I was today years old when I learned of the “Merton Share” framework for investment & spending 💰🧐:
“How Much Happiness Does Money Buy?” [2024], The Economist (https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2024/12/19/how-much-happiness-does-money-buy or https://archive.is/P5Cu7).
#MertonShare also advises on how to spend from your (retirement | endowment | inheritance) kitty — it’s not what you’d expect 🤨:
“How To Invest Your Enormous Inheritance”, The Economist (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/06/12/how-to-invest-your-enormous-inheritance or https://archive.is/fPfoW).
The #book:
“The Missing Billionaires” [2023], by James White & Victor Haghani (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Missing_Billionaires)
seeks to popularize the #MertonShare.
A #review in The Economist:
“How To Avoid A Common Investment Mistake” [2023] (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/09/21/how-to-avoid-a-common-investment-mistake or https://archive.is/W1IlG).
The original papers by Robert C. Merton:
“Lifetime Portfolio Selection Under Uncertainty: The Continuous-Time Case” [1969, PDF] (https://www.sfu.ca/~kkasa/Merton_69.pdf).
“Optimum Consumption And Portfolio Rules In A Continuous-Time Model” [1971, PDF] (https://www.sfu.ca/~kkasa/Merton_71.pdf).
So…let’s go, eh? 💰🏃🏽♂️🏃🏽♀️
Not so fast! A critique 🧐:
“Here We Go Again: Merton Share And Why I Don’t Use Retirement Calculators”, William Bernstein, Advisor Perspectives (https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2025/02/10/merton-share-why-dont-use-retirement-calculators).
#MertonShare #Retirement #Finance #Investing #Economics #Math #Hype
रञ्जित (Ranjit Mathew)