"Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts; it
is acquiring understanding." William Arthur Ward

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The Inside Story on the Merriman Quilt Charts
Latest Podcast
Latest Marketwatch
Giving Tuesday 2024

It is amazing how much great teaching Chris Pedersen and Daryl Bahls have done for our Foundation over the years. They each volunteer hundreds of hours each year, doing what they can to helping you be a better investor.

Chris’ work is demonstrated in evaluating 1000s of ETFs to find the Best In Class recommendations, as well as building the case for 2 Funds for Life, He is also a terrific presenter. I think Chris is one of the best teachers on the internet.

Investing at market high, market timing and best distribution strategy

Daryl’s work is best demonstrated in the over 200 tables he has built and updates every year. These tables are all developed to help do it yourself investors have a better understanding of how the investing process works. I believe his tables are instrumental in helping investors create realistic exceptions for the future risk and returns of their equity investments.

I believe the most important aspect of being able to “Stay the course for the long term” (John Bogles quote when asked the #1 key to a successful investing process) is having a firm understanding of what the ups and downs of the process are likely to be.

Daryl’s tables are broken up into groups. They represent the risks and returns of equity asset classes, the impact of combining those equity asset classes to build portfolios, the impact of adding different amounts of bonds to the equity portfolios to reduce risk, the implications of starting from the first dollar a young investor makes, and the implications of different kinds of distribution strategies in retirement.

Of all the tables, charts and graphs Daryl has produced, I think his best work is found in the Quilt Charts. When Daryl and I first discussed the need for the charts I was expecting a representation of the annual returns for 4 major equity asset classes. When I received his first charts I was blown away. Instead of column of numbers in black and white he produced the 4 equity asset classes in color and added a 5th possibility, a portfolio of 25% each of the 4 equity asset classes Plus, he added another table that made it very clear what the most important lessons for the 96 years should be.

After he gave me a few days to enjoy these 2 tables, he sent another 18 quilt charts. These have all been put together here.

Daryl and I recorded a video to share our comments about the many lessons contained in these charts. My hope is you join us to see if we can further your understanding of the nature of investing in the hopes that it will help you stay the course during the difficult years ahead.

Latest MarketWatch- I’m 12 years from retirement, the future looks like a ‘train wreck’ and I want out of the market. Should I sell?

Dear Paul,

I’m 56 years old, and my wife and I have good jobs that we expect to keep for at least a dozen more years. Our savings are on track for retirement, well diversified in a mix of stock funds and bond funds, with around 80% in stocks.

I know that as an investor I’m supposed to buy and hold and stay the course. But frankly I think that could put my mental health at risk.

Even though I welcome some of the changes that seem to be in the works, our country is so bitterly divided right now that I feel our future and our economy are headed for a train wreck.

My wife feels the same way. We think we should sell half our portfolio and put it into something that will keep its value, perhaps a money-market account.

You’ll probably tell me this is a bad idea, but doing nothing feels like a much worse idea.

— Stressed Out

Read Article Here.

Latest Podcast- Investing at market high, market timing and best distribution strategy

The podcast is dedicated to answering questions about:

Target date funds: “Do you think someone that simply maxes out their retirement accounts with target date funds and total market funds will be “fine”?

Selecting a distribution strategy: What advice can you give to a DIY investor who is trying to decide what to do about how they access their money to live on and how much to take out?

Buy and Hold vs. market timing: I believe in buy and holding index funds, with low expenses. I don’t think I need to pay an investment advisor to help me do that. I see the Merriman Wealth Management firm offers buy and hold and market timing services and charges AUM fees. This is very different from what you suggest on your Foundation website. What is your relationship with the Merriman firm and what are your beliefs about market timing?

All small cap value portfolio: Do you know investors who are investing 100% of their portfolios in small cap value? It seems like it might be a smart thing to do with very long term investments for a very young person.

Time to start market timing: I am thinking about using timing with a large amount of new money. Who do you use for the market timing aspect of your portfolio management?

Flexible vs. fixed distribution strategies: "I believe you expect that a flexible withdrawal strategy will pay out more money to live on, as well as leave more money to heirs. Bill Bengen seems to believe that this strategy is not sustainable over the long term even if a person had enough money to accept lower annual withdrawal amounts in market draw downs. Flexible withdrawal strategies make sense to me but there isn’t much writt en about them. What am I missing?”

The answer to this question includes 4 distribution tables:

⁠Table D1.4 - Fixed Distributions: S&P 500 Equity Portfolio - Conservative ($40,000/yr)⁠

⁠Table F1.4 - Flexible Distributions (Conservative-4.0%/yr): S&P 500 Equity Portfolio⁠

⁠Table D4.4 - Fixed Distributions (Conservative-$40,000/yr): US 4-Fund Equity Portfolio ⁠

⁠Table F4.4 - Flexible Distributions (Conservative-4.0%/yr): US 4-Fund Equity Portfolio ⁠

Finally Paul reads four Ben Carlson quotes about the nature of bull and bear markets. Paul makes reference to a ⁠table of annual Price to Earning (P/E)ratios starting in 1871⁠ and another comparing the ⁠S&P 500 Price to Book Value from 2000 to 2024.⁠

Giving Tuesday 2024

Thank you to our generous donors for making a difference Giving Tuesday this week!

Your contributions to the Merriman Financial Education Foundation fuel us to provide vital resources and programs that transform lives through financial literacy.

Together, we are building a financially savvy future for our community. If you haven’t yet contributed, we invite you to join us in this important mission.

Every donation, no matter the size, helps us educate, inspire, and elevate others. Let’s make financial education accessible for all – donate today!
https://donate.paulmerriman.com

I’m 12 years from retirement, the future looks like a ‘train wreck’ and I want out of the market. Should I sell?

The Inside Story on the Merriman Quilt Charts

In This Edition The Inside Story on the Merriman Quilt Charts Latest PodcastLatest MarketwatchGiving Tuesday 2024

In This Edition

The Inside Story on the Merriman Quilt Charts
Latest Podcast
Latest Marketwatch
Giving Tuesday 2024