{"id":249794,"date":"2025-05-21T02:12:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T02:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/investing\/the-best-of-jonathan-clements-oblivious-investor\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T02:12:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T02:12:37","slug":"the-best-of-jonathan-clements-oblivious-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=249794","title":{"rendered":"The Best of Jonathan Clements \u2014 Oblivious Investor"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

I did not mention it last week, because I wanted first to focus on the new initiative itself, but there is also a new book, the proceeds of which will support the Jonathan Clements Getting Going on Savings Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The book is a hand-picked collection of Jonathan\u2019s own favorite columns from his time at the Wall Street Journal<\/em>, edited (and in some cases updated, such as when tax topics are addressed) by Christine Benz, Bill Bernstein, Allan Roth, and Jason Zweig:<\/p>\n

I quite enjoyed the book myself, and I hope you do as well.<\/p>\n

To everybody who has donated to support the new program: thank you<\/em>. I, and the rest of the group, sincerely appreciate it.<\/p>\n

I also want to address a few of the most common questions that have come in, with respect to the new program. (And then next week we\u2019ll be back to our more typical discussion topics.)<\/p>\n

Can we see the educational materials?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The educational materials are still in the works.<\/p>\n

What we can say so far is that a primary goal is for them to be very<\/em> succinct. Basically just, \u201cwhat information does this person need to get started right now.\u201d So the focus will be on a) what a Roth IRA is, how it works, etc, and b) what a target-date fund is, and why that\u2019s often a good choice for retirement saving.<\/p>\n

The final result will ultimately be made available on the Bogle Center website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why limit the program to one specific city (Boston)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We did not limit the program to Boston because we personally prefer that location over any others. Of the six of us from the Bogle Center working on the program, none of us even live there. We partnered with the city of Boston, because their Summer Youth Employment Program is such a good match for Jonathan\u2019s initial idea (key points being that they can identify participants who are from low-income backgrounds, yet who have have earned income themselves, such that they can contribute to a Roth IRA), and because they have volunteered to take on the \u201con the ground\u201d role without any additional funding.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019d all love the idea of expanding beyond just one geographical location, the reality is that doing so would require a large<\/em> inflow of funding \u2014 more, frankly, than we\u2019re likely to see. A major part of the goal here \u2014 the reason it\u2019s being done as a randomized controlled trial \u2014 is to really be able to see if a program like this is effective. And if it is, hopefully other (larger) entities could potentially implement such a thing on a larger scale.<\/p>\n

Couldn\u2019t you reach more people by doing just the educational piece, without the grants to recipients?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Jonathan envisioned the program, it\u2019s the grants themselves that are the core idea<\/em>. Will providing an initial contribution be a meaningful motivator to get these young people to save\/invest more? His initial idea is that it would be. That\u2019s the intervention that is being tested. As you can read in J-PAL\u2019s write-up<\/a>, both the control group and the treatment group receive the educational materials and the opportunity to sit down with somebody to help them open a Roth IRA. The treatment group receives the financial contribution. The goal of the study is to determine whether that direct funding is meaningfully more impactful than just the educational side.<\/p>\n

Other Recommended Reading<\/h3>\n

Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“A wonderful book that tells its readers, with simple logical explanations, our Boglehead Philosophy for successful investing.”
\n– Taylor Larimore, author of <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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