Ben Felix

Who Is Ben Felix?

Ben Felix — born November 2, 1988, in Ottawa, Ontario — is the Canadian portfolio manager, co-host of the Rational Reminder podcast, and YouTube creator whose evidence-based investing content has built one of the most academically rigorous financial education channels on the platform: a community of investors whose decision-making draws directly from peer-reviewed finance research rather than market punditry, stock-picking speculation, or the financial entertainment that dominates mainstream investment content. His role at PWL Capital — the Ottawa-based fee-only financial advisory firm whose evidence-based investment philosophy aligns with academic finance research on market efficiency, factor investing, and the systematic disadvantages of active fund management — gives his content the specific credibility of an actively practicing professional whose investment advice is inseparable from his professional obligations: he manages real portfolios for real clients using the same evidence-based framework his YouTube content explains and defends. The Rational Reminder podcast — hosted with colleague Cameron Passmore and featuring interviews with academic finance researchers, behavioral economists, and professional investors — extends his evidence base beyond YouTube into the long-form conversation format that the analytically serious investor demographic finds most intellectually satisfying. Brand partnerships with Wealthsimple (the Canadian robo-advisor and online brokerage whose fee structure, passive investment philosophy, and Canadian market positioning make it the natural commercial partner for an evidence-based investment creator whose audience has explicitly rejected the high-fee active management that Wealthsimple's low-cost model challenges), Questrade (the Canadian discount brokerage whose self-directed investing platform serves the DIY investor demographic that Ben Felix's content specifically enables through financial education), and PWL Capital (his own employer, whose fee-only advisory model and evidence-based investment philosophy his entire YouTube presence embodies) reflect the commercial profile of the serious evidence-based investor: the low-cost brokerage platform, the robo-advisor that implements passive strategies without human bias, and the professional advisory firm that serves the investor who wants professional implementation of the academic investing framework.

His audience's specific characteristic is the analytically serious investor aged 25–50 — often Canadian but with significant international reach — whose genuine investment in evidence-based finance education and the specific academic rigor that Ben Felix's portfolio manager background provides produces above-average commercial engagement with low-cost brokerage platforms, passive investment vehicles, and the professional financial advisory services that the evidence-based investor's portfolio management requirements drive at rates that financial entertainment content without equivalent academic credibility cannot achieve.

Origins: Ottawa 2018, PWL Capital & The Academic Finance Investing Format

Ben Felix launched his YouTube channel while working at PWL Capital — the Ottawa fee-only financial planning and portfolio management firm that practices the evidence-based investment philosophy his content explains — building from the beginning on the specific credibility advantage that an actively practicing professional holds over the financial commentators, stock analysts, and investment entertainers who dominate YouTube's finance content: he recommends what he actually does with client portfolios, governed by the professional obligations and fiduciary standards that commissioned financial advisors do not face. His content topics — factor investing's historical premium over market-cap weighting, the systematic reasons why active fund management underperforms passive investing after fees, the cognitive biases that cause retail investors to make systematically poor decisions, the specific claims that investment products make that academic finance research does not support — are drawn directly from the academic finance literature whose peer review standards his journalism-adjacent analytical approach applies to every video's central claim. The Rational Reminder podcast, launched with Cameron Passmore, extended his reach into the long-form interview format that lets him explore academic finance research at depth with the researchers whose work his YouTube videos summarize: direct conversations with Eugene Fama, Cliff Asness, and other researchers whose work on efficient markets, factor premiums, and behavioral finance provides the evidentiary foundation his investment philosophy rests on. Wealthsimple's Canadian robo-advisor partnership reflects the specific alignment between a passive investing advocate and the platform that implements evidence-based investing for the Canadian retail investor whose financial education has reached the point where they understand why passive beats active but want a low-cost implementation vehicle that doesn't require the self-directed brokerage competence his most advanced viewers have.^[1]

Investing Community & Evidence-Based Finance Audience

Ben Felix's audience represents the analytically serious investor whose genuine investment in academic finance education and evidence-based portfolio construction produces above-average commercial engagement with Wealthsimple's passive investment platform, Questrade's self-directed brokerage, and PWL Capital's professional fee-only advisory — the three commercial categories that the evidence-based retail investor's portfolio management approach most directly requires, ranging from fully automated passive implementation to self-directed low-cost brokerage to professional advisory for the investor whose portfolio complexity warrants it. Wealthsimple, Questrade, and PWL Capital partnerships reflect the commercial alignment between Canada's most academically rigorous investing educator and the robo-advisor, discount brokerage, and fee-only advisory brands whose customer acquisition depends on the financial education investment that Ben Felix's content specifically provides.^[2]

Brand Deals & Evidence-Based Finance Creator Economics

Ben Felix's estimated brand deal rate is $8,000–$25,000 per YouTube placement, with Wealthsimple, Questrade, and PWL Capital representing the Canadian robo-advisor, self-directed brokerage, and fee-only advisory commercial portfolio that his portfolio manager credibility and academic finance education authority supports. His active professional practice at PWL Capital and the analytically serious investor audience his evidence-based content attracts produce passive investment platform adoption, brokerage account conversion, and professional advisory consultation rates that financial entertainment content without equivalent academic finance credentials cannot achieve for the low-cost investing brands targeting the evidence-based retail investor. For creator rate benchmarks, see our influencer pricing guide and brand deal negotiation guide.

Related Creators

Ben Felix's academic finance investing framework and the specific peer-reviewed research credibility that his PWL Capital portfolio manager role provides represents the most rigorous evidence-based investing content in the Canadian YouTube creator ecosystem: the Wealthsimple, Questrade, and PWL Capital partnerships that carry the specific weight of professional fiduciary obligation because Ben Felix's investment recommendations are governed by the same standards that apply to the client portfolios he manages — a commercial credibility position that no financial entertainment creator, however popular, can occupy without the professional credential that it requires.

For rates and benchmarks in this creator category, see our finance influencer pricing guide.

Sources

1. 1 Globe and Mail Personal Finance -- Ben Felix and the Rational Reminder: How an Ottawa Portfolio Manager's Academic Finance YouTube Channel Changed the Evidence-Based Investing Conversation for Canadian Retail Investors Who Had Been Underserved by Market Commentary and Stock-Picking Content (2021)
2. 2 Wealthsimple Creator Partnership -- Evidence-Based Investing Education and Passive Platform Adoption: Why Academically Credentialed Finance Creators Whose Recommendations Are Grounded in Peer-Reviewed Research Drive Robo-Advisor Platform Conversion at Rates That Financial Entertainment Without Equivalent Academic Rigor Cannot Achieve for the Serious Canadian Retail Investor (2020)

Frequently Asked Questions

Ben Felix — Official Social Media & Links

All accounts below are the verified official profiles for Ben Felix. Follower counts are approximate and updated periodically.