Featured Articles

I have taken the Retirement Income Style Awareness™ Profile. Is it helpful to use this with a financial professional?

Here, we address whether or not you feel it would be helpful to share your personal RISA™ results with a financial professional.

I’ve taken the Retirement Income Style Awareness™ Profile. What’s next?

We were able to categorize next steps after the RISA™ into five groups.

Retirement Income Style Awareness Profile (RISA™) and Its Accuracy

We asked RISA™ participants if they felt the results were accurate; did the RISA™ “capture the essence of their style?”

Retirement Income Style Awareness Profile (RISA™) and Your First Reactions

In the spirit of transparency, we are continuing to refine a scale to determine your retirement income style. I thought it would be a good idea to share with all of you some of the feedback we have received from the RISA™’s release in early 2020.

Introduction

Hi, I’m Alex and welcome to our site. I know you will find it valuable, but first - I’m sure you want to know, who am I to be running this?

That’s a great question so here goes…. I graduated from George Washington University with a doctorate in Psychology. I was a successful student, as I received a research grant as a fellow for the National Institutes of Health. It is here where I learned the foundation of what a scientist-practitioner was all about.

Upon graduating though, my research interests evolved to investments, and I sought a formal career in the financial industry. Staying true to my scientist-practitioner mindset, I joined McLean Asset Management and was able to publish a number of articles, and one went on to win a fancy award too! I also, founded a financial planning software company with Wade to better serve the industry and our underlying clients.

And now, Wade and I have decided to focus our efforts on the RISA™. We are extremely excited about its potential to impact your lives for the better.

What else?

I’m as of this writing 47 years-old. I live with my wife, Kristi. We have three boys, a wild bunny running around in our backyard, and a dog named Mandy.

Now here is the “just the facts version” for those of you that want to get right to it.

Alex Murguia, Ph.D. is the CEO of Retirement Researcher and Managing Director of McLean Asset Management. He has written in numerous industry journals such as the Journal of Financial Planning and has been recognized nationally for his work. He has also been interviewed and quoted for his thoughts about retirement, financial technology and wealth management in various industry and widely distributed publications such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and is a frequent speaker at various industry conference. He has also founded a financial planning software used across the industry.

I have taken the Retirement Income Style Awareness™ Profile. Is it helpful to use this with a financial professional?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

Here, we address whether or not you feel it would be helpful to share your personal RISA™ results with a financial professional.

I’ve taken the Retirement Income Style Awareness™ Profile. What’s next?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

We were able to categorize next steps after the RISA™ into five groups.

Retirement Income Style Awareness Profile (RISA™) and Its Accuracy

By Alex Murguia, PhD

We asked RISA™ participants if they felt the results were accurate; did the RISA™ “capture the essence of their style?”

Retirement Income Style Awareness Profile (RISA™) and Your First Reactions

By Alex Murguia, PhD

In the spirit of transparency, we are continuing to refine a scale to determine your retirement income style. I thought it would be a good idea to share with all of you some of the feedback we have received from the RISA™’s release in early 2020.

What To Make of Market Volatility

By Alex Murguia, PhD

In recent days, the significant market decline has resulted in renewed anxiety for many of you (I know this is blatantly obvious but stick with us). While it may be difficult to remain calm during a substantial market decline, it is important…

Lessons For The Next Crisis

By Alex Murguia, PhD

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” I gotta say, we agree with Darth Vadar on this one. When times of crisis arise, people naturally have a range of emotions, including fear, panic, and mistrust. This can lead to behaviors that directly…

RISA™ Update

By Alex Murguia, PhD

Hello everyone, I wanted to provide a quick update on where we are on the Retirement Income Style Awareness ™ (RISA) investigation. There was a pause in the action after the deadline because I took my summer break and we moved our…

Are the Markets’ New Highs the Current Worry?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

There are a handful of times a year when certain events precipitate a market drop. So much so, that we feel it is helpful to provide perspective on why investing in the stock market is a great way to help you build…

What Does Your Funded Ratio Score Mean?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

By providing your financial objectives and the ways you want to fund them with essential and discretionary expenses, you can create a framework. Your Funded Ratio score will tell you how close your aspirations are to your reality.

How Should I Spend My Money in Retirement?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

The whole point of saving your money is to be able to use it in the future. You’ve spent decades saving for retirement, so you want to use the money in the most effective way possible.

A Vanishing Value Premium?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

Value stocks underperformed growth stocks by a material margin in the US last year. However, the magnitude and duration of the recent negative value premium are not unprecedented.

Can You Time the Market

Can You Time the Market?

By Alex Murguia, PhD

Over the long term, market returns need to be captured efficiently and consistently. Trying to guess when they occur is an impossibility that leads to the underperformance stated above. How difficult is it to time the market? Let’s look.