The Rational Reminder Podcast

In this bonus episode we briefly talk about the yield curve, and why it's probably not going to hurt you. With special guest Robert Little, Wealth Management Analyst at PWL Capital. For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

Welcome back to The Rational Reminder Podcast. Today we are joined by Daniel Weinand. Daniel is the cofounder of Shopify, which is a company based in Ottawa that has had enormous success, not just in Ottawa or Canada, but all over the world in the last few years as a public company. Shopify is a great commerce platform that supports over 600,000 different stores worldwide. It is an incredible success story, and the best way that we can describe the conversation was that it was very intense. Everything from the way Daniel thinks about things to what he's been able to achieve comes down to his intensity, and you can actually see the wheels turning in his head while he speaks. So for an incredible interview, keep listening to hear more! Key Points From This Episode: How Daniel chose Canada and got involved in Shopify. [0:02:13.0] Decisions that were transformational for the company. [0:04:21.0] Daniel's transition into retirement from Shopify. [0:06:07.0] The role of happiness and self-fulfillment. [0:10:18.0] The beauty of poker — a game of incomplete information. [0:11:19.0] Creating a company culture. [0:19:16.0] The impact financial security has on productivity and engagement for employees. [0:25:04.0] How Daniel defines success. [0:26:25.0] Why Daniel chose to work with PWL. [0:29:41.0] The impact of money in Daniel's life. [0:33:50] And much more! For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

Welcome back to The Rational Reminder Podcast. Today's episode is focused on the question of investing in real estate. It is still a common conundrum for investors and even those who may not consider themselves active investors, whether to buy or to rent a property. As you may imagine it is not a very simple issue and the answer does require some serious thought and calculation. But our hosts do their best to lay out some of the most important concerns and factors in trying to find the answer. Before getting into the meat of the episode however, we also look at some general recent news from the money world including developments from Investor's Group, the market's downturn and the low year we have all had as well as thinking about Canadian small cap stocks. For all this and more, be sure to tune in! Read Robb Engen's take on this episode on the Boomer & Echo blog. Key Points From This Episode: The changes Investor's Group have made to their pricing. [0:01:27.4] The recent downturns in the market. [0:03:04.8] Evolving perspectives and long term measurements on your returns. [0:05:00.2] Looking at the performance of Canadian small cap stocks. [0:09:55.2] Beginning to weigh the costs of owning versus renting real estate. [0:11:13.3] Dropping opportunity costs and changes in income over time. [0:16:15.8] Adjusting your view to your total unrecoverable costs. [0:16:46.4] The biggest advantage of home ownership. [0:18:26.8] Some points from Larry Swedroe that we can all adhere to. [0:20:38.2] Keeping track of your decisions and why you made them. [0:25:41.8] And much more!

Welcome to The Rational Reminder Podcast. On today's episode we are going to roll out our new format for the show. We ended off our previous show format with a series of interviews, and today we are ready to jump into something new! Of course, we definitely don't plan on doing that perfectly today because we do have a couple of things that we want to talk about before we make it official. The meat of the episode will be focused on discussing the cost of financial advice. Should you pay for it, how should you pay for it, and how much should you pay for it? On top of that, we are going to be discussing the performance of the markets, controlling the things you do have control over, being a DIY investor, and how to strategically choose where you get your investment advice from. It's genuine and it's out there, so keep listening to hear more! Key Points From This Episode: Performance of the markets - should you invest. [0:03:25.0] Having control over your asset allocation. [0:05:0] The use of robo advisors. [0:07:21.0] What should we be paying for advisors. [0:10:40.0] Service delivery - is the outcome positive for the client and the advisor. [0:13:49.0] How we use a tier fee structure at PWL. [0:16:17.0] Benjamin shares about the event he went to last week. [0:17:03.0] Who should you be getting your advice from - does licensed matter. [0:21:14.0] Being a DIY investor. [0:23:34.0] The key takeaway. [0:28:21.0] And much more! For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

Shane Parrish, creator of the Farnam Street Blog, discusses mental models for investing, the importance of decision journals, the value of doing nothing, defining happiness, and the power of rereading books for deeper understanding in this peaceful and informative podcast.

Welcome back to another episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast. Our guest today is a great friend and associate, Mark Sutcliffe! Mark is a well know media personality, community worker, philanthropist, business person, and investor. He also happens to be a great speaker and listener, which probably has something to do with him hosting his own radio show. Today we are extremely excited to be able able to interview him and pick his brain on all things rational, financial, and beyond. We chat about what makes Mark tick, his passions, his motivations, and what keeps him going. From there we dive into the financial industry and hear first-hand about Mark's own learning curve and how he currently views investing. We then turn to the subject of Ottawa and look specifically at Mark's work in and commitment to the city. A strong theme that arises in this episode is Mark's view of his own good fortune and we finish off our interview with a meditation on the success he has experienced and some of his ambitions for the future. For all this and much more, be sure to listen in! Key Points From This Episode: Mark's passion and what keeps him motivated. [0:03:21.9] A typical day in the life of Mark and how he gets through all this work. [0:04:34.3] Mark's forays into and experiences with investing. [0:06:44.2] The gripes that Mark has with certain areas of the financial industry. [0:09:45.7] Mark's TED Talk and the role of luck in his life. [0:13:01.3] Long term financial planning and how this links to the rest of Mark's life. [0:17:17.4] A big picture perspective and how this helps investors through volatility. [0:21:28.6] The media's role in public perception and culture around the markets. [0:23:07.2] Mark's current thoughts on the Ottawa business scene. [0:24:48.5] The long standing association between Mark and PWL. [0:27:06.7] The trend towards index investing in Canada and its growing popularity. [0:29:00.9] Mark's reflections on his successes and ambitions for the future. [0:31:19.2] And much more! Learn more and subscribe to the show at pwlcapital.com

Dan Solin, a bestselling author and former trial lawyer, passionately advocates for evidence-based investing. He shares how his legal training shaped his approach, emphasizing the importance of ethical standards. The conversation highlights the surprising link between happiness and financial success, backed by neuroscience. Solin also discusses the cultural differences in investment practices between the U.S. and Canada. He emphasizes the value of building trust with clients through effective communication and the emotional aspects of advisory work.

In Episode 16 of the Rational Reminder Podcast we talked about the following: How bad was last week's market volatility? Should you make changes to your portfolio in this market? Are people better at predicting when markets are volatile? How the market prices securities The economy vs. the stock market When do bear markets typically occur? Will passive investing exacerbate the next correction? Do index funds affect price discovery? The power of capitalism Index reconstitution Risk over the long-term Quant investing does not always pass robustness tests 50% of business is marketing Devil's in the HML details Dimensional has thought of everything The charts that we talked about: For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

In Episode 15 of the Rational Reminder Podcast we recapped our time at the Dimensional Fund Advisors advanced conference. We recapped the following: Eugene Fama The history of the University of Chicago and Dimensional Connecting economics with academia Behavioral finance is a branch of efficient markets (according to Fama) Crunching data for the first time Starting the first index fund – before Vanguard Volatility lessons Black swans Do you need a tstat of 3 in today's world? We referenced this paper https://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/faj.v74.n3.6 For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com

In Episode 14 of the Rational Reminder podcast we were joined by Martin Parizeau, a retired banking executive with extensive knowledge of Canadian consumer debt, and a PWL client. We discussed the following: The start of the ETF boom When proponents of active management realize they should index Cutting wasteful expenses without sacrificing happiness Pulling off a successful downsizing Housing is not an investment The real cost of owning a home Defining the ideal lifestyle Digging into Canadian consumer debt levels The real debt to income ratio for debtors in Canada Is mortgage debt always "good" debt? The rising cost of debt and its effect on the economy Credit card rates are justified Choosing the right credit card Never pay an annual fee on a credit card The boom-bust lending cycle Bankers saw the financial crisis coming, but had to keep going Focusing on the things that you can control Ottawa Citizen article from Sunday, March 3, 2002 mentioned in this podcast. For more information or to contact Cameron and Ben, visit pwlcapital.com