Wisdom from the Wise: Exploring Essential Investment Quotes

In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, Ben Felix and Dan Bortolotti celebrate the show’s 7th anniversary with a conversation centered around timeless investing wisdom. Drawing from a vibrant thread in the Rational Reminder community, they unpack dozens of quotes that distill decades of financial insight into actionable mantras. What begins as a curated list of one-liners quickly evolves into a masterclass on the behavioral and practical realities of long-term investing. From “pay yourself first” to “diversification is the only free lunch,” Ben and Dan explore how psychological resilience, humility, and clear planning matter more than predictive genius. The quotes spark deep discussions on topics ranging from portfolio construction and risk perception to fees, fear, and investor behavior—each one contextualized with real-world examples.

Key Points From This Episode:

(0:04) Celebrating 7 years of the podcast and its growing impact across video and audio platforms.

(1:33) Reflecting on PWL’s evolution and the value-aligned advisors looking to join.

(8:00) Introducing the main topic: timeless investing quotes from the Rational Reminder community.

(10:24) “Pay yourself first”: Why savings matter more than returns early on.

(14:06) The flaws in one-size-fits-all savings rules like “save 10% of your income.”

(15:07) “The investor’s worst enemy is himself”: Behavioral finance and investor psychology.

(17:17) “This time is different”: Templeton’s warning against market narratives and FOMO.

(20:31) “Have a philosophy you can stick with”: Why strategy persistence matters more than perfection.

(23:59) ARK as a case study: Conviction versus performance-chasing.

(26:38) Buffett on risk: Be ready for 50% drawdowns—even in diversified portfolios.

(28:58) The global market portfolio: Sharpe and Fama’s starting point for asset allocation.

(31:50) “Far more money is lost preparing for corrections”: Lynch on market timing mistakes.

(35:18) Volatility is emotional, not just mathematical—especially in crises like COVID or 2008.

(40:29) Charles Ellis: “Risk is not having the money when you need it.”

(42:08) “Volatility is the price of admission”: Embracing risk to pursue long-term returns.

(44:30) Ken Fisher: “Normal returns are extreme.” Why market behavior is rarely average.

(47:16) “Risk is what’s left when you think you’ve thought of everything.” Planning for the unknown.

(49:07) Life has a fat tail: LTCM and the perils of underestimating extreme events.

(50:25) “Make sure you’re at the table, not on the menu”: Cochrane on avoiding bad financial products.

(52:31) Bogle: “We get precisely what we don’t pay for.” Why low-cost beats high-fee.

(55:13) Trading and over-monitoring: Why “doing less” often means better returns.

(57:02) “It ain’t what you don’t know…”: Humility in the face of market uncertainty.

(59:26) “Diversification is the only free lunch”: Reducing risk without reducing expected return.

(1:00:35) Bogle: “Don’t look for the needle. Just buy the haystack.”

(1:02:38) Focus on what you can control: Savings, costs, asset allocation—not market returns.

Links From Today’s Episode: Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p

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

Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/

Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemindRational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder

Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/

Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.caBenjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/

Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix

Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/

Dan Bortolotti — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/

Dan Bortolotti on LinkedIn — https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dan-bortolotti-8a482310

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)