Sound Investing
Weekly podcasts with Paul Merriman. Strategic planning for investing at every stage of life.
Episodes
Today I’ve got a lot to share: my recent trip to Western, new educational tables from Daryl Bahls, a must-read article by Ben Carlson, a fantastic free resource called Rebel Finance, and some takeaways from the latest Bogleheads meeting.
Last week, I spent two full days at Western, meeting with students, faculty, and staff. I gave presentations to graduating seniors, a personal finance class, and the Financial Management Associatio...
In this episode, Paul Merriman details his upcoming presentations at Western Washington University, where he will be connecting with students, professors, and staff about the critical importance of personal finance education. Paul also gives practical investing advice, including a hands-on guide to using Morningstar’s chart and comparison tools to analyze mutual funds and ETFs.
Special Feature: Free Online Financial Literacy...
Prior to discussing his topic of the day, Paul shares his thoughts on a recent podcast featuring Truth Tellers Tom Cock and Don McDonald, joined by Weston Wellington from Dimensional Fund Advisors. Weston weighs in on some of the most critical issues facing investors right now.
Here are the topics on the podcast with Tom Cock and Don McDonald-
0:53 Weston Wellington on volatility and market uncertainty
2:47 Why volatility is ...
Being a do-it-yourself investor can be both rewarding and challenging. In this episode, we explore the essential mindset and strategies needed to succeed in the long term.
Drawing from academic research, historical data, and decades of experience, this episode covers:
- Why short-term returns are often just noise and how to focus on the bigger picture.
- The importance of a 20-30 year horizon for small-cap value investments.
- How to av...
"Buy and hold investors don’t just win on average returns— they win by avoiding the behavioral landmines that sabotage long-term success.” Paul Merriman
In this podcast Paul addresses one of the most important investment decisions a do it yourself investor will make.
Paul opens the discussion with comments from a Forbes article from 2008 that discusses Warren Buffett’s market timing decision he made to get totally out of the ma...
April is Financial Literacy Month, and to help us celebrate we brought in a returning guest, Paul Merriman. Paul has been on the show before to discuss investment portfolios, but today he talks with us about some extraordinary strides he's making as a financial literacy advocate through his nonprofit, The Merriman Financial Education Foundation. We also share some of our favorite financial literacy resources.
This updated discussion of the Ultimate Buy and Hold Portfolio highlights the advantages of equity asset allocation and worldwide diversification. The presentation was presented to members of the Washington State Society of CPAs.
At the end of the presentation Paul adds his list of 15 million dollar decisions that all investors will make in their lifetime.
Join me on Catching Up to Fi l with Rick Ferri to discuss key investing topics like asset allocation and the pros and cons of small-cap value vs. total market funds.
TIMESTAMPS / CHAPTERS
00:00 ⛓️ Understanding Bonds and Young Investors
02:31 🌟 Introduction to Financial Literacy Titans
03:12 🎓 Paul Merriman's Financial Education Foundation
04:18 🧠 Rick Ferri and the Bogle Center for Financial Literacy
12:09 ⚖️...
In the left corner, we have Paul Merriman, the seasoned finance veteran weighing in at 183 pounds. In the right corner, Dr. Karsten Jeske, the scrappy newcomer at 208 pounds. The bell rings, and the small cap value debate begins.
This episode features a financial boxing match between two investment heavyweights with dramatically different perspectives. Paul Merriman champions diversification through the efficient frontier, which mea...
If a retired investor has the ability to use a flexible distribution strategy it will likely produce one of the best financial outcomes in retirement.
Before discussing flexible distributions Paul lists the reasons he believes that 99% of successful long term depends on defensive steps. After listing 18 defensive decisions he explains why flexible distributions are better than fixed distributions for those who have over said.
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...
Young and first time investors have to address a number of monumental decisions.
- How much money to save for the future
- How much they should invest in equities and bonds
- How much of the equities should be in large, small, value, growth, U.S. and international asset classes
- How much to increase the investment each year
This podcast/video helps the investor address those decisions. For those listening to th...
This is the 4th in a series of 9 Boot Camp videos/podcasts.
The previous three segments covered :
In this presentation Paul focuses on the differences between the risks and returns of different percentages stocks and bonds. He also discusses one table that mixes different percentages of the S&P 500 and small cap value...
Chris Pedersen updates his recommendations and describes his selection process in an interactive presentation with Paul and Daryl along for the ride.
This "Best In Class ETFs Recommendations" presentation is the 9th in the Boot Camp Series. (We have not completed some of the earlier presentations due to the high interest in Chris' Best In Class Recommendations).
The focus of each the Boot Camp presentation is to help...
The 2024 numbers are finally in and we have produced the #1 investment decision in the Bootcamp series. There is no question that the biggest lifetime decision an investor makes is the choice between the safety of bonds and the potential long term growth of stocks. Here is a link to the pdf of the set of slides Paul uses in the presentation. The presentation includes the updated 1, 15 and 40 year returns tables along with t...
The purpose of this podcast/video is to help investors understand the likely risk and return parameters of small cap value, S&P 500, 2 Fund Portfolio (50% each SCV/S&P) and 4 Fund Portfolio (25% each SCV/S&P/SCB/LCV). In each case the best, worst, and average 1, 2, 3, 5, 10. 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 year returns are listed.
The following tables are discussed:
This is the second presentation in the Boot Camp Series.Click for video.
The first presentation (Stocks Vs. Bonds) will be available in the next two weeks.
This presentation makes the case for diversifying a portfolio using multiple equity asset classes.
Paul uses 4 set of tables to make his case:
In this Podcast, Paul, Chris, and Daryl describe the Sound Investing Portfolios and their background, rationale, construction, and performance.
00:00 - Intro
02:00 - DFA Background
05:47 - Portfolio Rationale
11:45 - Allocations
14:11 - Backtesting & Comparisons
19:32 - Rewards of Diversification
28:42 - Differing Good Times
32:40 - 70/30 US/Int'l Portfolios
35:05 - Which Funds?
39:08 - Close
In this insightful conversation, renowned financial expert Paul Merriman shares his wealth of knowledge and experience in investing. He discusses his journey from stockbroker to founding his own investment advisory firm, and eventually establishing the Merriman Financial Education Foundation. Paul delves into various topics, including:
✅ The importance of data-driven investing and understanding the math behind it
✅ His meeting with ...
The podcast starts with a brief history of the growth of the Merriman Financial Literacy Foundation. From it’s small beginning in December 2012, it has produced over 1000 videos, articles and podcasts, published 6 books, spoken at many national conferences, underwritten a university class on investing for non finance majors at Western Washington University, produced portfolios for do it yourself investors, produced recommended mut...
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