Why Advice

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?”, we tackle an intriguing expectation from a prospective client: the notion that their financial adviser should be wealthy, flipping the classic question “Where are the customers’ yachts?” into a test of the adviser’s success. While it’s an appealing idea, this metric holds little relevance to your personal wealth […]

There comes a time when we’ll all be in the home stretch at work. Great. No more alarms, traffic, fluorescent lights, or younger co-workers who know everything and should be CEO already. Frustrations and hassles eliminated! Being able to eliminate every frustration we might have to deal with at work sounds great, but it also […]

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?”, we examine the historical performance of the Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index, a key benchmark often used as a proxy for cash returns in Australia. This index reflects short-term interest rates and is tracked by ETFs such as BetaShares’ CASH and BlackRock’s BILL. Additionally, the State Street Australian […]

Charts are a staple of finance and investing. You can tell a lot of different stories with a chart. One of the longtime favourite charts of (some) financial advisers has been the “if you missed the best days chart”. This type of chart would show the growth of $1000 over a timeframe on a specific […]

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?”, we explore the historical performance of the S&P 500 Index, tracing its journey back to 1926. This widely admired index attracts investors globally, yet many lack a comprehensive view of its long-term data and the factors driving its impressive double-digit returns over nearly a century. We delve into […]

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?”, we dive into the impact of currency hedging by examining the historical performance of the MSCI World ex Australia Index (net dividends, hedged to AUD) and its unhedged counterpart. We analyze a 50/50 portfolio combining these indices, commonly tracked by ETFs like VGAD (hedged) and VGS (unhedged). This […]

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?” we dive into a question from a concerned family member navigating a delicate financial situation. A son-in-law, reviewing his mother-in-law’s investment portfolio, is alarmed by the high fees she’s incurring. While his mother-in-law remains unperturbed, confident her needs are met, and his wife is indifferent as long as […]

As of writing the S&P 500 in the US is up nearly 15% year to date. That would be a decent annual return, but we’ve not yet notched six months in 2024 so it’s a very impressive return for half a year. Recently a poll conducted for the Guardian found 49% of Americans believed the […]

Doing better. We all want to do better. Across the board. Whatever it is, there’s someone out there claiming they can best whatever we’re currently doing. Doing better can come in close quarters from someone we trust, or it can come from a cold call. Here’s a couple of stories of doing better. The Trusted […]

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?” we examine the historical performance of a 60/40 portfolio combining the MSCI World ex Australia Index (net div., AUD) and the S&P/ASX 300, rebalanced annually. Popular among Australian DIY investors, this portfolio is often implemented using Vanguard’s VGS and VAS ETFs, tracking the respective indices. Since its hypothetical […]