Sound Investing

Paul recommends new listeners listen to the previous podcast on ⁠Equities vs. Bonds⁠  prior to this podcast.  The purpose of this annual update is to remind investors of the power of equity asset class diversification.  Paul makes the case for the 10 equity asset class portfolio that he introduced over 25 years ago.  During the presentation he uses Tables A1a and A2a .  A1a shows the series of por...

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...

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...

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).”  

In the process of looking for a document I  came across a group of questions that had been hidden away in my saved documents.  The good news is the list included some great questions.  The bad news is I'm not sure which presentation generated the questions.  1.  What are the best investments to make and what milestones should an investor reach? 2.  Do you recommend a solo 401k or SEP IRA for a...

In this podcast Paul discusses ten million dollar mistakes investors make, along with the mistake that is the biggest reason he believes most investors fail to achieve the return they deserve.  As part of his presentation he references the following two tables. Table 1  and  Table 2 .  D1.3 D1.4 Paul reminds listeners to forward copies of our  3 free books .

Paul, Chris, and Daryl are back together for the first time in 2024.  The podcast starts with Chris demonstrating a new and improved Portfolio Configurator , which adds the 2 Funds for Life portfolios. Now, investors can see how the equity portion of  Sound Investing Portfolios , like the  Ultimate Buy and Hold  or  Four Fund Combos , compare to various 2 Funds for Life approaches.   Next, they di...

Trust is the key for most investors to stay the course for the long term.  I formed a lasting trust in the academic work of Drs. Fama and French when I attended a 2 or 3 day workshop at Dimensional Fund Advisors in 1994.   That trust led our firm to use the DFA funds since the mid 90s.  While I believe there are a lot of people who find our long term studies helpful, I’m not sure that all of those...

In this podcast Paul starts by recommending, “Episode 285:  A Year In Review" a  podcast / video . In Paul’s review of 2023 returns he compares Chris’  Best In Class ETF recommendations  with similar  Vanguard ETFs  and the average return in each equity asset class.  He also gives returns for the most popular portfolios including,  Ultimate Buy and Hold ,  2 Fund U.S .,  4 Fund U.S. and 4 Fun...

In the last podcast of the year Paul discusses the many important projects Chris Pedersen, Daryl Bahls and he will explore in 2024. He then addresses a question from a listener:  Why not all equities forever?  The question is the focus of a wonderful interview with  Scott Cederburg, Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Arizona.  Scott is the guest of Truth-Teller Ben Felix and Camer...

Paul Merriman and Chris Pedersen introduce the  2 Funds for Life Fine Tuning table  and describe how it can be used by investors of all ages to evaluate various combinations of target-date and small-cap value funds.   Historically, these combinations have produced higher returns and higher safe withdrawal rates with only modest increases in risk compared to the target-date fund alone.  The table p...

Paul wishes to warn podcast listeners that this podcast contains a lot of important numbers from the following 4 tables.  The torrent of numbers can be irritating but these are some of the most important aspects of risk and return we should know. Paul asks that investors email him with questions about the tables.   paul@paulmerriman.com In this podcast Paul introduces a new way to understand and c...

The biggest challenge of educating first time investors is reaching them with our educational materials. One of the best ways to reach young investors is through young podcasters who have loyal audiences of these first time investors.  Jose and his podcast,  Slow Brew Finance  is a great example.  It is available both as an audio  and  video  podcast.  During the presentation Paul mentions a table...

Paul begins the podcast by noting a recent interview he had with Andrew Giancola of Master Money and the Personal Finance Podcast.  The topic is “ Simple Financial Steps With Massive Payoffs .” In this podcast Paul discusses a new study that compares long term returns of the S&P 500 and the 4 Fund Portfolio.  The study was motivated by an  article written by Ben Carlson .  Paul discusses the s...

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 educati...

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 say In 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 sai...

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 s...

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 underperf...

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...

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 shorte...

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...

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 indepe...

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 Ke...

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 bu...

Watch the video here. Chris Pedersen and Daryl Bahls join Paul to answer questions from investors of all ages.  1:  I hold a REIT fund in my tax deferred account but have found other funds include REITS.  Am I overweighted in REITS and what should I do about it? 2:  Are all total market index funds created equal?  Should there be meaningful differences in returns? Chris compares the returns of 4 t...