Buying happiness: how to invest if you want to be cheerful

More than half a century ago, the Nobel-prizewinning economist Robert Merton came up with a formula for happiness. The Merton share is a rule of thumb for determining an individual’s ideal portfolio split between “risky” but lucrative assets and “safe” ones. His principles are almost universally accepted by academics as the “correct” approach to long-term investment. So why don’t more people follow his advice? Hosts: Ethan Wu and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s Josh Roberts; Victor Haghani, founder of Elm Wealth; and John Cochrane, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.