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In Episode 76, we welcome Phil DeMuth. We start with Phil\u2019s background. It\u2019s a fun recap, involving Phil\u2019s clinical psychology roots, his move to LA to be a screenwriter, his experiences in the Dot Com boom with friend, Ben Stein, which led to the writing of his first investment book, which eventually resulted in his managing money.\nMeb dives into investing, asking for an overview of the framework Phil uses with clients.\nPhil seeks to construct a portfolio that matches each individual\u2019s situation, so it\u2019s largely bespoke. That said, in general, he starts with a global market portfolio, then adds various factors \u2013 for example small value, or momentum, or low beta\u2026 Then he\u2019ll add bonds, some alternatives, gold, and so on \u2013 again, all relative to the individual\u2019s needs and goals.\xa0\nThis leads into a great conversation on the idea of a person\u2019s \u201cpersonal beta.\u201d This dovetails into the concept of a person\u2019s human capital. Meb believes that adjusting a portfolio to reflect a person\u2019s human capital is something advisors do well, giving them an advantage over robos. Phil thinks there are ways the robos can catch up here.\nNext up, the guys discuss the various types of investing clients \u2013 doctors, engineers, celebrities, and so on \u2013 and whether any specific type is better or worse suited for investing. Meb\u2019s opinion is that many doctors and engineers can be challenging clients because they\u2019re brilliant and love to tinker. They can also have some hubris \u2013 an element of \u201cI can do better than buy-and-hold\u201d.\nPhil agrees that doctors and engineers should be excellent investors. They\u2019re so smart that they can do it all; yet in practice, they tend to stumble.\nThis leads the guys to the takeaway that, in investing, there\u2019s not a linear correlation between time/effort and returns. Phil notes the correlation could even be negative!\nMeb transitions to Phil\u2019s newest book, which is one of Meb\u2019s favorites: The Overtaxed Investor: Slash Your Tax Bill & Be A Tax Alpha Dog. The guys discuss how implementing effective tax strategies in investing is one of the biggest, yet underused, sources of alpha around. Phil notes that any savings in this area goes straight to the bottom line.\nMeb asks for specific tax strategies. You\u2019ll want to listen to this section, which dives into some of the details of parking the right kind of assets into the right kind of accounts. This dovetails into an idea Meb loves: (and the topic of a soon-to-be-released whited paper) avoiding dividends.\nPhil tells us he hated the taxes he was paying on dividends and capital gains, so he got rid of everything issuing him dividends and distributions, and instead, sought quality investments that wouldn\u2019t pay a dividend. He goes on to say how dividends are great for retirees who are intentionally spending the money, but if you\u2019re earlier in your working career, and the government is taking 30% of your income via taxes, that\u2019s not good at all! So, Phil wondered how he could get the dividend benefit, without the dividend.\nIt was this idea that led Meb to do his own research on the topic (the subject of the forthcoming white paper). So Meb thanks Phil for the inspiration, then takes the handoff and discusses what he found through his own research. If you\u2019re a dividend investor, you won\u2019t want to miss Meb\u2019s conclusion.\xa0\nThere\u2019s way more in this great episode: additional tax tips\u2026 ETNs\u2026 tax loss harvesting\u2026 donating stocks with huge capital gains to charities rather than donating cash\u2026 wills\u2026 how Meb wants a Viking funeral (yes, you read that right)\u2026 Meb\u2019s unexpected bill from the IRS\u2026 And of course, Phil\u2019s most memorable trade \u2013 it involves an investment that turned out to be somewhat less liquid than Phil had anticipated.\nWhat are the details? Find out in Episode 76.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices