Sound Investing Paul Merriman on Money Life with Chuck Jaffe at FinCon
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Sep 18, 2025 Join Paul Merriman, Founder of the Merriman Financial Education Foundation and financial educator, as he shares valuable insights at FinCon. He explores the rise of index funds and critiques the FIRE movement’s one-fund strategy, advocating for small portfolio tweaks to enhance returns. Paul emphasizes key investing principles: understanding risk, staying the course through market volatility, and the importance of diversifying wisely. His expert advice aims to empower investors towards financial independence with confidence.
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Simplicity Isn’t Always Optimal
- Indexing is easier today but many investors chase what’s recently hot instead of disciplined diversification.
- Small portfolio tweaks can meaningfully improve long-term returns versus one-fund simplicity.
Boost Returns With Small Allocations
- Add 10–20% of another equity asset class to potentially boost lifetime returns about 1%.
- Avoid paying 0.5–1% in fees that can cost you roughly $1–3 million over a lifetime.
Meeting Jack Bogle Shifted His View
- Paul recalled a 90-minute meeting with Jack Bogle in 2017 that changed his approach to simplicity.
- Bogle warned that complicated fund mixes discourage people from staying the course.