The Rational Reminder Podcast

Today we are tackling the vitally important subject of financial literacy from the standpoint of parents wanting to educate their children. We have a true expert on the show today to help us with this discussion, and we cannot wait to share this highly actionable and impactful conversation with our audience. Robin Taub is a former CPA turned author, and her book, The Wisest Investment, approaches...

It sounds reasonable to say that investing in the most popular companies would produce the best returns, but this is just not how asset pricing works. Today on the show, we unpack the 'good company is a good investment' fallacy. Before diving into the main topic, we kick off our discussion on the subject of index funds with Robert Wigglesworth's  Trillions.  From there, we share some updates about...

In our conversation this week, we take a deep dive into factor investing. We are joined by the formidable Antonio Picca, Head of Factor Strategies at Vanguard, to help us navigate this complicated topic. Antonio is one of the largest asset managers in the world, with over seven trillion dollars under management. Among his credentials is a Master's in Finance and Economics from the London School of...

Today we welcome Rob Carrick back to the show to talk about a range of interesting topics, focusing on the Canadian housing market and some of the recent developments from the banking and investment space. Rob has such a balanced and measured approach, qualities that are visible in his long-standing work at The Globe and Mail. We start today's episode with some fun recommendations of books and TV...

For this week's episode (our longest to date), we get together with the legendary Professor Campbell R. Harvey and take a deep dive into a diverse range of topics that draw on his incredible breadth of knowledge and extensive research. Campbell is the Professor of International Business at Duke University and is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2016 he serv...

For decades, owning a home has been seen as a hallmark of the 'American dream' and a major life milestone. While we take it for granted that home ownership is good, we make the argument in today's episode that, from the perspective of subjective well-being, owning a home isn't necessarily the key to happiness. This conversation covers the non-financial aspects of homeownership and why owning a hom...

Today's conversation is an extremely enlightened and highly detailed one, that you may want to return to, in order to accrue all of its value. We host John Cochrane, an economist specializing in financial economics and macroeconomics. John has a popular blog and podcast called The Grumpy Economist and also hosts the GoodFellows Podcast. He is a Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoo...

Today we have a somewhat unique episode for all of our listeners, rounding up the news and information from the world of finance and investment before we welcome Ben Rabidoux back to the show. Ben was a guest on Episode 96, which aired early during the pandemic last year, and we are so happy to have him here for another appearance, to touch in with his real estate expertise, and his thoughts on th...

In many episodes of this podcast we refer to the psychological component of investing, and today we are very happy to host a global authority on the subject and share an absolute masterclass about behavioural psychology as it relates to our finances and the decisions we make. We welcome Professor Hersh Shefrin to the show, who is the author of many books including the seminal  Beyond Greed and Fea...

In this week's episode, Cameron and Benjamin share what's on their mind and delve into listener questions on subjects ranging from the CAPE ratio to how to go about changing someone's mind. Tuning in you'll get a preview of some of the formidable guests featured on future episodes, like John Cochrane and Hersh Shefrin. We also cover book recommendations and unpack the concept of libertarian patern...

The evergreen subject of retirement planning is something that we prioritize here at the Rational Reminder Podcast, and today we have a very interesting conversation in which we explore the topic from a slightly different perspective. We are joined by Gordon Irlam, who is a notable researcher with a wealth of experience from the world of tech and beyond. We have the chance to ask Gordon about bond...

Today's episode is the first that takes a new format we are piloting, where we compile clips from the most valuable conversations we have had in different episodes on a given topic. To kick it all off we will be devoting this episode to inflation-adjusted retirement spending and the nuances of the 4% rule. We start off with a clip from our conversation with Bill Bengen, creator of the 4% rule, whe...

Even among rational investors with diversified portfolios, there seems to be less known about the inner workings of the bond portion of their investments. Here on the show today to help us get a better understanding of fixed income investments is none other than Dave Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income at Dimensional Fund Advisors. Dave is one of the authorities on the subject of bonds and is amaz...

Today our main topic expands on a recent episode in which we talked about what constitutes good financial advice, and here we look at how to go about finding the kind of advice that you want and need. It is one thing to know what it is, but that does mean it is straightforward to locate an advisor or firm that provides it. After our opening salvo of some media recommendations and a review of the f...

Today we are so happy to welcome the amazing Katy Milkman to the show. Katy is the author of the impressive and inspiring new book,  How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,  and in this episode, we get the inside scoop from her about her work, with specific attention to how it can be applied to investment and finances. Emerging from an engineering backgrou...

Today we get the chance to take some very interesting listener questions and dig into fascinating findings on day trading in 2020. To kick things off we have a quick review of Simon Sinek's insightful new book,  The Infinite Game  before rounding up some of the news from the investing space. Then it's time to tackle a number of questions from a member of our thriving community and break down some...

The work of Bill Schultheis has had a profound effect on us here at the Rational Reminder Podcast, and eventually having him join us on the show is truly an honour! Bill is the author of the  Coffeehouse Investor  series and is currently the Principal and Senior Advisor at Soundmark, in Kirkland, Washington. Throughout his career Bill has dedicated himself to helping his clients make the choices t...

Welcome back to another episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, where we give you the most considered and evidence-based information about investing in Canada. Our focus for this episode is the topic of tax loss harvesting, a subject we have touched on before but felt warranted a revisit, with some updates. To kick off the show, we review  Playing to Win , looking at the illuminating perspective...

Today we welcome Rob Arnott to the show! Rob is the founder of Research Affiliates and is a prolific writer who has published hundreds of articles for many different journals. We know firsthand, the power of Rob's work, and how it can alter the way you think about investing, and this depth of knowledge, coupled with his ability to make complex topics understandable makes him a dream guest for us!...

The looming issue of climate change has far-reaching implications, not least of which are relevant to the financial and investment world. Today we spend some time considering these impacts, with a focus on the question of whether climate risk is a priced investment. The short answer, conferred by the numerous academic explorations into the subject, is yes. This answer, however, still leaves invest...

One of the major topics we hope to help our listeners with is retirement planning, and today we have a really informative and illuminating conversation with a true expert in the field, Don Ezra. His approach is typified by his focus on retirement and happiness, and their important intersection, subjects he has broached in his many published books, notably  Life Two,  and  Happiness.  Don is a self...

Welcome back to another episode of the sensible money show. The focus this week is the age-old question of housing; whether to buy or to rent. After our preliminary remarks, book review, and a new TV recommendation, we get down to brass tacks on the important things to look at when assessing your living situation. There are some commonly held views on the expenses and sacrifices associated with re...

Today we speak to Professor Johanna Peetz about how the errors people make about predicting their futures affect financial planning and relationships. Professor Peetz is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Carleton University and her three main research interests are time perception, personal spending, and close relationships. We kick the conversation off on the topic of biased spending estima...

Welcome back to your favourite Canadian podcast about sensible investing! Today we are focusing on evaluating equity strategies and wondering aloud whether you should be chasing these anomalies, thinking about the costs and turnover, and how these products are being implemented. These are just some of the important questions that can be asked on this subject, and we do our best to cover the most v...

There is an overarching investment philosophy that permeates most of what we do here at the Rational Reminder Podcast, and while some guests' positions might differ at times, it is rare that we have someone on the show whose approach is as strongly contrasted with ours, as Professor Brad Cornell. Professor Cornell's arguments are so well-founded and researched that they require a re-examination of...