How Money Really Moves
Video
How Banks Actually Make Money — Not Mostly Interest
JPMorgan earned $57bn in 2025. Nearly half of the revenue behind it had nothing to do with interest. That split explains what your bank recommends to you.
Series
How Money Really Moves
How money actually moves through the financial system — not the version in the headlines, but the one that runs quietly in the background, every single day.
5 episodes
Episodes
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12:39 Episode 1
How Banks Actually Make Money
Net interest margin, fees, and the float. Where a bank's profit really comes from — and why your deposit rate looks the way it does.
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13:09 Episode 2
You Don't Own Your Stocks (And Here Is Why)
Street-name registration, custodians, and the chain between you and the share you think you hold. What beneficial ownership actually means.
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10:49 Episode 3
Payment for Order Flow Explained: Why "Free" Trading Isn't Free
Payment for order flow, spreads, and best execution. Where the cost of a 'free' trade is actually hiding.
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11:07 Episode 4
Why Your Savings Shrink Even When Nothing Goes Wrong
How money is actually created, why the supply must keep growing, and why a savings account quietly loses ground every year — by design, not by accident.
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11:18 Episode 5
How to Build Money That Actually Holds Up When Markets Fall
The finale of How Money Really Moves. The four-layer wealth cushion — Buffer, Floor, Engine and Free Hand — where each layer kills one specific fear, plus the build order that lets money stop being a source of panic.
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Written companions
How Money Really Moves
Video
You Don't Own Your Stocks — Not on Paper, Anyway
Check Apple's shareholder register. Your name is not on it. Five institutions sit between the Buy button and legal ownership — and here is what that costs you.
How Money Really Moves
Video
Payment for Order Flow Is Not Why Your Trade Costs More
Five brokers, 85,000 identical orders, one second apart. Execution costs varied sixfold — and payment for order flow explained almost none of it. Here is what did.
How Money Really Moves
Video
Why Savings Lose Value Even at 2% Inflation
Banks create money when they lend, so the supply has to keep growing. Over a working life, 2% inflation quietly removes 55% of what your money buys. By design.
How Money Really Moves
Video
How to Structure Your Money: The Four-Layer Cushion
Bankers don't panic because they build a structure, not a strategy: a four-layer wealth cushion where each layer removes one specific fear. Here is the system.