Podcast
Risk Parity Radio
Risk Parity Radio is a podcast about investing located at www.riskparityradio.com. RPR explores risk-parity style portfolios comprised of uncorrelated or negatively correlated asset classes -- stocks, selected bonds, gold, managed futures, and other easily accessible fund options for the DIY investor. The goal is to construct portfolios that are robust and can be drawn down on in perpetuity, and to maximize projected Safe Withdrawal Rates regardless of projected overall returns.
- Investing chart
- #181
- Episodes
- 551
- Releases
- Twice a week
- Typical length
- 41 min
- On air since
- 2020
- Latest episode
- 2 days ago
Episodes
551 episodes, newest first
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55 min
Episode 549: Fairfax CASA Thanks You, A Deep Dive Into Motivational Speakers, And Portfolio Reviews As Of October 30, 2026
Season 7, Episode 548
Show notes
In this episode, we share big news from our Fairfax CASA work and what your generosity has made possible. Then we pivot to an email from Todd and go on a deep dive on motivational speakers and what actually helps people change. In a van. Down by the RIVER.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Additional Links:
Fairfax CASA Donation Page: Donate - Fairfax CASA
Acres of Diamonds: Acres of Diamonds Audiobook | Russell H. Conwell | Full
The Strangest Secret: The Strangest Secret Earl Nightingale Conant 1950's Original FULL
Jim Rohn "Walk Away": Walk Away From The 97 Percent - Jim Rohn
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A “major award” is nice, but the real win is what happens when a community turns attention into action. We start by sharing personal news from our work with Fairfax CASA and a recognition that belongs to all of you as much as it belongs to us: listeners of the show have now raised over $66,000 to support child advocacy for kids navigating the court system after abuse or neglect. We talk about why that mission matters, and why linking money to meaning can keep your long-term plan steady when markets and life get noisy.
Then we pivot hard into a listener question that lets me do what I love: trace the actual history of motivational speakers. We go from Ben Franklin and the self-made habit mindset, through American self-reliance, transcendentalism, traveling lectures, and “Acres of Diamonds,” all the way to the modern personal development industry. Along the way, we separate practical tools from magical thinking, including research on why “manifesting” can backfire by reducing effort. The anchor takeaway is Jim Rohn’s line I keep coming back to: affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
We close with the weekly risk parity portfolio review and November distributions for eight sample portfolios, covering market moves across the S&P 500, NASDAQ, small cap value, long Treasuries, gold, commodities, and managed futures. If you like asset allocation, diversification, rebalancing, withdrawal rate planning, and a no-hype approach to DIY investing, you’ll have plenty to dig into here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more long-term investors can find the show.
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1 hr 36 min
Episode 548: The Intersection of Biased Skepticism, Shark Jumping (From Ep. 532), And Personal Finance Hoarding Culture
Season 7, Episode 548
Show notes
This is the follow-up episode to the "Jumping the Shark" segment in Episode 532 that we promised to create (but wish we didn't have to). It discusses the fallacies and misrepresentations in the Early Retirement Now blog and its recent posts about Risk Parity Radio. Due to their defamatory nature and evidence of malicious intent, and for other legal reasons, we will not be republishing those posts.
We will return to our regularly scheduled programming in the next episode. Thank you for your patience.
Links:
October 10, 2022 ERN Toolbox Analysis of Risk Parity-Style Portfolio: ERN Toolbox Analysis of RP Portfolio 10-10-2022.jpg - Google Drive
October 10, 2022 ERN Toolbox Analysis of 75/25 Portfolio: ERN Toolbox Analysis of 75-25 Portfolio 10-10-2022.jpg - Google Drive
Accompanying Slides: 2022-10-10 ERN Toolbox Portfolio Comparison Analysis.pdf - Google Drive
Accompanying Video on Comparative Analysis: The Real ERN Toolbox Analysis Comparing A Risk Parity Portfolio With A 75/25 Portfolio
EconoMe 2025 Presentation: F. Vasquez EconoMe 2025 Presentation.pdf - Google Drive
Video re Biased Skepticism Generally on ERN Blog: Episode 532 Bonus: Biased Skepticism and Patterns of Deception In the FI Blogosphere
Report on Fallacies and Misrepresentations: ERNs 72 Fallacies, Mispresentations and Insults In Blog Posts About Risk Parity Radio.pdf - Google Drive
Accompanying Slide Deck 1: Slide Summary 1 of Blog Post Fallacies and Misrepresentations.pdf - Google Drive
Accompanying Slide Deck 2: Slide Summary 2 of Blog Post Fallacies and Misrepresentations.pdf - Google Drive
Accompanying Video on 72 Fallacies and Misrepresentations: How Early Retirement Now Wields Big Fallacies And Insults To Promote Itself At The Expense Of Others
Large Cap Growth/Small Cap Value vs. S&P 500 Comparison: Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
2022 Comparison -- RP Portfolios vs. 75/25: Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
The Fundamental Problems with Overly Conservative Planning Assumptions: The Crushing Cost of Conservative Retirement Planning - The Best Interest
Breathless AI-Bot Summary:
A retirement portfolio argument gets ugly fast when people stop debating results and start debating labels. We pull the conversation back to the one question that matters for real retirees: what survives the worst historical sequences of returns while supporting a meaningful withdrawal rate?
We walk through the history behind the Early Retirement Now “toolbox” and revisit the author’s own 2022 backtest of a risk parity style allocation that blends broad US stocks, small cap value exposure, Treasury bonds, and gold. Using the same rules and the same field of play, that analysis shows a materially higher safe withdrawal rate than a simple 75/25 stock bond portfolio, especially around major market peaks where valuation risk and long drawdowns can break the 4% rule.
From there, we unpack how portfolio discussions go off the rails: straw man proxies for managed futures like DBMF, return assumptions that handicap diversifiers, cherry picked time windows that erase modern gold behavior, and goalpost shifting that swaps “safe withdrawal rate” for “bull market returns” midstream. We also explain why systematic factor tilting is not stock picking, and how you can sanity check claims with replicable backtesting across multiple tools, including Testfolio.
If you care about retirement planning, safe withdrawal rates, and sequence risk, this is a practical roadmap for spotting bad modeling before it costs you years of underspending and wasted time dealing with Biased Skeptics and dishonest rhetoric.
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53 min
Episode 547: The RPR Reddit Forum, A Great Many Topics On Portfolios And Taxes, And Portfolio Reviews As Of October 23, 2026
Season 7, Episode 547
Show notes
In this episode we address a cornucopia of topics in emails from Alex, Superb Diamond Range, and Mark. We discuss the Risk Parity Radio Reddit forum started by listener Adrian, an OPTRA-inspired portfolio with lower leverage and real-world tax location choices, extending managed futures history for better portfolio testing and expectations, why covered call ETFs usually change payouts more than outcomes, using OpenSocialsecurity.com to model claiming strategies, a simple UK-focused risk parity allocation and how to think about equity weight and value tilt, why fees matter less than people think in many modern ETF choices, withdrawal order and Roth conversions as situation-specific decisions that change every year, why good tax advice can add more value than investment tweaks.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Additional Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page: Donate - Father McKenna Center
Risk Parity Radio Reddit Forum (courtesy Adrian): riskparityradio
Alex's Portfolio (paywall): Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
Extending Managed Futures Data back to 1971: I reconstructed a trend-following return series back to 1971. Here is the methodology. : r/LETFs
One of a Series of Ben Felix Videos on Covered Call Funds: Covered Calls: What People (Still) Get Wrong
Open Social Security: Open Social Security: Free, Open-Source Social Security Calculator
Superb Diamond Range YouTube Channel: Superb Diamond Range Podcast - YouTube
Mark's Bigger Pockets Interview: Tax Efficient Ways to Withdraw Money in Early Retirement
Mark's Slide Presentation: Alternatives to Sequential Drawdown - Google Slides
Breathless AI-Bot Summary:
Most investing advice gets fuzzy right when you need it most: the moment you stop accumulating and start living off your portfolio. We dig into real listener questions that force clean thinking about risk parity portfolio design, early retirement withdrawals, and the uncomfortable truth that taxes can matter more than the exact tickers you pick.
We start with a detailed listener build based on an OPTRA-style framework, including how they adjust leverage, blend stocks with bonds, gold, managed futures, and alternatives, and even work through tax location choices for brokerage versus IRA and 401(k) assets. That leads into a blunt conversation about covered call ETFs and other structured “income” products: what they can do, what they cannot do, and why so many shiny new ETFs are really just higher-fee packaging. We also share a valuable community resource for extending managed futures data for backtesting, plus a practical nod to OpenSocialsecurity.com for modeling claiming decisions.
Then we go deep on decumulation strategy. There is no single correct “withdrawal order” because your best move depends on your tax brackets, deductions, healthcare costs, income mix, and what changes year to year. We explain why rigid rules of thumb break, why fourth-quarter tax planning matters, and why paying for strong tax advice can produce more real “alpha” than endlessly tinkering with portfolio allocations.
We wrap with our weekly review of market performance and the eight sample portfolios, highlighting how diversification shows up when different assets lead and lag. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s planning retirement, and leave a review with the question you want us to tackle next.
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31 min
Episode 546: Dual Momentum, Equity Glide Paths, And Here's Johnny From Charlottesville!
Season 7, Episode 546
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Multi-family Investor, Nathan, and John. We discuss dual momentum strategies, equity glide paths and the Bengen, Pfau, and Kitces research, letting equity drift higher to reduce rebalancing and transactions, managed futures proxy limits and why commodities are imperfect stand ins, and SDMF versus DBMF.
Links:
Dual Momentum Explanation Video: DUAL MOMENTUM | Momentum Trading Strategy by Gary Antonacci
Portfolio Visualizer Dual Momentum Analysis Page: Test Tactical Allocation Models
BestFolio YouTube Channel: BestFolio - YouTube
Bengen Book: Bill Bengen’s New Book | A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More.
John's Summary of Risk Parity Radio Over The Years: Episode 445: "Funny How" With Listener Humor, Rebalancing Leveraged Funds, And CTA | Risk Parity Radio
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Dual momentum and risk parity can look strangely similar in a backtest chart, right up until you try to live with one of them in a real retirement portfolio. We take three listener emails and use them to pressure test what matters most when you are optimizing for sustainable spending, low stress execution, and fewer “gotchas” at tax time.
First, we react to a clever tactic: brokerage transfer bonuses and how, for large portfolios, account churn can act like an extra slice of return. Then we dig into the big question behind it all: dual momentum versus risk parity. We explain why we are skeptical of strategies that require frequent full portfolio shifts in taxable accounts, how turnover can trigger short term capital gains, and why the missing piece for many people is a simple dual momentum ETF that could handle the trading inside the fund.
Next we shift to equity glide paths and sequence of returns risk. We connect classic retirement research from Bengen, Pfau, and Kitces to the risk parity mindset and talk through what the “equity versus non equity” split is really doing for a safe withdrawal rate. We also share a practical implementation idea: sometimes the best glide path is simply letting equities drift higher over time so you trade less.
We wrap with managed futures logistics, including the pre 1986 proxy problem and a practical update on SDMF versus DBMF, from swaps and potential tax efficiency to liquidity and costs that do not always show up in the expense ratio. If this helps, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review where you listen.
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40 min
Episode 545: The Ins And Outs of Monte Carlos And Back Tests, The Golden Ratio For Radiologists, Broker Boilerplate, And Portfolio Reviews As Of October 16, 2026
Season 7, Episode 545
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Dave, Bob, and Waldo. We discuss how Monte Carlo simulations differ depending on their basis and how they differ from historical back-tests, the problem of trusting retirement calculators without understanding the assumptions inside them and choosing the correct assumptions, why the Golden Ratio portfolio is built for bad decades, and why a scary brokerage warning screen is often just strategic butt covering and marketing.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Additional Links:
Jesse Cramer Best Interest Podcast Episode 134: Even Financial Advisors Misunderstand Monte Carlo Retirement Analysis (E134)
Yours Truly on Best Interest Podcast: Are You Hoarding, Hustling, or Harvesting in Retirement? - E144
The Four Quadrant Model Exquisitely Explained With Illustrations Inspired By Vermeer: The Four Quadrant Wealth Atlas.pdf - Google Drive
Four Quadrant Model Video: Understanding Correlations and Diversification Using the Four Quadrant Model
Minimize Your Miss Article About The Golden Ratio Portfolio: Minimize Your Miss – Portfolio Charts
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
One retirement tool says you’re fine. Another says you’re headed for disaster. If you’ve ever run a backtest, then hit “Monte Carlo” and watched your plan implode, we get why that feels like whiplash and we also know it’s usually explainable.
We walk through a listener’s withdrawal-rate question and break down the real reason these results diverge: the construction of the simulation. We explain parameterized Monte Carlo (assumed returns and standard deviation on a normal distribution) versus historical Monte Carlo (scrambled real return data), why fat tails and skewness matter, and how limited datasets for assets like international stocks or REITs can quietly distort the numbers. We also share a simple rule for better decision-making: stop hunting for a “perfect” portfolio in a calculator and start comparing Portfolio A to Portfolio B across multiple tools until the relative story stays consistent.
From there, we connect the math to portfolio design. We talk about why worst-case decades drive safe withdrawal rate research, why a decumulation portfolio has different goals than a stock-heavy accumulation portfolio, and how the Golden Ratio approach fits into a four quadrant model across inflation and growth regimes. Then we tackle a very practical worry: Fidelity’s scary designated investments agreement screen when buying a gold ETF like GLDM and why that warning is often more about liability and business model than unique risk.
If you find this helpful, subscribe so you don’t miss the weekly portfolio reviews, share it with a friend who’s modeling retirement, and leave us a rating and review so more DIY investors can find the show.
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42 min
Episode 544: Buen Camino, Donor-Advised Funds, Auto-Callable Shiny Objects, And Bonds vs. Bond Funds
Season 7, Episode 544
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Geraldo, Robin, Roy, and Daniel. We catch up on where we've been and our Camino and the Walk For McKenna, and then shift into discussions of donor-advised funds for charitable giving, a new-fangled auto-callable “income” ETF (a/k/a another "shiny object" -- also check out Episode 504), and review a retirement portfolio and a proposal to shift from a bond fund to individual long term treasury bonds.
Links:
Daffy CEO Interview: A Donor-Advised Fund For You (Daffy): Democratizing Philanthropy for Everyone | Adam Nash | 200
CAGE/CAIE Descriptions: Autocallable ETFs | Calamos Investments
Testfolio Analysis of CAGE and CAIE vs. VOO: Asset Analyzer for ETFs, Stocks, and Funds | testfolio
Rational Reminder on Leveraged ETFs: The Truth About Leveraged ETFs | Rational Reminder 430
ETF Slop Video: The Rise of ETF Slop
Ben Carlson Article on Bond Funds vs. Bondsb: Owning Individual Bonds vs. Owning a Bond Fund - A Wealth of Common Sense
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A “guaranteed 14% return” headline is the kind of thing that can hijack a smart investor’s brain in seconds, especially when retirement is getting real. We dig into why these slick new income products spread so fast, how auto-callable and options overlay ETFs are structured, and why a big distribution is not the same thing as a better outcome. Our north star stays simple: build for total return, diversification, and tax flexibility instead of buying something just because it feels like a paycheck.
We also answer a practical charitable giving question that comes up constantly for DIY investors: should you use a donor-advised fund to support a spouse’s 501(c)(3) charity, and how should you time contributions? We talk through the “trust but verify” checklist with DAF providers, when donating appreciated shares might be even better, and how donation bunching can help if your income varies year to year. If you’re trying to align a risk parity style allocation with consistent giving, this is the clean planning layer that often gets missed.
From there, we tackle retirement portfolio mechanics: whether it ever makes sense to swap a long-term Treasury bond ETF (like VGLT) for an individual 30-year Treasury to lock in a coupon. The key takeaway is that long Treasuries in an all-weather or risk parity portfolio are usually held as recession insurance and rebalancing power, not as an income product. Liquidity and the ability to rebalance matter, and simplicity matters even more when you consider what your future self or your heirs will have to manage.
If this helped you think more clearly about charitable giving, retirement income strategy, and avoiding shiny object ETFs, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. What investing product have you been pitched lately that sounded amazing on the surface?
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49 min
Episode 543: Personal Finance Books Mania, The Famous Easy Chair, EDV vs. TLT, And Portfolio Reviews As Of September 25, 2026
Season 7, Episode 543
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Michael, Matt, and Ron. We discuss books for a 30-something family man and practical advicbe for approaching non-fiction more efficiently in the age of AI ChatBots, the world's most famous Easy Chair, and how EDV can work in a risk parity style portfolio.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Additional Links:
The World's Most Famous Easy Chair: Easy Chair.jpg - Google Drive
Catching Up To FI Podcast With Yours Truly in Said Easy Chair: Are Bonds Dead?: Fixed Income Fundamentals (Part 1) | Frank Vasquez | Episode 229
Bigger Pockets Money Podcast feat. Yours Truly: We Built a 5% SWR Retirement Portfolio Using Fidelity in 48 Minutes (Golden Ratio Portfolio)
AI Agent Folllies with Hannah Fry: Why AI Agents are either the best or worst thing we’ve ever builtb
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Most personal finance advice fails for one simple reason: it ignores where you actually are. We start by answering a listener’s question about book recommendations, but we do it through a framework that makes the whole money world easier to navigate: four investor levels, from budgeting and cash flow, to early-stage investing, to low-cost index fund competence, to more advanced goal-driven portfolio design. Along the way, we call out the “shiny object” traps where media and marketing keep people stuck buying products instead of building skills.
From there we get practical about learning efficiently in 2026: use AI to summarize popular personal finance books, compare what overlaps, and only read the ones that truly fit your family. We talk through standout titles like The Psychology of Money, The Simple Path to Wealth, Die With Zero, and Just Keep Buying, then pivot to what matters most for couples in their 30s with kids: getting on the same page. We share resources built for real relationships, including Ramit Sethi’s Money for Couples and a surprisingly useful marriage-centered option from John Gottman that includes guided money conversations.
Next, we tackle a classic risk parity investing question: should you use EDV instead of TLT for long-term Treasury bond exposure? We break down bond duration in plain English, why total bond funds like BND can be weak diversifiers against equities, and how Treasury STRIPS funds can change portfolio volatility and sizing. Finally, we run through our weekly portfolio reviews and the current market backdrop, including why managed futures can behave differently when stocks and bonds struggle.
If you like data-driven investing with a human filter, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a rating and review so more DIY investors can find it.
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40 min
Episode 542: Forecasting 101 Applied To Personal Liability And Historians And Practical Goals For Accumulation
Season 7, Episode 542
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Mike, Jack, and Andrew. We discuss how to do forecasting using the risk of a personal injury lawsuit as an example, why historians are generally bad a forecasting and a better approach than assuming causation, reveal Ferguson's Law to be a slippery slope argument, and explain how the 25x expenses rule fits real human behavior better than a mathematically correct 20x expenses calculation.
Along the way we thank our donors to the Top of the T-shirt Campaign for the Father McKenna Center and go over the results.
Links:
Walk for McKenna: Walk For McKenna - Father McKenna Center
Ubiquity: Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen: Buchanan, Mark: 9780609809983: Amazon.com: Books
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “I know it’s unlikely, but what if it happens to me,” this conversation is for you. We take three listener questions and use them to practice a skill that quietly drives good investing: forecasting risk with base rates and clear thinking instead of letting scary stories run the show.
First, we dig into a classic retirement planning dilemma: keep an old 401(k) for ERISA creditor protection or roll it into IRAs for a simpler setup. We talk through the possibility effect, why asking random opinions often makes you more anxious, and how using AI research tools can quickly surface the kinds of statistics that bring a decision back down to earth. We also lay out the most practical line of defense for personal liability risk: a properly sized umbrella insurance policy that not only covers claims, but also pays for attorneys when you need them.
Next, we tackle Ferguson’s Law and the broader genre of “threshold” predictions about US decline, the dollar, and reserve currency fears. We explain why historians and famous experts can be compelling storytellers yet unreliable forecasters, why timeframes make or break any real prediction, and why the most useful response is not panic but diversification, including true diversifiers like managed futures and gold.
We close with a psychological question about the 4% rule, safe withdrawal rate planning, and why we often point people to 25x annual expenses instead of 20x even if a higher withdrawal rate might pencil out on paper. If you want a calmer, more actionable way to think about risk parity style investing and retirement, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review.
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1 hr 4 min
Episode 541: What Retail Financial Advisors Don't Want You To Know About Their Lineage And Fear-Based Methods; And Portfolio Reviews As Of September 18, 2026
Season 7, Episode 541
Show notes
In this episode we answer an email from Cameron. First, we consider the long history of consumer marketing and how the retail financial services industry fits into it, including reviewing developments in financial services business models over the past century. In that context, we then break down why the current most popular business models are fear-based, which leads to retirement planning firms pushing “paycheck replacement,” annuities and other inefficient solutions involving buckets, ladders and flower pots. We also discuss how AUM combined with fear-based business models leads to the biggest current problem in retirement planning -- chronic underspending, and why that is unlikely to change in the near future.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
Psychology of Human Misjudgment: Charlie Munger - 24 Cognitive Biases - Human Misjudgment full speech (Improved Audio & Captioned)
Thinking, Fast and Slow Summary: Microsoft Word - Thinking Fast and Slow Book Summary.doc
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds: The Project Gutenberg eBook of Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay
Fifty Years in Wall Street: Fifty years in Wall Street by Henry Clews | Project Gutenberg
Where Are The Customers' Yachts?: Where Are the Customers' Yachts?: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street (Wiley Investment Classics): Schwed Jr., Fred, Arno, Peter, Zweig, Jason: 9780471770893: Amazon.com: Books
Classifying Financial Advisors By Their Business Models: Interacting with the Financial Services Industry with SC Gutierrez
White Coat Investor Podcast Episode -- (start at 57:30 -- "6 out of 7 retirees are underspending"): Advanced Financial Planning Q&A for Physicians - WCI Podcast #489
Source For The 6 Out of 7 Are Underspending Statistics: How Do Retirees Actually Spend Their Money?
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A retirement plan that “feels like a paycheck” can be a comforting story, but comfort is not a strategy. We respond to a listener who sat through a pitch from an Atlanta-area retirement planning firm and walked away hearing the same two levers again and again: income and annuities, followed by taxes and crash fears when challenged. That’s the hook for a much bigger conversation about why so much retirement advice is designed to manage anxiety instead of maximizing outcomes.
We trace the roots of modern financial marketing through consumer culture and the persuasion playbook, from early propaganda techniques to the behavioral finance insights that explain how fear and incentives shape decisions. Then we map that history onto the financial services industry itself: the commission era, the loaded mutual fund era, the rise of assets under management (AUM), and today’s shift toward selling “sleep well at night” reassurance. Along the way, we talk about why “income-first” retirement planning can be tax-inefficient, why liquidity and total return matter, and why bucket, ladder, and flower pot strategies often solve for feelings before they solve for math.
After the big-picture rant, we bring it back to practical portfolio work. We run through the weekly market snapshot and performance across the show’s diversified sample portfolios, spanning stocks, Treasury bonds, gold, commodities, managed futures, and more. We also detail an OPTRA portfolio rebalance after a long stretch without rebalancing, including exactly what we sold and bought and what the rule-based experiment is meant to reveal.
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30 min
Episode 540: Teaching Up Them Teens, An Early Retirement Checkup, And A Managed Futures Paper
Season 7, Episode 540
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Jon, David, and Trevor. We discuss teaching teens personal finance without boring them and learning by doing, an early retirement checkup for a high-saving household confirming a $3.6M portfolio can support retirement plans, getting granular on expenses and planning for health care costs, asset location basics, and a useful managed futures white paper.
Links:
If You Can Book: Microsoft Word - If You Can.doc
Set For Life: Set for Life: An All-Out Approach to Early Financial Freedom: Trench, Scott: 9781947200807: Amazon.com: Books
FIRE For Dummies: Amazon.com : fire for dummies
So Good They Can't Ignore You: So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love: Newport, Cal: 9781455509126: Amazon.com: Books
Meketa Managed Futures Paper: MEKETA Trend-Following Managed Futures Paper.pdf - Google Drive
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Most money advice for teenagers boils down to three lines, yet somehow it still doesn’t stick. We dig into why that happens and how to fix it with a simple shift: stop treating personal finance like a reading assignment and start treating it like a hands-on skill. With no-fee trading, fractional shares, and AI tools that can summarize any classic finance book on demand, the real edge is helping young investors build confidence by actually using accounts, placing trades, and watching what happens.
We share book recommendations that still earn a spot on the list, including a short starter PDF that delivers the core principles fast, plus a more modern early-career path-to-financial-independence perspective. Then we make the case that the most important “money book” for many teens isn’t about investing at all. It’s about building skills and career capital so earning, saving, and investing become possible in the first place.
Next, we answer a detailed listener question from a burned-out attorney with $3.6M saved who wants to know if he’s basically at the finish line. We walk through how to sanity-check retirement readiness, why expense tracking and health care planning matter, and how to think about asset location for tax efficiency. We also tackle the mortgage decision as the personal part of personal finance, and discuss liquidity options like HELOCs and low-rate brokerage margin as tools to keep flexibility.
We close with a listener-shared managed futures and trend following white paper and why managed futures can diversify both stocks and bonds in a resilient portfolio. If you find this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a rating and review so more DIY investors can find the show.
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45 min
Episode 539: Reviewing The Sample Portfolios And What Each One Is About, Performance Metrics, Risk Parity Chronicles, And Portfolio Reviews As Of September 11, 2026
Season 7, Episode 539
Show notes
In this episode we answer two emails from Stephen and one from Melanie. We walk through the eight sample portfolios and talk about what each one represents, discuss how different portfolios are appropriate for different goals and the relevant comparison between two withdrawal rates is the relative difference (e.g., 6.0% versus 4.3% is a 40% difference in annual spending, not a 1.7% difference), and talk about what the performance numbers on the website represent. We also remind the listeners that additional resources in blog form can be found at Risk Parity Chronicles.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
HedgeFundie Portfolio: HEDGEFUNDIE's Excellent Adventure (UPRO/TMF) - A Summary
Testfolio Backtest of Aggressive 50/50 Portfolio (also on website): Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
Risk Parity Chronicles Blog Signup (Free): Risk Parity Chronicles | Justin | Substack
Risk Parity Chronicles YouTube Channel: Risk Parity Chronicles - YouTube
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A portfolio can look “safe” right up until the moment it isn’t, and nowhere is that clearer than with leveraged stock and bond strategies. We start with a deceptively simple listener question about the Aggressive 50-50 sample portfolio: did we backtest it, and what did the results say? That opens the door to a bigger point about risk parity, diversification, and why “sample portfolio” never means “recommendation” on our site. Some models are references, some are practical retirement portfolios, and some are intentionally risky experiments designed to teach us what can break.
Next, we tackle a classic retirement investing debate: should you accept a lower long-run return if it buys you a higher safe withdrawal rate? The answer depends on your goal. If you want to spend more in the early years of retirement, drawdowns and sequence-of-returns risk matter more than spreadsheet projections that assume steady annual returns. We talk through why a 4% versus 6% withdrawal rate is a lifestyle-changing gap, and why a 100% stock portfolio can still fail in worst-case starts even when long-run returns look attractive.
We also clear up a common confusion about performance reporting: when a portfolio is “up X% since inception,” those numbers reflect withdrawals as tracked in Fidelity, and you can reconcile comparisons by adding withdrawals back for a rough no-withdrawal view. We point you to Testfolio for running your own backtests with tickers, start dates, and withdrawal rates, then finish with a quick weekly snapshot across stocks, Treasuries, gold, commodities, managed futures, and our experimental portfolios. If this helps you think more clearly about portfolio allocation and retirement withdrawal planning, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a rating or review.
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41 min
Episode 538: Analyzing A Listener Portfolio, Helping Family Invest, Leverage, U.K. LCG And SCV Funds, And A Little Managed Futures
Season 7, Episode 538
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from David, Olavo, and Nick. We discuss evaluating a sample portfolio and transitioning, helping parents and other relatives with their situations and milk-shake drinkers, being careful with leverage, large cap growth and small cap value funds for U.K. listeners and adding a 5% allocation of managed futures to a mix.
Links:
Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint: Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive
Steve Eisman Podcast: P&C Stocks Worth Owning: The AI Hedge with Ryan Tunis | The Real Eisman Playbook Episode 74
David's Leverage Analysis: Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A portfolio can look brilliant on a chart and still fail the moment real life shows up. We tackle that gap with three listener emails that force the question most investors avoid: what does “good investing” look like when the goal is sustainable spending, family responsibility, and staying out of trouble?
First, we unpack a detailed risk parity style decumulation portfolio that blends U.S. growth, small cap value, international small cap value, property and casualty insurers, gold, managed futures (DBMF), and long-duration Treasury STRIPS (GOVZ), plus a small Bitcoin slice. We translate “implied leverage” so you can see the true macro allocation to stocks, bonds, and alternatives and judge whether the mix fits the safe withdrawal rate guidelines many retirees aim for. Then we zoom out: for aging parents stuck with a high-fee AUM advisor and a sister-in-law facing a life insurance payout, we explain why planning comes before portfolio construction, touching health and longevity, taxes, RMDs, spending needs, legacy goals, and the very practical issue of who will manage the money over time.
We also go deep on leverage. If you are considering 1.5x exposure using margin at Interactive Brokers, we discuss how to model margin interest, why drawdowns matter more than averages, how margin calls happen, and why a small test allocation beats going “whole hog.” Finally, we answer a UK-specific question with UCITS ETF ideas for large cap growth and small cap value, and we give a quick framework for whether 5% DBMF can move the needle alongside 10% to 15% gold.
Subscribe, share this with a friend who is redesigning their retirement portfolio, and leave a review with your biggest investing question so we can address it next.
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38 min
Episode 537: Bitcoin Gambling Problems, Resources For Understanding Managed Futures, Window Dressing Withdrawal Strategies, And Portfolio Reviews As Of September 4, 2026
Season 7, Episode 537
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Optimus Bill, Sin Nombre, Darren, and George. We discuss sizing small bitcoin ETF allocations, identify resources to learn more about managed futures, and talk about how underspending or hoarding strategies are often dressed up in various ways that often have surface appeal, but are ultimately unnecessarily restrictive and lack meaningful or useful purpose. Basic financial tools like selling shares are meant to be used, not avoided.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page: Donate - Father McKenna Center
Catching Up To FI -- Donor Advised Funds: A Donor-Advised Fund For You (Daffy): Democratizing Philanthropy for Everyone | Adam Nash | 200
Understanding Managed Futures Paper: Understanding Managed Futures
Demystifying Managed Futures Paper: Demystifying Managed Futures
A Century of Evidence on Trend-Following Investing Paper: A Century of Evidence on Trend-Following Investing
List of Books from Top Traders Unplugged: Top Traders Unplugged Ultimate Guide to Investing Books.pdf - Google Drive
"Follow The Trend" Book: Amazon.com: Following the Trend: Diversified Managed Futures Trading (Wiley Trading): 9781119908982: Clenow, Andreas F.: Books
Excess Returns Managed Futures Presentation: Why Most Investors Won't Buy the Best Diversifier | Andrew Beer on Managed Futures
IM Global Partners YouTube Channel (DBMF): iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF Update with Andrew Beer | June 2026
Overcoming Underspending Habits To Improve Well-Being in Retirement: RPR Episode 436 Illustrated: The Two Halves of Your Financial Life
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Bitcoin in a risk parity portfolio sounds like a harmless side bet, until you ask the only question that matters: will a tiny allocation actually move the needle, or is it just a story you tell yourself? We dig into the practical reality of a 1% Bitcoin ETF position, why volatility can make small weights matter, and why correlation to tech stocks can feel stable one month and chaotic the next. If you’re considering crypto as a “moonshot” inside a diversified portfolio, we talk about what makes it behave like a levered risk asset and how to keep it from dominating your results.
Next, we respond to a listener who wants to learn managed futures and trend following the right way. We lay out a no-fluff roadmap: key papers, episodes to revisit, book recommendations, and ongoing video resources from fund providers. If you’ve been looking at managed futures ETFs like DBMF or KMLM and wondering what they really add to a portfolio, this section helps you separate trading curiosity from allocation decisions, and makes the case for managed futures as a serious diversifier alongside stocks, bonds, gold, commodities, and REITs.
Then we tackle a retirement hot button: living off dividend ETF income and never selling shares. We argue that “dividend-only” is often just window dressing for an ultra-low spending plan, and we make the case that selling shares is a normal tool, not a moral failure. We close with our September portfolio review and monthly distributions across the sample portfolios, including leveraged and return-stacked designs, so you can see real-world asset allocation decisions play out.
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33 min
Episode 536: Getting That Cash Invested, A Tribute To St. Dolly, And A Variable Withdrawal Strategy Calculator
Season 7, Episode 536
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Geraldo, Mark, and Zack. We revel again in their generosity, talk through reinvesting a big cash balance, setting up liquidity backstops with brokerage collateral, and using variable retirement withdrawal rules and a Portfolio Charts calculator to model the Bob Clyatt 95% rule with a Golden Ratio style portfolio.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Portfolio Charts Retirement Spending Calculator: Retirement Spending – Portfolio Charts
Morningstar Report with Variable Withdrawal Strategies Analysis: Morningstar State_of_Retirement_Income_2025.pdf - Google Drive
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Cash feels comforting until it turns into quicksand. We start with a listener who sold a home, parked the proceeds, and now feels stuck watching markets and wondering if buying Treasuries “right now” is a mistake. We share the simplest antidote we know: stop waiting for perfect and start using a calendar. When your goal is a durable long-term asset allocation, a schedule-based reinvestment plan can beat fear-based timing, even when the news is trying its hardest to make you panic.
Next we get tactical about liquidity. We unpack the real-world tradeoffs between a securities-backed line of credit (SBLOC) and a margin loan inside a brokerage account, including the little frictions people only learn after they call their custodian. The bigger idea is creating a backstop so you don’t have to keep oversized emergency cash or “just in case” bond piles. We also compare these tools to a HELOC and why credit secured by a sizable brokerage account may be less likely to disappear when markets get ugly.
Then we pivot to two themes that make the whole plan worth doing. First, Dolly Parton as an example of emulable generosity, not just talent or fame, and why what you do with your resources matters as much as how you grow them. Second, retirement withdrawal strategies: we answer a question on the Bob Clyatt 95% rule, variable spending, and how to model a golden ratio style portfolio using the Portfolio Charts retirement spending calculator. If you want clearer next steps for risk parity style diversification, retirement planning, and spending rules that flex without falling apart, hit play, then subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review.
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41 min
Episode 535: Celebrating Your Generosity (From A BOAT!), Some US Treasury Wrath Of God Type Stuff, Accumulation Basics, And Portfolio Reviews As Of August 28, 2026
Season 7, Episode 535
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Pete, Mark, and Jack. We thank our generous donors and share the preliminary results of the Top of the T-Shirt campaign for the Father McKenna Center, discuss recent machinations of the US Treasury Department and why its more of the same old story, and discuss some basics of accumulation portfolios and the preeminence of the Macro-Allocation Principle, and using risk-parity style portfolios for intermediate accumulation.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Mark's Claude Discussion Link: Claude
Testfolio Comparison of Sample Accumulation Portfolios: Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
Shannon's Demon Article: Unexpected Returns: Shannon's Demon & the Rebalancing Bonus – Portfolio Charts
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A tiny Treasury headline can spark a full-blown “the system is ending” spiral, and we get why. So we slow it down and look at what actually matters for investors: how policy actions, inflation expectations, and interest-rate narratives ripple through stocks, long-term Treasury bonds, gold, commodities, and managed futures and why trying to predict the next move usually makes portfolios worse, not better.
We also share a meaningful community update as our listener donations push the Father McKenna Center’s Top of the T-Shirt campaign back into a leading spot. The money helps keep real services running for people who need it, and it also reinforces a theme we come back to often: investing is a tool, not the point. Time is limited, behavior matters, and a steady plan beats a dramatic one.
From there we tackle an accumulation-phase question that a lot of DIY investors wrestle with: how to split large-cap growth (VUG) with small-cap value (VIOV or AVUV), where to place each fund across taxable, Roth, and pre-tax accounts, and why we don’t assume one style will “win” forever. We dig into the logic of rebalancing and “Shannon’s demon,” plus when it makes sense to upgrade fund choices and when switching creates avoidable tax pain. Then we close with our weekly market snapshot and performance across the eight sample portfolios, including the more volatile leveraged experiments.
If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s doom-scrolling financial news, and leave us a rating and review so more investors can find the show.
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40 min
Episode 534: An RPC Free Portfolio Organizer, Assorted Asset Questions, And How Risk-Parity Style Portfolios Alleviate Concerns About "High Market Valuations" By Design
Season 7, Episode 534
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Kelly and Jose (Joe). We discuss simple spreadsheet applications for organizing portfolios, review a planned risk-parity style portfolio, discuss issues with transitioning and international fund choices and proportions, and why you should not fear "high market valuations" because risk-parity portfolios already solve for that exact problem, unlike simplistic large-cap weighted portfolios. In fact, that is one of the main reasons risk-parity style portfolios make for better retirement portfolios with higher safe withdrawal rates.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Risk Parity Chronicles Free Portfolio Tracker and Explanatory Video: How to use the RPC Capital Efficient Portfolio Tracker
Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint: Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive
Jeremy Grantham on the Long-View Podcast: Jeremy Grantham ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’ - YouTube
F. Vasquez EconoMe 2025 Slide Presentation: F. Vasquez EconoMe 2025 Presentation.pdf - Google Drive
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Retiring soon and staring at market charts that look “too high” can mess with your head, even if your plan is solid. We hear that anxiety loud and clear in today’s mailbag, and we respond with what actually helps: better visibility across accounts, clear asset allocation targets, and a process you can follow when emotions spike.
First, we tackle the nuts-and-bolts problem almost every DIY investor hits: holdings scattered across IRAs, 401(k)s, and a taxable brokerage account. We share a simple way to track everything on one page using a Google Sheet that updates prices automatically, and we talk about how AI tools like Gemini NotebookLM can organize raw account statements into a clean spreadsheet, even adding details like unrealized capital gains. The point is not fancy software, it’s seeing your true portfolio mix so you can rebalance with confidence and avoid constant tinkering.
Then we get into portfolio construction: equity levels that feel conservative vs aggressive in a risk parity style setup, when Treasury bond exposure may be on the high side, and how to think about diversifiers like gold (GLDM) and managed futures (DBMF). We also answer practical questions about VTI and VXUS, whether adding a dedicated growth fund matters, and how to split small cap value between AVUV and AVDV without over-optimizing.
Finally, we address the big fear: what happens if you invest or rebalance near all-time highs right before retirement? We walk through why a diversified risk parity style portfolio can reduce peak-valuation risk, how safe withdrawal rates look when you test retirement start dates near major market peaks, and why a written execution plan often beats trying to time the perfect day. If this helped, subscribe, share the show with a friend who’s nearing retirement, and leave us a review on your podcast app.
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38 min
Episode 533: Learning Some Things From Wes Gray, A Long-Term Correlation Matrix, A Listener's New Financial Practice, And Portfolio Reviews As Of August 14, 2026
Season 7, Episode 533
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Optimus Bill, Mark, and Drew. We discuss a paper about value factor investing from Wes Gray, Section 351 exchanges, how to stick with the horse your rode in on, a long-run correlation analysis of various assets, and a listener's new financial practice.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Alpha Architect Value Factor Investing Paper: AA-JBISFactorInvesting22LongOnlyValueInvesting.pdf
Interview of Wes Gray on Section 351 Exchanges and Other Topics: Episode 70: Dr. Wes Gray discusses the unique tax benefits of ETFs and other topics of interest, host Rick Ferri | Bogleheads On Investing Podcast
Mark's Long-Term Correlation Matrix: correlation_matrix (Mark Figley Episode 533).xlsx - Google Sheets
"Minimize Your Miss" Article: Minimize Your Miss – Portfolio Charts
Drew's Money for Makers Book (Not An Endorsement -- Just A Favor For A Long-Time Listener): Book | Money for Makers by Drew Feldman, APMA® | WideFrame Wealth
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
If your portfolio plan only works when stocks are soaring, it’s not a plan, it’s a mood. We take on a set of sharp listener questions that hit the heart of risk parity investing and modern portfolio construction: when does small cap value truly earn its keep, how should you think about equal-weighted value strategies, and why “liquidity” often matters more to institutions than to everyday ETF investors who rebalance a few times a year. Along the way, we share our core view that the growth versus value split can be more important than the large versus small split for long-term asset allocation.
We also dig into an advanced but practical topic for the right person: Section 351 exchanges. If you’re sitting on highly appreciated legacy stocks or a concentrated inherited position, the promise of moving toward a diversified ETF structure without an immediate taxable event is compelling, but the real-world constraints are cost, complexity, and scale. We lay out what we know, who it tends to fit, and why most do-it-yourself investors are better served by simpler diversification steps earlier.
Then we tackle the uncomfortable truth: diversification can feel like failure during long stretches when the SP 500 leads. We talk behavior, drawdowns, and why educated DIY investors still need a realistic expectation for underperformance in strong stock years. A listener-built 100-year correlation matrix reinforces the point, highlighting how Treasury bonds, gold, and especially managed futures can bring low or even negative correlation when stocks drop. We close with our weekly portfolio review, including performance snapshots and upcoming rebalancing trades in leveraged allocations.
Subscribe for more clear, evidence-based investing talk, share this with a friend building a retirement portfolio, and leave a review so more DIY investors can find the show.
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31 min
Episode 532: SBLOCs Vs. Margin Accounts, Jumping The Shark, And A Variable Withdrawal Strategy
Season 7, Episode 532
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Optimus Bill, Pete, and Andy. We discuss SBLOCs vs margin accounts for liquidity in retirement, what "jumping the shark" looks like in blog form and why its a bad idea for all involved, and a listener's endowment-inspired variable withdrawal strategy (that should work just find).
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Interactive Brokers Margin Rates: Margin Rates and Financing | Interactive Brokers LLC
Pete's "Firefly" Link: #firefly #serenity #malcolmreynolds #nathanfillion #captain #captainma... | TikTok
Fonzie Jumps The Shark: Fonzie Jumps Shark
Simpsons Jump The Shark: The Simpsons Jump the Shark
Referenced SEC Disclosure: SPY2026/06/05 - ADV Form 2A - Google Docs
Bonus Video On The Patterns of Deception of Shark Jumpers: Episode 532 Bonus: Biased Skepticism and Patterns of Deception In the FI Blogosphere
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
Borrowing against your portfolio can feel like a magic trick: you keep your investments, skip selling, and still get cash when you need it. The trick only works, though, if you understand the rules. We break down a listener question on S-block loans (securities-backed lines of credit) versus margin loans, including how these products are structured, how SOFR-based rates show up in real pricing, and why brokers like Interactive Brokers can look dramatically cheaper than the big-name platforms.
Then we dig into the detail that can flip the whole decision: taxes. Margin interest is often treated as investment interest and shows up on Form 4952, potentially landing as a Schedule A deduction. That can change your effective borrowing cost in a big way, especially in higher tax brackets. But does the same deduction apply to an S-block that is set up as a separate loan product? We talk through what we know, what we do not, and the exact question to take to your tax professional so you are not optimizing the wrong thing.
From there, the conversation pivots to retirement planning, sequence of returns risk, and why a small allocation to gold keeps popping up in safe withdrawal rate research. We also share a candid take on what happens when personal finance commentary drifts from useful analysis into sensational accusations, and why that shift can be harmful to audiences trying to make calm, long-term decisions.
We close by critiquing an endowment-style withdrawal rule designed to smooth spending while still responding to market performance, plus the real-life challenge every retiree faces: spending is not a straight line. If you want more episodes like this, subscribe, share the show with a friend who is nearing retirement, and leave a review with what question you want answered next.
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36 min
Episode 531: Expressing Our Heartfelt Gratitude, Working With Asset Choice Constraints, And Portfolio Reviews As Of August 7, 2026
Season 7, Episode 531
Show notes
In this episode we respond to emails from Thirsty Horse, Joanne, Matt and Alan. We share our gratitude for our listeners and reflect on how a listener community can become one of the most meaningful outcomes of a long-term investing project. We also provide an update on the Top of the T-Shirt fundraising campaign for the Father McKenna Center. Next we answer two portfolio design questions about retirement drawdown constraints and how to fit them into the framework for portfolios with higher safe withdrawal rates.
And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Charity Navigator Rating for The Father McKenna Center: Charity Navigator - Rating for Father McKenna Center Inc.
Bengen "Richer Retirement" Sample Portfolio at Portfolio Charts: Richer Retirement Portfolio – Portfolio Charts
Bill Bengen's "Richer Retirement" Content: Bill Bengen’s New Book | Charts & Tools for You
Golden Ratio Compared with Version w/o Alternative Investments: Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio
Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint: Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive
Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:
A week where stocks jump 3% to 5% and gold pops more than 7% can feel like the market is daring you to change your plan. We don’t take the bait. We walk through what actually happened across major asset classes, why we still refuse to time markets, and how a diversified risk parity approach is designed to keep you steady when headlines and price moves get loud.
We also start with something more important than portfolio math: the notes we received after my mom passed away, and what it means to build an audience that shows up for each other. From there, we share a progress update on our Father McKenna Center “top of the t-shirt” campaign, including matching funds, a Charity Navigator 100% rating, and a practical tip for tax-smart giving: donating appreciated shares can reduce capital gains while supporting a mission you care about.
Then we get into two listener questions that hit the real world. First: if you’re in the retirement drawdown phase and you can only use stock and bond ETFs or index funds, what would we actually hold and why? We talk safe withdrawal rate research, the role alternatives play, and what you might use as imperfect substitutes (value tilt, REITs, utilities, even gold miners) when gold and managed futures aren’t on the table. Second: what if you’re investing from New Zealand with limited fund access and a tax drag on US ETFs? We lay out a decision process for finding value-tilted funds locally, evaluating managed futures costs, and avoiding expensive “solutions” that quietly erase the benefit you’re chasing.
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43 min
Episode 530: Choosing Levered Funds (Gambling Problems!), Balancing Portfolio Goals And Trade-offs, And Fun With A ChatGPT Analysis
Season 7, Episode 530
Show notes
In this episode we answer emails from Eli, Optimus Bill, and James. We discuss variations in fund approaches for adding leverage, when fees are more likely to matter, what kinds of people and goals can benefit from risk parity style approaches, the trade-offs in lower and higher equity approaches (with a recent insight from Bill Bengen), and a ChatGPT analysis from a listener.
Links:
Father McKenna Center Donation Page (please mention Risk Parity Radio in the comment section with your donation): Donate - Father McKenna Center
Catching Up To FI with Yours Truly: Are Bonds Dead?: Fixed Income Fundamentals (Part 1) | Frank Vasquez | Episode 229
Afford Anything Podcast #618: They Ran Out of Money. I Didn’t. Here’s Why.
Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint: Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive
FI Physician Article: How Withdrawal Rate Influences Diversifiers in a Risk Parity Portfolio
Breathless AI-Bot Summary:
You can build a portfolio that looks elegant on paper and still miss the only question that matters: what is this portfolio supposed to do for your life? We dig into listener mail that forces the issue, starting with a smart (and very specific) proposal to add leverage using return-stacked ETFs instead of daily-reset leveraged funds. We talk through what these products are trying to achieve, why “macroallocation” often drives the long-run behavior, and where the real uncertainty lives: rebalancing mechanics, limited history, and the practical cost of complexity.
From there, we zoom out to risk parity in retirement. We answer whether there’s a minimum nest egg size to use a risk parity portfolio (spoiler: it’s not about size, it’s about goals), and why many people with very low withdrawal rates simply don’t need a portfolio engineered to maximize safe withdrawal rate. If you’re in the 0% to 3% withdrawal camp, you may have far more freedom than you think, and your asset allocation can optimize for something else entirely, like long-term growth, simplicity, or personal comfort.
We also get tactical: Treasury STRIPS funds as a form of bond “pseudo-leverage,” how that can free up space for growth assets while keeping recession insurance, and how to think about minimum position sizes based on volatility instead of arbitrary percentage floors. Finally, we respond to a question about Golden Butterfly versus Golden Ratio style portfolios, sequence of returns risk, and whether a reverse glide path or bucket-style framing can help without turning your retirement plan into an overengineered project.
If you like practical portfolio design, risk parity investing, safe withdrawal rate thinking, and clear tradeoffs around leverage, fees, and retirement asset allocation, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves tinkering, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.
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