Paul Merriman

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect investment, but what would it look like if all your investment wishes could come true? This podcast is from a series, “Financial Fitness After 50,” that Paul recorded for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 2011 as a premium for those who donated to their local […] The post The Perfect Investment appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Joe Shaefer of Stanford Wealth Management, an old friend of more than 30 years, recently wrote an article for Seeking Alpha.  “Passive Index Investing is a Delusion” is an active manager’s view of investing in indexes.  In the podcast I address Joe’s views of why index investing is a losing strategy and why I think […] The post Is passive indexing a delusion? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

With all the speculation about the future of fiduciaries, I felt it was time to make some remarks about important differences between those inside and outside the world of commissions. But, as you’ll discover, even a fee-only fiduciary can give terrible advice.  Plus, having just spoken at a conference sponsored by a local DFA advisor, […] The post Finding a fiduciary, plus Vanguard vs. DFA appeared first on Paul Merriman.

There are three huge decisions that will likely lead to reaching the “early retirement” goal. Paul discusses why these three decisions are key, and shares stories about those who have been successful in reaching their financial freedom goal. How important is it to have a spouse who has agreed to the challenges of being an […] The post Three decisions to reach your “early retirement” goal appeared first on Paul Merriman.

If you are one of the millions of people who are considering an insurance product as part of your retirement plan, listen to this! It is hard to believe that an insurance company would ever pay a 12% commission on a million dollar investment if the product promised everything a person could want in retirement, […] The post The biggest investment mistake I know (“Outrage of the Year #1”) appeared first on Paul Merriman.

There are a lot of questions about the upcoming changes of the Trump presidency, coupled with a cooperative Congress. Some experts are saying it’s time to get out of the market, while others are making lists of the reasons there is a bigger and longer bull market in the works. Paul shares how he thinks […] The post How to invest during a Trump Presidency and more appeared first on Paul Merriman.

One of the biggest mistakes investors make is not to diversify sufficiently to virtually eliminate stock or company risk. Paul reads part of two important articles. In “Speculating versus investing: The buying of individual stocks,” Larry Swedroe discusses the reasons owning individual stocks is an approach that requires taking more risk without an additional return. […] The post Investing vs. Speculating: The case for diversification appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Paul expresses three outrages, exposing the dirty tricks some advisors use to exaggerate their performance. He also corrects a mistake on his last podcast regarding mid-cap funds, and answers several questions from listeners: Is it time to get out of small cap funds and get into TIPS? What ETFs do you recommend to put the […] The post Outrages, Q&A’s, a correction and a coming attraction appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Paul reviews the returns of his recommended asset classes for the 1 and 15 years ending 2016. He also compares the most important factors of the DFA and Vanguard small cap value funds, as well as the returns of all the major asset classes for the two fund families. And he discusses how the small […] The post What worked and what didn’t in 2016 appeared first on Paul Merriman.

This podcast is from the PBS show “Financial Fitness After 50,” Paul discusses 31 important ‘rules of the road’ to financial fitness. Understanding these lessons, investors are likely to ensure they enjoy a lifetime of investment success. The rules include many of the important investment decisions investors must make, as well as how to deal […] The post 31 important rules of financial fitness appeared first on Paul Merriman.

This podcast is recorded from the 2011 CD collection recorded for the premium package for the “Financial Fitness After 50” PBS show.  There is lots of advice for first time investors, as well as retirees, but some of the biggest mistakes are made within a few years of retirement.  If even one of Paul’s warning […] The post How to Avoid the Big Mistakes Pre-Retirees Make appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Fellow Retirementor Ken Roberts always has a long list of questions for me on his Ken’s Bull and Bears Report.  In this interview Ken asks questions about stock performance in a growing economy, how to beat the market, the need for professional advisors, lessons learned from the Trump election, my favorite Bogle quotes and  how […] The post Ken Roberts’ Bulls and Bears – A Radio Interview with Paul Merriman 12-5-16 appeared first on Paul Merriman.

The most common question I get is focused on the likelihood of abnormally low future returns on stocks.  This is not only a common question today, it is one of the most common questions investors have after any difficult market period.  How can anyone possibly know what happens next?  There is always a list of […] The post The Death of Equities appeared first on Paul Merriman.

We are surrounded by people who lie. Experts say we lie on a regular basis, so the fact that our politicians, corporations and those trying to sell us something often lie should not be a surprise. Paul wants investors to search hard for the truth, not just by others but also lies we tell ourselves. […] The post How to make a million dollars with your smartphone appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, John Bogle and Ben Franklin and more… Paul discusses some of the most meaningful financial quotes and suggests that reviewing such quotes once a year may help you be more committed to and focused on the most important investment basics.This recording was produced for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as part of […] The post Lessons From the World’s Most Famous Investors appeared first on Paul Merriman.