The Rational Reminder Podcast

Afleveringen

1. Breaking Down Our Investment Portfolios

   5 november 2026 · 1 uur 30 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we begin with our first client story, featuring Dr. Simon Bérubé, an interventional cardiologist and professor at the Université de Sherbrooke. Simon shares how listening to Rational Reminder helped him approach personal finance with the same evidence-based mindset he brings to medicine. He discusses why financial planning extends far beyond investing, what led him to work with PWL Capital, and how expertise, integration, and oversight can become increasingly valuable as family finances grow more complex. He also reflects on the importance of transparency, intellectual honesty, and using money as a tool to support a meaningful life. Lees meer

   Sources From Today's Episode — https://zbib.org/94305cdbe966456384180c72fc89f2f7

   Then, Ben Felix and Dan Bortolotti take a personal turn, discussing how they came to their investment philosophies and how they invest their own money. They trace their paths into evidence-based investing, explore how childhood experiences and research on happiness have shaped their views about wealth, and explain the reasoning behind their personal portfolios. From global equities and fixed income to private company ownership, homeownership, and cash reserves, they discuss the trade-offs behind decisions that may not be theoretically optimal but can still make sense for an individual. The conversation is a reminder that a good financial plan is about more than building the perfect portfolio—it is about understanding risk, opportunity cost, and what matters most in life.

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:33:00) First Rational Reminder client story: Why people hire financial advisors.

   (2:38:00) Meet Dr. Simon Bérubé, interventional cardiologist and longtime listener.

   (4:28:00) Applying evidence-based medicine principles to personal finance.

   (5:30:00) Financial planning is broader than investing alone.

   (7:43:00) Building an investment philosophy around diversification and low costs.

   (12:20:00) Focus on processes, not outcomes.

   (15:04…

2. A Conversation With The Wealthy Barber (Dave Chilton) | #433

   29 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 21 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we welcome back Dave Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber and one of Canada's most influential voices in personal finance. With his retirement approaching, Dave joins Ben Felix and Cameron Passmore for a wide-ranging conversation about the success of The Wealthy Barber Podcast, the evolution of financial advice in Canada, and the lessons he's learned from decades of helping people navigate their financial lives. Lees meer

   We explore why retirement income planning remains an underserved area of financial advice, how to evaluate different advisor fee models, and why strategies like the RRSP meltdown can be valuable for some people but inappropriate for others. Dave also shares his concerns about rising living costs, high investment fees, and the potential economic disruption from AI, while explaining why he remains optimistic about the future of financial planning. Along the way, he reflects on the importance of saving consistently, the challenges of communicating complex financial ideas, and why the best advice starts with understanding the individual.

   As Dave prepares to step away from The Wealthy Barber, he also opens up about what retirement means to him, the importance of spending time with family and friends, and the habits that contribute to a happier life. It's a thoughtful, funny, and practical conversation about financial advice, personal finance education, and making the most of the time we have.

   Sources From Today's Episode — https://zbib.org/bfd0e870f53f49f7beae3ef7975e60ff

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:02:02) The unexpected success of The Wealthy Barber Podcast and how carefully chosen guests helped build a loyal audience.

   (0:04:38) Why retirement income planning and estate planning became two of the most popular topics, and where financial advice has often fallen short.

   (0:06:22) How podcasts create a unique connection through storytelling, conversation, and answering real audience questions.

   (0:08:15) How the demographics of The Wea…

3. How Leveraged ETFs Really Work (Marco Sammon & Chris Murray) | #432

   22 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 41 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we are joined by Chris Murray, quantitative researcher and former equity quant and trader, and Marco Sammon, Assistant Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School, for an exceptionally nerdy deep dive into leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Drawing on their research, Chris and Marco challenge common assumptions about daily rebalancing, volatility drag, and the long-term performance of leveraged products, offering a more rigorous framework for understanding how these investments actually work. Lees meer

   We explore the mathematics of compounding, the surprising relationship between leverage and long-term returns, and the competing effects of what Chris and Marco call the "convexity bonus" and volatility drag. They explain why leveraged ETFs don't simply deliver a multiple of an underlying asset's long-term return, how financing costs and fund fees compound over time, and why a stock can rise substantially while its leveraged ETF still underperforms. We also examine how daily rebalancing can affect underlying stock prices, why these effects are more pronounced in volatile, less liquid markets, and how to assess the break-even return required

   for leveraged ETFs to outperform their underlying assets.

   Finally, we discuss what these findings mean for investors considering leverage as part of a portfolio, the distinction between modest leverage on diversified indexes and speculative single-stock products, and why the right benchmark matters when evaluating investment performance. This conversation challenges some long-held beliefs about leveraged ETFs while offering a clearer framework for understanding their risks, costs, and potential uses.

   Sources for this episode - https://zbib.org/123d8b5649124244b85a4f43846a1fb4

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:02:07) How leveraged ETFs target daily returns rather than long‑term multiples.

   (0:03:37) Growth of leveraged ETFs, especially single‑stock and crypto products.

   (0:04:09) Lottery‑like payoffs and specul…

4. The Madness of Markets (Alex Edmans) | #431

   15 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 7 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we welcome back Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School and author of Grow the Pie, May Contain Lies, and The Madness of Markets. Drawing on academic research and real-world market examples, Alex explores how emotions, social influence, and psychological biases shape investor behavior—and why even apparently irrational markets can be difficult to beat. Lees meer

   We examine how a country's stock market can react to a football loss, why investors overreact to exciting stories and underreact to less visible information, and how identical assets can trade at different prices. Alex also unpacks the evidence behind reversal, value, and momentum strategies, the challenges of exploiting market anomalies, and why skewed stock returns make diversification so important. The conversation ultimately returns to a fundamental investing question: even if you can identify market inefficiencies, do you have the edge, patience, and cost advantage needed to benefit from them?

   Sources From Today's Episode — https://zbib.org/7d62d23b5efc45f7b0b908b769cbfa92

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:01:49) How losing a World Cup match can affect a country's stock market—and what this reveals about emotion‑driven trading.

   (0:03:01) The relationship between weather, sunlight, and market sentiment.

   (0:03:49) Spurious correlations and data mining: why an apparent relationship needs a plausible economic explanation and out‑of‑sample testing.

   (0:06:42) Wisdom versus madness of crowds: when collective judgments can be useful and when social influence leads investors astray.

   (0:09:44) Overreaction in markets, from the pandemic‑era rise of Zoom to the dramatic response to Allbirds' AI rebranding.

   (0:12:06) The reversal effect: why past losers can outperform past winners when investors overreact.

   (0:12:53) Underreaction to long‑term information, including research linking strong workplace cultures with better stock performance.

   (0:14:57) Misreaction and anchoring: how …

5. The Truth About Leveraged ETFs | #430

   8 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 6 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, Ben Felix, Dan Bortolotti, and Kelly Thomas revisit some of the blind spots from their recent discussion about the finances of marriage before diving into a deeply nerdy discussion about leveraged ETFs. Kelly brings a different perspective to questions around spending roles, career sacrifices, financial autonomy, and the mental load of managing household finances. Lees meer

   The main discussion explores leverage, human capital, volatility drag, and the long-held belief that daily resets make leveraged ETFs poor long-term investments. Ben explains how his own thinking changed after feedback from the Rational Reminder community and a growing body of research, arguing that daily resets themselves do not cause volatility drag—volatility does. The conversation examines when leverage might make theoretical sense, why the safety of human capital is a critical assumption, and why what looks optimal in a model may be difficult to stick with in real life.

   They also examine the practical risks and costs of leveraged ETFs, including financing costs, swap counterparty risk, extreme drawdowns, and the very different experience of leveraged index ETFs versus single-stock leveraged ETFs. The episode ultimately comes back to a broader financial planning question: if your financial goals can be achieved without leverage, do you actually need the additional risk?

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:04:00) Kelly Thomas joins to discuss marriage and money.

   (2:33:00) Household roles and mental load complicate "spendthrift vs. tightwad" labels.

   (4:32:00) Career sacrifices (leave, reduced hours, missed promotions) carry lasting financial costs.

   (5:37:00) Financial autonomy vs. infidelity—transparency doesn't mean loss of independence.

   (6:52:00) Financial control can cross into abuse; independent access to money is essential.

   (9:19:00) Ben revisits leveraged ETFs, challenging the idea that daily resets inherently cause decay.

   (13:26:00) Historical performance of 3X S&P ETFs sh…

6. Who Causes Stock Market Anomalies? (w/ Victor Haghani) | #429

   1 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 8 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we're joined by Victor Haghani, founder of Elm Wealth and co-author of The Missing Billionaires, for a wide-ranging conversation about how different types of investors shape financial markets. Victor explains the framework behind his forthcoming paper, Who Killed the Random Walk?, and how fundamental investors, static investors, and extrapolators interact to produce momentum, excess volatility, and other market anomalies. Lees meer

   We explore why return chasing is different from momentum investing, how investor flows and inelastic demand can move markets, and how the Merton share connects expected returns and risk to portfolio allocation. Victor also discusses long-short direct indexing and tax-loss harvesting, his experiment giving investors tomorrow's Wall Street Journal today, how AI performed in the same trading game, the role of leverage in financial markets, and when borrowing to invest might make sense. We finish with Victor's advice to his younger self: be intentional about financial planning, build financial literacy, and make a plan.

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:01:20) Lessons from The Missing Billionaires—practical insights on sizing and the Kelly criterion.

   (0:03:13) Who Killed the Random Walk?—persistent puzzles in stock returns: excess volatility, momentum, fat tails, booms, and busts.

   (0:05:06) Victor's three investor types: fundamental value investors, static investors, and extrapolators.

   (0:07:54) How static investors amplify market movements through inelastic demand.

   (0:11:11) How investor types interact to shape volatility, momentum, and equilibrium.

   (0:14:02) Wealth flows between investor types and how they create instability in simulations.

   (0:18:15) Distinguishing extrapolative return chasing from systematic momentum strategies.

   (0:20:34) How extrapolators create price trends that momentum investors exploit.

   (0:23:46) The Merton share—risk premiums, volatility, and risk aversion in determining equity exposure.

   (0:26:39) …

7. Wealthy People Are Hiding in Plain Sight (ft. Owen Zidar) | #428

   24 september 2026 · 1 uur 5 min

   Afspelen
   What happens when a small group of exceptionally wealthy people holds a growing share of a country's income and wealth? And what can economics tell us about the forces behind that concentration? Lees meer

   In this episode, we are joined by Owen Zidar, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University and coauthor of the forthcoming book The Everywhere Millionaire. We explore the rise of the millionaire class, how tax policy shapes inequality, and why the geography of wealth matters when trying to understand the economic landscape.

   We also discuss the role of entrepreneurship, industry-specific knowledge, and concentrated ownership in building wealth. Owen shares insights from extensive Treasury data, interviews with business owners, and research into the paths taken by millions of entrepreneurs. The conversation examines why access to capital may be less important than practical experience, how private equity can help or hurt business owners, and how local business consolidation can affect both consumers and workers.

   Finally, we explore the influence of "everywhere millionaires" on public policy, the impact of interest rates on wealth valuations, and possible ways to expand access to entrepreneurial opportunities without undermining economic growth.

   Sources From Today's Episode — https://zbib.org/75a6ae2e79a34ba8b5fb632f54816447
   Books From Today's Episode — The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There
   by Owen Zidar

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:01:15) Why the typical wealthy American is more likely to be a business owner than a celebrity or Wall Street executive.

   (0:02:12) How "everywhere millionaires" can provide a roadmap for building wealth and understanding inequality.

   (0:03:33) The rise of entrepreneurial income among the top 0.1% over the past several decades.

   (0:04:48) Why the inequality debate often overlooks wealth generated by private businesses.

   (0:05:48) Why the typical millionaire is more likely to …

8. What to Know Before (and After) You Hire an Advisor (w/ Matthew Taylor) | #427

   17 september 2026 · 1 uur 18 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, we're joined by Matthew Taylor, a litigation lawyer with Sotos Class Actions in Toronto who represents retail investors and pension funds in securities class actions. We take a deep dive into what makes a successful negligence claim against a financial advisor, how courts assess fiduciary relationships in Canada, and what investors should look for when evaluating the people managing their money. Lees meer

   We explore the evidence that can strengthen or weaken a negligence claim, from one-size-fits-all portfolios and unexplained trades to poor communication and failures to account for changing life circumstances. Matthew also explains the distinction between suitability and fiduciary standards, the factors courts consider when determining whether a fiduciary relationship exists, and why professional affiliations and explicit fiduciary commitments can matter.

   The conversation then turns to class actions, including how securities claims differ from individual negligence lawsuits, what makes a claim suitable for class proceedings, and why regulatory investigations, specialist law firms, litigation funding, and parallel U.S. proceedings can provide important signals. We also discuss pension funds, their role as plaintiffs, and why monitoring potential claims and settlements can be part of managing beneficiaries' assets.

   Finally, we examine the growing retailization of private assets and the risks created by limited information, complex structures, opaque fees, illiquidity, and manager-determined valuations. Matthew explains what advisors and clients should consider before investing in private funds—and why he expects more litigation in this area. We close with the legal and regulatory challenges created by financial influencers, and how investors and advisors can build greater resilience against misleading financial content.

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:01:04) Advisor errors leading to negligence claims—KYC, KYP, suitability failures, plus warning signs l…

9. The Finances of Marriage | #426

   10 september 2026 · 1 uur 8 min

   Afspelen
   In this episode, Ben Felix, Dan Bortolotti, and Ben Wilson take a research-driven look at the finances of marriage, from spending personalities and prenuptial agreements to wedding costs, joint accounts, financial infidelity, and household decision-making. The conversation explores how the way couples think about and manage money can affect both financial outcomes and relationship satisfaction. Lees meer

   We unpack the difference between being frugal and being a "tightwad," why tightwads and spendthrifts may be drawn to each other despite having more conflict later, and how simply understanding your partner's spending tendencies can improve financial conversations. We also examine the case for prenups, the role of optimism bias in avoiding them, and how couples can use legal agreements to deliberately design their financial arrangements.

   The discussion then turns to wedding spending, including the marketing forces behind engagement-ring conventions and research linking higher spending on rings and weddings with greater divorce risk in some samples. Finally, we look at the evidence for managing money jointly, the risks of financial infidelity, and why both partners should be involved in household financial decisions. The central theme throughout is simple: couples tend to be better served when they approach their finances as a team and communicate openly.

   The Tightwad-Spendthrift Scale Quiz — https://umich.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_55xxAQrYK0WRlY2

   Sources — https://zbib.org/e8fec478786b4176b5011418f27a3fa4

   Key Points From This Episode:

   (0:01:00) Why who you marry can be one of the most consequential financial decisions of your life.

   (0:04:24) Why marriage changes both the emotional and legal nature of a couple's financial relationship.

   (0:07:53) Tightwads vs. spendthrifts: the psychology of the "anticipatory pain of paying."

   (0:09:52) Why spending personality has little to do with how much money someone actually spends.

   (0:11:34) How understanding your spending tende…

10. The Ethics Problem in Financial Services (Dr. Moira Somers & Philippa Hann) | #425

    3 september 2026 · 1 uur 24 min

    Afspelen
    In this episode, we're joined by Philippa Hann and Dr. Moira Somers, co-authors of The Fault Lines of Finance: Understanding and Preventing Financial Misconduct, for a deep dive into why good people can do bad things with other people's money. Philippa brings two decades of experience suing financial advisors, wealth managers, and banks, while Moira brings her expertise as a clinical neuropsychologist working with financial professionals, families, and the human side of money. Lees meer

    We explore the psychology and systems that can allow financial misconduct to happen, from financial stress, incentives, and information asymmetry to workplace culture, poor training, exhaustion, and the pressure to please. Philippa and Moira explain why ethical behavior is not simply about knowing right from wrong, and why developing "ethical health" requires understanding your own vulnerabilities, building a moral operating system, and having people you can turn to when doing the right thing becomes difficult.

    We also discuss how investors can evaluate financial professionals, why complexity and exciting financial products deserve extra scrutiny, the role of regulators and insurers, and why financial sophistication doesn't necessarily protect people from being exploited. Along the way, Philippa and Moira share case studies illustrating ethical drift, confirmation bias, and the ways seemingly small decisions can compound into serious misconduct. The conversation ultimately makes the case for moral humility, strong relationships, healthy organizational cultures, and the willingness to tolerate discomfort when something doesn't feel right.

    Key Points From This Episode:

    (0:00:00) Introduction.

    (0:02:02) What financial misconduct means and why "other people's money" matters.

    (0:02:35) Philippa's 20 years in litigation and the core question: why do good people do bad things?

    (0:05:02) Moving beyond harm prevention toward promoting positive change in financial services.

    (0:07:36) Why financ…

Alle 457 afleveringen →