Uncertainty is the price of admission
This year, the headlines have been tough to tune out: tariffs, conflict in the Middle East, stubborn inflation, and rising U.S. interest rates. None of this is new. Over the past century, markets have come through depressions, wars and a pandemic, carried forward by the same thing every time: people finding better ways to do things.
In Stay Calm, David Booth shows that uncertainty isn't something to wait out—it's part of why investors are rewarded for staying in the market. In this session, he'll explain what that means for your portfolio, what it takes to hold steady through the ups and downs, and why investing is the ultimate expression of optimism.
Inside the conversation
A Century of Progress
What markets weathered between 1926 and 2025, and why human ingenuity drives long-term returns
Making Peace with the Unknown
Why the unexpected can't be planned away, and why it is the reason markets pay investors for the risk they take
Process Over Prediction
Why a plan you can stick with matters more than the next forecast, and how to focus on what you can control
Fifty Years of Evidence
From the first index funds of the 1970s to today: what research on markets has taught investors, and why it still holds
Tuning Out the Noise
Why headlines make a poor guide for investment decisions, and how to keep your eyes on the field, not the scoreboard
Guest Speaker
David Booth is the founder and chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors. After studying under Nobel laureate Eugene Fama at the University of Chicago, he joined Wells Fargo in 1971, where he worked on one of the first index funds. Ten years later, he started Dimensional from a spare room in his Brooklyn apartment, built on the idea that academic research on how markets work should shape the way people invest. Stay Calm is his first book.
Stay Calm
You can't predict markets—or life. But you can build a plan that's ready for whatever comes. Drawing on over fifty years in investing, David Booth explains how markets work and why patience, diversification, and discipline serve investors better than reacting to the news.
The first 250 Canadian residents to register to the webinar will receive a copy of the book.
Your Hosts
Cameron Passmore
Cameron Passmore is chief executive officer at PWL Capital and co-host of the Rational Reminder podcast, which he launched with Ben Felix in 2018. Each week, the show brings evidence-based thinking to investing, financial decisions and living a good life.
Benjamin Felix
Ben Felix is chief investment officer at PWL Capital, co-host of the Rational Reminder podcast and creator of a popular YouTube finance channel, where he explains the research behind sound investing decisions. He is a CFA charterholder and a CFP professional.
Portfolio Management and brokerage services are offered by PWL Capital Inc., which is regulated by Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
Financial planning and insurance products are offered by PWL Advisors Inc., and is regulated in Ontario by Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) and in Quebec by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). PWL Advisors Inc. is not a member of CIPF.