Paul Merriman

In a recent radio conversation with Ken Roberts of Bulls and Bears,  Paul discusses compound interest, the best asset classes, small cap value, target date funds, portfolio diversification, calculating retirement distributions, young investors, house swapping and more. You can find articles on all these subjects at http://PaulMerriman.com The post Retirement Planning, Small Cap Value and More appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Q&A’s: Turning $3000 into $50 million Paul’s article on building a $3000 investment into $50 million in distributions and gifts has attracted many readers and generated a lot of questions. In this Q&A session, Paul answers these questions: how reasonable are your assumptions? Which is the very best small cap value fund? When should bonds be added […] The post Q&A’s: Turning $3000 into $50 million appeared first on Paul Merriman.

How to turn $3,000 into $50 million… Really! Want to leave an important legacy for the future? “How to turn $3,000 into $50 million” addresses the steps a parent or grandparent might take to leave a significant legacy. This also applies to young investors. Paul explains how to make the initial investment, move the money […] The post How to turn $3,000 into $50 million appeared first on Paul Merriman.

In this Thanksgiving podcast, Paul expresses appreciation for the opportunity to serve his listeners and readers, and asks for a couple of favors. He asks for your ideas on information you would like him to provide in the future, as well as suggestions to improve the information he is presently providing. He also would like […] The post Do You Really Follow My Advice? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

The cornerstone of Paul Merriman’s advice is “The Ultimate Equity Buy and Hold Strategy.”  Here he discusses each of the equity asset classes investors should hold in the equity portion of their portfolio, even if it’s only 10% of the portfolio. With each equity asset class, Paul recommends an article written about the long-term returns […] The post What is The Ultimate Equity Buy and Hold Strategy? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Paul answers two of the most common questions he receives about small cap value ETFs: 1. What’s the best choice between Vanguard Small Cap ETF (VBR) and Vanguard Russell 2000 Value ETF (VTWV)?  2. Which has the best small cap value ETF? Paul makes clear why he thinks one will do much better than the […] The post The best small cap value ETF appeared first on Paul Merriman.

In this podcast Paul discusses the historical returns of the S&P 500, large cap value, small cap blend and small cap value.  He knows many investors live with the belief they will find an actively managed that will outperform his favorite of the four, small cap value.  Three of the most famous investors of all […] The post Buffet, Lynch and Miller vs. small cap value appeared first on Paul Merriman.

In 2011 John Bogle predicted a 7% 10 year growth rate (including dividends) for the S&P 500.  In June, 2015 he reduced his prediction to 5%.  Now he is predicting a 4% growth rate for the next decade and that doesn’t include mutual fund expenses, taxes or inflation.  That might not be unsettling to investors […] The post Bogle predicts 4% growth rate for stocks appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  After explaining fixed and flexible distribution strategies for retirement in previous podcasts, Paul received many questions from investors about which is more appropriate? In this podcast, he helps you determine if you have enough to use the higher distributions of the flexible distribution strategy. To get the most out of this podcast, Paul recommends […] The post Do You Qualify For a Flexible Distribution? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  Paul sheds more light on “The 20 things you should know about bear markets”, a MarketWatch.com article by Paul and Rich Buck. Commenting on the impact of inflation and dividends, Paul notes that one force reduces returns and one improves returns. You may be surprised to find out that the biggest long-term bear market was not […] The post The only bear market that really matters appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  Target Date Funds are a lot like pension funds, but they don’t come with a payment guarantee. There are 3 ways Target Date Funds can keep investors from reaching their goals for early retirement, or retiring with enough money to not take a cut in pay at retirement. Paul discusses these and also what […] The post 3 Ways Target Date Funds Fail Investors appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  One of the most important investment decisions you make is how much you can take out of your retirement investments. In this podcast Paul compares a fixed distribution strategy to the flexible distribution strategy. The fixed strategy is for investors who retire with just enough, compared to the flexible strategy for those who have […] The post Flexible Distribution: The Ultimate Distribution Strategy appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  Paul discusses 10 lessons for those investors planning to retire on a fixed distribution strategy. Fixed distribution strategies are those built on a base need with the long-term requirement of increasing distributions due to increases in inflation. Paul references the Fine Tuning Table as well as 3 tables on fixed distributions. He recommends printing […] The post 10 Lessons in Fixed Distribution Strategies appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  One bad investment decision can result in life changing damage.  It’s unfortunate enough when people make a bad decision on their own, but when the bad decision is simply the result of a slick sales pitch to make someone else rich, I get very hot under the collar. Recently, I encountered such a case and got to […] The post 100,000 ways to lose half your money appeared first on Paul Merriman.

We have no idea how soon the next bear market will strike but there is enough history to know it will likely be very unsettling to many investors. How big will the losses be?  How long will it last? What can you do to protect against those losses? In the podcast Paul discusses 10 things you […] The post 10 things you should know about bear markets appeared first on Paul Merriman.