In a recent article on his website Early Retirement Now, Karsten Jeske extended his long-running series on safe withdrawal rates with a new entry detailing his perspective on the dangers of expecting small cap value stocks to help modern portfolios. This is not the first time he has expressed doubt in the small and value premiums, but in this case he also used the Golden Butterfly in an example case to warn against using historical small cap value data to make educated retirement decisions.

I believe there is plenty of room for differing opinions in the personal investing space, and I am not normally the type to reflexively reply to every criticism. That said, the article raises several interesting points that I believe are worth discussing. On some things I agree with Karsten. On others we clearly have very different philosophies when it comes to the best use of data. And on at least one issue, I believe the article is misleading and requires a balancing explanation.

Just to be clear from the start — while we may disagree on some things, my goal is not to lob rhetorical grenades or participate in petty internet fights. I simply plan to share my own unique perspective to help you see another side to the story. No drama. Just real talk about how to interpret historical data.

So no matter whether you love small cap value stocks or think the value premium is ancient history, let’s all lay down our arms and talk about the best way to approach the numbers in front of us.