Sound Investing

In the coming weeks we will be posting the updated history of equity and fixed income returns for the last  53 and 95 years.  These returns will be used to study the impact of investing in combinations of equity asset classes as well as assuming they are being used in the accumulation and distribution periods of an investor's life.  We must ask the question:  How meaningful are...

March 1 through March 4, I attended the White Coat Investor Conference (WCICON 2023).  On the 2nd, I made a 2 hour presentation focused on "How to Create and Execute a Lifetime Investment Strategy".  I was thrilled with the turnout and positive feedback.  I also received many questions in the following days.  The following are some of the many questions.  More to...

In this episode, Paddy has a great chat with Paul Merriman from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation in the USA. The foundation is dedicated to providing financial education to those of all ages. Paul shares his wealth of knowledge from decades of experience from starting his own Merriman Wealth Management after retiring to setting up his foundation. Key topics covered: Investing successful...

The following questions were sent to Paul during the  90 minute video  presented to Western Washington University alumni on February 10, 2023. 2:38 1. How much more do you get with AVUV which has higher fees than FISVX which is super low cost? Check out:   BOGLEHEADS.ORG/REBALANCING Check out:   whitecoatinvestor.com/portfolio-rebalancing-spreadsheet/ 11:20 2. Wh...

Paul leads off with the news that Chris Pedersen's book 2 Funds for Life is now available as a free PDF to people who sign up for our free newsletter at https://paulmerriman.com/signup/ . Watch the video here. Chris Pedersen joins Paul to discuss the 2023 update to his Best-in-Class ETF recommendations.  Chris explains the selection process and why the DFA International Value ETF (DFIV) is re...

The following are the Paul’s responses to questions and comments from listeners. 1.  How do active mutual fund managers invest their own money?  Article referenced in podcast: https://ritholtz.com/2023/01/how-do-active-managers-invest-their-own-money/ 2.  Why not use market timing to protect investments from declining markets? 3.  How should I put money into an account when fac...

If you’re looking to get started investing wisely for retirement, or want a refresher course in what’s important, watch this broadcast in which Paul Merriman addresses the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants.   He speaks to issues of trust, pointing out that investing following the math is simple. He illustrates the compelling differences small savings in expenses can make over...

How will you thrive in a bear market? Paul Merriman joins Tom Cock, co-host of “Talking Real Money,” for this 90-minute live workshop on “How to Manage a Portfolio in a Bear Market,” jointly sponsored by The Merriman Financial Education Foundation and Apella Capital/Wealth. Includes Q&A from the audience. We suggest podcast listeners watch the video for accompanying slides.  You will lear...

Join Paul Merriman, Chris Pedersen and Darryl Bahls as they respond to these questions from investors: What can a Do-It-Yourself investor do to prepare his/her spouse/partner for managing retirement investments should the DIY investor die first?  Learn how Paul, Chris and Daryl are each personally preparing for their generally disinterested spouses to take over the investments. How can buy-an...

Paul speaks with Dr. Robert H. Pass, host of Pediheart podcast and a pediatric cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, about how to go about funding a newborn child's retirement (in 65 years!) through the magic of index investing, low costs and compounding interest. Learn how you can do this for a child in your life. There are many lessons for all types of investing in this episode. Article Links Ho...

This podcast reviews the 2022 returns of the  Best-In-Clas s and  Vanguard ETF portfolios  as compared to the average shareholder in the recommended equity asset classes. The discussion focuses on what worked, what didn’t work, and what was the impact of the broader diversification of owning only the S&P 500. Paul also considers short, intermediate and long-term govern...

Paul answers some of the most-pressing investment questions posed by Rutgers University engineering students after his recent keynote presentation to 154 of them. View the Keynote Presentation video at: https://youtu.be/8_7ee1Nft7c 1. How do you increase the rate of return on your investments? (1:58) 2. What do you think of using “Robo Advisors” like Schwab Intelligent Portfolios? (6:33) 3. What p...

The purpose of our podcasts is to help investors make some of the biggest investment decisions of their life.  This podcast focuses on the many reasons small-cap value should be in every investor’s portfolio, even if it is a very small part. Paul addresses these questions: 1.  What is the lifetime impact of adding 10% to 20% small cap value (SCV) to a portfolio for first time investors a...

How to live the best life you can is the main focus of this conversation between Paul Merriman, Chris Pedersen, Daryl Bahls and Craig Appl, volunteer creator of The Merriman Financial Education Lifetime Calculator. Craig discusses the FIRE movement community and his experience at a Chautauqua Conference about financial independence outside Bogotá Colombia earlier this year. Craig addresses the dif...

Do you want to create a financial legacy for a young person, especially a newborn? This podcast and video explains Paul’s plan for his new granddaughter, which is adaptable by any investor. [ Podcast listeners are encouraged to watch the video and/or view the Slides and Tables below ]. Paul is joined by Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics for The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, and Chris P...

Ever wonder how the “Sound Investing” podcast is funded? Along with all the prolific work produced, over the past decade, by the mostly-volunteer Merriman Financial Education? Paul lays it out in this podcast, including his plans for 2023. Learn how you play a huge part in the how Paul’s retirement plans evolved into the myriad of financial education tools for DIY investors and outreach to univers...

Paul Merriman is a compulsive list maker and his Thanksgiving list is his favorite of the year.  In this podcast, he covers a range of subjects for investors related to real wealth and giving thanks. He describes getting up very early on Thanksgiving Day to spend a few hours listing names of people for whom he is thankful. While many of the people would be unknown to our audience, others are...

The first part of this broadcast describes the investment strategy Paul and his wife are giving to their latest grandchild. After Paul describes the strategy, Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics for The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, shares tables that represent the 95-year potential financial implications of this investment. Then, Chris Pedersen, our Director of Research, Daryl and Paul...

Paul provides a crash course in beginning investing in this presentation (with slideshow) to professional members of the Youth Business Alliance so they can use these principles and tools to educate and empower their students in financial literacy. This is the video (or podcast) to share with your teenage and older children, family, friends and anyone wanting to understand why and how to invest ov...

Chris Pedersen, Director of Research for The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, joins Paul Merriman to explain and elaborate on his ideas and tables published as the cover story in the AAII Journal (October 2022), titled, “Double Your Lifetime Purchasing Power in 20 Minutes.” As Chris states in this broadcast, the article particularly pertains to people doing open enrollment, especially if t...

The focus of most of the work we do at  The Merriman Financial Education Foundation  is to help investors put together portfolios that we believe will produce higher rates of return per unit of risk. In this podcast we look at the math of making more money, as well as specific decisions that are likely to lead to better returns.   The podcast references our following Tables:  F...

Paul Merriman, Chris Pedersen and Daryl Bahls each share his studies and comments about rebalancing a portfolio—how often, how much change before rebalancing, and when does it make sense not to rebalance? They also answer listener/viewer questions and Paul makes a special offer for a free chapter from Larry Swedroe’s book,  Your Complete Guide to a Successful & Secure Retirement...

In this presentation to the Boston Bogleheads® Chapter (Sept. 12, 2022), Paul presents the “10 most important new lessons learned by The Merriman Financial Education Foundation.” The foundation is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of helping the DIY investor make sound investment decisions for a lifetime and become the best advisor to the most important investor on earth…you!  Paul also giv...

Inspired by a conversation with George Sisti, Paul's good friend and trusted Truth Teller, Paul makes the case that successful investing is 99.9% defense. (See article referenced below). The good news is: almost every one of these defensive steps are easily applied to managing a portfolio. And once you set the process in motion, it should be relatively easy to stay the course. Of all the...

In this interview with Ken Roberts, host of Ken’s Bulls and Bears Report, a weekly radio show in Reno, NV, Paul addresses questions and more: 1. Should investors believe the “experts” predictions of catastrophic future returns for the stock market? 2. What are the most important investment decisions that people have to make? 3. What are the biggest financial mistakes that retirees make? 4. What ar...