The Art of Simple Investing | Tips from Ben Carlson

Ben Carlson, CFA, author of Risk & Reward, joins the podcast to discuss why successful investing is often less about finding the perfect strategy and more about keeping things simple and sticking with a plan. We discuss the challenges of private equity, bonds and TIPS, inflation hedges, investor behavior, and why portfolio changes should generally be driven by life changes rather than market headlines. Ben also shares how his investing philosophy has evolved, including his thoughts on factor investing, momentum, and using a little “fun money” as a behavioral release valve. Finally, we dig into increasingly popular tax-aware strategies such as direct indexing and long-short tax-loss harvesting, including whether the potential tax savings are worth the added costs and complexity. Ben sums up much of the conversation with three words: “Less is more.” • • • Jon Luskin, CFP®, a long-time Boglehead and financial planner, hosts this episode of the podcast. The Bogleheads® are a group of like-minded individual investors who follow the general investment and business beliefs of John C. Bogle, founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Group. It is a conflict-free community where individual investors reach out and provide education, assistance, and relevant information to other investors of all experience levels at no cost. The organization supports a free forum at Bogleheads.org, and the wiki site is Bogleheads® wiki. Since 2000, the Bogleheads® have held national conferences in major cities across the country. In addition, local Chapters and foreign Chapters meet regularly, and new Chapters form periodically. All Bogleheads activities are coordinated by volunteers who contribute their time and talent. This podcast is supported by the John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a non-profit organization approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity on February 6, 2012. Your tax-deductible donation to the Bogle Center is appreciated. Show Notes: 2026 Bogleheads® conference https://boglecenter.net/2026conference/ Ben Felix on Simplicity, Private Equity, Factor Investing, & Living a Good Life: Bogleheads® on Investing Episode 95 https://boglecenter.net/ben-felix-sim... You Can Spend More in Retirement with Bill Bengen: Bogleheads® on Investing Episode 92 https://boglecenter.net/bill-bengen-s... TIPS Ladders with Kevin Esler TIPS Ladders with Kevin Esler Owning Individual Bonds vs. Owning a Bond Fund https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2022... Bogleheads® Live with J.L. Collins: Episode 19 https://boglecenter.net/bogleheads-li... 2025 Bogleheads Conference https://boglecenter.net/2025conference/ The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy https://boglecenter.net/ Chapters: 00:00 Meet Ben Carlson 01:46 Private Equity Reality 05:39 Simple Beats Complex 07:23 Bonds After 2022 10:41 Cash And TIPS Mix 13:11 Ladders Vs Bond Funds 15:43 Best Inflation Hedges 18:17 When TIPS Make Sense 21:34 Loss Aversion Trap 24:07 Filtering Market Noise 27:37 When To Adjust Portfolios 29:28 Investing Philosophy Evolves 31:23 Fun Money And Behavior 34:07 Charts That Beat Timing 37:36 Rules Based Active Strategies 40:16 Momentum And Factor Diversification 42:37 Direct Indexing Tax Plays 46:34 Fees Leverage And Fit