Doc G interviews Paul. "Join me in an eye-opening conversation with renowned investing advisor and philanthropist Paul Merriman as we delve into the question: Is personal finance inherently selfish? In this episode, we explore the broader impact of financial decisions and discuss Paul's recent $3.6 million gift to empower students at Western Washington University through investing education." Listen to more of Doc G on Earn and Invest- https://www.earnandinvest.com/episodes-7/youre-not-spending-enoughhttps://www.earnandinvest.com/episodes-7/testhttps://www.earnandinvest.com/episodes-7/spreading-the-financial-independence-gospel-are-we-preaching-to-the-choir

Topic 1: The industry has responded loudly to an announcement by Dave Ramsey that he would be comfortable about taking 8% a year from a retirement account.  Here is what Rob Berger has to sayIn a recent video answering a caller's question, Dave Ramsey described those promoting the 4% Rule as "stupid," "goobers," and "morons. He described the 4% Rule as stupid and said he's "perfectly comfortable" with an 8% withdrawal rate. In this video, I'll describe his rationale and why I'm "perfectly comfortable" telling him he's wrong. New RetirementFICalcDave Ramsey VideoHere is the latest from Morningstar on withdrawal ratesAnd another good article from Amy Arnott from Morningstar  In my discussion I try my best to explain the real thinking by Dave Ramsey.   Topic 2: “ iShares just came out with target date funds as ETFs.  What are your thoughts on their returns and  their tax efficiency? Topic 3:  Today I listened to my 1st Youtube Paul Merriman video --- your Ultimate Buy & Hold  Update 2023.  Very intrigued by your strategy as I'm also a DIY investor.  Since I'm retired & 62 years old with a wife that will be working for another 3 years, can you direct me towards your more specific information that would be more relevant to my situation?Topic 4:  New study on market timing vs. buy and hold from Vanguard

The following questions were sent from the October 11, 2023 presentation to the NYC AAII Chapter. You can watch the video here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjFlcDAlH1k Chris Pedersen's section starts at 59:00. Paul and Chris conclude with a Q&A session. If I have a pension and social security that cover my cost of living, is it inappropriate to have 100% of my  long term portfolio in stocks? How should I create a do it yourself target date fund using one of your Sound Investing portfolios?   What are the tax implications of the portfolios you recommend?  Are some better for taxable accounts? Paul, do you invest in any individual stocks?  If not, why not? I have relied on professional managers for most of my life but would like to quit paying the fees to have someone else do it.  How can one feel confident in taking over the management of an account? What about 50% half small cap value and S&P, AND 50% in a target date fund? If I am dollar cost averaging is there a point (size of market decline) at which it would make sense to go ahead and invest it all? Does it make THAT big of a difference if someone lump sums vs dollar cost averaging? which is better/worse? Is there a small cap value emerging markets ETF you recommend for best in class? No investment advisor I know recommends a 100% allocation to small value. More common is a tilt toward the favored factor, say, 80% in the market and 20% in small value. What do you recommend? Do you recommend tax loss harvesting in a taxable account? https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/tax-loss-harvesting/ https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/how-to-tax-loss-harvest-a-large-taxable-account/ 12. Does a large cap blend fund that’s equal-weighted compare well with a cap-weighted fund?  

Paul answers 12 questions  from the AAII New York City Chapter October 2023 Meeting The video can be watched here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjFlcDAlH1k Paul's section begins at 08:40.  The following links are used in this presentation: Table B14B, ETF portfolios,  and SPIVA Report  1.  Do you recommend using index funds for international funds? 2.  Since small cap value underperforms the S&P 500 for long periods of time, should SCV be avoided by those who are nearing retirement?3. I don’t have small cap value available in my 401(k).  Will a small cap blend fund have the same impact?4. How can there be such radical return differences between the small cap value indexes?5.  Are you going to show risk-adjusted returns for the index funds? Treynor ratios?  Sharpe ratios?  Sortino ratios?6.  How does one juggle the choice between investing in a higher expense ratio ETF (example AVUV) compared  to investing in a lower cost index fund?  Would the decision be as simple as going with the lower cost fund?7.  If everyone invests in small cap value funds will that reduce the premium in the future?8.  Some say the SCV premium is declining because private equity companies are taking SCV companies private.  Any truth to the comment?9.  How do I rebalance a target date fund and a small cap value fund?  What gets rebalanced?10. Please recap what the good, bad and ugly of small cap value funds and ETFs.11. How long have you been aware of the small cap value premium?  Did you know about it before they became popular?12.  Fidelity Freedom TDF 2035 has an expense ratio of .7%.  When the expenses are that high does it change your recommendation of adding a small cap value fund?

Paul is interviewed by Andrew Stotz and the My Worst Investment Ever podcast BIO: Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, and asset allocation. After retiring in 2012 from Merriman Wealth Management, which he founded in 1983, Paul created The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, dedicated to providing investors of all ages with free information and tools to make better investment decisions. STORY: Paul has had a series of bad investments, and they were all driven by emotions. It wasn’t until Paul got the emotion out of that process that his money started to grow. LEARNING: The first five years of the money you put away can, theoretically, represent 40% of the value of your portfolio over the long term. Start investing early so that you can benefit from the compounding effect.

I went to the Bogleheads Conference with high hopes I would convince guests that small cap value should be at least a small part of every equity portfolio.  Many respond that they have all the small cap value they need in a total market index like VTI.Why I failed:  I only had 20 minutes, as compared to 45 a couple of days earlier for the NYC AAII Chapter.  I took a dozen slides out of the shorter presentation but still had at least another dozen tables and graphs to address in the 20 minutes.  What I should have done is spend the 20 minutes on one table.  That table is B14B. In this podcast I make the presentation I wish I made at the conference. If you have a friend you think could use the information, please pass it on.

In this week’s podcast I focus on two topics:  The first is the culmination of a 10 year project that just took a giant leap forward.  As you know the mission of our Foundation is  to help do it yourself investors make better investment decisions.  The bottom line is we want to help  them improve their financial future. While it is not addressed in our written mission, it is our desire to have the work continue beyond what the present group of volunteers can provide. That means finding a stable institution or organization  to carry on our work.  The following release from the Western Washington University introduces a new program that will soon establish a financial literacy program that will impact every student who attends WWU.   Over the next 100 years this endowment should help millions of students and their families make better financial decisions. The second topic is about someone I think everyone of our readers should become familiar.  On October 11 I will be speaking to the New York City AAII Chapter and on October 13 the Bogleheads Conference in Rockville, MD.  In both cases I will be speaking on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly aspects of investing in small cap value.  My hope is my presentation will motivate investors to give serious consideration to adding SCV to their portfolio. While I am excited about the opportunity to present our findings, I must admit the work that Ben Felix, one of our Truth Tellers, has done is about the best I have found on the topic.  If you want to see one of the best cases for SCV please watch Ben do his magic.

How Can Mindfulness Help You Reach Financial Independence? Do you want to reduce money anxiety, but don’t know who to trust? Would you like to learn how to set up and manage your own retirement plan? Do you want to know how we create a passive income stream you can’t outlive? If yes, join us and learn how to answer the 4 critical financial independence questions: Am I on track for financial independence? What do I need to do to get on track? How do I design a mindful investing portfolio? How do I manage that portfolio and my income over time through changing markets? Learn more: https://courses.mindful.money/financial-independence-bootcamp Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, and asset allocation. He founded Merriman Wealth Management in 1983, retired from the firm in 2012, and created the Merriman Financial Education Foundation. Everything he does is dedicated to providing investors of all ages with information and tools to make informed decisions for their own best interests. Today, Paul joins the show to reflect on early financial lessons he learned, discuss the current state of financial education, and share the top three decisions everyone must make in their financial lives.

Paul opens with information on the Oct. 11 AAII presentation.  Here is the link to sign up.There was a time when Paul was very critical about target date funds.  But important circumstances made him more accepting of the important value of target date funds.  He discusses why he changed his mind but explains why he still thinks you should build the glide path on your own.He also responds to Ken Fisher’s comments about the small cap and large cap historical returns. In the discussion Paul recommends listeners take a look at the quilt charts that show individual asset class and portfolio annual returns.

Tom Cock and Don McDonald record a daily podcast Talking Real Money and a 2 hour radio show on KNWN (previously KOMO) each Saturday afternoon from 12 to 2.  Last Saturday Don was taking a day off and Tom asked me to join him.  While I was in their studio I asked Tom to join me for a discussion about the challenges of educating  investors as well as giving some advice to  those interested in building a career as a financial advisor.  Here are a few of the topics we discussed: How to teach investors to develop realistic expectations for risk and return Best advice for first time investors Major changes in the financial planning industry How advisors bill for investments under management and those "held away” Robo advisory services Advice to young and older adults who want to get into the financial planning industry Working with Tom is always fun!