John “Jack” Bogle revolutionized the investment industry by opening the first index fund in 1976 to replicate the S&P 500 index. It was not easy to sell the idea of a fund generating average market results. But Bogle has shown that by lowering costs he can outperform actively managed funds.

Eric Balchunas, author of the fantastic book titled “The Bogle Effect. How John Bogle and Vanguard Turned Wall Street Inside Out and Saved Investors Trillions” is my podcast guest today. It’s a semi-documentary book with numerous interviews by Eric, including Jack Bogle and even Warren Buffett. The book described the genesis of a great revolution in the financial world – the passive revolution.

Paul Merriman, my today’s guest, is a worldwide recognized authority on index investing, asset allocation, buy-and-hold, and active management strategies. Paul began his career in the 1960s, working briefly as a broker for a major Wall Street firm. He concluded that Wall Street was burdened with too many conflicts of interest and decided to help small companies raise venture capital. He retired in 1982 to create his independent investment management firm.

Now retired from his company, he is dedicated to educating investors. In 2013 he created The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, dedicated to providing comprehensive financial education to investors, with information and tools to make informed decisions in their own best interest and successfully implement their retirement savings program.

Over the years, Paul has written many articles and books on investing. Paul’s weekly podcast, Sound Investing was named the best money podcast by Money magazine.

Recently, I got an email encouraging me to sign up for a webinar to learn how to earn 1-4% per day. Imagine! Of course, there was an expensive car in the background. 🤦‍♂️ A “modest” 1% (instead of 4%) a day out of the starting $10,000 after three years grows to $17 million! And someone wants to teach such a great strategy for money instead of using it themself? If you believe in such methods, then there is no point in listening to this episode any further.

If you are looking for quick and easy money on the market, do not expect miracles because you will likely be disappointed. My mission is to show how to invest using reliable and proven methods. There is no magic here.

A healthy home budget and regular wise investing of surpluses is almost a guarantee of financial success LONG TERM. It won’t be three years, it won’t be so sexy, but it will be REAL. You can then retire earlier than most of the population. What’s more: you gain financial freedom.

I invite you to this episode which comes from the LIVE session during which I presented an introduction to ETF investing. Even if you are a complete beginner, everything will be easier after this material.