How to Not Freak Out When the Markets Go Crazy with Akash Kanojia (Ep. 65)

How to Not Freak Out When the Markets Go Crazy with Akash Kanojia (Ep. 65)

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On this episode of The Money is Emotional podcast, host Christine Luken sits down with Akash Kanojia, finance professor at UT Austin and a former Wall Street bond investor with over 15 years of experience at institutions like McKinsey and the Federal Reserve. Together, they tackle one of the toughest challenges for high-achieving professionals: how to keep your cool and stick to your investment plan when market volatility triggers panic, fear, and even FOMO.

Akash shares candid stories from his own investment career—including early setbacks and the lessons learned about discipline, emotional awareness, and long-term strategy. He unpacks why even the savviest professionals can fall prey to herd mentality, make impulsive decisions, or let their egos interfere with sound judgment. Christine and Akash offer clear, practical advice for staying focused on your financial goals, building robust systems, and harnessing emotional intelligence to make better decisions—especially when markets go haywire.


Christine and Akash discuss:

  • Why every market crash is an emotional story
  • The permanence of fear and panic even among professional investors.
  • The major lessons Akash learnt from his $750,000 trading loss.
  • How external opinions and sensationalist media coverage amplify investor emotions.
  • Historical cycles of FOMO.
  • Why it is important to reframe money as a tool to support not define happiness

 

Resources:

Connect with Christine Luken: 

Connect with Akash Kanojia

 

About our Guest:

Akash holds a BBA degree from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, a BA degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from New York University’s School of Law, where he was a Jacobson Scholar in Law & Business, and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Akash is also a member of the New York State Bar and is a CFA charterholder.

Akash has also had roles at McKinsey & Company, De Nederlandsche Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He led the stand-up, launch and day-to-day operations of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, an emergency lending vehicle at the vanguard of the Federal Reserve’s effort to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also a key advisor to Federal Reserve Bank of New York leadership on green finance and markets. At McKinsey, he assisted financial and energy sector clients in navigating the aftermath of the 2008 crash. He managed a €30 billion sovereign fixed-income portfolio across the euro, dollar, and yen at De Nederlandsche Bank. Akash founded two companies, one in the battery space and another in the document management space, and served for 10 years on the Board of Directors of the Lineage Project, an NYC nonprofit. Akash is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU’s School of Law and its Stern School of Business.

 

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