Paul Merriman Newsletter — April 15, 2026

“Prioritize leaving Roth assets to human beings. Prioritize leaving tax-deferred assets to charity.”

— Christine Benz

In This Edition

›A note on our upcoming schedule

›Tonight: Christine Benz | April 21: Mike Piper | April 28: Bill Bernstein

›Podcast recap: Larry Swedroe

›Thank you to our app testers!

›Shoutout: Professor Bunnell's students at Bentley University

From Paul

An Update on Our Upcoming Work

April 15, 2026

I think it's important to update you on what we have planned for you. Many have asked when we will finish the 2026 Boot Camp videos, when we will explain the new approach to our Best In Class recommendations, and when we will respond to your questions.

Since we are an all-volunteer organization, there are times our volunteers (Daryl and Chris) are taking time off to spend time with family and friends, as well as traveling the world. I am pleased to report we will get to the last few segments of the Boot Camp series and your Q&As during the next 4 weeks. Plus, I just spent a total of 5 hours with Chris and Daryl talking about the projects we are committed to, and I think they will be very meaningful to many of you.

Tonight I will be interviewing Christine Benz, on the 21st Mike Piper, and on the 28th Bill Bernstein. These three are some of the most competent educators I know in the industry.

And if you missed my conversation with Larry Swedroe last week, you can access the podcast here and the video here.

Upcoming Interviews

Tonight

Christine Benz

Morningstar — Personal Finance & Retirement Planning

April 21

Mike Piper

Author — Oblivious Investor & Open Social Security

April 28

Bill Bernstein

Neurologist, Financial Theorist & Author

Latest Podcast

Larry Swedroe: The Evidence-Based Rules Every Investor Needs to Know

Bainbridge Financial Literacy Series 2026

Paul Merriman sits down with Larry Swedroe — author of 22 books and one of the most respected voices in evidence-based investing — for a conversation that covers everything from the five factors that actually matter to why Bitcoin might go to zero.

Larry explains why judging your investment decisions by their outcomes is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make, lays out the academic criteria he uses to separate real factor premiums from data mining, and reveals that he's made only three tactical moves in 30 years of investing. Three eye-opening slides show why chasing recent winners almost guarantees you'll underperform.

Larry also digs into why growth stocks don't deliver the returns most people expect (hint: the potential growth is already in the price), why traditional index funds are "dumb traders" bleeding money to hedge funds, and how AI will make markets harder to beat — not easier.

The audience Q&A covers emerging markets, the updated "Larry Portfolio," crypto, private equity, and which fund families Larry actually trusts with his own money.

🎙 Listen to Podcast

▶ Watch Video

Part of the Spring Financial Education Series hosted by the Bainbridge Community Foundation in partnership with the Merriman Financial Education Foundation.

App Update

Thank You to Our App Testers!

A huge thank you to everyone who sent in their email address to test our new app — we have our testers lined up and we are so grateful for your enthusiasm and support. Stay tuned for the app to be available to everyone very soon!

Special Shoutout

Professor Bunnell's Students at Bentley University

A special thanks to Professor Bunnell who teaches a finance class at Bentley University. He recommended his students tune into the interview. I hope it motivated them to get a copy of Larry's latest book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing.

I would place a very large bet that it will make a huge difference in their financial future. By the way, to the best of my knowledge Bentley is the only university I know that requires a Personal Finance class to graduate.

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