99. Ben Felix - Rational Investing, Market Efficiency & Building Wealth the Smart Way

This week, I’m joined by Ben Felix, Chief Investment Officer at PWL Capital and co-host of the Rational Reminder podcast. Ben is best known in the FIRE community for his YouTube channel, which has nearly 500K subscribers and features insights on investing, financial decision-making, and living a good life. Ben is one of the clearest voices in evidence-based investing. His work breaks down complex financial ideas into straightforward, data-driven insights that help investors cut through the noise. It’s a masterclass in rational investing, delivered by one of the best in the game.

In this conversation, we cover:

• The truth about "beating" or timing the market (00:13:06)
• Why market efficiency matters more than most investors think (00:24:41)
• How to think about asset allocation and your own risk tolerance (00:49:26)
• Why chasing dividends might not be the smartest path to FIRE (00:56:55)
• What a realistic safe withdrawal rate looks like today (01:07:52)

Links

• Website - PWL Capital
• Website - Rational Reminder
• YouTube - Ben Felix
• Podcast - Rational Reminder

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast