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See Also: A Guided Tour By The Author, Book Disclosures, Download A Free Chapter, Download Tables & Charts, "Since You Asked"
If you're interested in Paul's methodology and strategy for a good retirement, there's plenty of information available on the Web that you can read at your leisure. These articles, in particular, help explain why Paul's approach works.
For your convenience, articles have been sorted by the chapter they're most relevant to.
- Make Success Your Policy: Important Steps to a Written Plan
"Investors who are organized and have a clear understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish are far more likely to succeed than those who are casual about their money. One of the most effective ways to make investing easy and methodical is to develop a personal policy statement that answers basic questions and issues that come up repeatedly."
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- Don't Have An Investment Plan? Start Here ...
Some people think a really good investment plan is complex and difficult. But I think a really good plan is one that you can understand, and one you will use. ... Here are eight basic principles for successful mutual fund investing.
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- The Ultimate Buy And Hold Strategy
"The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy uses no-load index funds to create a sophisticated asset allocation model with worldwide diversification and the addition of value stocks and small-cap stocks to a traditional large-cap growth stock portfolio."
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- The Perfect Portfolio
"In this article, I'll walk through the steps I use when I'm meeting for the first time with a client. I hope this will give you some good ideas on how to put together a combination that's just right for you."
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- Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation
"...Yet the question remains: how far should you go in one direction or the other? One good approach is that of our Worldwide Balanced Portfolio, which splits all investments equally between stocks and bonds, U.S. and international, large and small, and value and growth. We believe this gives investors excellent representation in all the major markets. It’s also very easy to understand. No matter what part of the investment world is "hot" at the moment, such a portfolio will take advantage of it."
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- Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Buy a Load Fund
"It's too simple to say that all no-load funds are superior to all load funds. You're obviously better off in a top load fund than in a crummy no-load. But I don't think those are your real choices. I simply don't see any reason why a well informed, intelligent investor should pay a sales commission to buy a mutual fund. Certainly anyone who is up to reading our newsletter, or a handful of other mutual fund newsletters, is capable of recognizing and finding good funds without paying for that service from a broker whose interests are almost inevitably in conflict with the interests of the investor."
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- All About Annuities
"An annuity is an insurance contract that lets investors set aside money that builds up without generating current tax liability. As a tool for retirement planning, an annuity has two phases: accumulation and withdrawal, which is known as annuitization."
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- Retirees: Earn Lower Returns. Have More Money.
"I’m not advocating low-risk investing for psychological reasons, though I often do. Right now, I’m advocating it for purely mathematical reasons."
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- Retirement: When Your Portfolio Starts Paying You
"When you reach retirement, four major decisions will determine the bulk of your financial future.- How will you invest your money?
- How much risk will you take?
- How much do you need or want from your portfolio annually?
- Do you need a fixed income or can you tolerate a variable income?"
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- When Your Broker Might Not Really Be Your Friend.
"Here's the bottom line: Brokers have nearly inevitable conflicts of interest with their clients, and they work in a corporate culture where sales come first and customers come second. As a result, I have started recommending that investors stop doing business with brokers altogether and instead work with independent advisors who don't sell products."
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- The Best Investment I'll Ever Make, or How to Turn $10,000 into $20 Million
"No, that's not a typo. In 1994 I made an investment that is likely to grow from $10,000 to more than $20 million and you can do something similar. I'll tell you how, however, this plan comes with a caveat: you probably won't live long enough to see the final payoff."
(read more)
- Creating Your Own 500-Year Plan
Paul Merriman shares part of his will, showing how his estate will leave money to his children and to charities for hundreds of years after their lifetimes.
(download will, 1,000k PDF)
(download "Establishing A Fund With The Seattle Foundation", 515k PDF)
