Sound Investing

Chris Pedersen, expert in automating investing with 2-fund portfolios, discusses combining target-date and small-cap value funds for simple yet effective investing. He highlights the 2 Funds for Life approach, compares it to other portfolios, and emphasizes non-financial investments.

In this podcast Paul addresses the advantage of using a Flexible Distribution strategy.  He starts by mentioning the earlier podcasts that focused on the Sound Investing Portfolios, Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables and Fixed Distribution Tables D1.4, D1.5, D9.4 and D9.5.He then focuses on  Flexible Distribution  Tables F1.4, F1.5, F1.6, F9.5 and F9.6.The following are links for listeners who want to review all the Fine Tuning Tables, all the Fixed Distribution Tables and all the Flexible Distribution Tables. ⁠9 Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables S&P 500 (⁠Table B1⁠) U.S. 2-Fund (50/50 S&P and Small Cap Value) (⁠Table B9⁠) Fixed Distribution Tables Flexible Distribution Tables For questions on Flexible Distributions please send to paul@paulmerriman.com or  post the questions in the comments section of the Flexible Distribution video. (link)

The move from the accumulation to distribution period of an investors lifetime includes some very important decisions. What asset allocation between equities and fixed income? What combination of equity asset classes in the equity portion, as well as fixed income asset classes? What amount of distribution will be made annually? Will the payments be monthly, quarterly or annually? Will payments be adjusted for inflation and how often? Will the distributions be based on a fixed distribution with regular adjustments for inflation (the topic in this presentation) or on a flexible basis (the topic of the next segment)? In this podcast Paul uses 11 tables  to address the questions above.  It is recommended the viewer print out the PDF of the tables to make it easier to follow the numbers. Many may find it is easier to follow the information on Paul’s video on the same topic. If you have questions about the presentation please leave comment or question in the comment section below or email paul@paulmerriman.com.

In segment #5 of the 2024 Book Camp Series Paul applies all of the first 4 segments lessons to putting the portfolios to work by making a regular monthly investment into several of the Sound Investing Portfolios. For those coming to the series for the first time Paul suggests listening to the first 4 segments. #1 Stocks vs. Bonds: The $10 Million Decision #2 The Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio 2024 Update #3 Sound Investing Portfolios: 2024 Update #4 Fine Tuning Asset Allocation 2024 UpdateIn his presentation Paul references Tables J1a, A1a, H2a, B1, B9, C1 and C9. The purpose of the podcast is to familiarize investors with how to use and compare the rest of the Fixed Contribution Tables. This link takes investors to the rest of the C tables.

The podcast discusses the decision between stocks and bonds, equity asset classes, and building a portfolio. It focuses on how much fixed income to hold, using Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables. The tables show combinations of equities and bonds for different risk limits and return expectations.

In this podcast Paul addresses the construction, returns and risks of the Sound Investing Portfolios. Table H1a lists the 9 Sound Investing Portfolios and includes percentages of each of the asset classes included in each portfolio.Table  H2a lists the risk and return data for each portfolio.  The table compares profitable  years, unprofitable years, decade returns and total return of a $10,000 investment. Table H3a lists the portfolios annual return for each year for the period 1970-2023. Paul encourages listeners to pose questions regarding the Sound Investing Portfolios.  Send questions to paul@paulmerriman.com.  

This podcast explores the power of equity asset class diversification with a 10 asset class portfolio, showcasing results with annual and monthly rebalancing. It compares the Ultimate Buy and Hold portfolio to seven other portfolios for better returns with fewer funds and similar volatility. The host discusses the history and benefits of the Ultimate Buy and Hold strategy, emphasizing the importance of diversification for long-term growth and stability.

This podcast is the first in the series of 8 to 10 podcasts, videos and articles that will be found under Bootcamp and Best advice. In this podcast Paul discusses the biggest investment decision of an investor's lifetime:  Invest in stocks or bonds.  He reviews the  long term risk and return for both important asset classes.  In each case there is a set of 3 tables that reflect the returns from 1928 to 2023.  In Tables J1a and J2a he compares the annualized return for the entire period as well as for all the 15 and 40 year periods.  His discussion includes the impact of inflation as well as rebalancing.  He also encourages those who have not read  "We’re Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement” to  download the free pdf.

Join Paul and Chris for this podcast/video they recorded. During the conversation Paul  mentions Chris’ free copy of  “2 Funds for Life”  and a fascinating interview with Professor Scott Cederburg on Rational Reminder.  Cederburg is an advocate for a lifetime portfolio of all equities.  The following are the topics and questions they discussed:   What does an investor do if a small cap value fund is not available in their 401(K)?  Does a small cap blend fund, that is available, have the same impact as small cap value? How do you choose between investing in a higher expense ratio ETF (say Avantis) compared to investing in a low expense ratio small cap value index fund?  Would the decision be as simple as going with the lower expense ratio fund?   How do taxes impact your recommendations whether the asset class is held in taxable or tax advantaged accounts?  Specifically, the S&P 500 fund that has little to no annual taxes vs small cap value which is less tax efficient. Are you tempted to invest in individual stocks or actively managed funds?   Since small cap value funds can have long periods of underperformance,  does that suggest  those approaching retirement should avoid small cap value funds? How did you react to the March 2020 Market Meltdown and other past major market declines?   Did you try to take advantage of the declines as a buying opportunity? What about combining 25% each small cap value and S&P 500 fund with  50%  target date fund?   What’s the best way to move from your present holdings to a 2 Funds for Life Portfolio? Where do I find information on how you make your selection of Best In Class ETFs?  Here is the page that has links to the articles, podcasts and video.  Plus here is a link to Chris’ AAII article on the topic.  I’m setting up a  50/50 small cap value/target date fund.  Would it help to add international small cap value? How about using two small cap value ETFs?  DFA and Avantis each have similar ETFs but different portfolios.   What is the status of Chris’ new white paper on 2 Funds for Life?

Paul looks at the guaranteed advantages of 10 different investment decisions.  He also challenges one of the oldest claims about our expectations for returns.  During the presentation he discusses the important differences between investment success and investor success.  He encourages all listeners to get the free pdf of Paul Heys book, “Spending Your Way to Wealth(s).”