Sound Investing
Weekly podcasts with Paul Merriman. Strategic planning for investing at every stage of life.
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Bootcamp #4 |Fine-Tuning Your Asset Allocation for Retirement & Long-Term Growth
<p>How much should you really have in stocks vs. bonds — and what happens when the market turns south with a vengence?</p><p>In Boot Camp #4, we break down the fine-tuning asset allocation tables that show exactly how different combinations of equities and bonds have performed from 1970 through 2025. This episode goes beyond average returns and dives into what investing actually feels like during the worst 3-month, 12-month, and 60-month market declines.</p><p>You’ll learn:</p><p>Why equities have historically dominated bonds for long-term retirement investing</p><p>How the S&P 500 compares to diversified strategies like the Fou...
Bootcamp #3 | How to Choose the Right Portfolio (Returns, Risk & Diversification)
<p>Welcome to Bootcamp #3 of the Sound Investing Series with Paul Merriman — where real investing data meets practical long-term strategy. 📈 In this session, Paul breaks down the performance of diversified portfolios vs. the S&P 500 using decades of historical data going back to 1970. You’ll learn how different combinations of equity asset classes have performed in good markets, bad markets, and everything in between.</p><p>📊 What You’ll Learn in This Video:<br />• A deep dive into the Sound Investing Portfolios and how they work for DIY investors<br />• Historical returns of 2-, 4- and multi-fund strategies compared to the S&P 500<br />• Why...
Boot Camp #2: The Ultimate Buy & Hold Portfolio
<p>In this second session of our 10-part Boot Camp series, we dive into the piece that’s helped shape decades of investing decisions: The Ultimate Buy & Hold Portfolio.</p><p>For nearly 30 years, this research—co-created with the late Rich Buck—has explored a simple but powerful question: What happens when you go beyond the S&P 500 and build a lifetime portfolio across 10 equity asset classes?</p><p>Starting with data back to 1970, we walk through the math of compounding, diversification, and disciplined rebalancing. You’ll see how adding small amounts of large value, small cap, REITs, international equities, and emer...
Bootcamp #1 | The $10 Million Decision | Stocks and Bonds
<p>What if small decisions — just a half-percent here or an extra year there — could change your financial future by millions?</p><p>In this episode, we continue our annual Boot Camp series by tackling one of the biggest forks in the road investors face: stocks and bonds. Drawing on nearly a century of academic research and data, we break down what the math actually tells us about compounding, risk, diversification, and long-term returns.</p><p>You’ll hear why:</p><p>Tiny differences in returns can mean millions over a lifetime</p><p>Bonds are designed for safety — not wealth crea...
A Surprise, a Big Thank You, and What’s Coming Next
<p>Sometimes the best moments are the unexpected ones. This week brought one of those moments when Daryl Bahls delivered an extraordinary surprise: access to every table used across our entire investing Boot Camp Series — months of work, ready ahead of schedule.</p><p>That gift makes it possible to move forward faster, including setting up pages for the upcoming Series and potentially releasing the tables before all the podcasts and articles are complete.</p><p><br></p><p>The White Coat Investor: 150+ Portfolios That Work</p><p>We revisit the White Coat Investor article “150 Portfolios Better Than Yours” (now over 200 portfol...
Better Than VTSAX, Choosing Asset Allocation, Target Date Funds, Protecting Against Scams, and More
<p>Upcoming Event + What’s New</p><p>Before jumping into today’s questions—there are some good ones—I want to share a quick note.</p><p>I’ll be at the Annual RetireMeet on March 7 in Bellevue at the Maidenbauer Building. I’ll be there all day at the booth and will be discussing the inside story on diversification, including new thinking on rebalancing that I believe you’ll find useful.</p><p>Christine Benz —HOW TO RETIRE</p><p>Don McDonald — RETIREMENT EVOLUTION: FROM NONE TO FUN</p><p>Tom Cock — RETIREMENT INCOME: THE 4% RULE & BEYOND</p><p>Kevin Peterson — GETTIN...
Sound Investing Q&A: ETFs, Portfolios, Risk, and Retirement
<p>In this week’s Sound Investing episode, Paul Merriman answers a wide-ranging set of listener questions — from choosing ETFs and building portfolios to managing risk in retirement and investing wisely at every age.</p><p>One of the biggest takeaways? There is no universally “best” ETF or portfolio. The right answer depends on your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and — just as importantly — your ability to stick with a strategy during difficult markets.</p><p>Here are some of the highlights from the episode:</p><p>What’s the “best ETF”?<br>Paul explains that for simple exposure (like the S&P 500), the lo...
What 2025 Taught Us About Investing (And Why “Normal” Matters)
<p>For first-time listeners, welcome! In this opening episode of the year, Paul Merriman—founder of the Merriman Financial Education Foundation—looks back at 2025 to uncover what the markets taught us and how those lessons can help do-it-yourself investors make better decisions going forward.</p><p>Despite endless predictions about what markets should do, Paul reminds us that his role isn’t to forecast the future—but to help investors understand risk, return, and how to build portfolios they can truly stick with.</p><p>In this episode, Paul explores:</p><p>A surprising result from the “Magnificent Seven” stocks</p><p>Why divers...
Pediheart Podcast #366: A Focus On Financial Health With Mr. Paul Merriman
<p>The following are Dr. Pass’ note to his podcast: </p><p>This week we end 2025 with a Pediheart tradition - an episode on personal finance for medical professionals with noted authority on index investing and personal finance, Mr. Paul Merriman. </p><p>Paul is a retired investment advisor who now has a popular podcast "Sound Investing" and website in which he offers advice on investing for 'do it yourself' investors. In this week's episode, the 5th of his visits to Pediheart, Mr. Merriman discusses 'factor investing' via index-like ETF's and funds. </p><p>He also reviews who he believes mig...
The Importance of Keeping Investing Simple!
<p>In this episode, Paul shares the thinking behind what he believes may be one of the most important projects of his career—a project guided by a single goal:</p><p>That every investor who follows our work will know how to invest for the rest of their life.</p><p>To explain why that goal matters, Paul walks through the forks in the road every investor eventually faces—from betting on individual companies to owning entire markets, from chasing excitement to embracing simplicity.</p><p>Drawing on real experiences, including private investments that went to zero and one that u...
