10 Most Popular Finance Podcasts

Published on June 28, 2021 at 4:38 pm by Usman Kabir in Lists, News

In this article, we discuss the 10 most popular finance podcasts. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these podcasts, go directly to the 5 Most Popular Finance Podcasts.

Podcasts have become a popular medium of education and entertainment over the past few years as internet users look to consume information in forms other than video or text. According to Infinite Dial, a survey of digital media consumer behavior primarily in the United States, over 75% of the adult population in the country was familiar with podcasting in 2020, up from 70% in 2019. The Dial survey also revealed that 55% of the US population had listened to a podcast last year, up from 51% the year before.

As podcasts explode in popularity, big tech is investing in the sector. According to PwC, a multinational professional services firm, there was nearly $800 million spent on podcast-related advertisements in 2020, a number expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20% to reach close to $1.7 billion by 2024. Companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) are thus vying for space in the podcast world.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was one of the early investors in the podcast craze and in 2018, the firm revealed that it was hosting over 500,000 active podcasts at the time that were available in more than 100 languages around the world on the iTunes store. These podcasts accounted for close to 20 million different episodes. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is now a key player in the podcast market and in April, the company announced Apple Podcast Subscriptions, which the company described as a global market for premium podcasts.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has faced competition in the podcast space from Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), the parent company of internet search engine Google. The Google Podcasts platform aims to rival Apple Podcasts and last year the company debuted a dedicated application for the purpose that also offered a Podcasts Manager Tool offering podcast creators access to greater engagement metrics. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has also introduced a verification process for content creators on the platform to improve quality of offerings.

However, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is still lagging behind Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), the audio streaming platform popular for music, as the second-most popular podcast platform after Apple Podcasts. The company already has close to 300 million users spread across close to a hundred countries. As such, the company maintains a podcast platform to match the sheer scale and the diversity present within these numbers. News reports suggest Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) will overtake Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) in terms of podcast listeners this year.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), the technology company with stakes in several tech-related businesses, has also stepped up to take advantage of the podcast boom recently. It features podcasts on the Amazon Music platform. The company only started offering this service last year and is still finding its place in the industry. However, with the aggressive investment strategy that is the trademark of owner Jeff Bezos, it is expected that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will soon become a leading podcast platform in the coming years.

Recently, as the success of applications like Clubhouse and audio streaming platforms becomes more apparent, Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), the California-based company that owns several social media platforms, has also stepped into the podcast industry, announcing the launch of podcasts and live audio rooms on the Facebook platform last month. These podcasts will come with features embedded within the Facebook app to enhance their appeal to users. Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is also partnering with celebrity content creators to market the podcasts across the world.

Podcasts have disrupted the video and text-based content platforms, forcing companies to rethink their entire revenue models around the new podcast craze. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

With this context in mind, here is our list of the 10 most popular finance podcasts. These podcasts were ranked keeping in mind the number of downloads, total audience, and popular guest appearances on each.

Most Popular Finance Podcasts

10. Planet Money

Planet Money is a podcast about the economy that tries to explain complex topics in a simple and fun language for a large and diverse audience. The podcast is broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR) and is one of the most popular finance podcasts in the United States. It is available on streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, as well as the NPR website. It has two episodes per week and is hosted by Robert Smith. It was created by Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson in 2008. It has on average close to 15 million listeners per week.

Planet Money is tenth on our list of 10 most popular finance podcasts. It has so far released more than 1,000 episodes. Some of the popular guests on the program have been Mike Winkelmann, Neel Kashkari, Chris Kiple, and John Steele Gordon, among others. The podcast has undertaken some unique projects over the years to provide listeners with the ultimate economic experience. These include following crude oil from the ground all the way to a gas tank in a car, T-shirt production, a satellite launch, and the whole process of building a bot for social networking platform Twitter.

Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Planet Money is a top name in the world of most popular finance podcasts.

9. Money For the Rest of Us

Money For the Rest of Us is a podcast hosted by David Stein, a former wealth manager with years of investing experience under his belt. Stein focuses on providing personal finance tips through his podcast that has become one of the top finance podcasts in the United States. It is available for listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and TuneIn, among other places. The podcast is also famous for providing early retirement advice. It has so far reached more than 15 million in downloads. It is ninth on our list of 10 most popular finance podcasts.

Money For the Rest of Us is a podcast for those who are not ready to hire a financial advisor just yet but want to experiment with investing on their own. The podcast aims to be an educational one and provides ideas related to investment vehicles, the different types of asset classes, as well as general economics and strategy for beginner investors. Stein is also a successful author, having published Money for the Rest of Us – 10 Questions to Master Successful Investing in October 2019.

Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Money For the Rest of Us is a top name in the world of most popular finance podcasts.

8. The Fairer Cents

The Fairer Cents is a women-centric podcast that aims to discuss money issues faced by the fairer sex. It is hosted by best friends Kara Perez and Tanja Hester. The podcast is different from other finance podcasts as it prioritizes the discussion of money-related issues faced by underdogs or those who do not have a large mouthpiece on social media. It is available for listening on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn, among other places. In 2019, it won the Plutus Award for best personal finance podcast for women. It is eighth on our list of 10 most popular finance podcasts.

Since The Fairer Cents focuses on issues like gender and race-based financial discrimination, it often delves into topics that connect the finance world with other major state organs like politics and the media. Presented in a conversation-esque tone, the material featured on the podcast is understandable for people of many different backgrounds. The creators of the podcast, Kara and Tanja, provide inspiration and ideas to people who want to retire early as the duo have quit their jobs to focus on the podcast and work as freelance consultants.

Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), The Fairer Cents is a top name in the world of most popular finance podcasts.

7. Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn

Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn is a podcast hosted by Pat Flynn, a digital marketing specialist and entrepreneur who has built a name for himself by blogging about building income streams for online businesses over the years. His podcast is one of the most popular finance podcasts in the United States and is available for listening on Apple Podcasts and has a separate webpage for itself on the internet as well. It has so far been downloaded more than 60 million times. It is placed seventh on our list of 10 most popular finance podcasts.

Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn has had many famous guests on the podcast, including Michael Hyatt, Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi, and Amy Porterfield, among others. The focus on passive income aims to provide listeners with ideas for revenue streams so that it frees up time for activities like traveling or writing, among others dreams that are often left unfulfilled because of focus on a permanent job. Flynn is an architecture grad who took up blogging after he was laid off from his job in 2008 and later turned the blog into a podcast.

Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn is a top name in the world of most popular finance podcasts.

6. ‎The College Investor Audio Show

The College Investor Audio Show is a daily podcast hosted by Robert Farrington that covers topics such as personal finance, student loan debt, and investment management. It is available for download on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, among others. It is ranked sixth on our list of 10 most popular finance podcasts. The show was launched in late 2017 and was just an offshoot of the popular blog by the same name. It has since developed a fan following to match other top finance podcasts in America.

The College Investor Audio Show has been downloaded more than 1.2 million times and the reason this show is different from other podcasts is that it has managed to grow without the appearance of famous guests. It features original content from the blog and averages close to 60,000 downloads per week. It is presented in a format that is suited to the busy schedules of college grads, condensing essential material down to seven minutes, or even as low as four minutes, for each episode.

Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), The College Investor Audio Show is a top name in the world of most popular finance podcasts.

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