Ever since we began in 1983, our company has been committed to teaching people how to be more successful in managing their investments. Many of the investors who visit our websites and attend our live workshops may not realize the full scope of the educational offerings available to them. The following list (first compiled by Eric Paine, multimedia producer for Merriman Berkman Next, in a publication exclusively for our clients) outlines the many ways we help investors, regardless of how much or how little money they may have.
1. FundAdvice.com Online. Our award-winning educational website has hundreds of articles covering investment strategies for everyone from rank beginners to experienced retirees. You’ll find guidance on retirement, estate planning, the psychological challenges of investing, avoiding common investment mistakes, choosing mutual funds and much more. Several special tools are exclusive to FundAdvice.com. For example, Explode Loads! and our suggested fund portfolios for do-it-yourself investors at Vanguard, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price, Schwab and other brokerage firms. Another exclusive: free market-timing signals for do-it-yourself investors in U.S. equity and bond funds.
2. Free investor workshops. Every year we hold dozens of workshops in various locations to teach investors the most important things they need to know. These are led by a team of exceptional financial educators including Tom Cock, Don McDonald and of course by me. Every workshop participant receives a valuable workbook as a reminder of the material. Click here to see our upcoming schedule.
3. Online workshops. Wherever you have internet access, our free archived online workshops are there to help 24/7. In addition, our live online workshops (check the schedule in advance) let you log on and submit a question. Access to both the live and archived workshops is available here.
4. FundAdvice.com Monthly. This monthly newsletter is mailed to our clients and contains articles and columns on a variety of investing topics. Many of the past articles are available at FundAdvice.com Online.
5. FundAdvice.com Weekly. This weekly email alerts subscribers to our latest online articles, workshop schedule, financial briefs and many of my blog entries as well as featured news and other interesting articles that aren’t available at FundAdvice.com Online.
6. Sound Investing. On the air for more than seven years, our weekly radio show is hosted by myself, Tom and Don. We discuss investor-related news, answer questions from listeners and interview guests such as Mark Hulbert, Knight Kiplinger and Vanguard founder John Bogle. Each show normally includes two interviews with outside experts, Don’s Investment Basics, my Outrage of the Week and Investment Myth or Reality. Paul and Tom often respond to call-in questions from listeners; see #10 below for how to submit your question to the program. The show airs Sundays at 10 a.m. on KVI-AM 570 in Seattle. Past shows are archived at SoundInvesting.com. Internet listeners and those who wish to download a show as a Podcast can subscribe for the weekly email delivery of the latest show.
7. Help with 401(k) and similar plans. This service gives employees specific recommendations on the best use of the investment options offered by more than 80 employers throughout the United States, including government agencies. These recommendations and related resources are available at 401khelp.com.
8. Books and DVDs. Since it was published in 2005, my book “Live It Up without Outliving Your Money” has been among the top 1 percent in sales of all books offered at Amazon.com. I also have produced a two-disk DVD that includes my “Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money” workshop and additional topics presented by Tom Cock and Don McDonald. If you buy the book and DVD from us at the same time, they can be purchased at a special price. To get your copy, call our office at 1-800-423-4893 or order online.
9. Merriman on Money. I use my blog to answer questions on all sorts of investment topics. Click here to go to my blog.
10. Personal help from me. I make a special effort to help all investors through our publications, workshops and broadcasts. If you are interested in contacting me directly, go to FundAdvice.com Online to submit your question. Of course I cannot respond to every question personally, but each week I respond to several with a message or a personal telephone call. I have even been known to make phone calls when I am supposed to be on vacation! When you submit your question, please include your phone number; you might receive a call or an invitation to join us on Sound Investing.
All of these educational services started with a two-page monthly newsletter in 1983. We haven’t yet exhausted all the ways we can help investors. You'll soon be able to see my latest work - locally produced public access channel television - via streaming video at BITV.org. My goal is to have a regular weekly TV show by the end of 2008.
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