In this video we'll look at a portfolio a viewer sent in to me. It's from their investment advisor, and we will be asking 5 key questions about the portfolio that I would ask if an advisor put me in the same portfolio. 1. What's the target asset allocation? 2. Have you made any changes to the target asset allocation? 3. How do you pick the funds to implement the plan? 4. Why isn't a simpler, less expensive portfolio a better choice? 5. How do you invest your own money? Join the Newsletter. It's ...
Feb 02, 2024•20 min•Ep. 127
Vanguard recently launched an FDIC-insured account called the Vanguard Cash Plus Account. We'll review this new account, compare it to other FDIC-insured options, and compare it to money market accounts. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jan 26, 2024•15 min•Ep. 126
In a recent video answering a caller's question, Dave Ramsey described those promoting the 4% Rule as "stupid," "goobers," and "morons. He described the 4% Rule as stupid and said he's "perfectly comfortable" with an 8% withdrawal rate. In this video, I'll describe his rationale and why I'm "perfectly comfortable" telling him he's wrong. New Retirement: https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme... % FICalc: https://ficalc.app/ Dave Ramsey Video: https://twitter.com/mbontrager5/statu... Join the News...
Nov 27, 2023•12 min•Ep. 125
Is buy and hold investing dead? A recent WSJ article suggests that the set-it-and-forget-it style of investing can't survive the current economic trends. I walk through my thoughts on the article, along with an important memo by value investor Howard Marks. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Nov 06, 2023•24 min•Ep. 124
Not long ago investors had to pay the U.S. government for the privilege of owning TIPS. The real yields, that is the yield after factoring in inflation, were negative. Last year, as a phoenix rising, real yields broke above 0%. Today the real yield on 10-year TIPS is about 2.50%. This offers some intriguing options for those in or near retirement. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS for short, are U.S. government bonds whose principal amount adjusts for inflation. They are as close ...
Oct 30, 2023•25 min•Ep. 123
A viewer emailed me asking how to buy gold. He knew I didn't personally invest in gold. But he asked how he might go about investing in gold. So in today's video we'll look at five important questions you must answer when buying gold: 1. Should you buy gold in a retirement or taxable account? 2. Does a gold IRA ever make sense? 3. Should you own physical gold or gold ETFs? 4. What type of gold ETFs are best? 5. If you wanted to buy physical gold, where's the best place to buy it? Join the newsle...
Sep 27, 2023•16 min•Ep. 122
7 simple steps anybody can take to address the fear of retiring. Video's Sponsor is New Retirement: https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme... The Retirement Planning Tools I Use: 1. New Retirement (Retirement Planning): https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme... 2. Empower (Investment Tracking): https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-f... 3. Tiller (Budgeting): https://go.robberger.com/tiller/yt-fe... Other Tools/Resources: 1. Projection Lab: https://go.robberger.com/projectionla... 2. Low-Cost Adviso...
Sep 13, 2023•17 min•Ep. 121
Investment fees rob you of your wealth. High investment fees, such as the industry standard 1% of assets under management AUM, can literally cost you hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over a lifetime. But what about investment fees once you retire? It turns out that a 1% fee in retirement can significantly lower the chance of success of your retirement plan and reduce your spending by 10% or more. In this video we look at 3 tools you can use to understand the impact of investment...
Jul 26, 2023•20 min•Ep. 120
Morningstar Investor replaces the old Morningstar Premium subscription service for retail investors. It brings a much needed facelift to Morningstar's portfolio tracker. While it offers features that may be valuable to some investors, it still has a long way to go before being the type of tool most investors will find useful for the money. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jul 19, 2023•22 min•Ep. 119
I seem to be fighting a never ending battle against "dividend investing." Don't get me wrong, dividends are an important part of the returns equity investors receive from stocks and stock funds. The problem comes when we misunderstand the nature of dividends and the role they should play in our portfolio. One mistaken belief I see is that dividends are necessary for compounding, or that a higher dividend yield results in more compounding. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we discuss in...
Jul 14, 2023•9 min•Ep. 118
The debt ceiling crisis is taking us closer to the "X Date," the date the U.S. would start to default on its obligations. Many have asked me what would happen if the unthinkable occurred and the U.S. did in fact default. In this video I'll share four things: 1. A brief history of the debt ceiling 2. Ramifications of a debt ceiling crisis that gets resolved 3. Ramifications if the U.S. actually defaults 4. What, if anything, we should do to prepare Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsl...
Jul 03, 2023•22 min•Ep. 117
We know that dollar cost averaging (DCA) underperforms lump sum investing (LSI) about two-thirds of the time. That's because stocks tend to go up more often than they go down. But does LSI beat DCA when stock market valuations are high compared to historical averages, as they are now? That's the question we cover in this video. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 28, 2023•21 min•Ep. 116
In this video, I ask ChatGPT some questions about sophisticated investing and retirement topics. Here are a few examples: What is the 3-fund portfolio? Is the 4% Rule still valid? What Fidelity funds can we use to build the 3-fund portfolio? The responses ChatGPT returned were amazing. It's not perfect, but it's very good. And while artificial intelligence won't replace financial advisors any time soon, it definitely can be part of our own research into financial questions. Join the newsletter: ...
Jun 26, 2023•23 min•Ep. 115
In this video I'll explain why bonds are a better, long-term investment than cash, particularly for those in retirement. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 19, 2023•20 min•Ep. 113
Today we'll start by looking at my investment portfolio. Then I'll answer your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 112
Saving for retirement can be a struggle in the best of circumstances. For those 50 or older who have saved little if anything, retirement can seem impossible. In this video I walk through seven concepts, strategies and tools to help those who have gotten a late start save for a comfortable retirement at a reasonable age. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 12, 2023•22 min•Ep. 111
We'll start tonight with a discussion of how to manage uncertainty when it comes to retirement planning. Then I'll answer your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 109
With the recent banking crisis, I've received a lot of emails asking me two related questions. First, what would happen to our investments at a broker if that broker failed. Second, what would happen to an ETF or mutual fund if the company behind the fund failed? We cover both of these questions in today's video. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Jun 02, 2023•17 min•Ep. 110
We'll start by discussing the relative safety of FDIC-insured bank accounts versus T-bills in light of the debt ceiling. Then I'll take your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
May 31, 2023•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 106
The banking crisis continues, with PacWest and other regional banks struggling in the stock market and to raise capital. The news prompted my mom to text me asking if she should be worried. In this video I answer her questions, covering the following topics. 1. How this banking crisis is different than 2008 2. Whether we should abandon small and regional banks and put all of our money in big banks 3. How to protect your cash wherever you bank 4. And a possible investment opportunity for those wh...
May 29, 2023•17 min•Ep. 108
I'll start by sharing some excellent books I'm reading right now. Then we'll turn to your questions. The Power Broker: https://amzn.to/3IF9woO Convict Conditioning: https://amzn.to/3XTEeiA Psychology of Money: https://amzn.to/3kgBjTd The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: https://amzn.to/3Kvvko2 Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking: https://amzn.to/3kgoCYE Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
May 24, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 104
You've found a bank with a great savings or CD rate, but it's in another state and you've never heard of it. Or perhaps you just want to know how safe your existing bank is. In this video we'll cover four free tools you can use to confirm that a bank or credit union is federally insured (FDIC or NCUA) and whether it's financially stable. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
May 22, 2023•9 min•Ep. 107
Avantis launched this year a global stock ETF called the Avantis All Equity Markets ETF. In one ETF it can cover the entire stock portion of a portfolio. In this video I'll discuss the pros and cons of this fund from my perspective. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
May 19, 2023•19 min•Ep. 105
A list of the best 0% APR and balance transfer credit cards: https://www.allcards.com/interest-fre... In this video we'll walk through the strategy my wife and I used to get out of credit card debt many years ago. We used 0% balance transfer cards, which eliminated our interest payments and helped us get out of debt faster and for less money. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
May 17, 2023•14 min•Ep. 103
Maxifi is retirement planning software designed by Boston University professor Larry Kotlikoff. I've spent several days trying out the software, and this video is my review of the tool. There are several things I like about the tool. Data entry is easy. It doesn't require input of detailed investments or even a budget. Beyond housing, it asks for no spending details. Instead, it provides you with how much the tool calculates you can spend each year in retirement. Its social security tool is also...
Mar 31, 2023•23 min•Ep. 102
Tonight we'll start by discussing what makes up a comprehensive retirement withdrawal strategy. Then we'll discuss your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 101
The CBO released a report estimating that under current law, Social Security benefits will be cut by 23% in 2034. For those who can claim Social Security between then and now, the potential cut raises an important question. How should the potential cuts affect when you claim social security? In this video we use the free tool Open Social Security to answer this question. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Mar 27, 2023•11 min•Ep. 100
We'll start by discussing what's called the SEC Yield of a bond fund. Then we'll turn to your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Mar 24, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 99
For those considering moving their TSP investments to an IRA, here are mutual funds and ETFs that mirror the C Fund, S Fund, I Fund and F Fund of the Thrift Savings Plan. We also look at the G Fund, which doesn't have an alternative. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm......
Mar 22, 2023•10 min•Ep. 98
The Vanguard Dynamic Spending Rule is one of several retirement withdrawal strategies that use the guardrails concept. The idea, in theory, is to generate a spending plan that has some of the annual spending consistency of the 4% Rule, while at the same time remaining sensitive to market fluctuations. I'll walk through how the rule works, its pros and cons, and a free tool that will enable you to test the Vanguard Dynamic Spending Rule for yourself. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/new...
Mar 20, 2023•20 min•Ep. 97
