Larry's Substack Articles

Substack articles on various topics by Larry Kotlikoff

The MaxiFi Puzzler -- 11-1-25
Forty-year-old Jerry lives in New Mexico. Jerry’s single. But he’s dating an AI bot named Techninny. He loves her or them. But Jerry knows Techninny’s tende...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Are AI Valuations a Huge Bubble?
As you likely already know, the reason the market’s been booming is that the valuations of the 10 largest AI companies, including Nvidia, have skyrocketed t...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Another Awful WSJ Personal Finance Article -- This One on TIPS
Today’s focus is on an article by Derek Horstmeyer, entitled “Inflation-Protected Bonds Fail a Key Test: They Don’t Help When Inflation Is High.” Professor ...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:05 AM
How to Invest? Let Economics, Not Wall Street, Be Your Guide
We all know that starving is far worse than gorging. The former kills you. The latter gives you gas. That’s why few of us choose to go hungry or eat 76 hotd...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Are Life-Cycle Funds Too Risky and Expensive?
The 2006 Pension Protection Act (PPA) allowed lifecycle, aka target-date funds, to serve as a “qualified default investment alternative,” permitting employe...
Thu, 18 Dec, 2025 at 4:25 PM
This Is Not Your Grandfather's Investment Advice
These are tough times for investors in risky assets. No matter the asset class, there’s a nightmare lurking. As any squirrel will tell you, running out of a...
Thu, 18 Dec, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Upside Investing -- Invest At Risk Without Risking Your Base Living Standard
I've gambled at casinos twice. Each time I left my credit cards in the hotel room and took $100 in cash. This was the maximum I was prepared to lose doi...
Thu, 18 Dec, 2025 at 4:23 PM
MaxiFi Is Fully Updated to the New Tax Law
JD’s statement suggests that we’ll pay dramatically lower taxes on our 2025 incomes than our 2024 incomes. Sadly, this is not remotely true. Read the ar...
Fri, 29 Aug, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Can Tapping Your IRA to Cover Taxes on Roth Conversions Make Sense? Yes!
Another Remarkable Finding Based on MaxiFi's Roth Conversion Optimizer Read the article.
Tue, 26 Aug, 2025 at 7:56 PM
The MaxiFi Puzzler -- 6/15/25
Try this out on your fin advisor. If they can't answer these questions, have them run MaxiFi before providing you financial advice. Or, like tens of tho...
Tue, 26 Aug, 2025 at 7:56 PM