Sound Investing

This “Money Talks” event brought together Rick Ferri, Larry Swedroe and Paul Merriman to discuss personal finance and investing from their various perspectives. It was a free live online event hosted by Choose FI’s Community Director Jennifer Mah on Oct. 7, 2020. Due to length of the conversation, we are presenting it in two parts. Here are some of the diverse topics covered. You can access Part 1 here for Video and here for Podcast. Rick discussed the 4 levels of getting to investment nirvana. Larry recommended anyone getting ready for retirement read Your Retirement Quest: 10 Secrets for Creating and Living a Fulfilling Retirement by Alan Spector and Keith Lawrence. Rick Ferri, CFA, is an investment analyst, adviser and author committed to helping DIYers. He is the president of the John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a frequent contributor to Bogleheads.org and host of the Boglehead podcast. Larry Swedroe is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about asset class selection and asset allocation, and the author of many acclaimed books including Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement 1st Edition by Larry Swedroe (Author), Kevin Grogan, Wise Investing Made Simple: Larry Swedroe's Tales to Enrich Your Future (Focused Investor), and his recent release of the 2nd edition of The Incredible Shrinking Alpha: How to be a successful investor without picking winners. This podcast is also available as a Video.

There is something of interest for every investor in this “Money Talks” event that brought together Rick Ferri, Larry Swedroe and Paul Merriman to discuss personal finance and investing from their various perspectives. It was a free live online event hosted by Choose FI’s Community Director Jennifer Mah on Oct. 7, 2020. Due to length of the conversation, we are presenting it in two parts. Here are some of the diverse topics covered. Part 2 will be broadcast next week. The topics covered were diverse and included: The difference between the desire, willingness and need to take risk How to build portfolios for retirees during a period of low interest Pros and cons of Monte Carlo studies When it makes sense to use advisors who charge by the hour Why understanding investors is more important than finding the best investment strategy Keys to retiring early How do you know when you have enough to retire? The pros and cons of investing in companies that pay dividends Why retirees depending on dividends should increase their exposure to stocks How to make smart tax-efficient moves How to you move from one strategy to another Pros and cons of target date funds Pros and cons of preferred stocks Which are best:  CDs or bond funds? What investments should be held in taxable and tax deferred accounts?

In a live AAII webinar on Oct. 21, 2020, Chris Pedersen, Director of Research at The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, presented some very simple portfolios that achieve massive diversification and how to apply a variety of approaches during both working years and retirement. Following this presentation, Chris, Paul Merriman and Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics, met (virtually) to address additional questions received during the event. What withdrawal strategies do you recommend?  Should I take money equally or draw from the fund that has grown the most?  How do RMDs change things? How do you manage a do-it-yourself 2 Funds for Life portfolio using only a U.S. Total Market Fund and a U.S. small-cap-value fund? What percent of investors can sustain a strategy the means experiencing a 50% decline? Why did the Trev4 Portfolio do so much better in Chris’ presentation compared to Paul’s presentation? Why don’t you mention mid-cap funds? How can an investor determine what factors their stocks and bonds fall in to? How can an investor add some value and size factors to their portfolio without exposing them to too much risk? What mix of assets are suggested to a retiree with the goal of asset preservation that keeps up with inflation? In the Vanguard TDF example, why is there a disproportionately lower increase in return as you go up in the stock exposure? how much will taxes from rebalancing hurt my returns in a taxable account? To view the graphics from this Q&A session (thanks to Daryl Bahls), click here. See the original AAII presentation here.  For a free download of the original presentation slideshow (by Chris Pedersen),click here. This podcast is also available as a Video. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

“This is one of the most important presentations I have seen on the topic of building balanced portfolios.” — Paul Merriman Chris Pedersen, Director of Research at The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, presented this live AAII webinar event on Oct. 21, 2020, discussing some very simple portfolios that achieve massive diversification across industries, geographies, stocks, bonds and various equity premium factors. By utilizing and augmenting target-date funds, investors can even adjust risk to age-appropriate levels. Chris compares past performance to more complex approaches and shows that complexity is not a necessity, and he also examines how these approaches apply to people accumulating during working years and withdrawing during retirement. In this podcast you’ll learn: New data on the "No-Nonsense portfolios" Paul discussed in his September 23 AAII presentation, including the impact of adding bonds to Paul’s all-equity results New data on 2 Funds for Life 5 ways to build a balanced portfolio New research on the factors that have led to higher long-term returns How adding factors to a portfolio will likely lead to more consistent returns Recommended mutual funds and ETFs for many of the No-Nonsense Portfolios What investors in the accumulation and distribution stages of life give up by using the "Simple and Effective Balanced Portfolios" Plus Chris answers some of the most important questions regarding the pros and cons of rebalancing,  the pros and cons of adding international funds, the best bonds for stability and growth and the best safe withdrawal rate for the most popular portfolios. In the coming weeks Chris, Daryl and Paul will respond to additional questions that there was not time to answer during the presentation. For a free download of the presentation, click here. This podcast is also available as a Video. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Paul is joined by Chris Pedersen, Director of Research and Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics for The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, to answer questions from viewers of the AAII Webinar, "Which Is The Best 1-,2-, 3- and 4 Fund Strategy?” that Paul presented Sept. 23, 2020. While the presentation explored returns of 11 portfolios, from 1 to 4 funds, the focus was on the Merriman 4-Fund Combo.  See all URL links below. It is not necessary to watch or listen to the original presentation to appreciate this Q&A session, but it will likely be helpful. This is presented as both a podcast and a YouTube video. If you enjoy this, please like and share. Your engagement helps support our work…thank you! Download a free PDF of all slides in the original presentation: https://paulmerriman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/QA-Podcast-1-Charts.pdf As the presentation included results for all 11 of what we call “No-Nonsense Portfolios,” several viewers wanted to know how the 10-fund Merriman Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio performed for the 1990-2019 period. In this Q&A we addressed that topic. The following questions are from the live event’s audience:  Will you be developing small portfolios that include international equity funds? Will you discuss your use of market timing, including how DFA uses market timing in their portfolio management? With only 10 years left until retirement, how appropriate will the 2 Funds for Life portfolio be? •  What is a safe withdrawal rate in retirement? What do you recommend for a 50- to 60-year-old who wants to retire now compared to one who is 60 to 70?  (The viewer adds he has a $3 million portfolio.) How can you recommend bond funds when they pay such little income? Do you like the Life Cycle Funds within the U.S. Government Thrift Savings Plan?  Would you recommend the Small Cap Fund in the TSP for your 2 Funds for Life Portfolio? Do you use equal weighted index funds in any of your 4-Fund Combo? Do you always recommend rebalancing your 4-Fund Combo? Where can I get a copy of your upcoming book, We’re Talking Millions! 12 ways to Supercharge Your Retirement? What do you think is the best formula for the percentage you have in stocks and bonds?  [See our Fine Tuning Tables and Distribution Tables] What is the biggest mistakes young investors make? I have fully funded my 401k and have more money to invest… should I put in taxable account or my wife’s 401(k)? What books do you recommend? Winning the Loser's Game by Charles Ellis A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement by Larry Swedroe Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig Spending Your Way to Wealth by Paul Heys

This is the second of three Q&A sessions with Paul Merriman, Chris Pedersen, Director of Research, and Daryl Bahls, Director of Analytics with The Merriman Financial Education Foundation. It is a follow-up to Paul's webinar, “Which Is The Best 1-,2-, 3- and 4 Fund Strategy?” sponsored by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) on Sept. 23, 2020.  At the end of that presentation, Paul was joined by Chris and Daryl to address questions for 30 minutes. As there were many more questions than time permitted answering, this podcast — also available as a video — continues to address those audience questions. In this Q&A session, the three “conflict-free teachers” dive into these big topics: • Equity asset class selection • Comparing returns • Dollar-cost averaging • Sequence returns and risks in accumulation and distribution stages Questions addressed include: - Why don’t you include small and large growth in your recommendations? - Gold and commodities: why not? - What’s the value of adding international funds? - Does it matter whether you use Vanguard or Fidelity Funds? - Do you use Portfolio Visualizer to understand the factor weighing of your portfolio? - How do your “Best in Class” ETFs, that duplicate DFA’s, compete with Vanguard? - Which strategies are better when you consider tax implications of rebalancing? Paul answers this last question briefly, citing from and recommending DIYers read “Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement” by Larry Swedroe and Kevin Grogan. Click here to download the pdf presentation, with enormous thanks to Daryl Bahls, our Director of Analytics, for his insightful Tables. Find links to the various tables and strategies mentioned at: https://paulmerriman.com/pauls-important-advice/

This Q&A session with Paul Merriman, Chris Pedersen and Daryl Bahls, is a follow-up to Paul's webinar, “Which Is The Best 1-,2-, 3- and 4 Fund Strategy?” sponsored by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) on Sept. 23, 2020. Following the presentation, Paul was joined by Chris and Daryl to address questions for 30 minutes. As there were many more questions than time permitted answering, this podcast and video is the first of several that will address those audience questions. Paul begins this Q&A session with the 5 lessons he hoped viewers would learn during the AAII webinar, followed by questions regarding the study that compares the "11 No-Nonsense Portfolios".  That discussion includes: why the selection of the 11 portfolios? why didn’t the portfolios include any bonds? why the use of Dimensional Indexes? how were the indexes constructed? why the 30-year period? why the best and worst of the portfolios? how does the Tell-Tale chart work? PLUS, Daryl introduces a new table that compares the 4-Fund Portfolio to the S&P 500 from 1928 to 2019. Click here to download the pdf presentation, with enormous thanks to Daryl Bahls, our Director of Analytics, for his insightful Tables.

In this live webinar, hosted by The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) on Sept. 23, Paul Merriman compares 10 different simple strategies for constructing a portfolio using mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The strategies are favorites of the Bogleheads, Rick Ferri, Warren Buffett, John Bogle and Merriman. He provides a list of The Merriman Financial Education Foundation’s recommended funds at Vanguard and Fidelity as well as the best-in-class ETFs to build these portfolios. He was joined by Chris Pedersen, the Foundation’s Director of Research and Daryl Bahls, our Director of Analytics for a Q&A session with the audience. Learn more at PaulMerriman.com Paul recommends podcast listeners watch the video of the presentation to take full advantage of the visuals. Watch it here on YouTube. If you’d like your own free pdf of the Powerpoint for this presentation, click here for an immediate download. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

Paul is interviewed by George Grombacher for George’s “Money Savage Podcast”, and talks about the importance of community, the positive influencers in our lives, and the luck of timing. You will learn more about Paul Merriman’s life journey and his commitment to educating investors, both do-it-yourself investors and those who hire a financial advisor, making sure they’re doing the right thing in your best interest. For George’s “make a difference tip,” Paul offers two essential points that benefit every investor. One is the power of half-a-percent. This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a one-time small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!

In this podcast Paul answers to a variety of comments and questions from his listeners and readers. Paul responds to a newsletter subscriber who unsubscribed in disgust because she felt he did not address the real ills of our society and the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. 3:30 Paul discusses his last MarketWatch article, “How to buy 10 years of retirement for $3650.”  This article had over 330,000 opens within days after after publication. 10:05 Will your Sept. 23rd AAII presentation be recorded?  The answer is Yes. The title is, "Which Is the Best 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-Fund Strategy?” You can register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8136639342311676944 21:25 Why are your returns on the S&P 500 so different from mine? 22:45 With a large amount of money to be invested in bonds, do you have any recommendation on the timing? 25:25 When will you be giving your financial literacy workshops on Bainbridge Island in 2021? I'm interested in visiting family there and would like to coordinate with your public presentations. 27:20 In this Marketwatch.comarticle, “How retirees should invest in a time of record-low interest rates," Mark Hulbert recommends investing 30% of your portfolio in annuities...Do you agree? Paul suggests several cases where single premium life annuities are appropriate and refers those interested to stantheannuityman.comfor free books on annuities. 28:50 Isn’t rebalancing just another form of market timing? 37:20 A Western Washington University graduate who heard Paul speak in 2018 asks, "What do you recommend?” in regard to his situation: “I’ve got student debt, my first job, just moved from home into an apartment and my $10,000 investment in GEVO is down to $7,000. I think it has a great future but I don’t want to lose all my money.” 41:05 What portfolios will you be comparing in your September 23rd AAII presentation? 46:55 Given current market conditions, and our plan to retire in the next 5 years, what fixed income or safe strategies do you recommend?  And what long-term fixed-income strategies do you recommend? 49:35 Could you compare the Vanguard Total Market Fund (VTSAX) with the Fidelity Zero Total Market Fund (FZROX)? 53:10 This podcast is part of the educational offerings from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3.  If you found value in this podcast, here are four ways to support the podcast and our foundation: 1)    Leave a podcast review on your player of choice. 2)    Sign up for our biweekly newsletter at PaulMerriman.com 3)    Use our M1 Finance affiliate link if you are interested in setting up a brokerage account, using our portfolio suggestions. The Foundation will receive a small fee at no cost to you. 4)    Consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide financial education to investors.  Thank you!