Most people approaching retirement believe their job is to reduce risk. Get out of equities. Move into something safe. Ben Carlson disagrees — and he has the research to back it up. Ben is Director at Ritholtz Wealth Management in the US, author of Risk and Reward (Harriman House, May 2026), and one of the most widely read financial writers working today. He's spent his career studying every major market crash in modern history: the Great Depression, Japan's lost decades, the dot-com bust, 2008 and what they actually mean for long-term investors. In this episode, Paddy and Ben talk about Ben's new Book: They cover the yin and yang of Risk and Reward Why globally diversified investors still came out ahead from financial crises The three dimensions of risk tolerance (willingness, need, and ability) How to think about drawdown and bucketing, inflation psychology, and the only benchmark that actually matters for someone approaching retirement. Ben's new book Risk and Reward is available now in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook (read by Ben himself) from Harriman House. There's a full written article about this Interview with Ben on the blog at http://www.informeddecisions.ie/post/retirement-risk-and-reward-ireland If this episode raised questions about where you sit on the age-related table or whether your current contribution strategy is going to get you where you want to go, that's exactly what we work through with clients. Find out more at https://www.informeddecisions.ie DISCLAIMER: This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor about your own situation.

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