Jonathan Clements: 'It's in Wall Street's Interest to Make Everyday Investors Think That They Are Stupid'

Our guest on today's podcast is Jonathan Clements, the founder and editor of the website HumbleDollar. Clements has been a prolific and influential writer over his several-decade career. Prior to starting HumbleDollar, he was the longtime money and investing columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote more than 1,000 columns. After he left The Journal, Clements spent six years heading up investor education at Citi Personal Wealth Management. He has also authored seven investment books and a novel, including the Jonathan Clements Money Guide, How to Think about Money, and From Here to Financial Happiness.

Background Information

• Jonathan Clements bio
• HumbleDollar
• Books by Jonathan Clements

Related Links

Frugality and Setting Financial Goals

• FIRE Movement Wikipedia entry
• HumbleDollar's Spending Guide
• HumbleDollar's Saving Guide
• "Can Money Buy Happiness?" by Andrew Blackman (Nov. 10, 2014, The Wall Street Journal)

The Role of Advisors in Improving Outcomes

• Michael Kitces on "The Long View" podcast
• Great Debates on HumbleDollar's site
• "Hire an Advisor?" by Jonathan Clements (HumbleDollar)
• Bogleheads.org

Whether Investors Undermine Their Results With Bad Behavior

• DALBAR's Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior
• "Taking Us for Fools," by Jonathan Clements (Dec. 1, 2018, HumbleDollar)
• "Maybe Investors Aren't Stupid After All," by Jonathan Clements (March 31, 2004, The Wall Street Journal)
• "Just How Dumb Are Investors?" by Jason Zweig (May 9, 2014, The Wall Street Journal)
• "A Warning to the Advisory Profession: DALBAR's Math is Wrong" by Wade D. Pfau (May 6, 2017, Advisor Perspectives)
• "Mind the Gap 2018" by Russel Kinnel (Aug. 21, 2018, Morningstar.com)

Retirement Decumulation

• "Reducing Retirement Risk with a Rising Equity Glide Path" by Wade D. Pfau and Michael Kitces (Journal of Financial Planning)
• "Initial Conditions and Optimal Retirement Glide Paths" by David M. Blanchett (Journal of Financial Planning)
• "Cut Stocks or Add to Them? A Key Decision for Your Retirement Plan" by Christine Benz (July 25, 2019, Morningstar.com)
• HumbleDollar's Retirement Guide
• "Immediate Fixed" (HumbleDollar blog post)

Asset Allocation and Investing

• HumbleDollar's Investing Guide 
• "Our Humble Opinion: Asset Allocation" (HumbleDollar blog post)
• "Market Portfolio" (HumbleDollar blog post)
• "Investors Have Fewer Reasons Than Ever for Home Bias" by Ben Johnson (June 7, 2019, Morningstar.com)

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