Meet with PWL Capital: https://pages.pwlcapital.com/en-ca/contact-us?utm_source=content&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=rationalreminder_yt Avoid Online Scams https://pwlcapital.com/stay-safe-online/ Ben Felix or any PWL employee will never reach out to you on social media platforms or WhatsApp to give financial advice. These are scammers trying to commit fraud. In this episode, we are joined by Ben Carlson, Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of Risk & Reward, for a wide-ranging conversation about market history, investor psychology, and the realities of long-term investing. Ben brings his trademark blend of data-driven thinking and plainspoken storytelling to topics like market crashes, inflation, diversification, and why investors are so tempted to time the market. We explore the lessons from Japan’s historic asset bubble, the lingering impact of the Great Depression, and why diversification remains one of the few true free lunches in investing. Ben also explains the difference between volatility and risk, why the stock market is not the economy, and how investor behavior—not market performance—is often the biggest determinant of success. Along the way, we discuss inflation hedges, lost decades, speculative behavior, and the psychological challenge of staying invested through inevitable downturns. Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:03:49 How worried people should be about investing at all time highs 0:04:50 Describing the Japanese counterexample 0:07:33 The worst market crashes in history 0:09:05 What tends to happen after a crash 0:10:32 The best ways to manage the risk of a stock portfolio 0:11:37 How Ben thinks people can "win" at investing 0:12:23 How problematic inflation is for long-term investors 0:13:48 The best inflation hedges for most households 0:16:11 Why market timing is so tempting for people 0:17:36 The most important concept in investing 0:19:02 How bad the 1929 market crash and accompanying economic depression was 0:22:08 The main lessons for investors from that crash 0:24:15 How recessionary and non-recessionary bear markets tend to differ 0:25:37 How volatility changes during bear markets 0:27:15 How people should prepare for bear markets 0:29:20 What investors need to understand about the relationship between the stock market and the economy 0:33:02 The difference between volatility and risk 0:34:47 Why a casino is a bad analogy for the stock market 0:39:10 How severe Japan's everything bubble was leading up to 1990 0:40:55 How bad Japan's long-term returns are 0:41:59 The investing lessons from Japan's bubble 0:44:22 How common lost decades in the U.S. stock market are 0:48:09 The best way to avoid getting clobbered by a lost decade in a stock market 0:49:19 What the "perfect portfolio" looks like 0:50:29 The top ten ways to lose money in the stock market 0:52:02 Ben C's top 20 beliefs about investing (The highlights) 0:54:29 Ben C defines success in his life 0:55:43 Disclaimer Links From Today’s Episode: Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/ Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/