431 episodes

Weekly podcasts with Paul Merriman. Strategic planning for investing at every stage of life.

Sound Investing Paul Merriman

    • Business
    • 4.6 • 262 Ratings

Weekly podcasts with Paul Merriman. Strategic planning for investing at every stage of life.

    Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation 2024 Update

    Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation 2024 Update

    In the previous three podcasts we have addressed the long term decision between investing in stocks vs. bonds, what equity asset classes you might use in building your equity portfolio and how to combine the different equity asset classes to build the best portfolio for your different investments.

    The purpose of each of the Boot Camp Series is to address some of the most important investment decisions.  In this podcast I discuss the question of how much fixed income an investor should  hold in their portfolio.

    There are 9  Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables.  Each one assumes the use of one of the nine Sound Investment equity portfolios.  Paul focuses on two of them and expects that those who are interested will be able to view the rest of the tables on their own.

    The two tables use the S&P 500 (Table B1) and the U.S. 2-Fund (50/50 S&P and Small Cap Value) (Table B9).  Each of these tables represents the annual returns of  11 combinations of equities and bonds.  The goal is for investors to find the combination of equities and bonds for their risk limits and and return expectations.



    Paul will be monitoring the YouTube video and will respond to questions there.

    Disclosures

    Data Disclosure Notice - Funds (1970-Present)

    Data Disclosure Notice - Indexes (1928-Present)

    • 43 min
    Sound Investing Portfolios: 2024 Update

    Sound Investing Portfolios: 2024 Update

    In this podcast Paul addresses the construction, returns and risks of the Sound Investing Portfolios.

    Table H1a lists the 9 Sound Investing Portfolios and includes percentages of each of the asset classes included in each portfolio.Table 

    H2a lists the risk and return data for each portfolio.  The table compares profitable  years, unprofitable years, decade returns and total return of a $10,000 investment.

    Table H3a lists the portfolios annual return for each year for the period 1970-2023.

    Paul encourages listeners to pose questions regarding the Sound Investing Portfolios.  Send questions to paul@paulmerriman.com.  

    • 34 min
    The Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio 2024 Update

    The Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio 2024 Update

    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 portfolios, starting with the S&P 500 on its own, and then the results of adding 9 other asset classes one at a time.

     In A2a Paul reviews the Ultimate Buy and Hold results to 7 other portfolios that investors may select for better returns with fewer funds and similar volatility. 

    In both cases he shows the results with both annual and monthly rebalancing. 

    On the next podcast Paul will dig into the important differences of the risk and return for all  9 portfolios, including the S&P 500 as the single holding.

    • 41 min
    Stocks vs. Bonds: The $10 Million Decision

    Stocks vs. Bonds: The $10 Million Decision

    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 from 1928 to 2023.  In Tables J1a and J2a he compares the annualized return for the entire period as well as for all the 15 and 40 year periods.  His discussion includes the impact of inflation as well as rebalancing.  He also encourages those who have not read  "We’re Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement” to  download the free pdf.

    • 57 min
    Chris Pedersen answers your questions: Best in Class, 2 Funds for Life and more!

    Chris Pedersen answers your questions: Best in Class, 2 Funds for Life and more!

    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 fund is not available in their 401(K)?  Does a small cap blend fund, that is available, have the same impact as small cap value?
    How do you choose between investing in a higher expense ratio ETF (say Avantis) compared to investing in a low expense ratio small cap value index fund?  Would the decision be as simple as going with the lower expense ratio fund?  
    How do taxes impact your recommendations whether the asset class is held in taxable or tax advantaged accounts?  Specifically, the S&P 500 fund that has little to no annual taxes vs small cap value which is less tax efficient.
    Are you tempted to invest in individual stocks or actively managed funds?  
    Since small cap value funds can have long periods of underperformance,  does that suggest  those approaching retirement should avoid small cap value funds?
    How did you react to the March 2020 Market Meltdown and other past major market declines?   Did you try to take advantage of the declines as a buying opportunity?
    What about combining 25% each small cap value and S&P 500 fund with  50%  target date fund?  
    What’s the best way to move from your present holdings to a 2 Funds for Life Portfolio?
    Where do I find information on how you make your selection of Best In Class ETFs?  Here is the page that has links to the articles, podcasts and video.  Plus here is a link to Chris’ AAII article on the topic.
     I’m setting up a  50/50 small cap value/target date fund.  Would it help to add international small cap value?
    How about using two small cap value ETFs?  DFA and Avantis each have similar ETFs but different portfolios.  
    What is the status of Chris’ new white paper on 2 Funds for Life?

    • 1 hr 11 min
    10 Investment Decisions “Guaranteed” to Improve Your Financial Future

    10 Investment Decisions “Guaranteed” to Improve Your Financial Future

    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).” 

    • 22 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
262 Ratings

262 Ratings

JessDeland ,

# 1 of my two favorite investing info programs

I downloaded your free books, listen to every podcast or watch on YouTube, share links with friends. Printed your etf recommendations and researched. Have added four of them to my portfolio. I never owned small caps if any kind. Now I do.
Started my grandson, age 18,in a Roth with his earnings from summer jobs with the S&P 500 and one of your recommendations for small cap value.
Really appreciate your program.
Oh, # 2 is Rob Berger.

Saifoony ,

Paul and team rock!

In a world full of get rich quickly maniacs, I humbly thank Paul Merriman for his leadership and showing us the true meaning of investing. Thank you for all that you do.

NickNam e ,

Thank You!

Paul & team: Thanks for all you do! I use the Best In Class WW 50/50 Ultimate Buy and Hold strategy. Your Wednesday podcast helps me to have realistic expectations and helps me to remember never react emotionally to a down period. I really admire your commitment to educating the public. You guys are saints.
-Jerry

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