What Are the Fundamentals of Investments?

As we kick off the new year, we wanted to look back at our biggest areas of learning from last year. So this episode serves as a great companion piece to our year-end recap from a couple of weeks ago, but the focus here is on the personal impact that specific guests, ideas, and topics had on each of our lives. We cover ICAPM thinking, the nature of money, financial literacy, setting financial goals, the history of index funds, and more. For the second half of the show, we are joined by the amazing Shaun Tomson, former world surfing champion, author, and renowned speaker. Shaun is here to talk a bit about his latest book, co-authored with Noah benShea, entitled The Surfer and the Sage. We get to hear about Shaun's belief in the power of words, the specific conditions that can enforce this power, the lessons he has taken from a life in the ocean, and how the tragedy of losing his son influenced his life's trajectory. Join us to catch it all.

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

• Differentiating between the CAPM and ICAPM theories. (0:08:02)
• Long-run risks in stocks and bonds; demystifying safety claims.  (0:14:46)
• Further illumination on the concept of money and how to think about it. (0:24:27)
• Learnings around the empirical side of financial literacy. (0:31:00)
• Improved setting of financial goals and common mistakes that many of us make. (0:32:24)
• Filling in the gaps in an understanding of the history of index funds. (0:35:57)
• A one-minute recap of our episode with Allison Schrager from last year. (0:37:47)
• A quick review of Shaun Tomson's book, The Surfer and the Sage. (0:39:38)
• Shaun explains the significance of the wave as a metaphor. (0:43:28)
• The tragic passing of Shaun's son in 2006 and how this redirected his life's purpose. (0:45:10)
• Shaun explains his CODE method for transformation. (0:49:35)
• The significance of the structure of the book and the motivation behind it. (0:56:38)
• Unpacking the importance of purpose when making financial decisions. (0:59:40)
• Shaun's tactical recommendations; resilience, hope, optimism, and discipline. (1:05:44)
• Upcoming book recommendations for our 23 in 23 Reading Challenge. (1:19:22)

  Participate in our 23 in 23 Reading Challenge:

23 in 23 Reading Challenge — https://rationalreminder.ca/23in23

23 in 23 Reading Challenge on Beanstalk — https://pwlcapital.beanstack.org/

  Participate in our Community Discussion about this Episode: https://community.rationalreminder.ca/t/episode-235-top-learnings-from-2022-plus-23-in-23-special-guest-shaun-tomson-discussion-thread/21332 

 

Books From Today’s Episode:

The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves — https://amzn.to/3GytVJV

The Code: The of Power of "I Will" — https://amzn.to/3ZEMUvg

Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life — https://amzn.to/3VZIcFb

  Links From Today’s Episode:

Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582.

Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/ 

Shop Merch — https://shop.rationalreminder.ca/

Join the Community — https://community.rationalreminder.ca/

Follow us on Twitter — https://twitter.com/RationalRemind

Follow us on Instagram — @rationalreminder

Benjamin on Twitter — https://twitter.com/benjaminwfelix

Cameron on Twitter — https://twitter.com/CameronPassmore

Shaun Tomson on Twitter — https://twitter.com/shauntomson

Shaun Tomson on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/shauntomson/

Shaun Tomson on Linkedin — https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-tomson-42a57213/

Shaun Tomson — https://shauntomson.com/

Shaun Tomson's I Will Form — https://buzzy.buzz/kiosk/3676e3c13ae389a80dd5774d

'The Code Method for Families' — https://shauntomson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CODE-METHOD-FOR-FAMILIES.pdf

‘The Surfer and the Sage: Trailer' — https://www.dropbox.com/s/wn0q3r0gf006tl6/TrailerUSETHISONE.mp4?dl=0

'Generating Objectives: Can Decision Makers Articulate What They Want?' — https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.1070.0754?journalCode=mnsc

'Eyes on the Prize: The Preference to Invest Resources in Goals Over Means' — https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/fac/marketing/Shaddy/investing_goals.pdf

'Counteracting obstacles with optimistic predictions' — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20121310/

'Immediate Rewards Predict Adherence to Long-Term Goals' — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167216676480

'Stocks for the Long Run? Sometimes Yes. Sometimes No.' — https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3805927