The Rational Reminder Podcast

In this episode, we welcome back Rob Carrick—one of Canada’s most trusted personal finance journalists—for his third appearance on the Rational Reminder podcast. Rob recently retired after an incredible 27-year career at The Globe and Mail, where he shaped how millions of Canadians think about investing, advice, and their money habits. Rob joins Ben, Cameron, and Dan to reflect on the biggest lessons from his decades-l...

In this episode, we’re joined by Martijn Cremers, Dean of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame and co-author of the groundbreaking 2009 paper that introduced the concept of Active Share. Martijn brings fresh nuance to the long-standing debate over active versus passive management, challenging decades of conventional wisdom built on the foundational 1997 Carhart paper. With his comprehensive r...

What if holding just a few “winning” stocks is riskier than it seems? In this episode, Ben and Cameron explore the hidden dangers of concentrated portfolios and unpack the data that makes a strong case for diversification. Drawing from research by Hendrik Bessembinder, J.P. Morgan, and others, Ben lays out the harsh reality behind individual stock returns: the odds are stacked against long-term success. From skewed ret...

What if the hardest part of investing isn’t building a portfolio—but sticking to it? In this AMA edition of the Rational Reminder podcast, Ben Felix and Dan Bortolotti tackle listener questions ranging from sustainable retirement withdrawals to the dangers of structured products, with plenty of philosophical insights on risk, behavior, and financial ...

Today, Ben plays lone host for the first time as we welcome Alex Edmans to the show. Alex is a Professor of Finance at London Business School as well as an accomplished speaker, author, investment banker, and financial advisor. To start, Alex describes his involvement in the formation of a new law in the UK before defining ‘misinformation’ and where confirmation bias fits in. Then, we assess the impac...

What if “just buying the market” isn’t the end of the story? In this episode, we are joined by Gerard O’Reilly, Co-CEO and Co-CIO of Dimensional Fund Advisors, for a deep dive into what really drives net investment returns. Gerard returns to the Rational Reminder podcast to explain the key principles that differentiate Dimensional’s approach from traditional indexing—and why implementation, flexibility, and detail matt...

For the first time as a host combination, Ben, Dan, and Cameron sit down to discuss the most controversial topics in personal finance. We begin with identity and how it informs decision-making. Then, we revisit the renting versus buying debate, why this remains a highly controversial topic, the ins and outs of income investing, and understating the fervor of dividend investing. We also unpack FIRE as a branch of self-h...

Dr. Eli Beracha has recently been recognized by The Journal of Real Estate Literature as the world’s third best in research productivity, and today, we are honoured to be joined by this top industry expert to bring more clarity to the renting versus buying debate. We use Dr. Beracha’s ‘Lessons from Over 30 Years of Buy Versus Rent Decisions: Is the American Dream Always Wise?’ and ‘Housing Ownership Decision-Making in ...

Cameron joins Ben for his first AMA as we bring you the sixth edition of our Listener Questions and Investing Lessons mini-series. Diving right in, Ben and Cameron share their stance on the multi-host format of the Rational Reminder podcast before walking us through the new PWL Retirement Planning Tool. Then, we unpack our venture with OneDigital, recent changes at PWL Capital, how we make each episode of this show, an...

How do we make the most important decisions in life with intention rather than impulse? In this episode, we are joined by Abby Davisson to unpack her practical framework for better decision-making. Abby is a Yale and Stanford alumnus, a former executive at Gap Inc., and the co-author of Money and Love. She is also the founder of the Money and Love Institute, which is dedicated to helping individuals and professionals n...

Marco Sammon joins Ben and Dan to unpack his latest paper, ‘Index Rebalancing and Stock Market Composition’, beginning with how Marco’s work (co-written by John Shim) compares to the Nobel Prize-winner Bill Sharpe’s paper, ‘Arithmetic of Active Management.’ We investigate the missing links in Sharpe’s logic before defining “the market” and ascertaining the main objectives of index funds. Then, we dive deeper into the m...

Beyond the sales pitches, acronyms, and product talk, what does it mean to be a financial planner? In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, we sit down with long-time industry leader and advocate Jason Pereira. Jason is a Canadian financial planner with over 20 years of experience, dual CFP certification (Canada and US), and a passion for professionalizing the field. In our conversation, Jason shares details a...

The fifth installment of our Ask Me Anything sessions begins with the inevitable volatility of the stock market as we urge investors to remain calm amidst recent US stock declines. Similarly, we unpack the historical resilience of stock markets and offer advice for dealing with market crashes before discussing why bonds are not the best strategy for boosting returns. We examine the proposed Alberta Pension Plan, the Ra...

What if the key to financial success isn’t just a better budget, but a better understanding of your relationship with money? In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, Ben and Dan sit down with Jessica Moorhouse to delve into the ins and outs of personal finance. Jessica is a money expert, Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada®, speaker, and bestselling author of Everything but Money. She is also the host of th...

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) and Vanguard have intersecting histories rooted in the development of the first-ever index fund. Vanguard's market-cap weighted index funds have been nothing short of revolutionary and they became synonymous with sensible investing for many good reasons, but Dimensional took implementing the ideas from academic finance a few steps further, leading to their own deserved acclaim. In today’...

Our conversations with Professor Scott Cederburg from Eller College of Management have led to the most heated debates among our listeners! Today, Prof. Cederburg returns to discuss the changes he’s made to his paper that was the foundation of previous conversations - ‘Beyond the Status Quo: A Critical Assessment of Lifecycle Investment Advice’. We begin with the data setup and headline findings of the paper before Prof...

In this episode, Ben, Dan, and Mark tackle another Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, covering a wide range of investing and financial planning topics. They begin with a highly requested debate on factor investing versus market cap-weighted portfolios and unpack the theory, research, and practical considerations behind both strategies. Ben explains why he prefers factor tilts when managing client portfolios, while Dan shar...

Is the government manipulating inflation data? Why do so many people feel like their personal costs are rising faster than official inflation numbers suggest? In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most debated and misunderstood economic topics: inflation. Today, we are joined by Andrew Barclay, an economist and senior analyst in the Consumer Price Division at Statistics Canada, ...

Are index funds the best investment strategy for most investors? In this episode of Rational Reminder, Benjamin Felix, Dan Bortolotti, and Mark McGrath explore why low-cost index funds should be the primary investment strategy for most people. They explain how index funds evolved from a niche concept to a widely accepted strategy and outline their six key benefits. Learn about the fees associated with index funds, why ...