Help for the do-it-yourself investor

On February 22, before the recent bear market and during the very early days of the Coronavirus, I was scheduled to speak at Vestory’s Annual Retiremeet. I went a day early so I could interview two very good friends I'd worked with for more than 10 years, Tom Cock and Don MacDonald. The three of us used to do a weekly radio show together. It was always fun and we had great guests like John Bogle, Knight Kiplinger, Larry Swedroe, Scott Burns, Robert Kiyosaki and Joe Granville, to name a few. In 2009 Tom and Don left the Merriman firm to found Vestory a registered investment advisory firm.

In this podcast we discuss the challenges of helping the do-it-yourself investor. While Don mentions the importance of staying in front of the investors on a regular basis, they felt one of the most difficult decisions for DIY investors is determining their risk tolerance. They offer an interesting risk tolerance test that I took. It has some very good questions. I suggest you give it a try as it is more specific than most.

Questions I ask:

• How can you tell if you are working with a fiduciary?
• What do tell investors about expectations for long term returns?
• Why are stocks a good investment for the long term?
• How much should young people be investing?
• How can mutual funds offer funds without any expense?
• What do you look for in a good investment advisor?

Don MacDonald is also author of Financial Fysics: How Money and Investing Really Work. For those who know Don’s outspoken mistrust of stock brokers, you will be shocked that I tricked him into saying something nice about stockbrokers.

Tom and Don do a weekly radio/internet show, "Talking Real Money", as well as a daily podcast of the same name. I hope you enjoy this podcast and check out their daily podcast. In fact, they have a call-in phone line where you can leave a question anytime. Give it a try: Call 855-935-TALK.

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