Sound Investing

Q&A Highlights
How does a 4-fund portfolio compare to a 10-fund portfolio?

What is the best way to invest for a child’s future?

Is it too late to use a diversified strategy like the 10-fund portfolio at age 50?

Can I create and test my own custom portfolio using your tools?

How should I invest during periods of inflation or uncertainty?

What are some recommended fund options available at Schwab?

Is a portfolio combining large-cap value and small-cap blend a good approach?

Are there good alternatives to intermediate-term bonds?

Who are some trustworthy voices in personal finance and investing?

What is your opinion on separately managed accounts (SMAs)?

Key Takeaway
Long-term investment success is driven by asset allocation, discipline, and consistency—not complexity. A simple, well-structured portfolio that you can maintain through market cycles is often the most effective approach.

Listen to the individual questions here.

Paul Merriman is dedicated to helping do-it-yourself investors build portfolios they can stick with for life. In this episode, he shares what he believes is the closest thing to a perfect long-term equity strategy he's ever seen.
Paul traces the evolution of index investing — from John Bogle's cap-weighted S&P 500 funds to the academic research of Fama and French, whose factor-based work showed that small cap value, large cap value, and other equity asset classes have historically outperformed the broad market over time.
For years, the best factor-based funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) were only available through select advisors. That changed when Avantis launched its ETF lineup in 2019, followed by DFA's own ETFs — putting institutional-quality, factor-based investing within reach of every self-directed investor.
Paul introduces a recommended ETF list spanning 10 equity asset classes across both fund families, explains the key differences between DFA and Avantis, and makes the case for owning both. He also covers where to buy them and why Fidelity's fractional shares make it easy to start with any dollar amount.
Key topics: Factor-based vs. traditional index funds · Accessing DFA and Avantis ETFs · The case for owning both · Simplifying rebalancing with M1 Finance
The Q&A Paul references was recorded separately.

In this episode, we explore how flexible (variable) withdrawal strategies can strengthen your retirement plan—and why fixed, inflation-adjusted withdrawals may increase risk over time.
Using detailed distribution tables—including Table F1.3 (flexible withdrawals) and comparisons to
 Table D1.3 (fixed withdrawals)—Paul walks through real historical outcomes across decades to show how adjusting withdrawals based on market performance can improve long-term results.
You’ll learn:
Fixed vs. flexible withdrawal strategies

Insights from Tables F1.3, F1.4 vs. D1.3, D1.4

How flexibility helps defend against bear markets

The role of diversification and low-cost investing

Why oversaving creates powerful financial freedom

If you’re planning for retirement or already taking withdrawals, this episode may offer a smarter, more adaptable approach to generating income.

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Boot Camp 7 page

In Boot Camp #6, Paul Merriman walks through real historical data starting in 1970 to test what happens when retirees withdraw 3%, 4%, or 5% from a $1 million portfolio — adjusted for inflation — across some of the toughest market conditions in history.
This episode covers:
The difference between retiring with “enough” and “more than enough”

How inflation quietly turns $30,000 into $130,000+ over 30 years

What happens if you retire into a bear market

Why 1% more in withdrawals can cost millions

S&P 500 vs. a globally diversified four-fund strategy

How diversification impacts lifetime income and legacy outcomes

The real risk of sequence of returns in retirement

Why some portfolios ran out of money — and others didn’t

You’ll hear side-by-side comparisons of:
100% S&P 500 portfolios

40/60, 50/50, and 60/40 stock-bond mixes

A worldwide four-fund equity strategy

Fixed inflation-adjusted withdrawals over 30 years

The results may surprise you — especially when comparing 3%, 4%, and 5% withdrawal rates.
If you're approaching retirement, already retired, or helping someone make distribution decisions, this episode breaks down the numbers in plain English and shows how small choices can create million-dollar differences.
Next week: the strategy Paul considers the very best distribution method — for investors who retire with more than enough.

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Catch up on the previous Boot Camp 2026 here

In Boot Camp #5 of 10, Paul delivers what he believes is the most important session in the series—especially for new and early investors (teens, 20s, 30s, and anyone just getting started).
Instead of treating investing like speculation, Paul reframes it as building—or buying—a business over decades.
Using clear, data-driven tables and “fine-tuning” comparisons, he walks through a simple, repeatable plan: start with $1,000 per year (about $83.33/month), increase contributions by 3% annually, and stay invested for 40+ years. You’ll see how long-term outcomes change based on asset allocation (100% stocks vs. 60/40 stocks and bonds), and why diversification can matter when markets go sideways.
Paul also compares an S&P 500-only approach with a globally diversified “worldwide four-fund” strategy (mixing U.S. and international, large and small, value and growth). Along the way, he explains the real power source in early investing: your contributions, not short-term market performance—and why tax-advantaged accounts like a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) can dramatically increase the impact of compounding over a lifetime.
If you want a practical framework for long-term, low-cost, diversified investing, plus a clear-eyed discussion of volatility, sequence of returns, and retirement withdrawals (including the concept of a 5% annual withdrawal strategy), this episode lays the groundwork.
Why Paul believes this is the most important boot camp session

Investing as building a business (the “portfolio mortgage” analogy)

Starting with $83/month and increasing contributions by 3% annually

Understanding the fine-tuning tables and historical market returns

S&P 500 vs. 60/40 portfolio: balancing growth and volatility

The Worldwide Four-Fund Portfolio and the benefits of deeper diversification

How sequence of returns impacts accumulation and withdrawals

Why you rarely notice individual company failures inside diversified funds

The long-term advantage of Roth IRA / Roth 401(k) compounding

Staying disciplined through crashes, recessions, and sideways markets

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