Sound Investing

1. What is the best glide path (asset allocation) for a 58 year old pre-retiree and then in retirement? This is the link for Chris Pedersen’s 2 Funds for Life glide path . 2:50 2. I don’t need all of my RMD (required minimum distribution). How should I invest the excess? Here is the link to the video on " My 12 Favorite Vanguard Funds for Retirees ” and the link to all of the Fine Tuning Tabl...

On July 25, 2024 Paul and Chris made a presentation to the Puget Sound AAII.  Paul spoke to the latest research on small cap value and Chris spoke to the latest research on his 2 Funds for Life Portfolio.  Following the presentation  they answered questions from the guests. Q:  What advice do you give on conversion of regular IRAs to Roth IRAs? Q:  What investments do you recommend to offset large...

In this podcast Paul discusses an article by Truth Teller Ben Carlson ( The Biggest Winners in the Stock Market) , regarding a study by Dr. Hendrik Bessenbinder ( Which U.S. Stocks Generated the Highest Long-Term Returns  ) This study  is an update from an earlier study from Bessenbinder that Paul has recommended many times. Paul also discusses an article by Truth Teller John Rekanthaler,   "...

Paul, Daryl, and Chris are together again to discuss what they each think are the best single charts or graphs to help people understand investing and make good decisions. Paul starts by asking Chris and Daryl how much we can rely on the past to predict the future. Paul follows that with a deep dive into his choice for the most important chart -- the quilt chart. Daryl follows up with his choice -...

One of the most challenging aspects of being a 100% do-it-yourself investor (DYI) is dealing with the emotions of wanting to make major changes in a portfolio due to what may easily be seen as catastrophic news. The DYI doesn’t have a professional to help them think through the difficult times like the 2008 meltdown, the October 19, 1987 22% one day decline or currently, the upcoming election resu...

Paul starts the podcast discussing the upcoming (July 13, 2024) presentation for AAII Puget Sound Chapter (9-10:30).  Chris Pedersen and Paul will present, “2 Investment Decisions Guaranteed to Change Your Financial Future. ”Here is a link for more information and to sign up for this presentation.   Here is the link to sign up . Today’s podcast is a discussion of the latest research from Daryl Bah...

Join Paul as he is interviewed by Ed Fulbright, CPA and host of Mastering Your Money on WNCU 90.7 FM in Durham, N.C. How do Grandparents decide to help with education or retirement or legacy building of their grandchildren? You often recommend small cap value as the primary investment vehicle for creating legacy for your grand children.  Why did you select this investment?  You recommend a low cos...

The following questions were generated during a presentation Paul made to the Orange County and New York City AAII Chapters. 1. How do we go about finding someone (money manager) who follows your portfolio recommendations? Plus what is a reasonable fee to pay for advisory services? In the answer I do mention David Sterman. link: ⁠https://huguenotfinancialplanning.com/⁠ and two videos by Rob Berger...

On June 8, 2024 Paul gave a 2 hour presentation to the Seattle Chapter of Choose FI.  The topics covered the 8 biggest investment decisions, plus a new piece on putting aside money for a newborn to 21 year old.  Here is the video link. This podcast covers 10 unanswered questions from the presentation, plus 5 additional topics that guests listed as most important topics of the meeting. Q&A: 1....

Mavis Tsai is a friend I have known for decades. Our paths crossed as I was teaching one of my free 3 or 6 hours workshop.  In January she asked me to participate in her 5-day online event entitled,  "Confluence of Hearts: A Global Summit on True Self, Brave Connections, and a Love-Led World”  In the description of the event she noted: "Together, we will explore cutting-edge insights on...

On May 18, 2024 Chris Pedersen made a presentation to the Houston Chapter of AAII.    At the end of the presentation Chris answered over 20 questions.  Those questions are on this podcast.  Here are the question topics: 1. Portfolio expectations compared to S&P 500? 2.  How would adding small cap value (SCV) help a retiree? 3.  How important is asset class location using 2 Funds for Life? 4. ...

Chris explains investing diversification with some analogous side trips to the worlds of food and nature. He starts by illustrating the importance of perspective, emphasizing the need for many decades of data in backtesting. Next, he covers the ingredients, or asset classes and styles, most investors will use to diversify. With the ingredients in hand, he explains what happens when we mix them, an...

Eleven months a year Dr. Robert  Pass produces a podcast dedicated to a review of the latest literature and thought leaders in pediatric cardiovascular care.  For the last 3 years Rob has finished his podcast series with a focus on personal finance.  It has been an honor to work with Rob on these special podcasts for the last 3 years. This is his podcast from December 2023.  To conclude 2023 we en...

Paul and Chris cover several questions about the Best-in-Class ETF recommendations and selection process. What's the overarching objective of the Best-in-Class ETF recommendations?*  What's the 6-step process described in your  AAII Best-in-Class ETF Article ? Why is it sometimes worth paying another tenth of a percent or more for funds with more exposure to small or value? Is AVUV's r...

Join Paul and Chris to follow up on Chris’ video on "2 Funds for Life Update 2024" . In this discussion Chris covers the history of the development of this popular portfolio, as well as his new table that covers the expected returns for all of the periods from ages 20 to over 90. The discussion included comments on: The advantages of Blackrock over Vanguard target date funds and why it s...

I interviewed Stan Haithcock, the expert I depend on when I have questions about annuities. We will dig into single premium life annuities (SPIA), multiple-year guaranteed annuities (MYGA) and other insurance products that are often over sold and over priced. What is the truth and how can you get what you need at the right price? Join me and Stan as he answers my questions and yours. Stan Haithcoc...

Join Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning at Morningstar, for answers to seven of the biggest questions facing those entering or in retirement. Financial literacy is empowering—yet good, practical education about financial management is too often out of reach for people, especially those with limited incomes. Former BCF Board member Paul Merriman—founder of The Merr...

Today, we bring you an exclusive conversation between two investment gurus, JL Collins and Paul Merriman. They debate the secrets of building wealth, focusing on investment strategies, index funds, and the potential power of small-cap companies. If you're looking to sharpen your investment acumen, this episode is full of knowledge and insights! Join us as we navigate through the crucial aspect...

So, you've chosen to be a buy-and-hold investor following one of Paul's Sound Investing portfolios.  Now, the question is, what to buy?  It's time to become a knowledgeable shopper. Chris Pedersen describes the attributes that make an ETF or mutual fund more or less suited to implementing the portfolios we've discussed.  He then shows how to use Morningstar and Portfolio Visualizer...

Chris Pedersen shows how to automate investing with simple 2-fund portfolios.  He discusses how target-date funds work and how to combine them with small-cap value funds to achieve results similar to more complicated portfolios.  He highlights the 2 Funds for Life fine-tuning table in the Portfolio Configurator and shows how it can be used to set expectations based on different allocations. He als...

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...

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...

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 202...

In the previous three podcasts we have addressed the long term decision between investing in  stocks vs. bonds , what equity asset classes you might use in building your  equity portfolio  and how to combine the different equity asset classes to build the  best portfolio  for your different investments. The purpose of each of the  Boot Camp Series  is to address some of the most important investme...

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 $10,00...