Risk Parity Radio

Frank Vasquez
  • 4.5 (300)
  • Investing
  • Updated Semiweekly

Risk Parity Radio is a podcast about investing located at www.riskparityradio.com.  RPR explores risk-parity style portfolios comprised of uncorrelated or negatively correlated asset classes -- stocks, selected bonds, gold, managed futures, and other easily accessible fund options for the DIY investor.  The goal is to construct portfolios that are robust and can be drawn down on in perpetuity, and to maximize projected Safe Withdrawal Rates regardless of projected overall returns.

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 526: Celebrating Your Generosity, Some Unusual Cowbell, Young Listener Correlation Questions, Investing A Windfall, And Portfolio Reviews As Of July 10, 2026

    In this episode we answer emails from I Have No Name, Shellie, Midwest Nice, and Mr. Ed (a motley crew indeed!).  We discuss some massively funny generosity to our Top of the T-Shirt Campaign for the Father McKenna Center, an odd small cap value fund in a 401(k) and the issues surrounding holding too much cash, how stocks and long-term treasury bonds can both rise while still showing negative correlation and how that relates to the Four Quadrant Model, and redeploying proceeds from the sale of real estate.  And lutefisk. And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio. Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center PMJAX at Morningstar:  PMJAX – Portfolio – PIMCO RAE US Small A | Morningstar PMJAX Comparison:  Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio Portfolios With More and Less Cash Comparison:  Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio S&P500 and LT Treasury Bond Comparison:  Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio The Four Quadrant Model Exquisitely Explained With Illustrations Inspired By Vermeer:  The Four Quadrant Wealth Atlas.pdf - Google Drive Four Quadrant Model Video:  Understanding Correlations and Diversification Using the Four Quadrant Model Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: A listener spots a new “small cap value” option in a 401(k) and asks the question most DIY investors eventually face: how do you tell what a fund really is when the plan uses a custom name and no ticker? We walk through a practical, repeatable research process using an AI chatbot (Gemini or ChatGPT) to find the closest public equivalent, then confirming style exposure and performance on Morningstar and Testfol.io. Along the way we discuss what “micro” exposure can mean, why “perfect” isn’t required inside a restrictive plan, and how you can still build a solid risk parity-style asset allocation with the tools you have. Then we tackle the comfort blanket that can quietly cost you money: cash. We explain cash drag, why holding 25% in cash can act like you’re not investing a quarter of your portfolio, and why bucket strategies don’t magically solve sequence of returns risk just by relabeling accounts. We also dig into tax-efficient investing and asset location, including why taxable cash interest can be brutal in retirement and when it may make sense to reposition assets between taxable and retirement accounts. A father writes in with his son’s surprisingly sharp question about bond stock correlation: if stocks go up over time and long-term Treasury bonds are negatively correlated, do bonds usually go down? We answer with long-run data, show why both can rise while still diversifying each other, and point to specific regimes like 2000 to 2010 versus 2022. We also field a real-world planning scenario on investing property sale proceeds while keeping ACA premium tax credits in mind by managing MAGI, before wrapping with our weekly portfolio review across the eight sample portfolios (VOO, QQQ, VIOV, GLDM, VGLT, PDBC, PFFB/PFFV, DBMF and more). Subscribe for more practical risk parity investing guidance, share this with a friend who’s stuck in a confusing 401(k), and leave a rating and review so more DIY investors can find us. Support the show

    49 min

  2. 5d ago

    Episode 525: Guiding Young America's Teachers, Assessing Academic TIPS Ladder Nonsense, And Checking Out A Cat Bond ETF

    In this episode we answer emails from Ethan, Joe, and Jim.  We discuss a plan for young teachers to reach early financial independence with the right accounts and a little encouragement, the peculiar benefits of 457s and Roth contributions, a critical read of an academic article about an impractical TIPS ladder strategy, and the real-world problems with 30-year TIPS ladders, including complexity, tax issues, and longevity risk.  We also discuss catastrophe bonds as an asset class and and why the new ILS ETF looks expensive and underwhelming at the moment And we touch on our fund raising campaign for the Father McKenna Center. Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center ChooseFI Teacher Podcast:  The Unfair Financial Advantage of Teachers | Ep 13 ARVA TIPS Ladder Article:  Full article: The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: A 457(b) can be the difference between “retire early” and “wait it out,” and we dig into why. We start by answering a detailed email from a young pair of teachers building wealth with a golden ratio portfolio while trying to bridge the years before age 59.5. We talk through tax buckets, account access, and what actually matters when you have Roth IRAs, taxable brokerage money, HSAs, employer plans, and the unique early-withdrawal rules of a 457(b) after you separate from service. Then we switch gears to retirement drawdown strategies and put a popular “spending rule” article under cross-examination. We walk through the assumptions behind ARVA and a 30-year TIPS ladder approach, why ultra-variable withdrawals may be unrealistic, and why complexity does not automatically equal safety. If you care about safe withdrawal rate research, inflation protection, and building a portfolio that can handle real life, you will hear exactly where the paper breaks down and what we would focus on instead. We wrap with a listener question on catastrophe bonds and the Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF (ILS). Cat bonds can look like the perfect uncorrelated alternative asset on paper, but fees and implementation details matter. If you’re building a diversified risk parity style asset allocation, we explain where cat bonds might fit, why this ETF doesn’t yet, and what we’d watch going forward. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s planning early retirement, and leave a review so more DIY investors can find the show. Support the show

    43 min

  3. Jul 4

    Episode 524: Celebrating Listener Retirements And Generosity, Fun With Claude, Jeremy Grantham Says Buy Gold And Long Bonds, And Portfolio Reviews As Of July 3, 2026

    In this episode we answer emails from Joe, Ashley, and Chris.  First, we celebrate the early retirements and generosity of our listeners, spotlighting what retirement feels like when it is driven by joy and choice instead of fear. Then we answer a near-retirement question about bubble warnings, international investing, the proper way to use expert opinions, and how to build a risk parity style portfolio that can survive drawdowns and fund withdrawals.  With the help of Claude. And we discuss our Top of the T-shirt Campaign (Part Deux!) for the Father McKenna Center. And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio. Additional Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center Yours Truly on Jesse Cramer's Podcast:  Are You Hoarding, Hustling, or Harvesting in Retirement? - E144 Video Summary Version:  The Harvesting Imperative: Structuring Retirement Around Well Being, Not Money Slide Show Summary Version:  Jesse Cramer Presents The Three H's.pdf - Google Drive Video Summary of RPR Episode 508:  RPR Episode 508 Illustrated: The Three H’s of Retirement Jeremy Grantham on the Long-View (forward to minute 42 for his diversification recommendations):  Jeremy Grantham ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’ - YouTube Michael Batnick (not Josh Brown!) Critique of CAPE Ratio-Based "Predictions":  Stocks Are More Expensive Than They Used to Be Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: You can do everything “right” for decades and still blow up retirement by making one mistake at the wrong time: heading into the drawdown years with a stock-heavy portfolio and no ballast. We kick off with a listener note that hits the best part of financial independence, retiring at 45 with true optionality and a plan built around joy instead of restriction. That story opens a bigger question: what is money for once you’ve already proven you can save it? We dig into the psychology of harvesting wealth and the practical realities of sequence of returns risk, especially in the five years before and after you stop working. We talk about spending that actually improves well being, including relationships, experiences, buying back your time, and giving, plus why so many high savers get stuck in hoarding or hustling modes. Along the way, we share updates on the Father McKenna Center and how listener generosity turns portfolio talk into real-world impact. Then we tackle a timely investing worry: bubble warnings and Jeremy Grantham’s cautions around US equities and AI hype. We break down why opinion shopping is a dead end, why growth vs value diversification matters more than US vs international for drawdown safety, and how funds like long-term Treasuries, gold, and managed futures show up in resilient risk parity style portfolios such as the Golden Butterfly and Golden Ratio. We also cover TSP international limitations, plus our weekly portfolio reviews and July withdrawal amounts. If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a friend who is near retirement, and leave a review so more DIY investors can find us. Support the show

    49 min

  4. Jul 1

    Episode 523: Funding A Family Gap Year Without Derailing FI, A Cowbell History, And Assorted AUM Advisor Follies And Conflicts

    In this episode we answer emails from Sarah, Tyler and Luc.  We Sarah's detailed plan to take a one to two year family gap year, travel, and unpack tax-smart ways to fund short-term spending, why we keep long-term money invested simply, more cowbell, and why complicated advisor math can be more noise than help how it can mask conflicts of interest.  We also touch on the Cederberg paper (yes, with a C and not an S despite my mis-statement) and why it is of little or no practical use for investors even though it may be of academic interest. Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center Jillian Johnsrud's "Retire Often" Book:  Book | Retire Often Referenced PWL Link:  Canadian Portfolio Manager: Introducing the “Plaid” ETF Portfolios | PWL Capital: Bender Bender & Bortolotti Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: A one to two year career break with three kids sounds like the kind of plan personal finance forums love to dunk on. We take it seriously, run it through a real-world investing lens, and show how a “mini-retirement” can be both joyful and financially survivable when the time horizon and the portfolio match. We walk through Sarah’s numbers, the stress points, and the decision that matters most: separating short-term spending from long-term compounding. For a gap year (or two), we prefer building a large, boring cash pile fast and funding it primarily from the taxable brokerage account, so a sudden market drop doesn’t force you to sell stocks at the worst possible moment. We also talk through keeping a HELOC as a backup plan rather than the main plan, and why retirement accounts often belong in simple equity index funds when you truly don’t need the money for a decade or more. Then we get tactical on taxes. Lower-income years can open the door to tax loss harvesting and tax gain harvesting, including the often-missed 0% long-term capital gains bracket if your total income stays low enough. We also explain why we treat taxes as an expense that changes based on what you sell and when, instead of playing confusing games that “discount” the value of entire accounts. To round it out, we respond to listener skepticism about after-tax portfolio valuation frameworks, advisor incentives, and the Cedarberg paper’s practical limits. If you like smart investing, plain language, and a dash of “more cowbell” diversification talk, hit subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review so more DIY investors can find the show. Support the show

    38 min

  5. Jun 28

    Episode 522: Intermediate Accumulation Decisions, The Follies Of Errant Fund Substitutions And Holding Too Much Cash, And Portfolio Reviews As Of June 26, 2026

    In this episode we answer emails from Tim, Avid Listener, and Aaron.  We discuss bond allocation in an intermediate accumulation Golden Butterfly style portfolios, the follies of fixating on fund or ticker symbol returns instead of the purpose of an asset in a portfolio,  and the follies of holding too much in cash. And we discuss our Top of the T-shirt Campaign (Part Deux!) for the Father McKenna Center. And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio. Additional Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center Analysis of TLT, MBB and SPY:  Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio Analysis of gold royalty companies:  Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio Liz Ann Sonders interview of Keith McCullough:  What Happens After Peak Inflation? (With Keith McCullough) | Charles Schwab Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: Chasing a higher yield can feel like progress, but what if it is quietly breaking your portfolio? We take on three listener questions that all circle the same core problem: fund shopping without a framework. From a Golden Butterfly style intermediate-term risk parity portfolio stuck with a limited 401k bond menu, to the temptation to use stable value funds, Roth space, and asset swaps to “fix” taxes, we talk through what matters most when your goal is steady accumulation for a real-world timeline like three to seven years. Next we get blunt about substitutes. Mortgage-backed securities ETFs may look like a better bond deal on paper, and gold royalty companies may look like “gold with higher returns,” but risk parity investing is not built by grabbing the flashiest ticker. We explain the four quadrant model and why each sleeve has a job: stocks for long-run growth, Treasury bonds as recession insurance that can be rebalanced when equities drop, and alternatives like gold or managed futures for low correlation during inflationary or stagflationary shocks. The right question is not “what returned more,” but “what will behave the way I need when the economic weather turns.” We also address a popular habit that masquerades as investing: moving cash between HYSAs, money markets, and short-term funds to optimize yield. If tiny rate differences feel meaningful, it may be a sign you are holding too much cash and taking on cash drag over the long run. We close with our weekly portfolio reviews across the eight sample portfolios and a reminder that nobody knows what markets will do next, so a sturdy process matters more than predictions. If this helps, subscribe, share the episode with a fellow DIY investor, and leave a review so more people can find Risk Parity Radio. Support the show

    42 min

  6. Jun 24

    Episode 521: To Bridge Or Not To Bridge, The Follies Of Fund Picking, And Adjusting Risk Parity Styles Along The Efficient Frontier

    In this episode we answer emails from Michael, Raphy, and Roman.  We discuss using a short-term SPIA as a bridge before Social Security and why it probably doesn't matter one way or the other if you are even a little over-saved, and how much flexibility a well-funded risk parity portfolio can really provide. We also tackle covered calls, dividend and income fund hype, and why portfolio design starts with asset classes, taxes, and drawdown tolerance rather than chasing tickers.  We also discuss the real differences between more and less aggressive risk parity style portfolio on an efficient frontier. Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center Ben Felix on Covered Calls (one of several videos):  Covered Calls: What People (Still) Get Wrong Comparison of ADX with Common Index Funds:  Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio Ben Felix on Dividend Investing:  The Irrelevance of Dividends Afford Anything Episode #618:  They Ran Out of Money. I Didn’t. Here’s Why. Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint:  Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive Comparison of Golden Butterfly and Roman's Modification:  Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: A five-year annuity that throws off real cash flow can look almost too good to be true, especially when you’re trying to retire before Social Security and Medicare. We dig into a listener’s plan to leave IT at 55 with a $175,000 budget and a risk parity style portfolio, then pressure-test the idea of using a short-term period-certain SPIA as a “pension bridge” to reduce early sequence of returns stress. The big lens we keep coming back to is proportionality: if the annuity is under 10% of the portfolio, it behaves a lot like a cash pile, CD ladder, or bond ladder and may not meaningfully change the long-run plan, but it can change how you sleep at night. From there, we shift into options and “extra income” strategies. We break down why covered calls often cap upside and can reduce long-term total return, and we draw a bright line between that and riskier approaches like selling puts, where rare crashes can cause huge losses. If you’re going to trade at all in retirement accounts, we argue for a simple discipline: don’t obsess over what you might make, calculate what you could lose, then size it so it can’t wreck your lifestyle. We also take on dividend-focused closed-end funds and the lure of shiny tickers. The message is blunt: the first word after income is taxes, and good retirement investing starts with asset classes, tax location, and drawdown tolerance, not fund-of-the-week marketing. We close with a listener’s Golden Butterfly tweaks and what higher withdrawal rates really cost in drawdowns and ulcer index stress. Subscribe, share this with a friend planning early retirement, and leave a review with your biggest question about bridging the years before Social Security. Support the show

    44 min

  7. Jun 21

    Episode 520: Lies, D%&* Lies, And Insurance Marketing Of Perpetual Motion Machines, Tim And Gwen's Musical Tastes, And Portfolio Reviews As Of June 19, 2026

    In this episode we answer emails from Wilson, Tim, and John.  We discuss why life insurance products are not magical perpetual motion machines that make your portfolios go faster, why insurance contracts cannot outperform the same underlying investments once costs and commissions are included, and how insurance marketers mislead the public with biased studies. We also a listener's musical tastes and answer an I Bonds allocation question. And we discuss our Top of the T-shirt Campaign (Part Deux!) for the Father McKenna Center. And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio. Additional Links: Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center Wilson's First Link to Insurance Marketing Materials:  WBC-Whitepaper-Integrating-Whole-Life-Insurance-into-a-Retirement-Income-Plan-Emphasis-on-Cash-Value-as-a-Volatility-Buffer-Asset.pdf Wilson's Second Link to Insurance Marketing Materials:  Benefits of integrating insurance products into a retirement plan (pdf) Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: Whole life insurance gets marketed like a magic third thing: safer than stocks, better than bonds, and somehow able to “buffer” retirement withdrawals when markets drop. We slow that claim down and look at what it really is: an insurance contract with costs, commissions, and built-in friction that has to come out of your return somewhere. We talk through why incentives matter so much in the financial services industry, especially when the person advising you also gets paid to sell permanent life insurance. Then we use a simple mental model, the first law of thermodynamics, to explain why inserting a contract between you and the underlying investments cannot increase performance. If an insurance company invests your premiums in conservative assets, the most you can get back is what those assets earn minus the policy’s expenses, insurance charges, and sales costs. Next, we show how the sales math often works: bury the assumptions, headline the results. We break down the kinds of inputs that can make a Monte Carlo analysis or a 4% rule chart look scary on purpose, including inflated fees, unrealistic retirement tax brackets, unnecessary term insurance choices, and conservative forward return “crystal ball” projections. Frank also shares his own whole life policy numbers as a real-world reference point. We close with a listener question on I Bonds versus Treasury bond ETFs, a straightforward take on tax location and allocation choices, and our weekly portfolio review across the sample risk parity portfolios. If you find this useful, subscribe, share the episode with a DIY investor, and leave a rating and review. Support the show

    57 min

  8. Jun 17

    Episode 519: Quitting The Job Without Quitting The Plan, Portfolio And Tax Consideration, And Gambling With Uncle Rico (ChatGPT)

    In this episode we answer emails from Peter, Alejandro, and Anderson.  We discuss retiring early and related family, work and community considerations, various portfolio and tax considerations and gambling problems, AI-driven portfolio tweaking, when simplicity applies, and share a fast way to summarize old episodes with NotebookLM.   And reference our Top of the T-shirt Campaign (Part Deux!) for the Father McKenna Center. Links:  Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation):  Donate - Father McKenna Center NotebookLM Summary of Chad's Question from Episode 478 -- "Mastering Portfolio Distributions":  NotebookLM - Portfolio Distribution Mechanics Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary: Quitting a high-paying job sounds like a math problem until you try living inside the decision. We hear from a 37-year-old parent with $1.3 million invested, a paid-off home, and a growing sense that learning about early retirement has made work feel unbearable. We walk through what those numbers actually support, why a 5% withdrawal rate can look fine on a spreadsheet but feel risky for a young family, and why expenses often rise as kids move toward the teen years and college. Our goal is to replace vague fear with concrete planning and a bigger, more realistic buffer. From there we get tactical: how to think about asset allocation as one unified portfolio across taxable and retirement accounts, how tax efficiency should influence what goes where, and what options exist for accessing retirement money earlier than 59.5. We dig into Roth conversion timing, and we clear up a major misconception about 72(t) distributions by explaining how splitting IRAs can make the tool far more flexible than people assume. Then we zoom out to portfolio construction. We explain why many formal “risk parity” or Ray Dalio all-weather style proposals end up bond-heavy, why that design often expects leverage, and why our retirement-oriented approach favors diversified building blocks like equities, Treasury bonds as recession insurance, gold, and managed futures. We also answer two more emails: one on using Google NotebookLM to generate a visual summary of rebalancing, and another on leveraged ETFs, AI recommendations, and moving-average trading rules, including why complexity can create tax headaches and ugly drawdowns. If you got value from this, subscribe, share the show with a friend who is rebuilding their plan, and leave a review so more DIY investors can find Risk Parity Radio. Support the show

    44 min
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4.5
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300 Ratings

About

Risk Parity Radio is a podcast about investing located at www.riskparityradio.com.  RPR explores risk-parity style portfolios comprised of uncorrelated or negatively correlated asset classes -- stocks, selected bonds, gold, managed futures, and other easily accessible fund options for the DIY investor.  The goal is to construct portfolios that are robust and can be drawn down on in perpetuity, and to maximize projected Safe Withdrawal Rates regardless of projected overall returns.

Information

  • Creator
    Frank Vasquez
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    528
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Risk Parity Radio
  • Show Website
    Risk Parity Radio

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