Ben Carlson

Ben Carlson is Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management and the author of the popular investment blog and book "A Wealth of Common Sense." His writing takes institutional investment frameworks and makes them accessible to individual investors, covering topics like asset allocation, portfolio construction, historical market returns, and investment psychology. He has been a prolific writer, posting regularly for years and covering topics including how to handle market volatility, the evidence on active versus passive investing, and the role of behavior in investment outcomes. His Animal Spirits podcast with Michael Batnick has also attracted a significant following among individual investors and financial professionals. His consistent application of long-run historical data to current market narratives helps investors avoid recency bias and maintain perspective during periods of extreme market optimism or pessimism.