Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Welcome to Boot Camp #4 (2026 Edition) — where we break down one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make as an investor:
👉 How much should you hold in stocks vs. bonds?
👉 Is the S&P 500 enough?
👉 Does diversification really improve returns?
This session walks through 56+ years of market history (1970–2025) to help DIY investors understand how portfolio decisions actually played out during:
• Major bear markets (1973–74, 2000–02, 2008)
• The “lost decade” of 2000–2009
• High inflation periods
• Long bull markets
What You’ll Learn
✔ How adding bonds acts as a “brake” on losses
✔ Worst 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month return sequences
✔ Best return sequences — and the payoff for staying invested
✔ S&P 500 vs Worldwide 4-Fund portfolio comparison
✔ Why average returns can be misleading
✔ Compound vs Mean vs Median returns explained
✔ Sharpe Ratio vs Sortino Ratio (simple explanation)
✔ Risk-adjusted return comparisons
✔ How to evaluate your own risk tolerance
Why This Matters
About 25% of market years are losing years.
The question isn’t if declines will happen — it’s:
How will your portfolio behave when they do?
You’ll see how:
• A 100% S&P 500 portfolio behaved
• A 50/50 stock-bond portfolio behaved
• A diversified 4-fund global strategy behaved
And whether the historical extra return came with proportionally higher risk — or not.
Important Note
All returns shown are historical and hypothetical.
You cannot invest in past performance — but you can invest in the asset classes that created those results.
The future will not look exactly like the past.
But understanding the past helps you make smarter decisions about the future.
Who This Is For
• DIY investors
• Long-term retirement savers
• Investors nearing retirement
• Anyone questioning “Should I just own the S&P 500?”
• Investors wanting better risk-adjusted returns
Coming Next
In the next Boot Camp session, we move into accumulation strategies — and show what small monthly investments can become over 10, 20, and 40 years.
If you’re in your first 20 years of investing, you won’t want to miss it.
📩 Questions? Email: Paul@PaulMerriman.com
💬 Or leave your question in the YouTube comments — we’re building Q&A sessions around each Boot Camp topic.
If this helped you, consider sharing it with someone building their financial future.
Good luck to you and your family.
Welcome to Boot Camp #4 (2026 Edition) — where we break down one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make as an investor:
👉 How much should you hold in stocks vs. bonds?
👉 Is the S&P 500 enough?
👉 Does diversification really improve returns?
This session walks through 56+ years of market history (1970–2025) to help DIY investors understand how portfolio decisions actually played out during:
• Major bear markets (1973–74, 2000–02, 2008)
• The “lost decade” of 2000–2009
• High inflation periods
• Long bull markets
What You’ll Learn
✔ How adding bonds acts as a “brake” on losses
✔ Worst 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month return sequences
✔ Best return sequences — and the payoff for staying invested
✔ S&P 500 vs Worldwide 4-Fund portfolio comparison
✔ Why average returns can be misleading
✔ Compound vs Mean vs Median returns explained
✔ Sharpe Ratio vs Sortino Ratio (simple explanation)
✔ Risk-adjusted return comparisons
✔ How to evaluate your own risk tolerance
Why This Matters
About 25% of market years are losing years.
The question isn’t if declines will happen — it’s:
How will your portfolio behave when they do?
You’ll see how:
• A 100% S&P 500 portfolio behaved
• A 50/50 stock-bond portfolio behaved
• A diversified 4-fund global strategy behaved
And whether the historical extra return came with proportionally higher risk — or not.
Important Note
All returns shown are historical and hypothetical.
You cannot invest in past performance — but you can invest in the asset classes that created those results.
The future will not look exactly like the past.
But understanding the past helps you make smarter decisions about the future.
Who This Is For
• DIY investors
• Long-term retirement savers
• Investors nearing retirement
• Anyone questioning “Should I just own the S&P 500?”
• Investors wanting better risk-adjusted returns
Coming Next
In the next Boot Camp session, we move into accumulation strategies — and show what small monthly investments can become over 10, 20, and 40 years.
If you’re in your first 20 years of investing, you won’t want to miss it.
📩 Questions? Email: Paul@PaulMerriman.com
💬 Or leave your question in the YouTube comments — we’re building Q&A sessions around each Boot Camp topic.
If this helped you, consider sharing it with someone building their financial future.
Good luck to you and your family.
