In this third Boot Camp session, Paul walks you through one of the most important questions a DIY investor will ever face: how to choose the right equity portfolio for your goals, risk tolerance, and stage of life.
This episode pulls back the curtain on decades of market data—going back to 1970—to compare real portfolios across good times, bad times, and everything in between. You’ll hear how different combinations of U.S. and international stocks, large and small companies, growth and value strategies, and diversified portfolios actually performed during market booms, crashes, and long recovery periods.
Paul explains:
- Why diversification matters more than chasing the “best” asset class
- How nine different portfolios stack up against the S&P 500 over time
- What really happened in brutal periods like 1973–74, 2000–2002, and 2008
- Why returns alone are meaningless without understanding risk
- How small-cap value and global diversification changed long-term outcomes
- What decades-long performance teaches us about staying invested
This session also introduces the Sound Investing Tables, showing how $10,000 invested in 1970 would have grown under different strategies—and what investors had to endure to earn those results.
If you want to move beyond headlines, fear, and guesswork—and make smarter, evidence-based investing decisions—this episode gives you the framework to do exactly that.
📊 Best experienced alongside the charts and tables
📩 Questions? Paul invites listeners to submit them for future educational follow-ups -paul@paulmerriman.com