The Rational Reminder Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Evidence Based Investing: Sticking to Science When It Comes To Your Money (EP.17) Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

Welcome to the Rational Reminder Podcast everybody! Today on the show we welcome a good friend and someone who has had a massive influence on our lives and work. Bestselling investment author, Dan Solin, joins us on the podcast today. Dan has been a staunch advocate for evidence based investing for a long time now and although this approach is still far from dominant, it has grown immensely in the years he has been active. His focus on smart, client-centered investing has set the standard for a certain portion of advisors in the US and Canada, notably the ones hosting this show! In our conversation, we chat about Dan's history and the foundations of his professional philosophy. We get into some of his work as a lawyer and how this influenced his overall career trajectory. Interestingly, we spend some time on the topics of happiness and kindness and their integral importance to financial success for any investor. For an inspiring and thoughtful conversation with a true industry leader, be sure to tune in!

Key Points From This Episode:

An overview of Dan's career and his investing philosophy. [0:03:05.9]
Dan's training as a lawyer and how this influenced his evidence based approach. [0:05:45.0]
The case that prompted Dan to a proactive strategy for fairness. [0:06:45.1]
Dan's on air disagreement with CNBC's Jim Cramer. [0:08:52.6]
Looking at the culture of active fund management in Canada. [0:10:59.1]
The time Dan spent on the concept of happiness in his latest book. [0:14:45.5]
Building trust with clients through genuine interest. [0:15:56.8]
Looking at the difference experiences of introverts and extroverts. [0:18:32.0]
The critical importance of empathy in all aspects of life. [0:19:40.7]
The full extent of what a wealth advisor should do. [0:21:06.9]
Perspective and care as two primary directives for advisors. [0:23:45.4]
The retirement-focussed project Dan is currently working on [0:26:05.8]
Dan's own journey and struggles around happiness. [0:28:43.6]
And much more!

Learn more and subscribe to the show at pwlcapital.com

MARKET VOLATILITY (EP.16) Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 16 of the Rational Reminder Podcast we talked about the following:

How bad was last week's market volatility?
Should you make changes to your portfolio in this market?
Are people better at predicting when markets are volatile?
How the market prices securities
The economy vs. the stock market
When do bear markets typically occur?
Will passive investing exacerbate the next correction?
Do index funds affect price discovery?
The power of capitalism
Index reconstitution
Risk over the long-term
Quant investing does not always pass robustness tests
50% of business is marketing
Devil's in the HML details
Dimensional has thought of everything

The charts that we talked about:

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

DIMENSIONAL ADVANCED CONFERENCE 2018 (EP.15) Oct 15, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 15 of the Rational Reminder Podcast we recapped our time at the Dimensional Fund Advisors advanced conference. We recapped the following:

Eugene Fama
The history of the University of Chicago and Dimensional
Connecting economics with academia
Behavioral finance is a branch of efficient markets (according to Fama)
Crunching data for the first time
Starting the first index fund – before Vanguard
Volatility lessons
Black swans
Do you need a tstat of 3 in today's world?

We referenced this paper https://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/faj.v74.n3.6

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

AN INSIDE LOOK AT CANADIAN CONSUMER DEBT (EP.14) Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 14 of the Rational Reminder podcast we were joined by Martin Parizeau, a retired banking executive with extensive knowledge of Canadian consumer debt, and a PWL client. We discussed the following:

The start of the ETF boom
When proponents of active management realize they should index
Cutting wasteful expenses without sacrificing happiness
Pulling off a successful downsizing
Housing is not an investment
The real cost of owning a home
Defining the ideal lifestyle
Digging into Canadian consumer debt levels
The real debt to income ratio for debtors in Canada
Is mortgage debt always "good" debt?
The rising cost of debt and its effect on the economy
Credit card rates are justified
Choosing the right credit card
Never pay an annual fee on a credit card
The boom-bust lending cycle
Bankers saw the financial crisis coming, but had to keep going
Focusing on the things that you can control

Ottawa Citizen article from Sunday, March 3, 2002 mentioned in this podcast.

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING (EP.13) Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 13 of the Rational Reminder podcast we discussed the following:

Getting into the DFA advanced conference
Cancelling whole life insurance
When permanent insurance makes sense
Unaffordable housing in Canada
Housing bubbles?
Bridging the gap with a HELOC
Undervalued financial advice
Money does not buy happiness
Defining a lifestyle
Walking to work
Active funds are still underperforming
Missing out on the best stocks

The Stories we talked about:

HOUSING TRENDS AND AFFORDABILITY

UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index

It's officially normal to have a big, fat balance on your line of credit

Stock Pickers Struggle to Beat Index Funds Once Again

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

LIVING THROUGH THE FINANCIAL CRISIS (EP.12) Sep 28, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 12 of the Rational Reminder podcast we were joined by Doug McKenzie, an executive at a large US financial institution, and a PWL client. We discussed the following:

Attacking a retirement goal
Managing expenses before retirement
Toronto real estate in a retirement plan
Living (and working through) the financial crisis
The Investor's Group Dividend Fund
Income investing
Robo advisors
Using prepaid credit cards for budgeting
CCP vs. CPM vs. DFA
Running regressions
Data sources
Come From Away
The value of knowledge and advice

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

SIMPLE vs. COMPLEX WITH ROBB ENGEN (EP.11) Sep 24, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 11 of the Rational Reminder podcast we discussed the following:

Are DIY investors responsible for their actions?
Starting a blog
Switching from stock picking to index funds
Managing behaviour
The 4-minute portfolio
When does it make sense to optimize?
Index fund rebuttals
Fee-only vs. fee-based advice
Choosing a conflict of interest
Robb's biggest beef with Canadian financial services
Trusting the bank
VGRO vs. robo advisors
One-fund retirement portfolios

We were joined by Robb Engen, author of the Boomer and Echo blog.

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

KEEP THE DEFERRED SALES CHARGE, MORE FOR US (EP.10) Sep 17, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 10 of the Rational Reminder podcast we discussed the following:

Grass fed beef
The benefits of independence
The Ontario government wants to keep the deferred sales charge (DSC)
DSC back in the day
The old financial advice model
DIY investors are responsible for their decisions
1/3 of people say money is their biggest stressor
Locus of control
A better way to invest responsibly

The stories that we talked about:

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

DIMENSIONAL'S BIG FLAW (EP.9) Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 9 of the Rational Reminder podcast we discussed the following:

Being a poor grad student
Budgeting
Stuff does not make you happy
Mental overhead is a real cost
The Globe's Financial Facelift disaster
Rob Arnott's slam of Dimensional
Are people afraid of stocks?
The 10-year anniversary of Lehman's fall
Stories from the financial crisis
Volatility in dollars vs. percentage points
Automated rebalancing
My uncle told me to buy weed stocks
What does a rational investor worry about?

The stories we talked about:

The chart we talked about:

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

SELL EVERYTHING! (EP.8) Sep 05, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 8 of the Rational Reminder podcast we discussed the following:

Fidelity's 0% MER index funds are already at $1 billion
When costs are 0%, how do you pick a fund?
Indexing is not a passive investment strategy
Index construction and product implementation > low fees
A three factor regression on the Manulife Multifactor ETFs
Indexing is still a tiny part of the market
Not all factors belong in a portfolio
Dividend investing shouldn't be so controversial
Dividends are not a spending rule
Financial experts don't sound like experts to non-experts
Sell everything!

The stories we talked about:

The charts we talked about:

Image Source: Vanguard

For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

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