Sound Investing

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**Sound Investing**

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

Latest Episodes:

Best in class ETF Q&A May 15, 2024

Show notes

Paul and Chris cover several questions about the Best-in-Class ETF recommendations and selection process.

What's the overarching objective of the Best-in-Class ETF recommendations?* What's the 6-step process described in your AAII Best-in-Class ETF Article?
Why is it sometimes worth paying another tenth of a percent or more for funds with more exposure to small or value?
Is AVUV's recent 6%/year return advantage over VBR expected and/or likely to continue?* What did Avantis say are the market conditions that favor or disadvantage their approach?* How should investors think of the risks of tilting away from the cap-weighted market indexes towards small and value?
Retail investors have a potential superpower versus institutional fund managers -- patience!
How many hours does it take Chris to update the Best-in-Class ETF recommendations?
JL Collins is a big proponent of the total market index. How much is our Best-in-Class ETF recommendation for large-cap blend (AVUS) likely to outperform a total-market index fund such as VTI?
What happens when small-cap value becomes super popular?

Links: Best-in-Class ETF Bootcamp video and podcast

AAII article on Choosing Best-in-Class ETFs Portfolio configurator

Portfolio visualizer factor statistics, factor regression tool, and fund factor regressions.

Watch video here

2 Funds for Life Q and A May 08, 2024

Show notes

Join Paul and Chris to follow up on Chris’ video on "2 Funds for Life Update 2024" .

In this discussion Chris covers the history of the development of this popular portfolio, as well as his new table that covers the expected returns for all of the periods from ages 20 to over 90.

The discussion included comments on:

The advantages of Blackrock over Vanguard target date funds and why it should make over .5% a year more over their lifetimes.
The reasons paying more for a small cap value fund may pay big rewards over the long term.
The advantages and disadvantages of the more aggressive 2 Funds for Life Portfolios.
How to build the Portfolio by using several different accounts
The impact of rebalancing vs. letting the 2 funds grow independently

Watch video here

Understanding the Pros and Cons of Annuities with Stan Haithcock May 01, 2024

Show notes

I interviewed Stan Haithcock, the expert I depend on when I have questions about annuities. We will dig into single premium life annuities (SPIA), multiple-year guaranteed annuities (MYGA) and other insurance products that are often over sold and over priced. What is the truth and how can you get what you need at the right price? Join me and Stan as he answers my questions and yours.

Stan Haithcock, also known as "Stan the Annuity Man" is recognized as one of the top independent annuity agents in the United States. Stan has authored seven books on annuities — all free on his website— and has produced over 1,000 educational videos on YouTube. His goal is to help do-it-yourself investors understand how annuities work and to protect them from costly mistakes.

⁠Click to watch video

Your top retirement questions answered with Christine Benz May 01, 2024

Show notes

Join Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning at Morningstar, for answers to seven of the biggest questions facing those entering or in retirement.
Financial literacy is empowering—yet good, practical education about financial management is too often out of reach for people, especially those with limited incomes. Former BCF Board member Paul Merriman—founder of The Merriman Financial Education Foundation—has dedicated his retirement to providing free education for all ages about how to secure a more stable financial future.

On behalf of BCF, every year Paul organizes ⁠free virtual events⁠ with speakers who are nationally renowned experts in their fields in order to help educate our community on how to better plan for our futures. These events target all ages and levels of financial literacy, including youth, first-time investors who are still in the workforce, and those who have just entered retirement.

Watch video here

Financial Gurus Collide: JL Collins and Paul Merriman Debate Wealth Strategies Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Today, we bring you an exclusive conversation between two investment gurus, JL Collins and Paul Merriman. They debate the secrets of building wealth, focusing on investment strategies, index funds, and the potential power of small-cap companies. If you're looking to sharpen your investment acumen, this episode is full of knowledge and insights! Join us as we navigate through the crucial aspects of long-term investing, risk management, and the dynamics of the S&P 500 and Total Stock Market Index Fund. Paul and JL dissect the importance of diversification, disciplined strategies, and the psychology behind successful investing. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting out, this episode is packed with valuable tips and strategies for a robust financial future.

Watch the video here

Best in Class ETF 2024 Updates Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

So, you've chosen to be a buy-and-hold investor following one of Paul's Sound Investing portfolios. Now, the question is, what to buy? It's time to become a knowledgeable shopper.

Chris Pedersen describes the attributes that make an ETF or mutual fund more or less suited to implementing the portfolios we've discussed.

He then shows how to use Morningstar and Portfolio Visualizer to evaluate funds and points to the Best-in-Class recommended funds he's chosen.

Finally, he demonstrates how the Portfolio Configurator can compare different fund family implementations and calculate the needed percentages of different funds for your personal portfolio choices.

Along the way, we learn that, like Warren Buffet, he has a thing for Diet Coke.

Resources:

AAII Article describing his Best-in-Class ETF selection process-

Video link to section of prior video showing more detail of the factor analysis he uses- Time mark- 46:00

Best-in-Class ETF's article

Best-in-Class ETFs

Portfolio Configurator

2 Funds for Life 2024 Update Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

Chris Pedersen shows how to automate investing with simple 2-fund portfolios. He discusses how target-date funds work and how to combine them with small-cap value funds to achieve results similar to more complicated portfolios. He highlights the 2 Funds for Life fine-tuning table in the Portfolio Configurator and shows how it can be used to set expectations based on different allocations.

He also shows how 2 Funds for Life approaches can be compared to Sound Investing portfolios using the Configurator. Finally, he takes advantage of Paul's absence to praise Paul's example and highlight the importance of non-financial investments.

Resources mentioned:https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/a941a5d4-0929-45ea-b22e-3bb82dc334ff/page/p_zy32acuhdd?s=hqmha3-AK5k

Watch the video here.

Flexible Distributions 2024 Update Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

In this podcast Paul addresses the advantage of using a Flexible Distribution strategy. He starts by mentioning the earlier podcasts that focused on the Sound Investing Portfolios, Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables and Fixed Distribution Tables D1.4, D1.5, D9.4 and D9.5.
He then focuses on Flexible Distribution Tables F1.4, F1.5, F1.6, F9.5 and F9.6.
The following are links for listeners who want to review all the Fine Tuning Tables, all the Fixed Distribution Tables and all the Flexible Distribution Tables.

⁠9 Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation Tables

S&P 500 (⁠Table B1⁠)

U.S. 2-Fund (50/50 S&P and Small Cap Value) (⁠Table B9⁠)

Fixed Distribution Tables

Flexible Distribution Tables

For questions on Flexible Distributions please send to paul@paulmerriman.com or post the questions in the comments section of the Flexible Distribution video. (link)

Fixed Distributions 2024 Update Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

The move from the accumulation to distribution period of an investors lifetime includes some very important decisions.

What asset allocation between equities and fixed income?
What combination of equity asset classes in the equity portion, as well as fixed income asset classes?
What amount of distribution will be made annually?
Will the payments be monthly, quarterly or annually?
Will payments be adjusted for inflation and how often?
Will the distributions be based on a fixed distribution with regular adjustments for inflation (the topic in this presentation) or on a flexible basis (the topic of the next segment)?

In this podcast Paul uses 11 tables to address the questions above. It is recommended the viewer print out the PDF of the tables to make it easier to follow the numbers.

Many may find it is easier to follow the information on Paul’s video on the same topic.

If you have questions about the presentation please leave comment or question in the comment section below or email paul@paulmerriman.com.

Fixed Contributions 2024 Update Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

In segment #5 of the 2024 Book Camp Series Paul applies all of the first 4 segments lessons to putting the portfolios to work by making a regular monthly investment into several of the Sound Investing Portfolios. For those coming to the series for the first time Paul suggests listening to the first 4 segments.

#1 Stocks vs. Bonds: The $10 Million Decision

#2 The Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio 2024 Update

#3 Sound Investing Portfolios: 2024 Update

#4 Fine Tuning Asset Allocation 2024 Update
In his presentation Paul references Tables J1a, A1a, H2a, B1, B9, C1 and C9.
The purpose of the podcast is to familiarize investors with how to use and compare the rest of the Fixed Contribution Tables. This link takes investors to the rest of the C tables.

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