Investopoly
Investopoly is a twice-weekly personal finance podcast hosted by Stuart Wemyss, a tax adviser, financial adviser and mortgage broker, and Campbell Wallace, a senior financial adviser. Each week listeners get a main episode that deep-dives into a single wealth-building topic, plus a Q&A episode answering listener questions and real-world scenarios. The show focuses on practical, research-backed strategies, methodologies and case studies designed to help people make better financial decisions and build wealth with clarity and confidence. Episodes often build on ideas from the hosts' weekly blog, and Stuart has a forthcoming book, Wealth by Design.
Episodes
Ep 431: How much life insurance do you need: And when to cut it
Read Full Blog HereHave full cover while you’re young and it’s cheap, then cut it back as your assets grow. Income protection matters most, trauma the least.In this episode I explain how we calculate life, TPD and income protection cover, and why the final step is weighing the premium against what that money could earn if you invested it instead. I also cover:Why we always use stepped premiums rat
Q&A - ETF portfolio construction at 28: is 8.4% too low?
An 8.4% return isn’t the problem; what drove it is. I’d struggle to justify active funds and a 0.76% fee over a diversified ETF.In this listener Q&A, I explain how to judge short-term returns, why active fund outperformance rarely lasts, and why Jack probably doesn’t need to pay an adviser to run around $420,000 across super and his trust. I’d keep his family trust and gradually move his direc
Ep 430: Is financial advice worth it? What rules can't fix.
Read Full Blog HereRussell says advice adds 5.5% a year and Vanguard says 3%. A disciplined, rules-based approach captures much of that, but not all of it. I think these reports overstate things by assuming that without an adviser you'll panic, chase returns and keep changing strategy. In this episode I split the mistakes the reports cite into two groups: the ones a rules-based framework prev
Q&A - Debt recycling when you sell your home: keep the deduction
Selling your home needn’t undo debt recycling. I’d substitute the security with a term deposit or your next home to keep it deductible.In this listener Q&A I walk Dave through substitution of security and simultaneous settlements, and explain why I’d pay a little more for a flexible lender. I then answer Marcus on whether to offset an investment loan or use a high-interest savings account. On
Ep 429: How much do you need to retire & are you on track? Work it out here.
Read Full Blog HereTo spend $120k a year from age 60, you need about $3m to never touch your capital, or $2.1m if you plan to run it down to zero by 90. Most super calculators can't tell you whether you're on track, because they ignore investments held outside super, especially geared property, and they don't handle retiring before 60. In this episode, I walk through a set of tables
Q&A- Sequence of returns risk retiring early: bridging to super
Sequence-of-returns risk in early retirement is manageable with a big enough cash buffer. What I'd test is how you'll feel spending it.In this listener Q&A, I work through Michael's plan to retire at 52 and use an ETF portfolio plus three years of living expenses in an offset to cover the eight to ten years until he can access super. I also explain why I like locking in an undra
Ep 428: Why interest rates may need to stay higher for longer
Read Full Blog HereBack in 2023, Stuart argued that inflation and rates could stay higher for longer than most expected, drawing on 50 years of history showing that once inflation tops 8%, it typically takes a decade or more to settle. That call has aged well: after cutting through 2025, the RBA has already hiked three times in 2026, and underlying inflation has climbed back to 3.6% in a second wa
Q&A: Upgrade or rentvest, home equity loans, and going non-resident
Four listeners think several moves ahead. Silvia, who arrived in Australia in 2025 with a high income but low super, lays out a detailed plan: switch to variable with an offset, interest-only to preserve deductibility, build a buffer while catching up on super, and asks the deeper question: does stretching for a $1.6M blue-chip upgrade in her 40s make the household too single-point sensitive, or i
Ep 427: How to assess whether property and share markets are attractively priced
Read Full Blog HereStuart calls his approach value-aware: buying high-quality assets when they're attractively priced. Quality decides whether something is worth owning; price decides when to invest and how much. In this episode, he explains why both matter: your return comes from two engines: growth in an asset's underlying value and the uplift (or drag) as its valuation mean-reverts to
Q&A - Deploying an inheritance, selling an average property, and funding a long retirement
Four listeners at very different scales. "James," 45, describes himself as not being great with money but ready to fix that with a $480k inheritance, a high income, and 15 years to run. His head is spinning: pay off the mortgage, debt recycle, go all-in on ETFs, start an SMSF, and is property still viable over a 14–15 year horizon versus shares? Stuart brings order to the questions.Alex,
Ep 426: The do not invest list: why good investors say no
Read Full Blog HereMost investors think good investing means finding more things to say yes to: more opportunities, more asset classes, more products in the mix. Stuart argues the opposite: the people who build the most wealth over a lifetime have the discipline to say no, repeatedly, to almost everything that crosses their desk. Even the small urge to "switch up" your monthly ETF purcha
Q&A - Choosing a pension account, topping up in retirement, and offset versus debt recycling
This episode answers five detailed listener questions spanning retirement income, structure, and the offset-versus-invest decision. A listener retiring at 60 with $1.3m compares the Vanguard SpendSmart allocated pension against his current fund on fees, and asks whether a growth or balanced diversified option suits an account that will be his sole income stream. A couple in pension phase, about to
Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?
Read the blog online here. Two tax changes could materially alter how Australians own investments and use family trusts.The first is Division 119, which has already been legislated and will impose a minimum 30% tax on capital gains made after 1 July 2027. The second is a proposed minimum 30% tax on distributions from discretionary family trusts, including both income and capital gains, from 1 July
Q&A - Cash-heavy at 48, bridging to early retirement, and debt-free at 31
Four listeners at genuine turning points. "Steve," 48, with a wife of 54 and a large cash holding, knows he's too conservative and wants to move into ETFs ahead of retirement at 57, while supporting a special-needs adult child and navigating his wife's super unlocking first. How should that shape the inside-versus-outside-super split?An anonymous couple on the Mornington Penins
Ep 424: Should you hedge your international share portfolio
Read Full Blog HereIf you're following the case for going underweight Australian shares and leaning into global developed markets, you inherit a new question: what do you do about currency risk?Every international investment has two return drivers: the underlying market, and movements in the Australian dollar, and this episode is a clear-eyed guide to whether you should neutralise the second.
Q&A - Untangling a messy structure, cutting losses, and low-income investing
Three listeners wrestling with structure and second-guessing. "Marty," an Adelaide doctor who's become genuinely financially literate since engaging a planner two years ago, feels his arrangement is messier than it should be: managed funds underperforming at a 2.9% IRR, borrowed money in the trust, and a cash-flow plan he's no longer sure about. He asks whether to pause super c
Ep 423: Negative gearing deferred - heres how to manage the cash flow gap
Read Full Blog HereQuarantining negative gearing doesn't just reduce a tax benefit; it can blow a hole in an investor's cash flow. Take a property with a $30,000 annual shortfall: previously, offsetting that loss might have clawed back $12,000–$14,000 in tax, bringing the real cost to around $16,000–$18,000. Now that loss must be carried forward, potentially for 10 to 20 years, leaving t
Q&A - Super recontributions, property versus ETFs, and the grandfathering question
Four listeners bring sharp, forward-looking questions. "Tony" wonders whether super recontribution strategies, used to cut the taxable component and reduce death benefit tax, could be the next target for a budgetary hatchet, and asks for Stuart's view without giving the government any ideas.An anonymous listener, 37, mortgage-free on a rural Victorian property with $300k in cash, fe
Ep 422: Blame the 20-year growth cycle, not necessarily the Victorian government
Read Full Blog HereMelbourne has tested investors' patience like nowhere else. Its median house price has grown just 1.8% a year since early 2017, below inflation, meaning that, in real terms, property is cheaper today than it was almost a decade ago. Naturally, investors want someone to blame. But in this episode, Stuart argues the usual suspects are largely wrong.Victoria's land tax re
Q&A- Structures, debt recycling, and accessing super
Six listeners grapple with how the new tax landscape reshapes their thinking. Nick, six years into regular ETF investing, asks whether to keep his current setup or start fresh for cleaner record-keeping, and whether a trust is now worth considering mid-journey. Matthew and Michael both probe the fine print: does the "property in a company" strategy become more attractive under a 30% mini
Ep 421: Liquidity: what it really buys you
Read Full Blog HereIt's been fascinating to watch how differently asset classes have performed lately, share markets delivering strong double-digit returns while unlisted commercial property trusts and residential property in Melbourne and Sydney have struggled.But this episode isn't about which asset class wins. It's about something quietly more important: liquidity, and the option
Q&A: Company land tax, debt recycling, and building versus selling
Six listeners bring some genuinely meaty questions. Sandy digs into the technical weeds of owning property through a company—whether a discretionary trust as sole shareholder forfeits the NSW land tax threshold, and how the 25% versus 30% company tax rate applies when a capital gain lands. Prashant asks for a candid critique of his simple, four-ETF debt recycling portfolio and its cash-flow realit
Eight Rules Revisited #8- The four risks that can derail a plan
Eight Rules Revisited is a companion series to Stuart Wemyss's updated book, Wealth by Design, working through each of the original eight golden rules from his 2018 book, Investopoly, one episode at a time. In each episode, Stuart tests his 2018 thinking against eight more years of evidence and client experience, and is upfront about what has changed, what has simply sharpened, and what has h
Ep 420: Can anything make property investing attractive again after the tax changes
Read Full Blog HereWith the negative gearing and CGT changes now law, the property industry is racing to devise workarounds to keep investor interest alive. As a genuinely independent, asset-class-agnostic firm with no bias toward property, Stuart puts six of the most likely strategies under the microscope, because to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.The starting point: under the
Q&A: Deploying $800k, structuring for the future, and what to spend on a car
Four listeners at pivotal moments. "John," 55 and five years cancer-free, has $800k from selling an investment property and a detailed plan for a downsizer contribution, an experiences fund, helping both daughters into homes and one big question: will his super comfortably fund $100k a year in retirement? Stuart stress-tests the numbers and the strategy."Chris," 44, lays out a
Eight Rules Revisited #7- Own property that everyone will always want
Rule 7 in Investopoly was direct: only invest in investment-grade property. Eight years on, the core of that still holds, but Stuart has sharpened the method and genuinely changed his mind about one part of it.In this episode, he explains why Wealth by Design reframes the rule from "invest in investment-grade property" to something more demanding: own property with enduring, scarce and g
Ep 419: The best super fund for 2026? You’re asking the wrong question
You can download the full report, including the four decision flowcharts and annual review checklist, here: https://prosolution.com.au/best-super-fund-australia/Most people choose a super fund by looking at which fund produced the highest return last year. But that is the wrong question.The better question is: which investment strategy and super structure is most likely to deliver the best after-f
Q&A - Property at 49, timing the cycle, and investing through an AI downturn
Three thoughtful listeners, each already doing a lot right and looking for the sharpest next move. A 49-year-old single police officer, no mortgage, $810k in super, a growing ETF portfolio, asks the perennial question: buy an investment property, keep doing what's working, or borrow to invest further in shares? Stuart weighs the options against her plan to retire at 57.Slav returns with two c
Eight Rules Revisited #6- The ETF boom broke my rule, do I tightened it
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereGolden Rule 6 was simple: invest in the share market using low-cost index funds. Eight years on, that argument has been comprehensively won, arguably too well. Stuart charts the scale of the shift: the ASX ETF market has ballooned from 133 funds to more than 450, and from $36 billion to over $350 billion. Indexing went from contrarian to consensus.But that very boom
Ep 418: Why discipline was never going to fix your cash flow
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth by Design HereYou can't build wealth unless you spend less than you earn and invest the difference, which makes cash flow the most fundamental discipline of all. The trouble was always effort. For years, Stuart's method was to hand-categorise three months of transactions a deliberate compromise, since analysing two or three years by hand was simply unr
Q&A - Property crossroads, gearing decisions and modelling for inflation
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereFive listeners at very different life stages, each wrestling with where to direct capital next. Perth couple "Amelia and Ivan," with two investment properties and a baby on the way, weigh three distinct strategies: hold and sell later to fund a renovation, swap a townhouse for a better-taxed property, or add a third and keep them all. Stuart works through t
Eight Rules Revisited #5: The rule i got half wrong
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereThis one is different. Of all the rules in the series, Rule 5 is the first where Stuart admits he has genuinely changed his mind, not refined a nuance, but rethought the core idea.In Investopoly, he taught the textbook approach: blend negatively correlated assets to smooth out portfolio volatility, the classic diversification playbook most investors are told to follo
Ep 417: Upgrade your home or invest in shares? The numbers surprised me.
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth by Design HereFor decades, negative gearing tipped the scales toward borrowing for an investment property over spending more on your home; investment interest was deductible, home loan interest wasn't. But with negative gearing quarantined and the effective capital gains tax rate climbing from around 20% to closer to 30–35% under the post-2027 indexation re
Q&A- Can I afford to retire, renovating vs investing, and planning solo
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereThree richly detailed listener situations, three very different crossroads. First, Charles, 51, unemployed, four kids in private school, and a sprawling portfolio spanning a Singapore apartment, an SMSF, regional Queensland property, land parcels and a $500k crypto holding. His question is deceptively simple: in what order should he sell to fund a Melbourne home, and
Eight Rules Revisited #4: The perpetual portfolio- growing your wealth while you spend it
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereIn this episode, Stuart revisits Golden Rule 4 and admits that half of it has changed. In Investopoly, the advice was to build your asset base, then tilt toward income as retirement approached. Wealth by Design confirms the first half but overturns the second. Here's why.Stuart makes the case that the real objective isn't income at all; it's after-tax
Ep 416: Is established residential property still worth investing in?
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth by Design HereWith the government's changes to established residential property now looking likely to become law, the investment case has fundamentally shifted, and those who try to ignore it will be exposed. In this episode, we unpack why quarantining negative gearing losses hits investors so hard: the asset costs materially more to hold each year, yet cap
Q&A- Debt recycling, the six-year rule, and exiting your financial planner
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereIn this mailbag episode, we tackle five listener questions spanning some of the trickiest decisions in personal finance. A Brisbane couple in their mid-forties, with strong super balances and a plan to knock down and rebuild, ask whether to ease off super contributions to kill debt faster or keep compounding inside the lower-tax environment and whether debt recycling
Eight Rules Revisited #3: Build a savings engine that runs on autopilot
Pre-order Wealth By Design HereEpisode three of Eight Rules Revisited continues the Thursday series comparing the eight golden rules from Investopoly with the updated versions in Wealth by Design, released 28 July.Rule 3 — spend less than you earn and invest the difference- is one of the most straightforward principles in personal finance. It is also one of the most reliably ignored. The rule itse
Ep 415: Tax grabs dressed up as housing policy: what investors need to know
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth By Design HereBoth Houses have passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. Royal Assent is pending but considered a formality. For investors, property owners, business owners, and superannuation members, the changes are substantial, and the details matter enormously.This blog provides a clear, technical breakdown of what the legislation actu
Q&A: Inheritance, relationship uncertainty, and the property timing question
Pre-order Wealth By Design HereThis episode brings together six listener questions that each involve a meaningful financial decision and, in several cases, significant personal uncertainty alongside significant financial capacity.The first comes from a couple in their late thirties who received a substantial inheritance, now holding $3.6m in cash alongside a share portfolio and three properties. T
Eight Rules Revisited #2: Your freedom number has 3 levers
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereEpisode two of Eight Rules Revisited continues the Thursday series comparing the eight golden rules from Stuart's 2018 book Investopoly with the updated versions in his new book, Wealth by Design, released on 28 July.Rule 2 states that you must know how much income you need and by when. That principle hasn't moved. What has tightened considerably is everyth
Ep 414: The 4 decisions that determine 95% of your financial outcome
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth by Design HereMost people assume building wealth requires making hundreds of good financial decisions. In reality, a small number of choices do almost all of the heavy lifting, and this episode identifies exactly which ones.The first is the choice of partner, arguably the most important financial decision a person will make. Alignment on spending, saving, and in
Q&A: Inheritance windfalls, home upgrades, and capital efficiency
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereThis episode brings together four listener scenarios united by a common theme: significant financial capacity, but genuine uncertainty about which move to make next and in what order.The first comes from a Sydney couple earning $540k who feel house-poor despite their income carrying a $1.9m mortgage on a home bought partly for its duplex potential, with a medium land
Eight Rules Revisited #1 - The risk nobody warns you about
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereThis episode is the first in Eight Rules Revisited, a Thursday series running alongside the regular podcast. Each week, I take one of the eight golden rules from my 2018 book Investopoly and compare it with the version in my new book, Wealth by Design, out on 28 July. Some rules have changed, some have tightened, and some have simply been confirmed by eight more year
Ep 413 : What financial advisers really do with their own money
Read Full Blog HerePre-order Wealth by Design HereFinancial advisers often manage their own money quite differently from the clients they advise. After more than two decades of observing both groups up close, those differences have become a reliable indicator of what genuinely good financial decision-making looks like in practice.In this episode, Stuart shares nine observations drawn from that exp
Q&A - Housing wealth in retirement, super timing, and the 20-year plan
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereThis episode brings together four listener questions united by a common challenge: knowing which lever to pull next when the financial position is solid but the path forward feels unclear.The first comes from a retiree who connected with a recent episode on underspending in retirement, but raises a dimension that wasn't covered how to factor substantial debt-fre
Ep 412: Beware: Commercial property values look stretched
Read Full Blog HerePre- Order Wealth By Design HereCommercial property is being actively promoted as a compelling alternative to residential investment, particularly as higher interest rates reduce borrowing capacity and tighter tenancy laws make residential property less attractive. On the surface, the pitch is appealing: higher rental yields, tenants paying most outgoings, and the potential for
Q&A - Listener scenarios unpacked: Perth timing, seven properties and no shares, and a retirement direction check
Pre-Order Wealth by Design HereThis episode brings together three listener scenarios that each involve genuinely complex financial positions, multiple moving parts, significant income, and decisions where getting the sequencing right matters enormously.The first comes from a 34-year-old specialist trainee doctor in Sydney, engaged, planning a family, and facing a highly unusual income trajectory,
Ep 411: Should you invest all your super into an internally geared ETF
Pre-order Wealth by Design HereRead Full Blog HereSuperannuation's enforced long investment horizon is one of the most underused structural advantages available to Australian investors. This blog examines whether internally geared ETFs have a role to play within super, and backs the analysis with detailed financial modelling rather than theory alone.The numbers are compelling. A 30-year-old w
Q&A - Property vs Shares: retirement sequencing, and the cash-waiting strategy
Pre-Order Wealth by Design HereThis episode brings together four listener questions that each wrestle with a different dimension of long-term wealth building, from the early decisions that set the trajectory to the late-stage sequencing that determines how comfortably retirement unfolds.The first comes from a 28-year-old physiotherapist two years into his career, carrying $1.1 million in mortgage
Ep 410: What Charlie Munger's investing checklist means for Australian investors
Pre-Order Wealth by Design HereRead Full Blog HereCharlie Munger left investors with ten principles that are deceptively simple and take a lifetime to apply well. This blog translates each one into practical, grounded guidance for Australian investors, moving beyond abstract philosophy to the specific decisions, mistakes, and behaviours that shape long-term outcomes in local property and share mar
Q&A - Starting out, scaling up, and knowing when to sell
Pre-Order Wealth by Design HereThis episode brings together five listener scenarios that span the full arc of wealth building, from a 24-year-old taking his first steps to couples approaching retirement with complex, multi-property portfolios and competing priorities.The first question comes from a 24-year-old earning $80k with $75k across shares and savings, limited borrowing capacity, and a genu
Ep 409: Super contribution strategies to consider before 30 June 2026
Read Full Blog HereWith 30 June approaching, now is the time to review your superannuation contribution options before the annual window closes. Most of the levers available inside super operate within a tight 12-month period, and several are use-it-or-lose-it; miss the deadline, and the opportunity is gone.This blog walks through 10 strategies worth considering before the end of the financial yea
Q&A - Income goals, property trade-offs, and the Division 296 unpacked
This episode brings together five listener scenarios united by a common thread: making sound financial decisions under competing pressures: income goals, asset quality, tax reform, and the desire for more time and freedom.The first comes from a couple, both aged 40, with three investment properties and a growing ETF portfolio, asking what it will take to reach $200k in net annual income and reduce
Special: From 11% to 8.4% - What the 2026 Budget does to property investment returns
This special episode is a replay of a YouTube presentation which is a calm, numbers-led walkthrough of the 2026 Federal Budget - recorded roughly 40 hours after budget night - focused on the three proposals most likely to affect investors: negative gearing, capital gains tax, and family trusts. The deliberate frame throughout is that nothing is law yet, the political debate is far from settled, an
Ep. 408: 2026 Federal Budget: Big tax changes, but do not panic yet
Register for Thursday's live event Read Full Blog HereThe 2026-27 Federal Budget included some of the most significant proposed tax changes we have seen in many years.In this episode, I unpack the key announcements affecting investors, property owners, business owners, and families, including proposed changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, and the taxation of discretionary trusts. I
Q&A - First homes, equity deployment, and SMSF unpacked
Register For Live HereThis episode brings together four listener questions that each wrestle with some of the most practical and consequential decisions in personal finance: how hard to push for a first home, where to deploy idle equity, when an SMSF makes sense, and how to identify genuinely investment-grade property in a market where houses are out of reach.A couple in their early thirties trans
Ep 407: The investors who obsess over tax often miss what matters more
Read Full Blog HereRegister For Live Event HereTax is psychologically painful, but for investors, over-fixating on it is a genuine risk. The drive to minimise tax can lead to decisions far more costly than the tax itself, and this blog makes the case for keeping it in its proper place.Using financial modelling across both property and shares, Stuart examines the real impact of capital gains tax on
Q&A - Simplicity vs Optimisation: leverage, liquidity, and super strategy
This episode brings together three listener questions that each wrestle, in different ways, with the tension between financial optimisation and practical simplicity, and whether the most technically efficient strategy is always the right one for a given stage of life.The first scenario involves a couple in their mid-thirties with a solid net worth of $2.5 million, a newborn, and a clear long-term
Ep 406: The policy risk most property investors are ignoring
Read Full Blog HereAustralian property investment is facing a structural shift, and regulatory change is at the centre of it. This blog examines how rising holding costs, taxation, and tenancy reform are altering long-term return dynamics for investors, using Melbourne as a detailed case study.The analysis explores the interaction between subdued capital growth, weakening investor sentiment, and t
Q&A - The hidden cost of concentration: real scenarios, real trade-offs
Through a series of real investor scenarios, this blog examines the structural challenges that emerge when wealth is heavily concentrated in property, particularly as retirement approaches. Common issues explored include liquidity constraints, CGT timing, superannuation optimisation, and the risks of relying on rental income to fund long-term retirement needs.The discussion unpacks how strategies
Ep 405: How to construct an ETF portfolio
Read Full Blog HereThere are two sensible ways to invest in ETFs: use a diversified, all-in-one fund, or build your own portfolio. Both can work. The difference comes down to control, scale, and behaviour.In this episode, Stuart explains why simple diversified ETFs are often the right starting point, particularly for smaller balances or investors who value simplicity and discipline. But as portfol
Q&A - Real investor dilemmas: what complex portfolios reveal about strategy and risk
Real investors rarely face clean, textbook decisions. Portfolios are messy, life changes, and the right move in one context can be the wrong move in another. In this episode, Stuart examines a series of real-world case studies that bring to life the strategic tensions shaping financial outcomes, from navigating leverage and asset concentration to managing liquidity through critical life-stage tran
Ep 404: How to deal with investment concentration risk
In this episode, Stuart breaks down what concentration risk really means and why it is not just about returns, but dependence. From large shareholdings to property and business exposure, he explains how having too much tied to a single asset can increase risk unless it is properly understood in the context of your broader strategy.Stuart introduces a practical three-step framework to assess concen
Q&A - Stock research, SMSF rebalancing & the debt recycling vs investment property
In this Q&A episode, Stuart tackles four listener questions spanning stock selection, portfolio restructuring, debt strategy, and retirement income planning.Kyle wants to know how Stuart actually researches stocks, which tools and resources he uses, and what metrics he looks for across different investment types, from growth and defensive plays to income-focused holdings.Jack is sitting on a m
Ep 403: Lump sum share market investing: risky or rational
Read Full Blog HereInvesting a large lump sum into the share market can feel risky, but is spreading it out actually safer, or just more comfortable?In this episode, Stuart revisits his own evolving view on lump sum investing versus dollar cost averaging. Drawing on decades of market research, he explains why lump sum investing has historically outperformed staged investing around two-thirds of th
Q&A - When good options compete: property, super & the art of the trade-off
In this week's Q&A episode, Stuart works through real-life scenarios where the challenge isn't finding a good option; it's choosing between several.A Canberra couple planning a move to Queensland face a layered dilemma: how to fund a $3M home while managing a defined benefit pension, a potential inheritance, and a preference to hold quality assets. Stuart weighs selling, renting
Ep 402: The real risk in retirement: working too long and spending too little
Read Full Blog HereIn this episode, Stuart explores a lesser-discussed but increasingly important risk in financial planning: not running out of money, but failing to use it when it matters most.While much of the conversation around retirement focuses on avoiding financial shortfall, this episode flips the script. For those in a strong financial position, the greater danger may be underspending du
Q&A - Can you retire early without taking big risks?
In this episode, Stuart explores a powerful theme across multiple listener scenarios: is it possible to achieve early retirement without aggressive risk-taking, and what trade-offs does that require?A couple in their late 40s shares a disciplined, “late starter” journey and a clear downsizing strategy to fund retirement within five years. Stuart unpacks whether their plan to bridge the gap to supe
EP 401: Beyond the median: What actually drives property outperformance in Melbourne
Read Full Blog HereIn this episode, Stuart challenges the idea that Melbourne property has been a poor performer by digging beneath the median data and uncovering what actually drives outperformance.While headline figures suggest modest growth since 2010, a deeper look reveals many individual properties have significantly exceeded the average. Stuart walks through 10 real case studies across inves
Q&A - When your dream home conflicts with your wealth plan
In this episode, Stuart unpacks a complex and relatable dilemma: what happens when your long-term wealth strategy collides with a major lifestyle goal.A Sydney-based investor with a substantial property portfolio is aiming to retire at 60 with a high passive income. Still, a recent PPOR upgrade and plans for an $800k–$1M knockdown rebuild have put that goal under pressure. With borrowing capacity
Ep 400: CGT discount changes: what property investors should do now
Read Full Blog HereRegister HereIn this episode, Stuart breaks down the growing political debate around capital gains tax (CGT) and what potential changes could mean for Australian property investors.Following a Senate committee review, policymakers are now discussing the possibility of reducing the CGT discount and even limiting negative gearing to a small number of properties. Stuart examines th
Q&A - Preparing for retirement: prioritising debt reduction, super contributions, and liquidity
Register HereIn this Q&A episode, Stuart tackles three complex retirement planning scenarios involving superannuation strategy, debt reduction, and financial independence.First, a Melbourne couple in their 50s asks whether surplus cash should be prioritised toward their large PPOR mortgage offset or contributed to their SMSF. With significant property exposure and relatively low super balances
Ep 399: The Forever Test: Probably the most important concept investors must understand
Read Full Blog HereRegister HereIn this episode, Stuart explores what he believes is the single most important principle in long-term investing: choosing assets that are most likely to deliver the highest average return over the next 20–30+ years, and ideally much longer.He explains why successful investors focus on lifetime compounding rather than short-term market noise, and how the real power o
Q&A - Bitcoin, debt recycling & the 6-year rule: smart structuring for financial independence
Register HereIn this wide-ranging Q&A episode, Stuart tackles advanced strategy questions across crypto, capital gains tax, debt recycling, super structuring, and long-term portfolio design.First, he unpacks the tax realities of holding Bitcoin via an ETF versus direct ownership, including whether using Bitcoin as a future currency actually avoids CGT (spoiler: the tax system doesn’t work that
Ep 398: Why non-bank lenders can significantly extend your investment capacity
Read Full Blog HereRegister HereThe lending landscape has changed dramatically over the past two decades, and the gap between traditional banks and non-bank lenders has never been wider. In this episode, Stuart breaks down the key differences between authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and non-bank lenders regulated prima
Q&A - Buy the dream home or optimise the structure? Leveraging smartly in your late 30s and 40s
In this strategic Q&A episode, Stuart explores two thoughtful listener scenarios centred on structure, leverage, and long-term optionality.First, a high-earning couple in their late 30s with significant cash, shares, super, and a lowly geared investment property wrestle with how much to spend on a future family home. Should they stay underleveraged and preserve their income-producing assets, o
Ep 397: Australian vs International Shares: Why the 45:55 split does not add up
Read Full Blog HereWhy do most diversified Australian portfolios still allocate nearly half of their equity exposure to Australian shares, when Australia represents only around 2% of the global share market?In this episode, we challenge the traditional 45/55 split between Australian and international equities and examine whether it truly makes sense in today’s global economy.Campbell breaks down t
Q&A - Structuring for smarter retirement: capital losses, property fatigue & the upgrade dilemma
In this strategy-heavy Q&A episode, Stuart tackles sophisticated portfolio questions from high-income earners and mid-life investors recalibrating their next move. A key theme is structure when (and whether) to introduce a family trust, how to think about carried-forward capital losses, and whether tax optimisation today outweighs flexibility tomorrow.For one couple with substantial capital lo
Ep 396: The AI trade – what can we learn from the dot-com bubble?
Read Full Blog HereAI has moved from buzzword to investment obsession almost overnight. From semiconductors and data centres to software platforms and critical minerals, “the AI trade” has become shorthand for backing the companies expected to benefit most from this technological shift.But before assuming today’s obvious winners will still look obvious in a decade, it’s worth revisiting the last t
