"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Anonymous

In This Edition
A Wealth of Common Sense
Financial and Life Planning Summit for Parents of a Child with a Disability
Latest MarketWatch
Latest Podcast/Video with Chris Pedersen
Testimonial

When I address the students at Western Washington University I always tell them what I believe about their future investment results. I tell them, “Investing has never been as efficient for investors as it is today. Low cost index funds have given every investor a very low cost way to get into the market with operating expenses as low as one tenth of one percent (and even free is a few cases). With index funds diversification of stocks and equity asset classes has never been better. Taxes on investments have never been lower. And the access to high quality investment advice has never been cheaper.

You can retire safely — even if you don’t have tons of money

With a little bit of investment education a first time investor can be motivated to start earlier and not waste the first twenty years speculating and chasing the idea of a big short term payoff.

If the only source of investment information a young investor ever had was Ben Carlson, they would have “A Wealth of Common Sense.” Here is just one more example of his easy to understand view of the long term investment process.

Financial and Life Planning Summit for Parents of a Child with a Disability

June 18th, 19th & 20th - Register now for three days of financial, practical, and potentially life changing information for parents of children with disabilities.

Expert Financial Guidance: Learn from the authors of the best-selling book Retire Secure for Parents of a Child with a Disability and discover proven strategies for securing your child's financial future.
Beyond Finances: Join our non-financial sessions to gain insights and practical tools for enhancing your family's overall well-being, reducing anxiety, and creating a supportive environment.
Access Valuable Resources: Discover a wealth of resources and tools to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of raising a child with a disability.
A Diverse Range of Experts: Hear from a variety of speakers who work directly with families of children with disabilities or provide adjacent services.
Create a Custom Learning Experience: Choose from a variety of sessions to attend based on your individual needs and interests.

More Details on this PDF

Latest MarketWatch - You can retire safely — even if you don’t have tons of money

When people retire, they sometimes have a nagging financial worry: What if it turns out I don’t have enough money? Could I someday have to beg the kids to take me in?

In this article, I’ll show you how to avoid that unfortunate fate.

Unquestionably, the best time to retire is when you have more money than you will ever need. But if that’s not possible, I’ll show you how to meet your needs and preserve your peace of mind. Read More

Latest Podcast and Video- Q&A's with Chris Pedersen

On May 18, 2024 Chris Pedersen made a presentation to the Houston Chapter of AAII. At the end of the presentation Chris answered over 20 questions. Those questions are on this podcast. Here are the question topics:

1. Portfolio expectations compared to S&P 500? 2. How would adding small cap value (SCV) help a retiree?

3. How important is asset class location using 2 Funds for Life?

4. Would a do it yourself target date portfolio be better than buying a target date fund?

5. How do you expect interest rates to impact equity?

6. How different are the Total Market Fund expected returns from the S&P 500?

7. What are drawbacks by investing in SCV?

8. What steps should we take to manage emotional risk?

9. What is your opinion about combining TIPs with equities?

10. Should you increase your equity holdings as the get older?

11. Please comment of Christine Benz’s Bucket Portfolio?

12.. What SCV funds do you recommend?

13. Are there other target date funds you recommend besides Vanguard?

14. At age 60 what kind of return should I expect over the rest of my life?

15. Do you recommend nudge withdrawals over withdrawals from the whole portfolio?

16. Why would more profitable small cap value funds do better than portfolios of less profitable companies?

17. Do you recommend VT, the Vanguard Worldwide equity fund?

Inside the Investment Mind of Chris Pedersen with host Charles Rotblut. Charles is the editor of the AAII Journal, and a vice president and Chartered Financial Analyst at AAII

Q1: What is the best way to get big positions in cash invested? All at once or dollar cost average over time?

Q2: How should target date fund investors choose the best date for their situation?

Q3:What are the pros and cons of backtesting historical performance?

Q4: Why did you choose the drawings in your book “⁠2 Funds for Life?⁠”

Testimonial

Comment on Youtube on Chris Pedersen’s presentation, “Demystifying Diversification” for Houston AAII Chapter.

"Merriman and his band of merry men have changed my life. Thank you so much to the whole team. PS: Chris, I would love to be half the teacher you are some day."

Q&A's with Chris Pedersen

Call To Action!

Here are a few simple ways to support the financial education work of The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, a registered 501(c)3. In so doing you help better the lives of individuals, families and communities, creating more opportunities for all.

Subscribe to our weekly “Sound Investing” podcast, available on your favorite listening platforms and leave a review. Tell us what you think!
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and hit the thumbs up, subscribe, leave a comment and share the link with your social media and friends.
Use our M1 Finance affiliate link to set up a brokerage account and use our portfolio suggestions. If you fund your account with a minimum of $1,000, our foundation will receive a one-time affiliate fee —at no cost to you—which helps support our financial education projects.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Buy our latest books, We’re Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways To Supercharge Your Retirement and 2 Funds for Life: A quest for simple & effective investing strategies; all the profits help support our work.
Support our mission by making a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation.

In This EditionA Wealth of Common SenseFinancial and Life Planning Summit for Parents of a Child with a DisabilityLatest MarketWatchLatest Podcast/Video with Chris PedersenTestimonial

In This Edition
A Wealth of Common Sense
Financial and Life Planning Summit for Parents of a Child with a Disability
Latest MarketWatch
Latest Podcast/Video with Chris Pedersen
Testimonial

More Great Work from Chris Pedersen