that you can use.

Important information -  investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.