Paul Merriman sits down with Larry Swedroe — author of 22 books and one of the most respected voices in evidence-based investing — for a conversation that covers everything from the five factors that actually matter to why Bitcoin might go to zero.

Larry explains why judging your investment decisions by their outcomes is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make, lays out the academic criteria he uses to separate real factor premiums from data mining, and reveals that he's made only three tactical moves in 30 years of investing. He and Paul use three eye-opening slides to show why chasing recent winners almost guarantees you'll underperform.

They also dig into why growth stocks don't deliver the returns most people expect (hint: the growth rate is already in the price), why traditional index funds are "dumb traders" bleeding money to hedge funds, and how AI will make markets harder to beat — not easier.

The audience Q&A covers emerging markets, the updated "Larry Portfolio," crypto, private equity, and which fund families Larry actually trusts with his own money.

Part of the Spring Financial Education Series hosted by the Bainbridge Community Foundation in partnership with the Merriman Financial Education Foundation.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

"Enrich Your Future" — Larry Swedroe

"Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing" — Larry Swedroe & Andrew Berkin

"Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement" — Larry Swedroe Larry Swedroe on Substack: https://larryswedroe.substack.com

The Hidden Flaw in Style Index Funds

The Hidden Costs of Index Replication: What Every Investor Needs to Know About

Adverse Effects of Index Replication

Watch the video here.

Coming up in this series: Christine Benz (Morningstar), Mike Piper, and Bill Bernstein.

A special thanks to Professor Bunnell who teaches a finance class at Bentley University. He recommended his students tune into the interview. I hope it motivated them to get a copy of Larry’s latest book. Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing 1st Edition. I would place a very large bet that it will make a huge difference in their financial future. By the way, to the best of my knowledge Bentley is the only university I know that requires a Personal Finance class to graduate.

Larry Swedroe: The Evidence-Based Rules Every Investor Needs to Know | Bainbridge Financial Literacy Series 2026