The Rational Reminder Podcast – Episode 357: AMA #6 (May 15, 2025)

Hosts: Benjamin Felix, Cameron Passmore
Special Mention: Dan Bortolotti (absent), occasional references

Episode Overview

This sixth AMA episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast features hosts Benjamin Felix and Cameron Passmore answering listener questions on investing, financial planning, and personal finance. With an open, conversational tone, the hosts cover behind-the-scenes podcast production, major financial pitfalls, the evolution at PWL post-OneDigital integration, technical tools, behavioral finance, and some deeply personal moments.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Life at PWL after OneDigital (03:29–08:24)

• Integration and Growth:

  • The merger with OneDigital resulted in greater reach and resources, but the core values, team, and daily operations at PWL have remained unchanged.
  • Cameron: "We still live in a mission driven, client obsessed world. We're just doing it now with more horsepower, more support, more people to lean on." (03:44)
  • New opportunities are arising, allowing them to build better tools and reach more clients while maintaining independence in philosophy and operations.

• Comparing Canadian Firms:

  • PWL's “oneness” approach (unified planning, investment philosophy, and teamwork) is unique in Canada, contrasting with so-called “Franken firms,” where each advisor has completely independent practices.

• Positive Cultural Shifts:

  • Attending the OneDigital annual summit demonstrated a supportive, non-corporate culture.

Notable Quote

"The people we work with at OneDigital are absolutely nothing short of amazing. They are not taking us over from a day to day thou shalt do this at all." — Cameron (04:23)

2. Behind the Scenes: Podcast Production (09:06–18:44)

• Production Workflow:

  • Episodes are minimally edited (unless required by guests or hosts).
  • Audio is sped up by 10% compared to video due to listener preferences for faster pacing.
  • Canadian company, The Podcast Consultant, handles audio editing; Matt (in-house) manages video editing.

• Team Effort:

  • Podcast involves hosts, editors, admin (Stephanie, Angelica), compliance, and guests.

• Content Creation Flow:

  • Content is both reactive (answering listener/advisor questions, current events) and proactive (deep dives on topics, research).
  • No master editorial calendar: ideas are fluid, often emerging from client interactions or new research.

Notable Quotes

"We always tell guests when we're recording, we can edit whatever you want. But it's very, very rare for a guest to say, I want to edit that." — Benjamin (09:29)

"A lot of people might think there's this master editorial plan... That is not the case — it's far more organic and fluid and chaotic than that." — Cameron (14:44)

3. Personal Investment Behavior: Do Advisors Ever Gamble? (19:29–24:25)

• Neither host has an appetite for individual stock-picking, crypto speculation, or “fun money” gambling. Both maintain highly disciplined, systematic portfolios.

• Ben recounts his early years with some active mutual funds (before learning the evidence), and minor private investments for supporting friends — but none for gambling.

Notable Quotes

"Zero. For me, the only public markets investments I've ever made are a CIBC active mutual fund... then switched to dimensional funds when I came to PWL and haven’t looked back since." — Benjamin (19:38)

"You can't unhear the message after we've been immersed in this for so long. But it's a combination of hearing that message and believing in it." — Cameron (22:19)

4. Has Investing Been “Solved”? (24:25–28:59)

• Big Picture: For the majority, broad market indexing at low cost is a sufficient “solution.” Remaining challenges are mainly behavioral — not technical or academic.

• Human Behavior Is the X-Factor:

  • Most mistakes come from poor emotional responses and chasing stories, not from picking the “wrong” fund.

• Ongoing Academic Debate:

  • Numerous competing theories still exist regarding market drivers, asset pricing, and factor investing.

Notable Quotes

"Investing isn't literally solved. It functionally is, maybe, but there are mechanical ways that [index funds] are suboptimal." — Benjamin (26:01)

"What's not been solved is human behavior... Even though the variability may not change, the story always changes and the stories seem to always be scarier." — Cameron (25:21)

5. Market Timing and High Valuations: Rational Strategies? (30:13–34:19)

• Dynamic Asset Allocation:
  • Discussing Victor Haghani & James White (Ep. 270) and the “Merton share” approach — theoretically suggests adjusting equity exposure as expected returns fluctuate.
  • But, practically, neither host supports changing allocations at market highs or based on valuations, noting empirical evidence shows buying at highs is not reliably worse than other times.

Notable Quotes

"All-time highs are relatively common... Investing at all time highs has historically not led to worse returns than investing at all other times." — Benjamin (33:05)

"If you do [market time], make it very rules-based if you can because you have the risk of becoming overconfident, especially if you get the first one right." — Cameron (33:55)

6. Capital Gains Tax Uncertainty: Recent Canadian Developments (34:20–36:01)

• Tax Planning Lessons:
  • Recent proposals to change the capital gains inclusion rate for corporations vs individuals created temporary, complex planning scenarios — now essentially moot after revisions.
  • Ben notes the unpredictability of policy and the risk of making major decisions based on anticipated rule changes.

7. Bank Incentives and Lending Constraints (36:01–38:00)

• Banks face regulatory capital ratio constraints, risk of insolvency, reputational costs, and the bottom-line impact of defaults. While wild lending can (and has) happened, these controls generally limit excessive risk-taking.

8. Most Costly Personal Finance Mistakes (38:03–40:13)

• Biggest Mistakes Identified:

  • Not investing or underinvesting.
  • Taking on too little or the wrong kind of risk.
  • Lack of a plan or goals.
  • Divorce as a significant, sometimes unavoidable, financial shock.

• Having a Clear “Why”:

  • Planning and goal definition are critical, but often overlooked.

Notable Quote

"So few people, I think, have a financial plan. So few people have a will." — Cameron (39:54)

9. Why Not Offer Advice-Only for DIY Investors? (40:17–43:49)

• History: Dan and Justin previously offered a fee-only platform for DIY clients but discontinued it due to overwhelming demand and client realization of the complexity involved.

• PWL’s Position:

  • With ample demand for their full-service AUM-based business, and operational focus, advice-only isn't their current priority — though they continue to reflect on it.

Notable Quotes

"Once people realized what went into doing the kind of work they were doing, they're like, can you just do it all for me?" — Cameron (41:47)

"It's not just that we don’t have excess capacity... if we went and hired somebody to fill them up with something other than our core business, it wouldn’t make sense for us." — Benjamin (43:07)

10. Nerdy Excel/AI Tricks in Finance (44:15–46:59)

• Ben’s Favorite Excel Trick: Using NORM.INV with RAND for Monte Carlo simulations; with simple Visual Basic code, can generate thousands of return paths for portfolio simulations — an essential tool for financial modeling.

• Cameron’s Current Focus: Shifting from Excel to using ChatGPT and other AI tools for synthesizing information and preparing for meetings.

Notable Quotes

"You can use that to create a simulated time series of returns, randomized returns that are normally distributed... pretty simple." — Benjamin (45:19)

"I'm just proud of myself for spending considerable amount of time in ChatGPT and another AI tool that we've been using here. I know it's not Excel, but I'm really starting to build that habit." — Cameron (46:47)

11. Listener Review and Reflections on Social Media Use (48:25–52:14)

• Listener Feedback: Appreciation for the podcast’s positive, non-sensational tone and utility.
• Cameron's Social Media Detox: Cameron details quitting Twitter, Facebook, Instagram post–US election, highlighting regained time, peace, and mental clarity.

12. Personal Story: Testicular Cancer and Listener Impact (52:30–55:52)

• Listener Reaches Out: Ben shares a powerful message from a listener who, after hearing Ben’s testimony about testicular cancer, got checked and caught his own case early. The conversation underscores the ripple impact of personal stories shared publicly.
• Gratitude for the Healthcare System and Medical Community: Ben and Cameron discuss the importance of medical support and peer advice during health crises.

Notable Quote

"I truly think your story caused me to see my doctor weeks or months earlier than I otherwise would have. So thanks for sharing." — Listener to Ben (53:16)

Key Quotes (With Timestamps)

• "We still live in a mission driven, client obsessed world. We're just doing it now with more horsepower, more support, more people to lean on." — Cameron (03:45)
• "It's far more organic and fluid and chaotic than that." — Cameron, on podcast content planning (14:44)
• "I have no desire to add to that or hunt for that kind of exposure... Zero." — Benjamin (21:18)
• "What's not been solved is human behavior. People are messy, markets are messy, markets are noisy." — Cameron (25:21)
• "Investing at all time highs has historically not led to worse returns than investing at all other times." — Benjamin (33:05)
• "So few people, I think, have a financial plan. So few people have a will." — Cameron (39:54)
• "You can't unhear the message after we've been immersed in this for so long." — Cameron (22:08)
• "Thank you for sharing your story about testicular cancer... it motivated me to quickly get things checked out." — Listener email, read by Ben (53:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:53 – Reflections on multi-host format and team changes
• 03:29 – Changes at PWL after joining OneDigital
• 09:06 – Making the podcast: process, editing, team effort
• 19:29 – Personal investment discipline and “fun money”
• 24:25 – Has investing been solved? The behavioral challenge
• 30:13 – Rational timing of equity investments at market highs
• 34:20 – Recent changes (and rollbacks) to capital gains tax in Canada
• 36:01 – How banks are constrained from creating bad debt
• 38:03 – Most costly mistakes in personal finance
• 40:17 – Why not offer advice-only for DIYers?
• 44:15 – Nerdy Excel tricks and role of AI
• 48:25 – Listener review, feedback, social media
• 52:30 – Impactful listener correspondence on health advocacy

Memorable Moments

• Ben and Cameron’s honest confessions about their personal investment histories and strict adherence to disciplined, evidence-based investing (19:29–21:41).
• Listener email about early cancer detection thanks to Ben’s openness (53:16).
• Discussion on podcast content genesis — dismissing the myth of editorial calendars (14:44).
• Reflections on leaving social media for mental well-being and productivity gains (51:54–52:14).

Tone and Language

The episode remains candid, conversational, and direct — mixing technical knowledge, practical experience, humor (“other people’s testicles”), and personal reflections with an affable, supportive attitude toward listeners and each other.

Summary

Episode 357 of the Rational Reminder Podcast continues its tradition of thoughtful, evidence-based dialogue on investing and personal finance, while also inviting listeners into the lived experiences and behind-the-scenes workings of PWL’s team. With equal parts rigor and relatability, Ben and Cameron reinforce the importance of behavior over technical optimization, the enduring value of community (both in finance and health), and the truth that even the most "rational" among us are always learning — and occasionally sharing life-changing stories along the way.