Sound Investing Paul Merriman on Long-Term Investing, Compounding, and Building Wealth
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Dec 17, 2025 Paul Merriman, a legendary investing educator and founder of the Merriman Financial Education Foundation, drops invaluable wisdom on wealth-building through long-term investing. He stresses the importance of starting early and utilizing low-cost index funds. Merriman discusses how compounding works quietly over time and emphasizes the benefits of small-cap value investing for long-term returns. He also shares practical advice for young investors, highlights the significance of saving consistently, and cautions against high investment fees.
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Start Early — Even $1 A Day Counts
- Start saving for a child as early as possible, even $1 per day compounds massively over decades.
- Delaying contributions by 10 or 21 years can cost hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars by retirement.
Use Your Name Then Roth IRA When Eligible
- If you want control, hold early savings in your name until a child can contribute earned income for an IRA.
- Move funds into a Roth IRA as soon as the child has eligible earned income and teach them by showing mixed equity performance.
Paid Grandchild To Seed An IRA
- Paul paid a grandchild to appear on a catalog cover and put the earnings into an IRA as an example of creative early contributions.
- He used that story to show how even small, legitimate early earnings can seed retirement accounts.