

Sound Investing
Paul Merriman
Weekly podcasts with Paul Merriman. Strategic planning for investing at every stage of life.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 9, 2018 • 1h 10min
Fixed Distribution Strategies-2018 Update
The decision to establish a fixed distribution strategy can help ensure your peace of mind in retirement. This strategy is designed for people who retire with “enough” to meet minimum cash flow needs, including future adjustments for inflation. If you are new to our work, please read “The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold portfolio, 2018 edition” and the latest Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocations article. These …

Apr 4, 2018 • 44min
The most important lesson from “Save $1000 a year. Retire with millions”
Paul begins this podcast in response to tough critiques from some readers about this very popular article and podcast. He speaks to what he thinks are the most important lesson for investors. He also answers 4 Q&As from readers and listeners.: Will you create recommended portfolios for popular HSAs? What asset allocation do …

Mar 26, 2018 • 1h 7min
Building a million dollar portfolio with $1000 a year
For over 20 years Paul has been producing articles and podcasts on 3 important decisions investors must make. The first is The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy, a discussion of the equity asset classes that Paul recommends investors use in their portfolio. The second is Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation. The third, on

Mar 21, 2018 • 38min
How to get started investing and keep going – Q&A
One young investor following Paul’s advice wrote to him: “Paul, thank you for everything you’ve done. The podcast, books and website have changed my life.” Paul asked him, “How so?” Thus begins this podcast sharing this young man’s response in the hope it will motivate other young investors to do the same. Q&A: What specific things …

Mar 14, 2018 • 38min
Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation,Worldwide and All Value Portfolios
In a recent podcast, Paul discussed a table of historical risk-and-return data for the S&P 500. The purpose of that podcast and corresponding table was to give investors a way to build reasonable expectations of the short- and long-term losses, as well as short and long-term returns for the S&P 500. In this podcast the same information is presented for …

Mar 7, 2018 • 52min
Is it time to sell? and other investor questions
In this podcast, Paul answers a variety of recent listener questions: • Is it time to sell and move more of my portfolio into money market or bond funds? • Can I use your Best-In-Class glide path spread sheet to manage my Fidelity portfolio? In answering, I reference a spreadsheet that shows our recommended asset allocation …

Feb 28, 2018 • 35min
Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation with the S&P 500 2018 update
Most of our annual Fine Tuning articles and podcasts have covered all of the major asset classes. This year we dedicate an article and podcast to just the S&P 500 and bonds. The S&P 500 Index represents the biggest public holding in the U.S. and maybe the world, roughly 80% of the value of all U.S. …

Feb 21, 2018 • 51min
CDs vs. bonds and other important questions
Does it ever make sense to use actively-managed funds? One of our readers asked us to review a major 401k plan (40,000 employees) that offered only two equity asset classes (U.S and international) and in each case they offered an actively-managed and an index fund. I couldn’t pass up using this real-life example to learn some very important …

Feb 14, 2018 • 32min
2018 Update of Paul’s “Ultimate Buy-and-Hold” Portfolio
For many years Paul and Rich have updated the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Portfolio, and have posted the updates for 2018. This podcast is a step-by-step discussion of building a portfolio of 10 major equity asset classes. We want to make very clear how much impact each of these asset classes has on the long-term return of the portfolio, as well as …

Feb 7, 2018 • 43min
Topics you can’t afford to miss
Ken Roberts – of Ken’s Bulls & Bears on KCKQ AM 1180 in northern Nevada – recently interviewed Paul. In this 43 minute conversation they discuss target date funds, the pros and cons of stock selection, how young investors can get a head start, the four most important variables in your mutual funds performance, and the …


