Sound Investing

In this live webinar, hosted by The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) on Sept. 23, Paul Merriman compares 10 different simple strategies for constructing a portfolio using mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The strategies are favorites of the Bogleheads, Rick Ferri, Warren Buffett, John Bogle and Merriman. He provides a list of The Merriman Financial Education Foundation’s recommended funds at Vanguard and Fidelity as well as the best-in-class ETFs to build these portfolios. He was joined by Chris Pedersen, the Foundation’s Director of Research and Daryl Bahls, our Director of Analytics for a Q&A session with the audience. Learn more at PaulMerriman.com Paul recommends podcast listeners watch the video of the presentation to take full advantage of the visuals. Watch it here on YouTube. If you’d like your own free pdf of the Powerpoint for this presentation, click here for an immediate download. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Paul is interviewed by George Grombacher for George’s “Money Savage Podcast”, and talks about the importance of community, the positive influencers in our lives, and the luck of timing. You will learn more about Paul Merriman’s life journey and his commitment to educating investors, both do-it-yourself investors and those who hire a financial advisor, making sure they’re doing the right thing in your best interest. For George’s “make a difference tip,” Paul offers two essential points that benefit every investor. One is the power of half-a-percent. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

In this podcast Paul answers to a variety of comments and questions from his listeners and readers. Paul responds to a newsletter subscriber who unsubscribed in disgust because she felt he did not address the real ills of our society and the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. 3:30 Paul discusses his last MarketWatch article, “How to buy 10 years of retirement for $3650.”  This article had over 330,000 opens within days after after publication. 10:05 Will your Sept. 23rd AAII presentation be recorded?  The answer is Yes. The title is, "Which Is the Best 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-Fund Strategy?” You can register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8136639342311676944 21:25 Why are your returns on the S&P 500 so different from mine? 22:45 With a large amount of money to be invested in bonds, do you have any recommendation on the timing? 25:25 When will you be giving your financial literacy workshops on Bainbridge Island in 2021? I'm interested in visiting family there and would like to coordinate with your public presentations. 27:20 In this Marketwatch.comarticle, “How retirees should invest in a time of record-low interest rates," Mark Hulbert recommends investing 30% of your portfolio in annuities...Do you agree? Paul suggests several cases where single premium life annuities are appropriate and refers those interested to stantheannuityman.comfor free books on annuities. 28:50 Isn’t rebalancing just another form of market timing? 37:20 A Western Washington University graduate who heard Paul speak in 2018 asks, "What do you recommend?” in regard to his situation: “I’ve got student debt, my first job, just moved from home into an apartment and my $10,000 investment in GEVO is down to $7,000. I think it has a great future but I don’t want to lose all my money.” 41:05 What portfolios will you be comparing in your September 23rd AAII presentation? 46:55 Given current market conditions, and our plan to retire in the next 5 years, what fixed income or safe strategies do you recommend?  And what long-term fixed-income strategies do you recommend? 49:35 Could you compare the Vanguard Total Market Fund (VTSAX) with the Fidelity Zero Total Market Fund (FZROX)? 53:10 This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

"How to manage the biggest risks of investing” is the focus of this presentation Paul gave to Western Washington University graduates as part of a recent series. This podcast is also available as a video and Paul recommends that listeners review the slides before or after listening to the podcast. Topics include the pitfalls of selecting the wrong source of investment advice, creating unrealistic expectations, not taking advantage of diversification, not taking advantage of equity asset classes, not understanding the giant long-term losses from inflation, and not preparing for the normal bear markets that lead to substantial losses. View Video here. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Over the years, Paul and his team have published numerous podcasts and articles about the impact of small investments for minors, especially newborn children and grandchildren. (See: https://paulmerriman.com/turn-3000-into-50-million/). In this podcast Paul discusses a strategy of building an IRA for a minor starting from birth. The strategy assumes investing $365 (more or less) each year over 10 years. He suggests a simple way to build The Ultimate Buy and Hold Equity Strategy over the 10 years. Examining the advantages and disadvantages, he compares the long-term returns at 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 percent. He then adjusts those returns for inflation. Paul makes the case for using the Roth over the regular IRA or 401(k), as well as keeping the money in your name rather than a custodial account up to the time that the official gift is made. Also mentioned in this podcast is The Merriman Aggressive Target Date Portfolio (scroll to bottom of page). This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3. If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Larry Swedroe, a respected voice for sound investing principles, just released a new edition of his 2015 book, "The Incredible Shrinking Alpha: How to be a successful Investor without picking winners". Like all of Larry's books, this one answers a lot of the questions serious students of investing want to know. in this podcast, Paul reads portions from the book that answer some common questions Paul receives, giving insight into Larry’s common sense and well researched information. 1. For actively-managed funds, how long a track record is enough? This reading focuses on four real time stories that may lead you to conclude that no “real time” record is enough. 9:00 2. Do index funds produce better-than-average returns? In this reading of Larry’s book, he compares the 20-year performance of Vanguard and DFA funds  to actively-managed funds in the same asset class. 23:00 3. Do actively-managed funds perform better in bear markets? 29:19 4. How long should disciplined and long-term investors wait to deal with the recent underperformance of value and emerging market asset classes?  Larry poses 5 characteristics that the investment must continue to have to answer that question. 36:00 5. What if everyone indexed? 44:10 Mark your calendar for Paul's AAII Zoom presentation, Sept. 23, “Which is the best 1, 2, ,3 or 4 fund strategy?” In the presentation Paul will compare the long-term returns of 10 simple strategies, including from The Bogleheads, Rick Ferri, Warren Buffet, TrevH and, of course, our 4-Fund Combo. You don’t have to be an AAII member to attend.  Here is the registration link also available at  www.aaii.com/webinars. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our Foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small payment at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors. Thank you!

Paul Merriman talks with Paul Heys, long-time friend and author of Spending Your Way to Wealth: Setting Your Compass Course to Steer in the Direction of True Wealth. They discuss what “normal" investors do, and the steps to becoming "Normal Plus," how to prevent the “spilling” of money that keep us from having what we want later in life, and the difference between the price and the value of anything. Young people will be shocked by the implications of future inflation, as Paul Heys shares what he sees in both the rear-view mirror and the road ahead. Spending Your Way to Wealth: Setting Your Compass Course to Steer in the Direction of True Wealthcan be purchased via this Amazon affiliate link by which The Merriman Financial Education Foundation may receive a small fee to help support its work, at no additional cost to you.

In this podcast, a continuation of Part I, James Dahle, M.D., of White Coat Investor hosts Paul Merriman and Rick Ferri, CFA, President of The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy and host of the Boglehead Podcast, for a lively Zoom discussion of factor investing. In this part of the conversation, Paul and Rick share their opinions on tilting your portfolio to small and value and more. The interview starts at around 5:00. For notes and a full transcription from White Coat Investor, click here. The Merriman Financial Education Foundation thanks Jim Dahle and his team for making this recording available, along with notes and transcript to Sound Investing listeners. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

James Dahle, M.D., of White Coat Investor brought together Paul Merriman and Rick Ferri, CFA, President of The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy and host of the Boglehead Podcast, for a lively Zoom discussion of factor investing. The conversation starts with defining asset classes, total market investing and factor investing and continues with an examination of ‘is factor investing real?’, US and international stocks vs. value and growth, the “FANG” phenomenon, and tilting a portfolio. For more notes and a full transcription from White Coat Investor, click here. The Merriman Financial Education Foundation thanks Jim Dahle and his team for making this recording available, along with notes and transcript to Sound Investing listeners. Part II of this conversation will be available to Sound Investing subscribers in the next few weeks. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Paul begins the podcast with a response to a listener who thought the introduction to his new book (shared in Paul's July 9 newsletter), suggesting that each of 12 simple steps could be worth an additional million dollars, "read like a late night infomercial.” Paul not only takes the stand that each of the 12 steps can reasonably be worth an extra million dollars, but offers examples that have produced an extra $5 and $10 million. Paul explains about his current book naming contest and offers the winner an online meeting with him to help create a lifetime investment plan. Then he answers the following 10 questions: DFA U.S. Targeted Value fund (DFFVX) has underperformed other small cap value funds. Should I continue to hold? 33:00 I’m 52. Is the 70% target date fund/30% small cap value too risky? 35:20 I don’t have enough to get started, so what should I do to get started? 41:20 Is there ever a case where actively-managed funds make sense? 43:47 Have recent negative comments about index funds changed your commitment to them? 54:30 We have terminated our relationship with a Vanguard advisor.  Should we sell everything and move the proceeds into the funds we intend to buy? 56:39 I’m interested in studying the returns of small cap value.  Is there a source of returns that goes back beyond 1994? 58:05 Many respected experts hold a portion of their portfolio in gold. Is there any reason not to add a 5% position to my portfolio? 58:57 When should I take Social Security? 01:03:00 What do you recommend for a 33-year-old investor who wants to be more aggressive than the S&P 500? 01:05:11