In this episode we answer emails from Adam, Cha Cha, and TJ. We discuss how cash and short-term bonds affect safe withdrawal rates, why the Golden Butterfly’s allocation is a preference not a rule, and how to build a growth-first plan when you’re starting late. And we wish Happy Birthday to Mick the Mugga Mugga.

And THEN we our go through our weekly portfolio reviews of the eight sample portfolios you can find at Portfolios | Risk Parity Radio.

Additional Links:

Father McKenna Center Donation Page: Donate - Father McKenna Center

Many Happy Returns Podcast Featuring Tyler: How to Pick Your Perfect Portfolio, with Tyler from Portfolio Charts

Catching Up To FI Podcast: Financial Independence - Catching up to FI

Excess Returns Podcast: Excess Returns Podcast | Excess Returns Podcasts - Helping Make You a Better Investor

Swedroe Factor Investing Book: Book Review: Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing | CFA Institute Enterprising Investor

Breathless AI-Bot Summary:

Worried your portfolio is heavy on cash but light on purpose? We unpack the real trade-offs behind short-term bonds, money markets, and the Golden Butterfly’s famous “comfort cushion,” then show how a few precise tweaks can lift safe withdrawal rates without blowing up your sleep. Listener questions drive the heart of the episode: how much cash is too much, whether VTIP truly hedges better than VGSH, and why cash management rarely changes outcomes even though it feels reassuring.

From there we shift to a late-starter’s dilemma: chasing 8–10% average returns over a decade without gambling. We get practical about the only two ways to beat the market, why stock-picking “wins” often just mirror factor exposure, and how to use a simple, research-backed pairing—large-cap growth with small-cap value—to seek higher expected returns. We also cover when international tilts help, how currency drives comparisons more than people think, and where bonds, gold, and REITs fit as you move closer to financial independence.

Our take is direct and usable: minimize inert cash, diversify for shallower drawdowns, and reserve complexity for places that pay. Build growth while the gap to FI is wide, then add ballast on purpose as you near the goal. If you want a sturdier plan and a quieter mind, this conversation clears the noise and spotlights the levers that matter.

Enjoy the show? Follow, rate, and share it with a friend. Send your questions to Frank at RiskParityRadio.com, and if it helped, leave a quick review so more DIY investors can find it.

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In this episode we answer emails from Patrick, Kyle, and Dave. We discuss the advantages of using risk parity style portfolios for higher withdrawal rates, how to manage a sleeve of individual REITs, the joys of giving in its various forms, a risk parity style portfolio in a Donor Advised Fund, and reverse glide paths. We share how planned generosity, donor-advised funds, and employer matches can make retirement more meaningful.

Links:

Father McKenna Center Donation Page: Donate - Father McKenna Center

Kitces & Carl podcast about "Frugal Bob": Helping Retired Clients To Actually Start Spending And Enjoying Their Money - Kitces & Carl Ep 178

Bigger Pockets Money Test Risk Parity Style Portfolio: We Built a 5% SWR Retirement Portfolio Using Fidelity in 48 Minutes (Golden Ratio Portfolio)

Choose FI Podcast #574: Top Five Regrets of the Dying (Book Club with Frank Vasquez and Ginger) | Ep 574

Kitces Reverse Glidepath Article: The Benefits Of A Rising Equity Glidepath In Retirement

Breathless AI-Bot Summary:

Most retirees don’t fail because they spend too much; they struggle because their portfolios weren’t built for withdrawals. We unpack how risk parity, smarter rebalancing, and a reverse glide path can protect early-retirement years while keeping growth on the table. Along the way, we share listener stories that show what happens when a 100% stock believer embraces diversification and discovers the joy of giving—through donor-advised funds, employer matches, and a simple plan to distribute one percent or more each year.

We start with a real allocation shift: blending large growth, small value, long Treasuries, gold, managed futures, and a small sleeve of REITs to reduce sequence risk. Then we get tactical. For individual REIT holdings, we treat the sleeve as one allocation and only rebalance when the sleeve moves versus the rest of the portfolio. Inside the sleeve, focus on outliers—trim oversized winners, reassess laggards with deteriorating stories—and keep transactions light to minimize taxes and churn.

The heart of the episode explores how generosity reshapes retirement planning. Using a donor-advised fund to “stress test” withdrawals at high rates teaches mechanics and builds confidence, while employer matching turns donations into leveraged impact. We talk practical tools—automating gifts, donating appreciated shares, setting “use-by” dates on giving accounts—and nontraditional forms of giving that create work, support local businesses, and deepen relationships.

We close by breaking down the reverse glide path championed by Michael Kitces and echoed by Bill Bengen: start retirement with lower equity exposure and increase it over time. Our working template moves from the low 40% equity range toward 60–70% as years pass—an evidence-informed band that historically supports higher safe withdrawal rates and tamps down sequence risk. Paired with risk parity diversification and a deliberate giving plan, it’s a path that funds a life you actually want to live.

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In this episode we answer emails from Grant, Brian, and Mourad. We unpack Grant's various gambling problems with leveraged ETFs and Bitcoin wrappers, owning gold in CAD or USD for Canadians, the role of preferred shares and Mourad's recent visit to the Father McKenna Center.

Links:

Father McKenna Center Donation Page: Donate - Father McKenna Center

Choose FI Podcast #574: Top Five Regrets of the Dying (Book Club with Frank Vasquez and Ginger) | Ep 574

Mary's CASA Case Adoption Story: The Johnson’s Foster Care & Adoption Story

Portfolio Charts Global Analysis: What Global Withdrawal Rates Teach Us About Ideal Retirement Portfolios – Portfolio Charts

Breathless Unedited AI-Bot Summary:

Ever been tempted by a product that promises steady price, double‑digit yield, and exposure to the hottest asset on earth? We take a hard look at leveraged ETFs, Bitcoin‑linked strategies, and engineered income, then draw a clean line between thrill and risk you can actually carry. Grant checks in with a levered twist on the Golden Butterfly, swapping UPRO for TQQQ and TNA, and we explain why the Russell small cap complex often hides junky growth that fails to diversify when you need it most. If you want real balance, pair concentrated growth with genuine value or defensives, not a label that only looks like value on a factsheet.

We also break down MicroStrategy’s stock behavior versus spot Bitcoin and explore STRC, the “preferred” fund aiming to keep price near par while dialing a high payout. The headline yield is labeled return of capital, which may defer taxes but doesn’t manufacture wealth if the underlying can’t out-earn distributions. When the tide turns, structures like this tend to leak value, especially if they rely on direction and volatility to cooperate. If your goal is Bitcoin exposure, owning a spot ETF is usually cleaner and more predictable than chasing premium/discount dynamics or engineered yield.

For Canadian listeners, we make the case for treating gold as a currency and holding it in CAD to match real-world spending, reducing the noise of USD/CAD swings. Bonds are different: long U.S. Treasuries remain premier crisis ballast thanks to reserve currency demand. We review a thoughtful 50% equity risk‑parity‑style allocation targeting a 5% withdrawal rate, flag why a heavy preferred shares sleeve can be a drag, and suggest shifting part of that into long duration Treasuries, more gold, or a true diversifier like managed futures. Want portfolios that survive the cycle? Favor transparent exposures, honest hedges, and tools like Portfolio Charts to pressure‑test your mix across currencies.

If this helped sharpen your plan, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves complex wrappers, and leave a quick review so more DIY investors can find us.

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