“In calm waters every ship has a good captain.”

— Swedish Proverb

In This Edition

• Paul’s Opening: Investing in Wisdom

• Truth Tellers: Tim Ranzetta & Jim Dahle

• This Week’s Podcast: Finding the Perfect Advisor, a Battle Over Words and VT vs. AVGE

• A Note From a Listener

Investing in Wisdom

Last week I attended the Garrett Planning Network retreat in Minneapolis. During the gathering I had the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest minds in the financial planning business. Christine Benz, Rick Ferri, and dozens of experienced financial planners shared their expertise. I came home with a renewed appreciation for a form of investing that doesn’t involve buying a single stock or bond.

It’s an investment in wisdom.

After three days listening, asking questions, and attending educational sessions, I came away with a firm belief that working with the right hourly financial planner may be one of the best investments many people will ever make.

Why?

Because it’s a form of leverage.

Not financial leverage. Intellectual leverage.

A few hours with the right professional can help you make better decisions about retirement income, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, estate planning, charitable giving, insurance, and dozens of other issues that may have a greater impact on your financial future than selecting one investment over another.

Our Foundation has spent years helping investors build better portfolios. That mission won’t change. But I’ve become increasingly convinced that building a great portfolio is only part of building a great financial life.

In the coming months I intend to focus on how we can find and get the most from these financial advisors.

Truth Tellers: Tim Ranzetta & Jim Dahle

Tim Ranzetta and Next Generation Personal Finance

I am often asked for help with providing curriculum for teaching young adults. I always refer them to NGPF.org, where Tim Ranzetta and his team are building a remarkable collection of teaching tools.

This link will take you to information about a whole day of presentations that may be helpful to both professional and amateur teachers. I’m signed up for 6 of the presentations. I am particularly interested in the module on sports betting.

Jim Dahle

When Jim decides to address an important topic, he digs deeper than almost any of the Truth Tellers. Here are two terrific pieces:

• The Benefits of a Paid-Off House

• How to Invest in Bonds

This Week’s Podcast: Finding the Perfect Advisor, a Battle Over Words and VT vs. AVGE

Paul returns from three days at the Garrett Planning Network retreat with a lesson that has almost nothing to do with investments — and everything to do with getting your money’s worth from professional advice. The value of five to ten hours with a thoughtful hourly planner depends almost entirely on one thing: your willingness to tell the truth.

Paul also shares a conversation with his longtime friend Rick Ferri, who challenged an idea Paul has taught for decades. And he takes a closer look at AVGE, the Avantis globally diversified all-equity ETF, compared to Vanguard’s total market approach with VT and VTI, including simple combinations like a third VT, a third AVGE, and a third AVUV.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction: three topics from the Garrett retreat

01:56 – Why hourly advisors have fewer conflicts of interest

05:52 – The catch: your willingness to tell the truth

06:38 – Seth Godin: “People lie... and they lie to themselves”

08:04 – What planners can’t fix if they don’t know about it

13:00 – Paul’s debate with Rick Ferri: what is an equity asset class?

18:05 – Why the definition shapes your lifetime portfolio

21:34 – AVGE vs. VT: U.S./international balance

23:07 – Comparing value, blend, and growth exposure

25:00 – Mid cap and small cap: what history shows

30:15 – Expense ratios and what you’re paying for

31:35 – Simple combinations: VT + AVGE + AVUV

33:15 – Stay the course: closing thoughts

Listen to this week’s episode

“Paul M and Team, thank you for all you do. Paul, I cannot say enough about how valuable your information is and the awesome way in which you teach. Thank you for all you do, forever. Bless you!!”

— A Sound Investing Listener

Thank you for reading, and for sharing our work with friends and family who might be helped by it. Every share moves us closer to our mission of free financial education for all.

Paul

From Paul Merriman

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