“When it comes to giving financial advice, there’s not a whole lot to say, if you don’t lie.”

— George Sisti

In This Edition

›What the Teachers Are Saying — and the $5 Million Payoff

›Truth Teller Articles Worth Your Time

›This Week’s Podcast: The Inside Story About Diversification

›Testimonials

From Paul

What the Teachers Are Saying

The following is part of NGPF.org’s September 28 blog. I love the headline! It leaves me believing that they will have me back for a similar series of presentations next year. The session I am doing this week (shared with you next week) may be the most important message yet. My hope is the “$5 Million Payoff” will motivate these teachers to step up their long-term financial goals for their students. By the way, they are going to find out the real payoff could “easily” be over $20 million.

For those looking for ways to teach others, I hope you will take a look at NGPF.org for an amazing set of teaching tools. It is truly an honor working with them.

From the NGPF Blog · Professional Development

Last Chance(s) to Learn Investing from Paul Merriman This Year

It has been an absolute pleasure having Paul lead PD sessions these past three Wednesdays! Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on index investing and asset allocation. He’s written eight books, led more than 1,000 investor workshops, and gives all of it away free through The Merriman Financial Education Foundation.

Here’s what teachers said after each session:

The Math and the History of Investing — September 9

“This was awesome! I couldn’t take notes fast enough. I had to start taking pictures of the slides.”

“The math behind investing is pertinent to get students engaged in investing early. I will be sharing that far and wide!”

The #1 Reason to Invest in Index Funds — September 16

“This is all over my head going into this call but Mr. Merriman made everything easy to understand. I am so excited to learn more.”

“Hearing from an expert like Paul helps me to build confidence in what I speak and teach about.”

The Inside Story About Diversification — September 23

“I learned so much about seven major diversification decisions! Thank you, Mr. Merriman!”

“Waaaay better understanding of diversifying and why it is so important.”

Across all three sessions, teachers rated the series 9.5 out of 10 on whether they would recommend it to a colleague.

The Last Full Session — September 30

The $5 Million Payoff for a Financially Literate High School Graduate follows a young adult through 12 financial forks in the road — saving, investing, taxes, debt, fees, and the other decisions that compound over a lifetime. Paul shows how good choices can add $5 million or more, and how the companies competing for young consumers can change that destination.

Then Bring Your Questions — October 7

Financial Literacy Office Hours with Paul Merriman is your hour. Paul will take teacher questions on index funds, diversification, and anything the series didn’t get to — with a focus on turning investing concepts into decisions your students can actually remember.

Both sessions run 4:00–5:00pm PT / 7:00–8:00pm ET, are free, and earn one hour of NGPF professional development credit.

Truth Teller Articles

Worth Your Time This Week

A few recent pieces from our Truth Tellers that I think are well worth your time.

A Brutal Bond Market

Ben Carlson

Strange Times

Ben Carlson

The 2027 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Jim Dahle

Cybersecurity Education Is No Longer Enough

Mike Piper

Mind the Gap: How Good Is Your Fund’s Investor Return?

Morningstar

This Week’s Podcast

The Inside Story About Diversification

Harry Markowitz called diversification “the only free lunch in finance.” In this session, part of my series for Next Gen Personal Finance educators, I explain what that means in practice, and why a well-diversified portfolio can help investors stay the course through good markets and bad.

I cover the history and math behind diversification, from Don Quixote’s “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” to Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Sir John Templeton. I explain the three kinds of risk investors face — company, market, and asset class — and show how the “lost decade” of 2000–2009 hit S&P 500 investors hard while more diversified portfolios kept growing.

You’ll also hear:

• How adding small “baby steps” of large-cap value, small-cap, and REITs added about 1% a year to returns since 1970

• Why the two-fund strategy (half S&P 500, half small-cap value) may be less risky than it looks

• What a young investor putting away as little as $1,000 a year could build over a lifetime

• A simple “ultimate buy and hold” for hands-off investors: a target-date fund plus a slice of small-cap value

Plus, I share a free book from market historian Bill Bernstein: If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly. You can also find the tables and research at paulmerriman.com/data-tables. Send your questions to me at paul@paulmerriman.com (include “NGPF” in the subject line).

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Testimonials

“His energy is palpable and inspiring. The care he takes in making the concepts approachable is much appreciated and necessary.”

— Teacher response from “The #1 Reason to Invest in Index Funds”

Thanks for listening, for sharing this information with others, and for your generous donations. And please keep getting the free We’re Talking Millions link into the hands of people who might be helped.

All the best to you and your family,
Paul Merriman

From Paul Merriman

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The $5 Million Payoff (It Could Be $20 Million)"