Investopoly

The Productivity Commission released its draft report this week into the efficiency of the Australian superannuation system. Its findings are concerning, and all Australians must take an active role in choosing the most appropriate superannuation fund for them. If you don’t, the Productivity Commission suggests it could cost you between $61k and $407k, depending on your age.What the productivity commission foundThe productivity commission found that many superannuation funds recommended by employers failed to deliver adequate investment returns. They described it as a bit of a lottery. That is, if you’re lucky enough to land in a good fund, chances are you could be several hundred thousand dollars better off.Also, they were critical of the fees scales that the superannuation industry is charging. They noted that whilst the industry has grown significantly in size, that that growth hasn’t translated to economies of scale.Finally, another key finding was that many Australians have multiple superannuation accounts which attract separate fees and erode retirement savings.So, how do you know if you’re in the right fund? Let’s have a look at your options.A retail fund is not a good optionA retail superannuation fund is one that is operated by a for-profit business such as MLC, AMP, ANZ (OnePath) and the like. These products are almost always more expensive and deliver inferior investment performance (as noted by the Productivity Commission).If you’re in a retail superannuation fund, typically, my advice is to move your super into a better option. Of course, before switching your super you must understand the repercussions of doing so as it could impact your benefits, insurance and so on. The best thing is to get independent advice.A Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) is probably not a good option eitherSMSFs are the largest sector of the superannuation industry representing about one third of superannuation savings. I believe, SMSFs are over-recommended by accountants and financial planners.Assuming that you don’t have complex financial affairs, significant wealth, estate planning challenges or any other complexity, the only reason you would need a SMSF is if you wanted to invest in direct property. If you don’t want to invest your super in direct property, then there are superior lower-cost and simpler solutions for your superannuation.Many prospective clients that I come across that have a SMSF are typically under invested. ThatMy new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

The ultimate aim of investing is to build wealth. Current and future tax liabilities can have a significant impact on your ability to build wealth. Simply put, the less tax you pay, the more money you keep for yourself. Therefore, taxation is a major consideration.That said, tax consequences should never drive investment decisions alone. Tax is one of many considerations so its important to not become too tax focused. Balance is the key here.Income versus capital gainMost growth assets provide a combination of income and capital growth.Income is taxed at your marginal tax rate (which is 39% for people earning between $87k and $180k p.a. or 47% if you earn more than $180k p.a.). However, only 50% of any realised capital gains are taxed at your marginal rate (because if you own the asset for more than 12 months you are entitled to reduce the net capital gain by 50%).Therefore, capital gains attract half the tax than income does.Compare asset classesThe chart below sets out the proportion of income and capital gains you can expect from investing in residential property, an index fund (ASX200), an actively managed fund and cash. Residential property provides most of its total return in capital growth and therefore is more tax efficient.Other advantages of capital gainsThere are some other advantages of investing in assets that provide most of their return in capital (not income) including:You only pay capital gains tax when you sell the asset. However, income is taxed in the financial year it is received. This means that you get to reinvest the gross capital gain each year and avoid paying any tax until you sell it.This chart below demonstrates that you will enjoy more than four times more growth (in dollar terms) in the fifth 5-year period ($1.1m) comparted to the first 5-year period ($237k). This illustrates the power of compounding capital growth. Quality assets require time and patience. Its that simple.My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

In this episode I discuss some of the financial life hacks that my blog subscribers have shared with me. A list of these life hacks and related links are contained on this page: https://www.prosolution.com.au/financial-life-hacks-list/My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

I know. You have probably seen lots of news about the Royal Commission and the financial advice horror stories. I don’t plan to rehash anything that’s already been said.The only thing I will say is that the publication of these horror stories is a very positive thing. At a minimum, it encourages people to educate themselves about their advice options and maintain a healthy level of scepticism (not blindly trust). At best it will force the industry to change.The point of this blog is to help you understand who you need to seek advice from, when and what fee (remuneration) arrangements are acceptable. In short, to give you the lay of the land. This will help you navigate the financial industry and put the Royal Commission commentary into context.Important: There are two types of financial or investment adviceStrategic financial advice will tell you what and how much you need to invest in to achieve your financial and lifestyle goals.Asset-class investment advice will tell you how to invest in a certain asset class.It is very important to understand what type of advice you are looking for. The mistake that many people make (which gets them into trouble) is that they seek strategic advice from someone that is only able to provide asset class advice.https://www.prosolution.com.au/royal-commission-who-to-trust/ My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

A few clients this week have asked me if it’s a good idea to invest a large sum in the share market at the moment (for a variety of reasons e.g. as super contributions, a gearing strategy and so on). I told these clients that I have some real concerns with it – not because I don’t have faith in the stock market – but because of the difference between actual versus compound returns.As these charts demonstrate, the US and Australian stock markets are close to their peaks since the GFC hit nearly a decade ago. Whilst I’m cautious of not falling into the trap of trying to predict how the market will perform in the short term, I know that markets are risky when they are at their peak.I also know that large losses and/or volatility can take a while to recover from (mathematically). That is why Benjamin Graham taught Warren Buffett that there are only two rules to investing:Rule # 1: never lose money; andRule # 2: refer to rule number one.Average versus compound returnsConsider this example: you invest $100,000 in a share market managed fund that delivers the following returns over 5 years:Year 1                    -22%Year 2                    2%Year 3                   40%Year 4                    -10%Year 5                   25%The average return over the 5 years is 7.0% p.a. However, the compound annual return is only 4.6% (i.e. your initial $100,000 investment has increase to $125,307 after 5 years).Why?If you have $100 and lose 50%, you will have $50. If you make 50% back the following year, you will have $75, not $100. So, you need to make a 100% return just to get back to where you started. That is why Benjamin Graham taught Warren Buffett how important it is to never lose money.What does this all mean?There are two main learnings we can draw from this basic yet imperative concept:Take whatever steps necessary to avoid losses. Don’t put your eggs in one basket. Instead, put your eggs in various baskets – which includes (for example) investing in multiple asset classes, diversify amongst various passive (index) share market methodologies, diversity architecturally and geographically with respect to property, invest gradually over time (which is referred to as dollar-cost averaging) and so on. The strategy shoulMy new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

You loan structure can have a big impact on your success as an investor. How you structure your loans can influence on your interest rates, borrowing capacity, cash flow, taxation liabilities and so on. Four years ago I wrote this blog which included 7 loan structuring tips and I wanted to update you on a few matters.In this podcast I discussed:Funding a property owned in one spouses name onlyLoans in join names typically are not a problemCross securitisation and maximising your borrowing capacityInterest only versus principal and interesthttps://www.prosolution.com.au/updated-loans-structured-correctly/My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

I am a big believer in having balance when it comes to managing money. That is, it makes no sense saving ever dollar and always “going without”. After all, none of us know how much longer was have on this planet so we must make the most of every day. However, by the same token, it’s equally silly to spend all our income without any thought towards saving for tomorrow. We need to do both. It’s about finding a balance between spending some money today and save some for tomorrow.It can be very rewarding having a holiday house from an emotional and lifestyle perspective. It is a great ‘escape’ from the city and a wonderful opportunity to relax with family and friends.This podcast investigates the “true” cost of buying a holiday home versus renting. I suspect you’ll be surprised by the results – I was!https://www.prosolution.com.au/holiday-homes/ My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

In this episode I discuss how do you get better value for money from your income protection insurance?I discuss:the importance of coverthe key features of a contractwhy agreed value is better than indemnity valuewhy I don’t recommend getting cover inside super (be warned)How to select a providerWhy “quality” is so important and what quality refers toSome tips to reduce the cost of cover.If you are an investor, then its likely you need some level of income protection. It is important to ensure you will get what you are paying for i.e. value for money.For more, go to - https://www.prosolution.com.au/income-protection-insurance/My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

We have all read the horror stories in the newspapers or seen them on television: Mum and Dad put their trust in a financial advisor. The advisor ‘sells’ them an investment that paid him a substantial commission. The investment was poor quality. Mum and Dad subsequently lose their life savings and the advisor goes unpunished. A new story like this comes up every few months. It’s frightening and very upsetting!I propose you can only do one thing to eliminate 99.9 per cent of all these stories occurring: remove all and any conflicts of inter­est. Once all conflicts of interest have been removed, working out if you should and can trust a particular advisor becomes a lot eas­ier. In that situation, it simply comes down to whether the advisor has enough experience, knows what they are talking about and has a track record of producing good results.Let me put it this way, would you be comfortable if your doctor (GP) was employed by a pharmaceutical company? Absolutely not! And that is why laws in Australia prevent pharmaceutical compa­nies from owning and operating medical practices. I believe that we should have similar laws in the financial services industry (but I suspect the banks’ political lobbying power will prevent this from happening). How do you choose which GP you visit? You make an assessment of whether the doctor knows what they are talking about, the results they produce and whether you feel comfortable dealing with them.Therefore, before concluding that all financial advisors are crooks, I invite you to recognise that two types of financial advisors exist: independent advisors and conflicted advisors. When you read the next horror story in the newspaper ask yourself whether the advi­sor was independent or conflicted. I’ve no doubt you’ll find they are always conflicted. The golden rule here is that you should always avoid conflicted advisors. To be truly independent I believe the advisor needs to satisfy five conditions1. Take no investment commissions, referral fees or kickbacks2. Offer fixed fees3. Have no investments to sell you4. Be privately owned with an AFSL and with no links to banks or investment providers5. Demonstrate deep knowledge of all asset classes (especially property and shares)https://www.prosolution.com.au/what-is-an-independent-advisor-five-important-tests/My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Evinced-based investing (EBI) is an approach that you can use to invest in either property or shares (and other asset classes). This process makes investing feel a whole lot more secure because its more transparent, you aren't making guesses and you have a lot more confidence that your investments are going to work!Evidenced-based investing refers to the process of adopting a set of rules to guide the implementation of the investment strategies and tactics. The efficacy of these investment rules is typically supported by long-term empirical evidence and peer-reviewed academic studies. That is, there’s an overwhelming body of evidence that proves these rules work and, perhaps most importantly, why these rules work. It is important to understand what has driven the returns – not just take the returns on face-value. You only invest when an overwhelming body of evidence exists that demonstrates you will be successful.For more information including examples of evidenced-based investment strategies, go to: https://www.prosolution.com.au/evidence-based-investing-reduces-risk-and-maximises-returns/My new book out in mid-2026: To join the pre-order waitlist and get a bonus. More info go to: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au. If you're interested in working with our team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/family-office-servicesIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://prosolution.com.au/stay-connected IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.