Dear friends, life is busy and it seems easier to let a “professional” take care of managing your investments. Well, it is easier. But it can also be more expensive, can reduce your returns, and leave you dependent on a company or a person for one of the most critical parts of your life: your financial independence.
But the optimal investment strategy for most of us is actually simple. It can even be summed up in one sentence: Consistently invest as much as you can in a low-fee stock index fund (70-60%) and a low-fee bond index fund (30-40%). That’s pretty much it.
Don’t try to beat the market by picking stocks. Instead own the market with an index fund and you’ll do better than 99% of professional managers who actively pick the stocks in their funds. In 2018 Warren Buffett won a million dollar bet that an S&P 500 index fund would outperform actively managed hedge funds.
To learn more here is an annotated list of resources to help you become your own investment and financial advisor. Some of them monetize their (popular) sites by selling books, affiliate marketing, or showing ads. But the site content itself is free and extremely informative. If you read through most of this content you’ll be in a much better position to make your own financial decisions, or at least judge the decisions your financial planner recommends. I’ve listed them in rough order of basic to more advanced content.
If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly (pdf)
This very brief (16 page) booklet by William J. Bernstein condenses the core ideas of the financial independence approach espoused by the authors below. Targeted toward younger people but applicable to all of us. If nothing else, read this.
One of the OG financial independence retire early (FIRE) bloggers. Certainly one of the most successful popularizers of the FIRE approach. Solid and entertaining articles on basic investing strategy and how to live a rich life without spending a lot of money. Start here
Has written a book called The Simple Path to Wealth that describes the same approach to investing as the others on this list but organized and in more detail. However, you can get most of the same information just by reading the articles on his site. Start here
Tons of charts and hands down the most detailed series of articles on safe withdrawal rate (SWR) strategies you’ll ever find. Good piece on why they don’t trust financial planners. Otherwise for a list of great articles Start here
For the FIRE nerds. Lots of detail and clever approaches to reducing taxes and optimizing finances. Offers free access to a “lab” with financial calculators and progress trackers. Start here
A firehose of a forum with both basic and advanced answers to just about every financial/investment question you could imagine. Also has a great wiki that organizes the best of that information. Devoted to the ideas of John C. Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard brokerage (recommended), inventor of the mutual fund, and crusader for lower fees. Start here
Wide-ranging articles from someone doing FIRE in San Francisco with a family. Also discusses real estate investment. Start here
An investment blog targeted towards doctors, but with solid information for a general audience. Start here
Another investment blog targeted at doctors, but again with really solid content. These doctors are really focused on the best and easiest ways to grow your wealth! Start here
Financial independence from a couple who focus on travel hacking in addition to saving and investing advice. Start here
A couple who became financially independent and moved to their dream home in the Lake Tahoe area. Good content on the ethics of FIRE and what to do after you reach financial independence. Start here
Emphasis on extreme. This blog isn’t active lately, but still has a wealth of information on how to become financially independent even at very low income levels. A lot of focus on reducing your expenses by re-thinking how much you need to be happy. Start here
Advanced articles that go very deep on the topic of financial planning. This is where advisors who want you to pay them go to learn. Want to know how much a financial plan from an advisor actually costs? Check out this article.
Bonus Video Content: Two Sides of Fi
Two guys on YouTube talking about financial content, one who has already retired early and one who is a couple of years away from retiring early. Interesting to hear about the expectations and realities of living FIRE, the effects on family, emotional ups and downs, and more.