Hosts Ben Felix and Cameron Passmore welcome Harvard Business School senior lecturer Randy Cohen and Simplify Asset Management’s Mike Green for an in-depth debate about passive investing’s impact on financial markets. They explore whether the rise of index funds and target date funds poses systemic risks, discussing market efficiency, price elasticity, and implications for investors.

Whether you’re trying to understand the mechanics of passive investing or evaluating potential market risks, this episode provides a balanced debate between two leading thinkers with contrasting views on one of today’s most important market structure questions.

Key Points From This Episode:

(0:00:15) Introduction and context setting from Cameron and Ben

(0:06:03) Defining passive investing and discussion of current market share (estimated 45%)

(0:16:10) Mike Green’s critical concerns about the rise of passive investing

(0:28:11) Debate on target date funds and their impact on market stability

(0:54:57) Analysis of elasticity, valuations, and market structure

(1:24:33) Discussion of forward market returns and investment implications

(1:36:00) Practical implications for individual investors

(1:44:38) Examining why many experts seem unconcerned about passive risks

(1:50:56) Concluding thoughts on market valuations and policy implications

Participate in our Community Discussion about this Episode:

https://community.rationalreminder.ca/t/episode-332-randolph-cohen-michael-green-how-concerned-should-we-be-about-index-funds/33291

Links From Today’s Episode:

Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p

Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582.

Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/

Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/

Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemind

Rational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder

Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/

Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.ca

Cameron Passmore — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/

Cameron on X — https://x.com/CameronPassmore

Cameron on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronpassmore/

Benjamin Felix — https://www.pwlcapital.com/author/benjamin-felix/

Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix

Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/

Randy Cohen on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/randolph-cohen-ph-d-49a52410b/

Mike Green on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-green-9a15142/

About The Author

Cameron Passmore

Cameron Passmore has been a leading advocate for evidence-based, systemic investing for over 20 years in the Ottawa area. Today, Cameron and his team serve a broad range of affluent clients across Canada.