Sound Investing

The Hulbert Financial Digest has been closed. HFD was to financial newsletters what Morningstar is to the mutual fund industry. HFD tracked the performance and risk of over 200 newsletter portfolios. Paul shares what he learned from subscribing to HFD for over 30 years. He discusses newsletters that recommend low-risk to very-high-risk PORTFOLIOS using individual stocks, mutual funds, …

Paul speaks with Ken Roberts of Ken’s Bulls and Bears about investing yesterday and today, understanding risk, fiduciary responsibility versus suitability of investment advisors, asset class diversification, retirement distributions and how to change your luck by taking certain actions.

Paul compares seven major differences between Vanguard and Fidelity.  His research indicates the difference between the funds could lead to an additional .25 to 1.5 percent a year… money that could feather your nest, not Fidelity’s.

Paul discusses the huge changes in expenses that are due in part to the debate between the “Fiduciary Standard’ that investment advisors work under, and the “Suitability Standard” that brokers apply to their recommendations. While a mutual fund’s expense ratio is the most commonly discussed variable, it turns out there are other factors that may be even more …

Learn what you can do to increase your investment returns and peace of mind, as Paul presents, “Habits and Attitudes of Successful Investors,” from the 2016 RetireMeet Conference in Bellevue, WA. Also available as video on homepage. Download valuable information to accompany this presentation here.

A 32-year-old investor wants to know why shouldn’t he put all his investments in small cap value?  While agreeing with the young investor’s comments, Paul recalls the famous Mark Twain quote, “There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it, and when he can.”  So, is small cap value an …

From the latest Dimensional Fund Advisors annual Matrix Book, Paul discusses 10 lessons he thinks will give investors a better long-term perspective of returns, before and after inflation.  He also compares the long-term results of both U.S. and international asset classes.

The Hulbert Financial Digest last week announced it was shutting down after 36 years. Losing the only meaningful tracking of investment newsletters is sad indeed. In many ways Mark Hulbert’s Digest was like having the S.E.C. overseeing the mutual fund industry.  Mark couldn’t find the bad apples, but he could alert readers to the newsletter’s real returns, as opposed to …

Everyone in the financial community knows that emotion-based decisions almost always hurt investors in the long run. This podcast of Chapter 7 from Paul’s book, Financial Fitness Forever, discusses 5 ways an investor can eliminate most of the dangerous outcomes of emotional decisions. It is read by Rich Buck, co-author of Financial Fitness Forever and Live it Up Without Outliving …

In this audio version from Chapter 6 from Paul’s book, “Financial Fitness Forever,” he discusses the long-term impact of diversifying beyond large cap companies to include both U.S. and International small cap and value asset classes, as well as REITs and emerging markets. While he makes no promises about the future, the evidence from over 40 years of …