1.  My husband and I are moving to Fidelity to set up your Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio.  How do we make the change from our holdings to your portfolio?  Do I have to sell all of my holdings?  Plus we want to find an hourly advisor  to help.  Can you make a recommendation? 1:45   2. I have $1million in a money market fund.  Do you think it is time to start reducing the cash position and moving to short term bonds or equity ETFS? 8:45   3.  Are target date funds the same as all in one funds? 17:15   4.  I would like your guidance on the decision to put together a S&P 500 and Small Cap portfolio using 3 to 1 leveraged fu?nds.  Does the extra return justify the higher risk? 20:00   5.  How should I protect my portfolio against inflation from the loss of the petrodollar? 35:00   6.  From what I can see you have not addressed investment needs of older people in their 80s and 90s.  How should I invest?  I just can’t afford to lose money at my age. 39:17   7.  Would I be dumb to have 10% of my retirement funds in gold? 46:20   8.  With the fed getting ready to lower interest rates should I move my money market funds into 10 year Treasuries? 52:40   9.  In the small cap blend and small cap value indexes it seems investors don’t get the advantage of owning small companies that grow to be the giants of corporate America.  How do you get the premium when you have to sell the companies when they move beyond their index? 59:15   10.  What is the difference between your 2 Funds for Life strategy and the two fund strategy that holds the S&P 500 and small cap value? 1:01

1. What is the best glide path (asset allocation) for a 58 year old pre-retiree and then in retirement? This is the link for Chris Pedersen’s 2 Funds for Life glide path. 2:50 2. I don’t need all of my RMD (required minimum distribution). How should I invest the excess? Here is the link to the video on "My 12 Favorite Vanguard Funds for Retirees” and the link to all of the Fine Tuning Tables. 11:19 3. My wife has easily onset demential. It’s costs $200,000 a year. How should a family invest in a situation like ours? Here is the link to the Vanguard Brokerage CDs (⁠https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/cds⁠) and ⁠stantheannuityman.com⁠ for MYGA rates.  17:18 4. What are your thoughts regarding precious metal investing? And if there is a place, what is the best way to do it? 22:52 5. Will the massive increase in passive investing, which has benefited the large cap growth indices, reduce the long term returns of small cap value? Here is the link to the long term returns Paul mentions. 28:50 6. How would the long term returns change if we overweight the U.S. 4 Fund Portfolio with slightly more small and large cap value? Here is the link to the Equity Asset Classes (1928-2023) 32:01 7. I’m 72 and my wife is 63. How different should our glide paths be? Here is the link to the Vanguard and Blackrock TDFs. 44:10 8. Are REITTs more like stocks or bonds? 46:41

On July 25, 2024 Paul and Chris made a presentation to the Puget Sound AAII.  Paul spoke to the latest research on small cap value and Chris spoke to the latest research on his 2 Funds for Life Portfolio.  Following the presentation  they answered questions from the guests. Q:  What advice do you give on conversion of regular IRAs to Roth IRAs?Q:  What investments do you recommend to offset large losses in the equity markets?Q:  Why do you recommend AVUS over VOO, or other S&P 500 funds?  In Chris’ answer he recommends listeners read his AAII article on ETF Selection.  Q:  Why don’t you recommend Long Term Treasury Bond fund?  Vanguard Long Term Treasury VGLTQ: Do you recommend a pension and/or Social Security  be considered the equivalent of a bond fund?Q:  Can you compare RSP (an equal weighted S&P 500 Fund) vs. SPY? Watch the full video here.

In this podcast Paul discusses an article by Truth Teller Ben Carlson (The Biggest Winners in the Stock Market), regarding a study by Dr. Hendrik Bessenbinder (Which U.S. Stocks Generated the Highest Long-Term Returns ) This study is an update from an earlier study from Bessenbinder that Paul has recommended many times.Paul also discusses an article by Truth Teller John Rekanthaler,  "When Rebalancing Creates Higher Returns—and When It Doesn’t” This article adds to THE discussion of the impact of rebalancing on the latest video/podcast.

Paul, Daryl, and Chris are together again to discuss what they each think are the best single charts or graphs to help people understand investing and make good decisions. Paul starts by asking Chris and Daryl how much we can rely on the past to predict the future. Paul follows that with a deep dive into his choice for the most important chart -- the quilt chart. Daryl follows up with his choice -- a discussion of the tell-tale chart.Chris finishes with his choice: a discussion of the 2 Funds for Life Fine Tuning Table. Tables referrenced- Table J1b- Equity Index Returns: 1-yr Periods (1928-2023)  ⁠Table K1a⁠- 4 US Asset Class Indexes & 4 Fund Combo Relative Return Ranking (1928-2023)  ⁠Table K2a⁠ Asset Classes & 4 Fund Combo (1928-2023) - Return Rank Frequency  ⁠Table K1b⁠ S&P 500 & US SCV Relative Return Rank Comparison (1928-2023)  ⁠Table K8a⁠ Sound Investing Port. Returns: 10 Yr Periods (1928-2023)  ⁠Table K6a⁠ Sound Investing Portfolios, S&P 500 & US SCV Relative Return Ranking (1928-2023)  ⁠Table K7a ⁠ Sound Investing Portfolios, S&P 500 & US SCV (1928-2023) - Return Rank Frequency    Watch video here.

One of the most challenging aspects of being a 100% do-it-yourself investor (DYI) is dealing with the emotions of wanting to make major changes in a portfolio due to what may easily be seen as catastrophic news. The DYI doesn’t have a professional to help them think through the difficult times like the 2008 meltdown, the October 19, 1987 22% one day decline or currently, the upcoming election results. Paul believes one of the best sources of professional support a DYI could have is George Sisti’s,  "On Course Financial Planning Vectors" newsletter.  On this podcast Paul reads Sisti’s July issue focused on “The Election!” as well as the misleading “noise” that investors get from the typical predictions that Wall Street produces this time of year. Paul recommends investors read George's letters anytime they are feeling uncomfortable with the market.  He even suggests that investors download his archived letters for future reading.

Paul starts the podcast discussing the upcoming (July 13, 2024) presentation for AAII Puget Sound Chapter (9-10:30).  Chris Pedersen and Paul will present, “2 Investment Decisions Guaranteed to Change Your Financial Future. ”Here is a link for more information and to sign up for this presentation.  Here is the link to sign up.Today’s podcast is a discussion of the latest research from Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics for The Merriman Financial Education Foundation.  Paul believes these new tables are likely the best teaching tool he has found to give investors a realistic idea of the future sequence of returns.  While Paul focuses on several of the 20 slides in the attachment, more of these will be discussed next week with Daryl and Chris.Paul starts his discussion with his latest update of the Equity Asset Classes (1928-2023) table. He then explains why Daryl’s Quilt Charts are a better way for investors to understand the sequence of returns they are likely to experience.Paul asks listeners to send him questions from the slide deck so they can be addressed in next week's podcast with Daryl and Chris.

In this discussion, Ed Fulbright, CPA and host of Mastering Your Money, shares strategies for effectively passing wealth to future generations. He dives into the reasons behind choosing small cap value investments for legacy building. Ed explains a cost-effective investment strategy for just $365 a year, while also addressing options for older heirs. The significance of writing letters to children or grandchildren and imparting financial wisdom is highlighted, along with the best advice he's ever received. It's a thoughtful exploration of legacy planning and financial education.

The following questions were generated during a presentation Paul made to the Orange County and New York City AAII Chapters. 1. How do we go about finding someone (money manager) who follows your portfolio recommendations? Plus what is a reasonable fee to pay for advisory services? In the answer I do mention David Sterman. link:⁠https://huguenotfinancialplanning.com/⁠and two videos by Rob Berger: ⁠5 Hidden Costs of Fee-Only Advisors⁠ and⁠ 5 Key Questions to Ask Your Investment Advisor⁠ 2. How can I decide whether to go from 50/50 stocks and bonds to 70/30? I suggest looking at table B1 and B9. 3. What bond durations do you recommend? 4. What are the ETFs that you recommend for each of the equity asset classes you list? 5. Can I share your presentation with my children? ⁠ Here is a presentation that might be good for a young person⁠.  6. How do I find a good money manager and what questions should I ask? Here is a link to our free book, “Get Smart or Get Screwed: How to Select the Best and Get the Most Out of Your Financial Advisor.”  7. How do I get access to all of your charts and tables? Here is the link to ⁠Boot Camp⁠ where you can have access to all the tables.  8. What is your view of small cap value returns over the coming decades? In my answer I mention Ben Carlson’s ⁠article on randomness of historical returns⁠- When is the Mean Reversion Coming in the Stock Market? and his article Long-Term Recency Bias. And here is the new ⁠graph⁠ that Daryl Bahls proceeded to see the returns of a couple of portfolios over the same periods as Ben addressed.

On June 8, 2024 Paul gave a 2 hour presentation to the Seattle Chapter of Choose FI.  The topics covered the 8 biggest investment decisions, plus a new piece on putting aside money for a newborn to 21 year old.  Here is the video link. This podcast covers 10 unanswered questions from the presentation, plus 5 additional topics that guests listed as most important topics of the meeting. Q&A: 1. How to find the best 3 year fixed annuity.  https://www.stantheannuityman.com/ 2.  How to select the best target date fund. 3.  Why small cap value stocks make higher returns. 4.  When do Roth conversions make sense?  Link:  https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/backdoor-roth-ira-tutorial/ 5.  What is your bottom line best portfolio without having to go through all the tables? 6.  Will Western Washington University offer financial literacy classes on their satellite campuses? 7.  What additional advice would you give to a 45 year old who wants to live on a 4% distribution for the rest of their life? 8.  What distribution advice would you have for a single person who is planning to retire before age 45? 9.  In creating your tables, how often do you rebalance the portfolios? 10.  Please explain the most important differences between an ETF and a regular mutual fund.  https://www.thebalancemoney.com/differences-between-mutual-funds-and-etfs-2466791https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/mutual-fund-etf.asp#:~:text=Both%20mutual%20funds%20and%20ETFs%20offer%20investors%20pooled,offer%20a%20wide%20selection%20of%20actively%20managed%20funds. More topics from the June 8 presentation: 11.  What changes should I make in my portfolio when I retire? 12.  Are low expenses the biggest decision when investing in index funds? 13.  What are the most important steps I can take to get better returns? 14.  What are the biggest (most costly) mistakes investors make? 15.  Is investing in the Total Market Index or S&P 500 all you need to reach FI?