Dec 24, 2020
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]