Vanguard--4 to 5% Stock Market Growth Over Next 10 Years (Should You Change Your Retirement Strategy?)
Release Date: 07/30/2025
Why Americans Hate Annuities
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight explores one of the most fascinating and misunderstood topics: Retirement planning annuities. In the article Annuitization Puzzles, Economics Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler tries to answer a deceptively simple question: If annuities are so good at protecting retirees from outliving their money, why don’t more people buy them? Thaler, one of the founding fathers of behavioral economics, coined the phrase “the annuity puzzle” to describe a striking contradiction between theory and real life. According to traditional economic models, the rational choice would be for...
info_outline
The Only Three Assets You’ll Need in Retirement
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight discusses the three assets he believes you really need for a stable, predictable tax-efficient retirement. Getting them right will dramatically reduce the risks that derail most retirements: Market risks, sequence of returns risks, longevity risks, tax risks, and long-term care risks. Stock market investments, with a 70% total US stock market index and a 30% total international stock market index, are the first thing David recommends. He defines them as “Your growth engine, the one that pays for your discretionary expenses in retirement.” David goes over...
info_outline
The Top 5 Retirement Mistakes You May Be Making
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight explores the five biggest retirement mistakes people make. When it comes to retirement “traps”, the obvious things such as picking the wrong stock, missing the next bull market or retiring at the wrong time are what typically comes to mind… The first mistake people tend to make when it comes to their retirement is believing that tax diversification is good enough. “Having the bulk of your wealth in tax-deferred accounts is like going into a business partnership with the IRS: every year, they get to vote on what percentage of your profits they get to keep. Not a very good...
info_outline
The Only Three Investments Dave Ramsey Owns (Is This Smart?)
The Power Of Zero Show
The focus of this episode is on what Dave Ramsey refers to as the only three investments he owns. “I have three investments: my business, paid-for real estate with no mortgages, and mutual funds,” says Ramsey. He goes on to emphasize that he doesn’t play single stock, doesn’t screw around with gold or Bitcoin, and that he doesn’t need your stock tip from your “broke golfing buddy with an opinion.” Host David McKnight wonders whether Ramsey’s investment model actually works in principle, and if parts of it can be replicated by everyday investors… Ramsey’s business...
info_outline
The Roth Conversion Myth Most Financial Advisors Get Wrong
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight addresses a myth floating around the financial world: “For a Roth conversion to make sense, you need many years for the Roth to grow so you can recoup the taxes you paid to the conversion.” David stresses why this way of thinking is fundamentally wrong – it’s built on the wrong assumption that all the money in your IRA belongs to you… when it actually doesn't. Remember: your IRA isn’t one pile of money but two piles sitting in the same account. One pile belongs to you, while the other to the IRS. What’s unknown is how big the IRS’ pile is going to be when you...
info_outline
Trump: No Income Tax in 2026!
The Power Of Zero Show
This episode revolves around President Donald Trump’s claim that, due to the massive tsunami of tariff revenue that’s flowing into the U.S. coffers, Americans won’t have to pay income tax in 2026. David McKnight looks at the 2025 fiscal year: the Federal Government spent about $7 trillion and brought in about $5 and a quarter trillion in revenue. While breaking down the math related to the 2025 fiscal year, David points out that “Revenue from income taxes is the single largest source of Federal revenue”, while “Tariffs, by contrast, are one of the smallest.” Even Trump’s own...
info_outline
Congress Just Proposed a Major Change to Roth IRA’s—Here’s What It Means for You
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight addresses a brand new proposal that could transform the way Americans use Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k) – and that could have serious implications for your retirement flexibility, liquidity, and long-term tax strategy. With the current status quo, if a person has money in a 401(k) or even a Roth 401(k), they can usually roll it out into an IRA when they retire or leave their job. However, money can’t roll the other direction: you can’t take a Roth IRA and move it into a Roth 401(k)... A new bipartisan bill introduced by Republican Representative Darin LaHood and Democrat...
info_outline
What Are the Creditor Protection Rules for Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s?
The Power Of Zero Show
In today’s episode, David McKnight breaks down the creditor protection rules for Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, as well as why more and more Americans are turning to tax-free accounts to insulate themselves from creditors… and the Government itself. In theory, under Federal Law, all IRAs traditional or Roths receive a certain level of bankruptcy protection under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. However, that protection is specifically tied to bankruptcy proceedings. If you’re sued in civil court, the Federal bankruptcy statute doesn’t automatically...
info_outline
Top Five Reasons to Pick a Roth 401(k) Over a Traditional 401(k)
The Power Of Zero Show
This episode features David McKnight sharing the top five reasons why a Roth 401(k) is far superior to a traditional 401(k). Something important to keep in mind: the decision you make today will determine how much of your retirement money your future self actually gets to keep. David touches upon the fact that choosing the wrong 401(k) could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes in retirement. Tax rate risk is the first big reason why you should consider investing in a Roth 401(k) over a traditional 401(k). David lists a series of key questions people who invest in a...
info_outline
Suze Orman Says Roth IRAs Are Great — But Here’s What She’s Missing
The Power Of Zero Show
This episode sees David McKnight look at Suze Orman, who, despite being one of the most widely recognized financial voices in America, shares what appears to be incomplete advice. David believes that Orman has done a lot of good for a lot of people thanks to her financial discipline-centered approach (in addition to being a big proponent of Roth IRAs). He agrees with Orman: “Roth IRAs are powerful, no doubt about it. You contribute after tax dollars, your money grows tax-free, and, provided you meet the requirements, you can withdraw those funds in retirement 100% tax-free”. The U.S....
info_outlineIn this episode of the Power of Zero Show, David McKnight looks at headlines, such as those from Vanguard, BlackRock or Morningstar, that have predicted a dismal forecast for stock market returns over the next decade.
Since such articles predict 4-5% annual growth for the next decade, many investors are pondering whether they should take some chips off the table.
Back in 2015, those same institutions and companies stressed that valuations were too high and that, since the markets had a great run, it couldn’t possibly continue anymore.
Vanguard forecasted 4-6% returns, BlackRock predicted 4.5-5% returns, while Research Affiliates predicted an anemic 1.5-2% returns.
However, from 2015 through 2024, the S&P 500 posted a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of roughly 11.9% - proving those predictions wrong!
In fact, such forecasts by stock market research institutions turned out to be off by 5-6%.
David believes that financial institutions making failed predictions about the future of the stock market isn’t just the exception, it’s the rule.
In the 2015-2024 timespan, we had a global pandemic that shut down entire economies, interest rates fell to zero, then spiked in record time, massive government stimulus, a tech boom, a crypto craze, and the rise of AI. - How many of those events could have been predicted in 2015?
David doesn’t recommend putting too much stock in long-term market forecasts by large financial institutions because, even if they might be well-researched, they’re still guesses.
For David, you shouldn’t let fear drive your investment behavior. Not only should you stay invested over the next 10 years, but you should focus on investing inside tax-free accounts.
Think about a balanced, comprehensive tax-fee approach that takes advantage of every nook and cranny in the IRS tax code.
David refers to tools such as Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and some properly structured cash value life insurance policies like Indexed Universal Life.
What drives long-term stock market returns? “It isn’t predictions, emotions, or headlines, it’s innovation and productivity. If you look around, you can see that those things are accelerating, not slowing down,” says David.
Mentioned in this episode:
David’s national bestselling book: The Guru Gap: How America’s Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track
PowerOfZero.com (free video series)
@mcknightandco on Twitter
@davidcmcknight on Instagram
David McKnight on YouTube
Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com