Paul Merriman

Paul discuss the key disadvantages of Vanguard’s largest fund and why Vanguard recommends investors put so much confidence and money into this, and its sister fund, that represent the international markets.  Find out why Paul believes using this fund can set your retirement back one to five years and cost your heirs millions of dollars.(...) The post 10 Reasons I Don’t Like Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund appeared first on Paul Merriman.

  Experts conclude that over 90% of long term investment returns come from your choice of asset classes.  In this podcast Paul discusses 8 separate decades of asset class returns so that you realize that the next 10 years may look a lot different from the expected long term return.  This information will hopefully help(...) The post 8 lessons from 80 years of history appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Lots of investors are looking for a one-fund solution, especially those near or in retirement. That would require a balanced fund with the right combination of equity and fixed income. In this podcast, Paul compares 5 Vanguard balanced funds. It’s a tough decision, but Paul shares the balanced fund, or funds, he would use and(...) The post My favorite Vanguard balanced fund appeared first on Paul Merriman.

This podcast is in response to the latest announcement by CALPRS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, that they have decided to liquidate their $4 billion in hedge fund investments. Paul discusses the sad truth about the expense, returns and slippery nature of the hedge fund industry. Here is just one of the many aspects(...) The post Hedgefunds – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Paul is interviewed by Ken Roberts on his radio program Bulls and Bears  In this edited (originally one hour) program, recorded Sept. 27, 2014, Paul discusses  401(k) investing, employer matches, how to choose funds, costs of administration, long-term planning, and distributions in retirement. Like Paul, Ken is a regular contributor to MarketWatch’s “RetireMentor” financial advice columns. You can access his(...) The post What You Should Know About 401(k) Plans appeared first on Paul Merriman.

This podcast in is response to a question posed by a retired investor whose advisor recommends he increase his investments in alternative investments. Paul pulls out all the plugs to tell about the good, the bad and the ugly regarding this questionable asset class. In the process, he tells investors what’s likely to be a(...) The post Should you own alternative investments? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

One of the biggest risks investors take is basing their decisions on bad investment advice. Sometimes the bad advice comes from commission-motivated salespeople. Sometimes the bad advice comes from ignorant, inexperienced well-meaning advisors who are just learning the business. Often those newcomers have gotten their information from people who have questionable beliefs. And sometimes the(...) The post Whose performance do you trust? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

For the last 15 years, a lot of market experts have said that the small cap and value premiums are a thing of the past. Their position is normally based on the idea that once a premium has become common knowledge it goes away. Of course that would suggest that once the premium of stocks(...) The post Is the small cap premium gone? appeared first on Paul Merriman.

In this podcast Paul answer 5 questions: 1. Why should I pay fees to a fund manager if I can build the fund myself? 2. Do REITs make sense in a taxable account? 3. Should I invest in a REIT ETF or mutual fund? 4. How should I dollar cost average $100,000 into the market?(...) The post Paul answers your questions appeared first on Paul Merriman.

In this podcast Paul discusses four major challenges to fixing a broken portfolio. Almost every question he receives is about how to make something that isn’t working, start working. Broken portfolios can be repaired with a handful of simple steps, but they’re not necessarily easy steps. Change, even in the face of obvious advantages is(...) The post How to fix a broken portfolio appeared first on Paul Merriman.

The 401(k) is the backbone of most retirements, yet millions of people are investing in 401(k) plans with mediocre offerings. To help make the most of your retirement investment, Paul Merriman offers recommendations for more than 100 Top U.S. company plans and the U.S. Government TSP at his website  In this podcast he explains why and how to(...) The post How To Get The Most From Your 401(k) Plan appeared first on Paul Merriman.

Focusing on the differences between Vanguard and Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) funds, this podcast compares the Vanguard Emerging Markets Fund with four different emerging market funds at DFA. There is no secret to the advantages at DFA but it does take some analysis to understand the way their portfolios are constructed. Last Updated: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 The post Differences between Vanguard and DFA Emerging Market Funds appeared first on Paul Merriman.

The # 1 article on Marketwatch.com last week was entitled, "New doomsday poll: 99.9% risk of 2014 crash." This warning is a compilation of scary predictions about the losses investors are about to experience. What scares a lot of readers is the names of the "experts" are well known and very convinced of their positions. Paul warns investors that listening to this kind of advice can be very costly, even life changing. He shares how he deals with the possibility that these gurus might be right, and even predicts when the next big bear market is likely to come.

In this 10-minute podcast, Paul Merriman covers 22 advantages of index funds and index ETFs. There is no other investment in the securities industry that has so many advantages. Whether you are a first time investor or a multi-millionaire, index funds and ETFs are the best answer to meet most investor's long term needs.

  This podcast answers questions currently on the minds of our podcast listeners and readers.  The questions are: 1.  Why don't you recommend dividend-based funds?  I think you will be surprised by the answer. 2.  Where is the reward in watching dividends and stocks go up and down? 3.  What do the headings and percentages in your conservative, moderate and aggressive portfolios mean? 4.  Why not just invest in the MSCI All Country World ETF?  That would give an investor virtually all public companies without having to go to the trouble of using 8 to 12 funds. 5.  Now that you are no longer with your company, are investors better off following your recommendations on their own or still using an advisor?