Risk Parity Radio

In this episode we answer emails from Optimus Bill, Arun, and Aaron.  We discuss why we do this show, how to build real friendships as an adult, and how to think clearly about investing without chasing fame or noise. Then we challenge the “gold returns zero” myth with a supply-and-demand lens that looks beyond popular US-centric group-think. 

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

Father McKenna Center Donation Page:  Donate - Father McKenna Center

Slides from the May 31 Zoom AMA;  2026-05-31 Risk Parity Radio AMA Summary Slides.pdf - Google Drive

Video from the May 31 Zoom AMA:  2026-05-31 Risk Parity Radio AMA Video Summary.mp4 - Google Drive

Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:

A listener asks a deceptively simple question that a lot of personal finance repeats without thinking: if gold’s expected real return is “about zero,” what does that imply about commodities, and why would you hold either one in a long-term portfolio? We take that head-on, starting with what the data actually shows in the post-1970 fiat currency era, then working outward into the real drivers that move gold: supply that barely budges, global demand that Americans often ignore, and the uncomfortable possibility that money supply growth helps explain why gold has compounded the way it has.

Before we get there, we share two listener emails that land in a surprisingly human place. We talk about financial independence as “almost winning the game” and the tricky part of figuring out how to stop playing. We also reflect on why we keep Risk Parity Radio small and audienced-focused, why we avoid the usual podcast growth playbook, and how friendship, vulnerability, and alignment beat chasing money, fame, and power.

We also shout out the community: creative “perfect number” donations for Fairfax CASA, a listener-organized Zoom AMA, and the kind of nerdy curiosity that makes building a risk parity style asset allocation feel less lonely. Then we close with our weekly market recap after a nasty Friday selloff and a full performance review of the sample portfolios, including stocks, Treasury bonds, REITs, gold, commodities, managed futures, and a clear warning on leveraged experimental mixes.

If you like thoughtful investing talk that stays grounded in data, diversification, and real life, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review so more do-it-yourself investors can find it.

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In this episode we answer emails from Mark and Eric.  We discuss managing finances through aging, dementia, and what happens when the family’s primary money manager can’t manage anymore. Then we challenge popular fear-based retirement thinking and explain why hoarding wealth can be a bad strategy for well-being and relationships.
Links:

Fairfax CASA Donation Page:  Donate - Fairfax CASA

Father McKenna Center Donation Page:  Donate - Father McKenna Center

Article On Fear- and Hoarding-Based Planning:  The Many Utilities of Retirement - Articles - Advisor Perspectives

A Better Approach To Spending In Retirement That Avoids Fear-Based Hoarding And Maximizes Well-Being:  RPR Episode 436 Illustrated: The Two Halves of Your Financial Life

Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:

What’s the real plan if the person running the budget and investments can’t do it anymore? Not “someday.” Not “we’ll figure it out.” We talk through the unglamorous but essential side of retirement planning and DIY investing: continuity. That means account access, fewer scattered institutions, clear instructions, and a system your spouse can operate even if they’d rather be in the garden than staring at spreadsheets.

We share practical steps that reduce chaos fast: consolidate accounts, use joint ownership where it makes sense, keep a password manager, and maintain a simple net worth sheet with a second tab that explains what to do and why. We also connect the dots to estate planning basics like power of attorney and why writing an investor policy statement can be a gift to the people who may need to step in later.

Then we pivot to a deeper issue behind a lot of retirement advice: fear. We respond to an article that tries to justify hoarding as a retirement “utility,” and we argue that optimizing your life around fear of running out can turn money into a stand-in for therapy. Instead, we lay out what actually improves long-term well-being: stronger relationships, experiences that create flow, buying back your time, and charitable giving, all while still keeping your finances durable.

Subscribe, share this with someone who manages the money in your family, and leave a review so more DIY investors can find the show. What would you put in your one-page continuity plan?
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In this jam-packed crushed-fresh stone-solid hour-busting episode we do a trifecta response to one most excellent email from Rebecca.  We discuss portfolios for FI-lanthropy, options and resources for making a transition from a 100% stock portfolio with tax and ACA subsidy issues, the drawbacks of bucketeering compared with the joys of asset swaps, and the socio-political overhang attached to gold and how that is evolving towards more rational uses of it by big time retail personal finance and others.

And THEN we our go through our weekly and monthly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.

Additional Links:

Fairfax CASA Donation Page:  Donate - Fairfax CASA

Father McKenna Center Donation Page:  Donate - Father McKenna Center

Wells 4 Wellness:  Wells 4 Wellness - Wells 4 Wellness

Yield & Spread/FI-lanthropy:  The FI-lanthropy Pledge | Yield & Spread

The Portfolio Matrix Tool:  Portfolio Matrix – Portfolio Charts

Outline of Financial Advisor Best Practices:  Strategic Retirement Planning: A Summary of Best Practices from Tenon Financial - Google Docs

How To Do An Asset Swap Video from Risk Parity Chronicles:  How to Do an Asset Swap

Afford Anything Risk Parity Portfolio Blueprint:  Afford Anything frank-vasquez-risk-parity-portfolio-BluePrint.pdf - Google Drive

Catching Up to FI Gold Episode:  I Love Goooooold?! :) | Frank Vasquez | 184

Interview of Bob Elliot on the Compound Podcast re Gold (start at 1:10):  The Blue Chips of Junk | TCAF 175

Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:

You can do everything “right,” follow a simple index plan, retire early, and still wake up one day as an accidental 100% stock investor. That’s what happened to Rebecca and Joe, early retirees in their mid-30s who needed fast cash for a home purchase and ended up selling bonds and leaning on a margin bridge. Now they’re staring at a stock-only portfolio, big unrealized gains, and a real constraint most advice ignores: diversifying could blow up taxes and ACA health insurance subsidies.

We walk through a risk parity mindset built for real life, not perfect spreadsheets. We use Portfolio Charts to compare diversified asset allocation models by safe withdrawal rate, volatility, Ulcer Index, and drawdowns, and we explain why portfolios like the Golden Ratio and Golden Butterfly can be surprisingly “philanthropy-friendly” if you want to spend and give consistently. Then we get practical: stop treating taxable and retirement accounts like separate buckets, rebalance the diversifiers inside retirement accounts first, and learn how an asset swap can fund spending while keeping your overall allocation on track.

We also tackle the emotional side, especially gold. If gold feels like a doomsday signal, we unpack the uniquely American baggage behind that reaction, why ETFs changed everything, and how gold can function as plain old diversification alongside intermediate and long-term Treasury bonds and even managed futures. We close with our weekly sample portfolio reviews and June distribution updates so you can see the framework in motion.

Subscribe, share the episode with a fellow DIY investor, and leave a rating or review so more early retirees can find a calmer way to diversify.
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In this episode we answer question from Rob, Matthew, and Luke.  We discuss the pitfalls of trying to rely on an all-bond portfolio in retirement and better options, the problems with over-valuing financial simplicity over good living, the benefits of the Choose FI podcast, muddled thinking about the concepts of “self-cleansing” and the momentum factor, why reassessing a retirement plan beats obsessing over a perfect forecast, and why that's not likely to be necessary with a risk parity style portfolio due to its lower risk profile.

Links:

Father McKenna Center Donation Page:  Donate - Father McKenna Center

Fairfax CASA Donation Page:  Donate - Fairfax CASA

Optimus Bill's Risk Parity Radio Zoom Party (May 31 @ 4 pm EDT):  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3125439422?pwd=dHh6aFlYRk9TWFZ4c29POTA4OThKUT09&omn=85117353750

Portfolio Charts Bond Portfolio SWR:  Withdrawal Rates – Portfolio Charts

ChooseFI Episode 570:  State of the Stock Market 2025 Q&A | Brian Feroldi | Ep 570

ChooseFI Episode 574 (with Yours Truly):  Top Five Regrets of the Dying | Book Club | Ep 574

Comparison of Large Cap Momentum with Other Common Factor Combinations:  Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio

Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:

A 5% Treasury yield can make a bond-only retirement plan sound like the cleanest solution on earth: buy long-term government bonds, take the interest, stop watching markets, and never rebalance again. We slow that idea down and stress-test it the way a DIY investor should, starting with the basics people love to skip: inflation-adjusted returns, real purchasing power over decades, and the ugly surprise of turning your whole portfolio into federally taxable ordinary income. “Simple” can get expensive fast when taxes and inflation show up every single year.

From there we zoom out to the part that rarely makes it into retirement math. We talk about why chasing simplicity for its own sake is a false goal, how fear-based planning can push you toward over-saving and underliving, and what it looks like to use money to actually improve your life. If what you really want is hands-off income, we also explain why annuities are purpose-built for that job and can be cleaner than fiddling with a bond ladder.

Then we tackle an investing debate sparked by another show: are small caps “bad,” and what does “self-cleansing” even mean in index funds? We break down why all index funds are rules-based, how cap-weighted funds quietly embed a momentum tilt, and why small cap value still earns a role for diversification even when it lags for long stretches. We finish with a practical retirement planning mindset: instead of worshiping a perfect forecast, rerun the plan as life changes and make decisions based on today’s reality.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves “simple” investing rules, and leave a review with the one portfolio myth you want us to unpack next.
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In this episode we answer emails from TJ, Jose and Optimus Bill.  We discuss the foibles of trying to catch up via investment picking if you are behind on retirement, debunk CAPE-style and other crystal ball forecasts from "experts" that Level Two investors often fixate upon, lay out practical growth-tilted allocations that can beat narrative-driven investing and invite you all to contact Optimus Bill about your Risk Parity Radio listening habits.

And THEN we our go through our weekly and monthly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.

Additional Links:

FI Service Corp DC Charitable Event:  DC Double Play

Father McKenna Center Donation Page:  Donate - Father McKenna Center

Michael Batnick Critique of CAPE Ratio "Predictions":  Stocks Are More Expensive Than They Used to Be

Accumulating With a Golden Ratio Portfolio Article:  Minimize Your Miss – Portfolio Charts

Catching Up to FI Episode 100:  0️⃣ From Zero to Hero: A Late Starter’s Guide to the Galaxy 🌌 | Becky Heptig | 100

Half US LCG/Half SCV Portfolio vs. US Total Market:  Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio

International Half LCG/Half SCV Portfolio vs. International Total Market:  Portfolio Backtester for ETFs and Asset Allocation | testfolio

Merriman ETF Recommendations:  Best-in-Class ETFs | Merriman Financial Education Foundation

Email Optimus Bill Here:  [email protected]
Breathless AI-Bot Summary:

The fastest way to get yourself into trouble as a DIY investor is to believe you can “catch up” with a smarter prediction. We start with a listener who’s anxious about high stock valuations, AI hype, and a potential lost decade and asks the question most people are thinking but rarely say out loud: does it really make sense to go all-in on stocks if you cannot afford a big drawdown?

We break down why the real accelerator toward financial independence is usually your savings rate, especially when your investment pile is still small, and why a lucky run in individual growth stocks can create a dangerous feedback loop. From there we take a hard swing at valuation crystal balls like CAPE ratio forecasting and explain how to test any market-timing claim against forward-looking evidence and simple base rates rather than headlines and vibes.

Then we pivot to practical portfolio construction. If you want growth without betting your future on a single narrative, we talk about diversification that actually changes the ride: balancing large-cap growth with small-cap value, thinking more clearly about international exposure, and knowing when risk parity diversifiers like long-term Treasuries, gold, commodities, and managed futures make sense. We also answer a high-earner question about moving from a real-estate-heavy balance sheet into a growth-oriented market portfolio and why we’re skeptical of robo-advisors when a simple ETF plan will do.

If you like clear rules, real-world asset allocation, and a little portfolio performance nerdiness, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who’s chasing forecasts, and leave a review so more investors can find the show.

Support the show