Paul Merriman

Do active fund managers really make more money for their clients? Paul provides historical examples and suggests Indexes and asset classes that can provide you higher, safer returns.    

Do you know your three main investment goals, and how to ensure you achieve them? Extrapolating on his recent Marketwatch article, "Beating The Market Is Easy", Paul discusses these goals along with the challenges of beating the market; and why most people who want to beat the market likely have different goals.  Is your goal to beat the market or to have the highest return you can within you risk tolerance?

  Want to get the best return at the lowest risk? In this podcast, Paul Merriman recommends the books every investor should read.   Each book addresses one of the critical areas leading to better returns, taking less risk or, the best of all worlds, higher returns at less risk.  With a total cost of less than $70 printed, or less than $60 in e-Book format, this is an investment you really can't afford NOT to make. All of these books are available in our bookstore, where all profits are donated to educational non-profit organizations, or on Amazon and other places books are sold. The Seven Most Essential Books on Investing

Paul discusses his conversation with a 33-year-old man who was "freaking out" about his financial future, wanting to learn more and create a plan. Paul helps him determine how much he should have at 65, and the simple steps he can take now, as well in the future, to quell his panic and ensure a secure retirement. Listen and see if this advice helps you, or can be used to help young people you know.How To NOT "Freak Out" About Your Financial Future

  "Market timing doesn't work"... or does it? Paul discusses the pros and cons of timing (mostly cons) and why few investors use timing successfully. He also discusses the differences between advice from Wall Street, Main Street and University Street and, for those who need to get higher returns, Paul offers one easy way to beat the market.      

In a new weekly column at MarketWatch.com, Paul suggested that one way to double your retirement income is to work an additional five years. The responses from readers ranged from outrage to bewilderment. In this podcast, Paul addresses these comments and elaborates on making life changing decisions to help ensure that you retire with "more than enough." You can read the original MarketWatch article at http://paulmerriman.com/double-retirement-income-five-years/      

Paul's latest book in the "How To Invest" series educates investors as to how to select and get the most from your financial advisor. In this podcast Paul discusses the importance of your insights into the brokerage and advisor industries, and raises dozens of points you should consider to maximize your retirement savings… many of which may be a surprise, even to seasoned investors. Listen in for an overview of the book, now available at Amazon and on his website, PaulMerriman.com      

Paul discusses a recent study by Mark Hulbert of The Hulbert Financial Digest, which tracks the results of hundreds of financial newsletters. The study looks at the returns of cheap versus expensive newsletters. Which are better? Listen and learn the answer. By the way, if you like to root for the underdog or have a serious frugal streak, you will be glad to learn that one of the newsletters – which did better than the average of the most expensive newsletters – was absolutely free. As Vanguard founder John Bogel said, "When it comes to investing, you get what you don't pay for."

Paul discusses the value of small cap stocks. He makes a strong historical case for ownership of this asset class for all equity investors. Join Paul and find out what long term returns should be in the best and worst market periods.

When putting together a financial plan, you will make assumptions about future returns. Most investors select one return to reach their long term goal. However, that's not realistic since investors, as they get closer to retirement, change their balance of fixed income and equity. Paul offers his approach, with the assumptions you can use to determine the likely long-term return of a lifetime of different asset allocations.        

Trust More or Trust Less, and in what? In considering the market's performance for the first 9 months of 2012, Paul compares his expectations and predictions to what really happened. Plus, he discusses the lessons that can be learned from the successes and failures of his recommendations. As always, Paul's goal is to help you build your portfolio to have the right exposure to the upside for the best of times, and the least risk to be prepared for the worst.

The promises of financial newsletters may be bold, but the outcome is likely to cost you financially and emotionally.  They claim to make investing more predictable, while the only thing that is predictable is more money for them and less for you. Learn more in this week's podcast as Paul discusses the tricks and traps of financial newsletters.  He also announces his upcoming book, "Get Smart Or Get Screwed: How To Get The Best From A Financial Advisor."

Paul discusses changes for a young couple to make in their portfolio. He wants them to correct three major mistakes. They have purchased shares of Facebook to hold for over 30 year,s but Paul suggests a different investment that is likely to make as much, or more than Facebook, at far less risk. He also suggests an easy step to help the wife double the returns in her IRA.

In comparing Vanguard to John Hancock Funds, Paul addresses and assesses risks and returns for Target Date Funds. Learn how you can manage and take advantage of this strategy and realize an extraordinary one percent difference – worth millions of dollars – over your lifetime as an investor.