Sound Investing

This podcast covers three topics which are the source of many questions. Asset allocation starts with a recent interview from Vanguard titled, “Strategies for constructing globally diversified portfolios.”  In the other two topics, Paul addresses a number of popular alternative investments. He references a recent study on long-term returns for private equity funds (1984-2016) and …

Covering a lot of ground in this podcast, Paul discusses rebalancing your portfolio, an AARP article on “What to expect in your 70s and beyond,” the new Callan Periodic Tables for U.S. Equity Investment Returns, the Lipper Performance Report for the 25 Largest Funds, and an update on his recommended portfolios at Motif …

Paul answers 14 questions recently posed to his email account, info@paulmerriman.com. Given the amount of email Paul receives, he again asks that you keep your questions short and general, as he cannot answer to personal situations. For hundreds more Q&A’s, please visit the archive at his website, under “Ask Paul”.  A very …

PLUS a new index study and 6-month and 15-year returns for DFA and Vanguard   Paul’s MarketWatch.com article, “Why picking stocks is only slightly better than playing the lottery” has such a provocative title that he was not surprised to get a lot of responses. Because the title was intended tongue-in-cheek, he was surprised how many …

Paul reflects on his 90-minute meeting with Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Family of Funds. They discuss Jack's trusted research, his focus on US large cap companies, the almost cancellation of the S&P 500 fund offering, and the role luck played in his success.

What’s wrong with 401k’s and what can investors do to improve the outcome? Paul poses answers to these questions plus tells the story behind his suggested 401k portfolios, starting in 2011. His intention was to update those plans as the companies made changes.  For a number of reasons the updates didn’t get done.  Now, with the help …

In this first-ever interview by Paul for his weekly podcast, he speaks with blogger and columnist Rob Berger of doughroller.net about some of the most difficult questions investors face in this high flying market.  Like Paul, Rob educates the public with many valuable recommendations and resources.  They discuss the best ways to plan and …

In the last podcast, Paul focused on accessing retirement distributions for those using fixed distributions with adjustments for inflation.  This approach is particularly suited for investors who retire without a lot of extra money saved.  If you have not listened to the last podcast, Paul strongly suggests you take the time to learn about the reasons he …

One of the most important decisions an investor will make is how much to take out of their investments in retirement. That, in conjunction with the right balance of equities and fixed income, can lead to smooth sailing or some rough seas during retirement.  In this podcast Paul compares using the S&P 500 equity asset class, a …

As promised to the more than 125 attendees of this Puget Sound chapter presentation, Paul answers the following 20 questions. Since many investors have the same or similar concerns, this podcast should be of interest and use to a broad range of investors, from first-time to well into retirement.  1.  If many people invest in small caps, …