The Rational Reminder Podcast

The terms passive investing and index investing are often intertwined, but they are not exactly the same thing. Today’s guest is Adriana Robertson, the Honourable Justice Frank Iacobucci Chair in Capital Markets Regulation and an associate professor of Law and Finance at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Rotman School of Management. Adriana is interested in index investing and, in this episode, we hear her views on whether or not index investing is passive. Hear facts from her paper on the S&P 500 Index fund specifically, and all of the reasons that it's not passive, as well as some of the issues that are potentially arising from the creation of so many indexes or so-called passive investments. A more recent paper by Adriana, published in The Journal of Finance, surveyed a representative sample of U.S. individual investors about how well leading academic theories describe their financial beliefs and decisions, and Adriana shares the differences in something like value growth from an academic perspective versus a real-world perspective. Find out how investors can go about evaluating the performance of their portfolios and what they should be looking for when deciding which index fund to invest in, as well as why index funds aren’t a meaningful category anyway, factors from Adriana’s surveys that might influence investor’s equity allocation, and the trend towards indexing and whether it will overtake active portfolios. Tune in today for all this and more!   Key Points From This Episode: Whether or not it’s sensible to call the S&P 500 Index fund a passive investment. [0:03:20] How discretion affects the S&P 500 Index constituents and performance. [0:04:14] Adriana reflects on Tesla joining the S&P 500 Index and the speculation there. [0:04:49] Adriana’s view of benchmarking and comparing other investments to the S&P 500. [0:05:34] Why calling it rules-based investing rather than passive depends on the index. [0:07:35] How investors can go about evaluating the performance of their portfolios. [0:04:14] Why Adriana believes there are so many indexes and how they differ. [0:09:29] Value growth from an academic perspective versus a real-world perspective. [0:11:28] Why methodology differences between indices aren’t necessarily well-documented. [0:13:14] The marketing strategies involved in fund managers creating affiliated versus bespoke indices. [0:14:50] Common differences in index fund tracking and one-to-one mapping. [0:15:45] What investors should be looking for when evaluating which index fund to invest in. [0:16:53] Tilting towards factors versus using the market cap as the de facto benchmark. [0:18:19] Why Adriana’s advice is to compare an investment to the other options available. [0:20:11] Ex-ante versus ex-post and whether funds choosing a benchmark ex-post to inflate performance is a concern. [0:21:31] Concerns over asset growth in index funds and why it’s not a meaningful category. [0:23:47] Factors from the survey results of Adriana’s recent paper that might influence investor’s equity allocation. [0:26:16] The results that were surprising to her, like the need for cash for routine expenses. [0:28:21] Reasons there is still so much money invested in active funds – for example, a belief in higher returns and advisor recommendations. [0:29:57] Notably, how equity allocation is reliant upon professional financial advice. [0:32:12] Whether or not a year like 2020 will affect the asset allocation of investors. [0:35:17] The trend towards indexing and whether it will overtake active portfolios. [0:37:02] The implications of risk on the theoretical explanations for asset pricing anomalies. [0:39:00] The role of professional financial advisors in high net worth investor’s decisions. [0:37:02] How Adriana came to be so interested in and passionate about indexing. [0:44:49] Adriana’s defines success by figuring out what she wants to doing it do it well. [0:47:24]

With so many moving parts, it’s difficult to develop a clear view of the US monetary system. Today we speak with Pragmatic Capitalism author and Founder of Orcam Financial Group Cullen Roche, leveraging his expertise to build a comprehensive understanding of the monetary system. We open our interview with Cullen by asking him the deceptively simple question, “what is money?” We then explore where money comes from, the role of the central bank in securing our money supply, and why poor capitalization restrains banks. After discussing where the value of money derives from, Cullen shares his insights on how decentralized digital currencies are challenged by their lack of flexibility and credit options. We talk more about the role of central banks before diving into quantitative easing; what it is, why it’s used, and how interest rates impact its usage. Following this, Cullen unpacks whether quantitative easing leads to asset inflation along with the influence that stimulus policies have on inflation. Reflecting on the relationship between the Federal Reserve and US Treasury, Cullen shows why the US government is in no danger of becoming insolvent. We touch on the dollar’s purchasing power, Cullen’s view that time really is money, the role of gold in your portfolio, and why Cullen is such a big proponent of global investing. We wrap up our informative discussion by asking Cullen how he defines success in his life. Tune in to benefit from Cullen’s clever and concise explanation of our modern economic system.   Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today’s episode featuring Cullen Roche. [0:00:15] We open our interview with Cullen asking the question, “What is money?” [0:03:50] Exploring where money comes from and the role of banks in ensuring money supply. [0:06:14] The factors that constrain a bank’s lending ability. [0:09:26] Cullen unpacks where the value of money comes from. [0:12:36] Economic constraints posed by decentralized digital currencies. [0:15:08] What central banks are and why they’re such good ideas. [0:20:46] Cullen explains what bank reserves are. [0:25:00] How quantitative easing tries to stimulate the economy. [0:25:45] Why quantitative easing isn’t the same as printing money. [0:30:01] Cullen evaluates the success of quantitative easing as a policy tool. [0:33:19] Whether quantitative easing leads to asset inflation. [0:33:57] The impact that stimulus policies have on inflation. [0:39:38] The relationship between the US Federal Reserve and Treasury. [0:43:04] Why the US government will most likely never go insolvent. [0:47:44] Why low inflation trumps high inflation and how increasing government debt might or might not harm future generations. [0:51:17] Why the dollar’s purchasing power doesn’t reflect the reality of our modern standards of living. [0:55:26] Hear about Cullen’s view that time really is money. [0:59:14] How Cullen sees gold as a hedge against the dollar’s decreasing purchasing power. [1:00:41] Cullen explains why he’s such a big proponent of global investing. [1:05:04] There’s more to life than money; Cullen defines success in his own life. [1:06:48]

At its core, managing wealth is about finding the best solutions for your clients. As he mentions in today’s discussion with him, this sentiment has guided David Booth’s storied career. As the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors, David’s career is so illustrious that he’s been called the father of evidence-based investment products. We open our conversation by exploring David’s career, beginning with his job as a shoe salesman in Kansas to developing the first index fund. We ask David if he had been able to foresee the power that “geeks” would have over the asset management business. His answers highlight how immature the industry was when he founded Dimensional Fund Advisors and how they had to first convince people before selling them on small cap funds. Reflecting on his early successes and challenges, David opens up about how his clients reacted when small caps underperformed. A key theme this episode, David emphasizes the importance of making decisions that are grounded in academic research. We then dive into several topics ranging from David’s views on value portfolios to the stroke of luck that led Dimensional to open their products to financial advisors. After chatting about why Dimensional is now entering the ETF space, David shares his take on direct indexing and why he still favors simplicity over complexity. Near the end of the episode, we discuss how David built his company culture, how luck factored into his life, and how he defines success. An incredible conversation that touches on pivotal moments in the history of financial services, tune for more insights into the life and work of David Booth.   Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today’s guest, Dimensional Fund Advisor Co-Founder David Booth. [0:00:14] David talks about how his background informed his professional career. [0:03:57] Hear about David’s role in developing one of the first index funds. [0:06:13] Why David’s work creating index funds for Wells Fargo came to a close. [0:07:28] Exploring the origins of Dimensional Fund Advisors. [0:10:24] How David saw the future of his industry when he started Dimensional and how they created the first small cap funds. [0:15:18] The reaction from David’s early clients when small caps underperformed. [0:27:04] David recalls the “borderline character assassination” that he faced when pushing for small caps. [0:24:16] How and why Dimensional first added value portfolios. [0:26:03] Unpacking David’s view that values struggle relative to growth. [0:28:37] The recent lessons that Dimensional has learned about value relative to growth stocks. [0:33:17] What it would take for Dimensional to reconsider their entire approach. [0:37:50] The importance of flexibility and believing in your solutions when dealing with uncertainty. [0:43:19] David emphasizes that your financial solutions should be based on robust data. [0:47:00] How Dimensional began giving financial advisors access to their products. [0:48:46] Why, after so many years, Dimensional is now entering the ETF space. [0:52:25] With widespread fee compression, hear how Dimensional is handling fee cuts. [0:55:53] Answering the question — what’s the next big thing for Dimensional? [0:57:29] David shares his take on direct indexing and customizable portfolios. [1:00:59] How David built his company culture and the role that luck plays in his life and in business outcomes. [01:02:59] We ask David how he defines success in his life. [01:06:48]

For this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, we review our year by playing back and discussing a collection of the most impactful moments of the show from 2020. This has been a drastic year filled with many learnings for us all, and in today’s show, we cover topics of happiness, decision making, dealing with uncertainty, and the connection that financial planning and investing have to all of this. We collect some amazing gems of wisdom from guests like Annie Duke, Ken French, Michael Kitces, Patricia Lovett-Reid, and a whole lot more, whittling down an original list of over one hundred of this year’s finest moments to a collection of just 45. The show starts out exploring themes of the connection between wealth and happiness, keeping cool in stressful times, and the transformations that crises kickstart. From there, we talk about the importance of models and systems for informing investing and behaviour in general, and the idea that unexpected outcomes swamp expected ones in the short term. We also look at what market history has to say about staying in your seat rather than market timing when things look bleak. Next up, we cover themes of the value of a flexible approach to retirement spending, how families should think about financial planning, whether 60/40 portfolios are dead, and why stock market returns in the U.S. are higher under Democratic presidents. Moving onto the subject of decision making, we explore some of our guests’ thoughts on evaluating decisions, outcomes bias and the role of luck, and more. We also consider the topic of human capital, how it relates to investing, and what we should really be spending our time on. The subject of the convergence of brokerage firms and financial advisors then leads to a great exploration of the role of financial advisors. We wrap up with some extra special perspectives on how optimal financial planning should be geared around the person that you want to be rather than maximizing wealth for the sake of it. Tune in today for an amazing overview of the year and to hear all the ways we have changed and grown thanks to our incredible guests.   Key Points From This Episode: Looking back on the year: Pandemic adjustments and how this podcast has grown. [0:00:15] Shoutouts and Cameron’s method of putting past clips together for today’s show. [0:06:20] Brian Portnoy and Andrew Hallam on wealth and happiness. [0:09:15] Dealing with stress and volatility with Dr. Moira Somers and Dave Goetsch. [0:13:48] Craig Alexander on market volatility and Jim Stanford on crisis and revolution. [0:18:27] Dave Goetsch and Greg Zuckerman on the benefit of models and systems. [0:23:11] The role of unexpected returns in outcomes and how to deal with this. [0:27:04] Small and value stocks relative to the market with Dr. William Bernstein. [0:33:09] Ken French and Cliff Asness on whether ‘this time is different’. [0:35:29] Enduring tracking error with Cliff Asness and Andrew Hallam. [0:38:37] Cliff Asness on whether 60/40 is dead and Lubos Pastor on why stock market returns in the US are higher under Democratic presidents. [0:41:00] Changing your risk portfolio when the market is dropping with Ken French. [0:45:25] Market timing versus awareness of investing history with Mark Hebner and Dr. Bernstein. [0:48:20] Wade Pfau on how expected returns fit into financial planning and the ‘safety first’ approach. [0:52:15] Moshe Milevsky on retirement spending and Pattie Lovett Reid on addressing one’s financial situation. [0:56:13] Annie Duke, Ken French, and Victor Ricciardi on making and evaluating decisions. [1:00:05] Greg Zuckerman on the role of luck in decisions leading to positive outcomes. [1:08:15] Forecasting as a way of knowing the range of outcomes with Craig Alexander. [1:11:15] Moshe Milevsky and Dr. Bernstein on human capital, financial planning, investing and asset allocation. [1:13:34] Josh Brown on what to spend your time on and Fred Vettesse on when to start saving. [01:16:28] Michael Kitces on the convergence of brokerage firms and financial advisors. [01:19:20] Dennis Mosey Williams and Ken French on financial advice for gaining wealth and being content. [01:20:57] Allison Schrager on the role of financial advisors for mitigating systematic risk. [01:25:00] Mark Hebner on the role of financial advisors for explaining a range of outcomes. [01:26:38] Scott Rieckens and Dennis Mosey Williams on what finding happiness means. [01:30:03]

Delving into the theory behind their new model ETF portfolios, the hosts explore market assets pricing and historical views. They address the systematic risk factors in the Fama-French Five-Factor Model, discussing factor exposure through ETFs. Insights on portfolio distribution and premium expectations are shared, along with reflections on factor-loaded indexes and bad financial advice.

As author and financial expert Morgan Housel explains this episode, “people don't make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make financial decisions at the dinner table.” Today we chat to Morgan about his key insights into financial decision-making — many of which are captured in his book, The Psychology of Money. Our conversation opens with an exploration of how investing success has less to do with what you know and more to do with how you manage your behaviour. We then look into the dangers of emulating top investors and how luck can fuel success. Reflecting the theme that people invest according to their unique circumstances, Morgan shares why he prioritizes endurance as an investor by minimizing his debt and having high cash reserves. After hearing his take on debt and whether young people should use leverage, we dive into how financial expectations impact investing and the importance of deciding what ‘enough’ means to you. We discuss the virtues of saving like a pessimist and investing like an optimist before looking into the role that financial advisors play in guiding their clients. In the latter part of the end of the episode, Morgan touches on active versus passive investing, the purpose that bonds serve in your portfolio, his top lesson from 2020, and why he’s empathetic toward people who sell their portfolios during a downturn. Throughout our discussion, Morgan shares his clear understanding of how our psychology affects our relationship to money. Tune in and benefit from his incredible perspective.      Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today’s guest, financial author Morgan Housel. [0:00:15] Morgan shares his view that succeeding in investing has little to do with how you behave. [0:02:31] Hear about the problems that can arise from trying to emulate top investors. [0:05:02] Exploring the impact of luck on your success. [0:07:37] The differences between being conservative and having a margin of safety. [0:08:35] Insights into Morgan’s personal investing strategy. [0:09:48] Morgan’s thoughts on leverage and how debt impacts behaviour and peace of mind. [0:10:31] Stepping off the hedonic treadmill and the importance of defining your financial expectations. [0:14:02] The link between money, independence, and having a high quality of life. [0:16:44] What it means to be wealthy and what motivates the drive to be rich. [0:19:18] Morgan’s advice to save like a pessimist and invest like an optimist. [0:21:34] Why no one makes perfectly rational investing decisions. [0:23:54] The role of financial advisors in guiding clients towards their investing decisions. [0:26:22] Why Morgan has embraced the simplest investing strategy available to him. [0:29:02] How you should be thinking about fixed income in your portfolios. [0:31:20] Why financial advisors can be priceless when understanding your finances and goals. [0:33:44] Life is surprising; hear why this is Morgan’s top takeaway from 2020. [0:36:29] Morgan’s thoughts on the FIRE Movement and retiring early in life. [0:38:53] Hear Morgan’s predictions on the next big financial innovation. [0:41:49] Why Morgan is empathetic towards people who sell their portfolios during a downturn. [0:43:50] The tendency for people to embrace more extremist views during times of financial crisis. [0:47:34] We ask Morgan how he defines success in his life. [0:50:25]

There is a sharp divide between those who invest in dividend-paying stocks and those who don’t. Underpinning this is the question of whether dividends are relevant to the evaluation of shares. Today we answer this question by digging into the data and parsing the maths before exploring what the future of financial planning looks like. But first, we open our episode with news from the Rational Reminder community — including the fact that we just passed one million podcast downloads. We then touch on lessons from Seth Godin’s new inspiring book, along with the latest from the financial world. Following this, we dive into a discussion on dividend stocks. We begin by unpacking the assumptions behind Miller and Modigliani’s theory of dividend irrelevance. Host Benjamin Felix presents a case study and applies the Fama-French Model to explain differences in returns on dividend portfolios and if dividends truly affect share valuation. After sharing our practical takeaways from Benjamin’s analysis, we move onto our financial planning topic for the week. From technology to retirement decumulation and demographics, we discuss the five key areas which will most impact the future of financial planning. We then wrap up another informative episode with the bad financial advice for the week. Tune in for more insights into the role of dividend stocks and the future of financial planning.   Key Points From This Episode: Community news, Benjamin’s 3D printing project, and celebrating our 1 millionth download. [0:00:15] Drawing insights from a recent Ted Seides-Shane Parrish interview. [0:03:44] Reflecting on Seth Godin’s latest book, Practice: Shipping Creative Work. [0:06:44] How our culture overvalues outcomes while neglecting the creative process. [0:07:46] Why having meals delivered to you helps to limit decision fatigue. [0:08:28] Hear about the new TFSA limits and Tesla’s addition to the S&P 500. [0:09:25] Exploring whether size affects premium in the US versus elsewhere. [0:12:28] Why long-only investors may overweight small caps. [0:15:44] How US junk stocks impact value and their place in your portfolio. [0:16:18] Introducing today’s portfolio topic; should you invest in dividend stocks? [0:17:53] Unpacking the assumptions behind Miller and Modigliani’s theory of dividend irrelevance. [0:18:45] Host Benjamin Felix creates a case study to show Miller and Modigliani’s theory in action. [0:22:38] Why Miller and Modigliani’s math and idea of financing are based on poor assumptions. [0:26:24] The predictive power and limits of frameworks like the Fama-French 5-Factor Model. [0:27:25] Applying the Fama-French Model to portfolio dividend returns. [0:28:28] Key investing lessons from the notion that dividends are irrelevant to the valuation of shares. [0:31:30] Reasons why people might only want to invest in dividend-paying stocks. [0:33:20] The argument that firms seeking external financing may be subject to greater scrutiny. [0:35:33] Introducing our financial planning topic on the paper ‘Financial planning: A research agenda for the next decade.’ [0:37:02] Ties between psychology, communication, and financial decision-making. [0:39:02] Exploring the five key research areas informing the future of financial planning. [0:40:16] This week’s bad financial advice; invest with active managers. [0:46:31]. What it actually means to say that a fund is actively or passively managed. [0:47:56]

Dr. Brian Portnoy and Josh Brown’s book How I Invest My Money, captures the stories and investment strategies of 25 top financial advisors. The book highlights that while there are established dogmas that tell you how and why you ought to invest, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ way to invest. Today we speak with Brian and Josh about the key insights that we can derive from their work. We open our conversation by exploring how they conceived and developed their book before talking about why fully rational investing is a myth. After diving into how we allocate money to solve our unique needs, Brian and Josh share how people use their portfolios to express themselves. We then discuss common investing themes in the book, including how most advisors have an aversion to debt, and how their experiences have guided their strategies and outlooks. From why we should place more value on social and human capital, we look into why financial planning has a profound impact on how you manage your investments. We touch on direct indexing, the relationship between money and happiness, and the unexpected yet incredible perspectives that came from giving advisors a license to tell their stories. Near the end of the episode, Brian and Josh reflect on how their book might have changed their views and how their work fits into their visions for the financial industry. Tune in to hear more on the usually secretive topic of how financial advisors invest their money.   Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Brian Portnoy and Josh Brown, authors of How I Invest My Money. [0:0:15] Why we invest and reflections on commentary made by the Rational Reminder community. [0:02:58] Josh shares his motivations for being transparent on where and how he invests. [0:05:25] Hear about the genesis and subsequent development of Brian and Josh’s book. [0:07:19] The common needs that individual investors have beyond getting a return. [0:10:18] How the uniqueness of everyone’s life affects their investing decisions. [0:13:09] Why there is no strict ‘right way’ to invest — invest according to what’s right for you. [0:14:35] ESG investment and seeing your portfolio as a form of expression. [0:17:21] Exploring common investment themes that arise in Josh and Brian’s book. [0:20:07] How Brian and Josh developed their personal investing outlooks. [0:21:44] Why we should place more value in human and social capital. [0:25:16] Brian expands on why we should invest in human and social capital. [0:28:35] The importance of financial planning in managing both your life and investments. [0:31:50] Answering the question: is direct indexing the future for outcome-driven portfolios? [0:36:55] Assessing a client’s risk profile as central to modern financial advising. [0:39:34] Portfolio customization and direct indexing versus helping clients create a portfolio around their purposes. [0:40:58] Funding contentment and the relationship between money and happiness. [0:42:22] Whether the stories featured in their book have Brian and Josh’s views. [0:46:18] When your life is your benchmark, how do you derive your portfolio benchmark. [0:49:15] How their book fits into Brian and Josh’s visions for their industry. [0:54:43]

On today’s show, we explore rational explanations for pricing bubbles, how the concept of human capital relates to financial decisions, and a whole lot more! We kick things off with a discussion of Ashley Whillans’ book Time Smart, which explores proven strategies for improving your ‘time affluence’. Diving into this week’s portfolio topic, we use a previous discussion about Carlota Perez’s model for technological revolutions as a springboard to introduce Lubos Pastor and Pietro Veronesi’s mathematical arguments that present a rational explanation for pricing bubbles. Perez maintains that prices get bid up too high during technological revolutions due to ‘frenzy’ but we unpack two papers by Pastor and Veronesi where they argue differently, drawing on the concepts of uncertainty and discount rates. From there, we dive into the relationship between human capital, life insurance and asset allocation for our planning topic. We provide some definitions for the term ‘human capital’ and discuss how it differs from other forms of capital. A key idea we explore here is that the more risky your human capital is, the less life insurance you should take out. Along with this, you’ll hear a few quick suggestions for how you should approach life insurance and bonds depending on age, financial wealth, risk aversion, and other factors. Tune in today!   Key Points From This Episode: Talking COVID, next week’s guests and Rational Reminder Community updates. [0:0:18] Book of the week: Rethinking conventional notions of time well spent in Time Smart. [0:04:07] News updates: Stories about Bitcoin, marijuana stocks, and more. [0:08:56] Portfolio Topic: Whether pricing bubbles are caused by rational behaviour. [0:14:19] Unpacking Pastor and Veronesi’s paper connecting uncertainty to high prices. [0:18:25] Pricing bubbles as caused by discount rates; a second Pastor and Veronesi paper. [0:27:48] ‘IPO waves’ connected to the bubble discussion in a third Pastor and Veronesi paper. [0:37:58] Planning topic: How the concept of human capital relates to financial decisions. [0:44:45] The importance of considering asset allocation decisions and life insurance needs together. [0:54:46] Bad advice of the week: ‘The Market’s Invisible Guardrails Are Missing’. [1:01:16]

Professor Lubos Pastor, renowned for his finance research, discusses the impact of political cycles on stock returns, the relationship between green assets and expected returns, and challenges conventional wisdom on stock volatility. He also addresses the effectiveness of quantitative easing in boosting the economy and the influence of market-wide liquidity on stock prices.