Answering Your Financial Questions | Rational Reminder 414

Meet with PWL Capital: https://pages.pwlcapital.com/en-ca/co... Avoid Online Scams: https://pwlcapital.com/stay-safe-online/ Ben Wilson on the Growth Through Acquisition Podcast:    • Building A $50B Wealth Management Firm | E...   In this episode, Ben Felix and Ben Wilson tackle a wide range of listener questions covering portfolio construction, home-country bias, currency exposure, ETF selection, retirement decumulation, leasing versus buying a car, discounted cash flow valuations, and the real work of portfolio management. Along the way, they revisit the Rational Reminder model portfolios, discuss how new products like CAGE have changed the DIY investing landscape, and explore whether Warren Buffett’s long-term record still provides evidence that active management can outperform. The conversation also offers a behind-the-scenes look at PWL Capital’s planning-centric approach to wealth management and why helping clients make better financial decisions often matters more than portfolio construction itself. Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:07:43 Main Topic: Answering Your Financial Questions 0:07:45 Q1: Ask Ben Felix if he still agrees with the Rational Reminder Portfolio from the past or if he would modify it and how would he modify it if he did. 0:11:37 Q2: For a US-based investor, what are your thoughts on underweighing the US relative to its market cap? I.e., instead of 65%, how about 50%? 0:20:49 Q3: In decumulation, would you use an asset allocation ETF such as vbal? Or break up the stock and bond allocation so that you could avoid selling stocks when they're down? 0:24:19 Q4: You have talked in the past about leasing a car instead of buying it and that (some of) you preferred it. Could you discuss this in more detail? Is it a financially smart decision or purely a luxury? 0:30:32 Q5: USD is one of the strongest currencies in the world and seems like the gap between CAD and USD has grown over the last decade. Would you recommend holding some stocks in USD in a RRSP where the tax treaty exemption is in place? 0:35:24 Q6: If DFA products weren’t available to you, would you then rather use an Avantis ETF like AVGE or a market cap fund like VT? 0:36:54 Q7: Are there any widely used etfs you would stay away from and why? 0:44:29 Q8: Do DCF valuations provide any useful information? 0:47:37 Q9: What does the typical day on the job as a portfolio manager at PWL look like, and how does it differ from a hypothetical manager who works at a run-of-the-mill financial services firm? 1:07:12 Q10: Clarifying statements from Episode 335 "What About Warren Buffett?" 1:14:08 Aftershow 1:24:01 Disclaimer Links From Today’s Episode: Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/t.... Rational Reminder on Instagram —   / rationalreminder   Rational Reminder on YouTube —    / channel   Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn —   / benjaminwfelix