Sound Investing

This recent interview with Jonathan and Brad of ChooseFi.com is both an excellent starting point for new investors and a refresher for seasoned investors as Paul discusses how to know who to trust, the role emotions play in making sound decisions and staying the course, the importance of diversification and choosing asset classes, and the pros and cons …

For more than 15 years Paul has updated his discussion of fixed and variable distribution strategies. In this podcast he discusses the pros and cons of fixed distributions so investors understand: The importance of the data used to represent returns The huge differences between 3, 4, 5 and 6 percent distributions The importance of inflation Why 3% is …

Paul addresses questions raised during his recent presentations to more than 200 AAII members in Madison and Milwaukee. Also, he recounts an exciting meeting with 2 young women (ages 13 and 15) and their parents who announced the start of their daughters’ lifetime investment journey modeled after How To Turn $3000 Into $50 …

Whether you are saving for retirement or already retired, establishing a reasonable expectation for future returns is one of the most difficult planning decisions.  What can investors learn from the past?  Are the next 10 years likely to be similar to the last 10, 20, 50 or 80 years?  Can we count on the value and …

Do you know that only 31% of Americans believe they will have enough money to enjoy a comfortable life in retirement?  Or how about this: 60% of Millennials report having made an emotional decision they later regretted to sell in a 401k plan?  This sort of emotional decision can be the very thing keeping people from having the money they …

Investing has never been easier or more likely to help investors achieve their long-term returns.  When I started investing, most of an investor’s gains were lost to high loads to buy funds, high expenses to manage funds, high expenses to trade stocks, and the belief that smart people could beat the market. Of course, beside …

Over the next nine months Paul plans to introduce podcast listeners to the work of his “Top 10 Truth Tellers.”  These are writers and/or podcasters who produce educational materials that Paul believes will help investors improve their long-term results. In this first of 10 introductions, Paul reads an article and “in the news” items that hopefully …

In this podcast, Paul addresses these questions from his listeners and readers. As investors age, how do they make the conversion from equities to fixed income? How does a saver make the transition to being a spender? Where can I find a professional, who bills by the hour, to help me evaluate my cost of living …

One of the biggest challenges for investors is developing reasonable expectations for future returns. Do you expect hot markets to continue to produce market-beating returns? Do you expect big bear markets to continue to rob investors of their life savings? If so, you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment. In this podcast Paul looks …

Along with this year’s updated Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation article and updated Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Table for the S&P 500,  Paul shares this “best lessons” podcast. He walks investors through the best and worst of returns, along with the corresponding worst losses over 6 different time frames. The case is clear: one decade does …