Diversification sounds straightforward in theory, but in practice, portfolios don't behave the way most people expect them to.

Exposure is layered, concentration often shows up in places that aren't immediately obvious, and decisions that feel like you're spreading risk can quietly lead to doubling down on the same themes.

Once you start looking at portfolios this way, the question shifts. It's no longer just about what to add, but whether that exposure already exists, and what role it's actually playing.

In this episode of Money School Elite, I sit down with Jonathan Steele, who manages over $1.3 billion in assets, to unpack how modern portfolios are actually structured and why many of the assumptions investors rely on don't always hold up.

Jonathan works closely with high-net-worth clients, helping them think about capital not as a collection of individual positions, but as a system of exposures that interact in ways that aren't always obvious.

We get into why Bitcoin and precious metals are often grouped incorrectly, how indirect exposure through index positions can lead to unintended concentration, and why holding cash in the current environment is less about being defensive and more about maintaining flexibility while still earning a return.

About the Guest

Jonathan Steele, CFA®, is Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at One Wealth Advisors, where he leads investment research and portfolio management for high-net-worth clients. With over 20 years of experience, Jonathan specializes in portfolio construction, tactical and strategic asset allocation, and behavioral finance. As a Chartered Financial Analyst® and member of the CFA Institute, his work focuses on how portfolios are structured and how different exposures interact within a broader system. Outside of investing, Jonathan is deeply involved in the arts, having served on the advisory boards of Bard Music West and Vanguard Music and Performing Arts. He also mentors students across finance, technology, and engineering, and supports local organizations, including Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and the SF SPCA. To learn more, go to https://onewealth.net/.

About Your Host

From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be. Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is the founder of The Money School™ and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier.

His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions. As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works.

Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans, delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.

Resources

Private Money Guide: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/book-podcast

Wealth Wednesday Webinar: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/wednesday-webinar-podcast

Mapping out the Millionaire Mystery: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/newbook-podcast

Most investors think Bitcoin is about price. At the high-net-worth level, a far more important conversation is happening around taxes.

Because Bitcoin isn't treated like a stock or a business. It's treated as property. And that classification opens up strategies around taxation and capital movement that simply don't exist in traditional asset classes.

And once you understand that, the way you evaluate Bitcoin starts to change.

Most high-net-worth investors don't dismiss Bitcoin because they don't understand it.
They dismiss it because, from where they sit, it doesn't meet the standard.

If your entire framework is built on fundamentals, intrinsic value, and cash flow, Bitcoin feels like a contradiction. It's volatile, it doesn't produce income, and it doesn't behave like the assets that built their wealth. But that framework may be incomplete.

In this episode of Money School Elite, I sit down with Eric Runge to unpack how Bitcoin is actually being used inside high-net-worth portfolios, and why the conversation at that level looks very different from what most investors see.

Eric works directly with family offices and high-net-worth investors, helping them think about capital, risk, and structure beyond traditional asset classes. And in this conversation, he breaks down how Bitcoin fits into that picture, not as a speculative bet, but as a strategic layer.

About the Guest

Eric Runge is an RIA working with family offices to build capital preservation and tax strategies using Bitcoin, an approach that challenges how most investors think about the asset entirely. He is the founder of Veritas Bitcoin Strategies, a registered investment adviser focused on integrating Bitcoin into high-net-worth portfolios through risk-managed, long-term allocation frameworks. With over 20 years in financial markets, Eric works with families and sophisticated investors who aren't looking to speculate, but to understand how digital assets can be positioned within a broader strategy focused on preservation, structure, and tax efficiency. His work sits at the intersection of traditional wealth management and emerging monetary systems, helping investors rethink where Bitcoin fits, not as a trade, but as a strategic layer inside a portfolio. To learn, send an email to eric@veritaswealth.net.

About Your Host

From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be. Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is the founder of The Money School™ and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier.

His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions. As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works.

Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans, delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.

Resources

Private Money Guide: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/book-podcast

Wealth Wednesday Webinar: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/wednesday-webinar-podcast

Mapping out the Millionaire Mystery: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/newbook-podcast

Most people don't realize that a large portion of real wealth is created before companies ever reach the public markets. In private companies, early-stage investments, and entrepreneurial ventures, growth happens the fastest.

For a long time, that part of the market has been largely inaccessible to retail investors, reserved instead for institutions and high-net-worth individuals. And that has played a significant role in the growing gap in wealth. In this episode of Money School Elite, I sit down with Mona DeFrawi to unpack how this system actually works and what's starting to change.

Mona has spent decades working inside private markets, helping companies grow, go public, and navigate how capital flows behind the scenes.

In this conversation, we break down several important realities that experienced investors understand, but most people never see.

We discuss why retail investors have historically been "protected" out of private markets, how early-stage investing drives the largest returns, and why most of the growth happens before companies go public.

We also talk about recent policy changes that are beginning to expand access to private markets, what that means for everyday investors, and why understanding how these markets work is becoming increasingly important.

About the Guest

Mona DeFrawi is an IPO and capital markets expert, startup founder, and private market pioneer who has spent over three decades working at the intersection of innovation and finance. She has led and supported multiple tech IPOs, built investor relations and capital markets functions from the ground up, and founded four startups, including early work that helped shape what is now Nasdaq Private Market. Throughout her career, Mona has raised significant capital, contributed to legislation that expanded venture funding, and helped build systems that connect companies with the capital they need to grow. Today, her focus is on expanding access to private markets, using technology, education, and new platforms to help more investors understand and participate in opportunities that have historically been limited to institutions. Her work is driven by a belief that early-stage investing is one of the most powerful drivers of wealth creation and that access to these opportunities should be more widely available. To learn more, visit https://radivision.com/.

About Your Host

From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be. Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is the founder of The Money School™ and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier.

His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions. As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works.

Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans, delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.

Resources

Private Money Guide: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/book-podcast

Wealth Wednesday Webinar: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/wednesday-webinar-podcast

Mapping out the Millionaire Mystery: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/newbook-podcast