Listen Now

ESG - Environmental, Sustainability, and Governance. Often known as ethical investing, using these factors to help construct portfolios has been a growing trend that has delivered great results for investors this past year. In this week's podcast, I take a look at why. [Disclaimer]

This week I have a bit of fun with Elephant in the Room co-host Veronica Morgan, a buyers agent and co-host of Foxtel's Location Location Location Australia. I play devil's advocate, arguing against property as an investment, and Veronica explains why I'm wrong (or not in a few cases!). Hope you enjoy this one. [Disclaimer] Learn more about Veronica here. Home Buyer Academy  

This week I jump on the line with New York based financial planner Amy Irvine to get a read on what's happening on Wall Street following the most significant US election ever.   [Disclaimer]

Jarrod McCabe from Wakelin Property Advisory joins us today to provide an update on the property market. One not to be missed.   Disclaimer

Regular listeners will know that I frequently refer to the 3 pathways to Financial Autonomy - investing in stocks, investing in property, and building a business or being self-employed. But how to determine which pathway makes the most sense for you to pursue? That's what we'll be exploring in this week's episode. Disclaimer

Ryan wanted a change in his life. He wanted more flexibility, he wanted to gain choice. He thought about how he could make that happen and realised the starting point needed to be reducing his debts - they were a huge burden that locked him down and hugely limited his options. Hear how he went about solving this challenge. Another great IRL example of the Financial Autonomy journey, I hope you enjoy. Disclaimer

Pete Wargent is a property investment expert. He is a buyer's advocate and does various bits and pieces within the property space. Pete's background is as a chartered accountant. The content he produces on property investment tends to be very analytical and data driven. So I've invited him along to get his insight as to what he is seeing in the data at the moment in the property space. He's got some unique insights here and some great tips that I think you'll get a lot out of. Regular listeners will know we've got the Financial Autonomy framework which we go through in the Financial Autonomy book. There's the three pathways, there's investing in shares or stocks, investing in property and self-employment. The other element I really appreciated in Pete's story is his application of the three pathways to achieving Financial Autonomy. As a guest, I think he is a fantastic illustration of what I'm trying to explore through the Financial Autonomy podcast for almost three years now. We have really useful and practical information from someone who's done it, who's built wealth and who has gained choice. Disclaimer

When investing in property, it's largely a given that you'll be borrowing as a core element of the transaction. Indeed often, you're borrowing the entire purchase cost. Borrowing to buy shares however is often approached with trepidation, despite the many advantages shares offer around the ease of altering the transaction size, diversification and the speed with which investments can be liquidated. In today's episode, we'll take a look at the pros and cons of borrowing or gearing to invest in shares. Is now the time for a big move? Before we dive in, it's important to remind you that this is general information. The appropriateness of gearing for you depends on a range of factors such as income security, savings capacity, debt levels and investment timeframe. Seek out professional investment advice before commencing a gearing strategy. Visit the Advice Page on our Financial Autonomy website to see how we can help. Also, if you're fairly new here, you might not be aware of our Invest in Shares online course. This self-paced course is suitable for novice investors through to those with intermediate levels of experience. We take you through all the key concepts like dividend yield, PE ratios, investment selection, taxation considerations and plenty more. One of the bonus modules is specifically on gearing so if this topic is something that resonates with you and you're a DIY type, go to the Learn Page on our web site and click on courses. Disclaimer

I met Alex Hont at a Financial Planning conference last year. Alex hosts the Masters of Finance podcast - so with both financial planning and podcasting in common, we had quite a bit to talk about! I invited Alex onto the podcast to share how he went from being an employee to being a partner at his financial planning firm - how he planned for that move, how it unfolded, and what the change has meant for him. Alex shares his journey, how he got into the practice in the first place, how he's been able to increase his share and become a partner in the business, and a little bit about his thoughts as to where it might lead to longer term. It's a bit of a different story in terms of how to arrive at self-employment. We haven't covered this sort of approach before but it's something that I hope you guys will get a lot out of. Disclaimer

Regular listeners will know my book Financial Autonomy - the money book that gives you choice, came out last month. In this week's episode, I explain why I wrote it and how it fits into my mission of helping more people gain choice. During the various interviews I've done promoting the book one of the most frequent questions I get is how did I find the time to write it? So in this episode I also pull back the curtain a little to share how I got it done. Perhaps it might help you see a way to achieve one of your dreams. I hope you enjoy this episode and get some valuable ideas.   Disclaimer

Really excited for this episode. I chat with Thomas Taw, the Head of Investment Strategies Asia Pacific for BlackRock. For those who are unfamiliar, BlackRock is the largest fund manager in the world. It's a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into how a business with the global resources they have at their disposal is seeing things - investment markets opportunities, economies, and the impact of COVID just to get us started. Soak this one up. Also, stay up to date with all things investments and financial autonomy via our weekly email - Gaining CHOICE. Disclaimer

One of the most popular pathways to achieving financial autonomy is through investing in stocks. Stock market investing has a ton of advantages including ease of diversification, low transaction cost, ease of liquidity, and being highly regulated to guard against investor fraud. A popular stock portfolio strategy is known as the core/satellite approach. In today's episode, Ill be taking you through how this approach might help you build a robust and successful share portfolio. Disclaimer

Tim Duggan is the co-founder of Junkee Media, one of Australia's fastest growing media companies dedicated to improving the conversations about things that matter. In today's interview, we talk about building communities around digital products and understanding the shift towards conscious consumerism. We also discuss his new book, Cult Status, which encourages thinking about business in a new way, finding your business purpose and what it means to be an "untrepreneur". Tim gives his personal advice on how you can best gain choice in life. Learn other pathways towards financial independence and gaining choice through my new book - Financial Autonomy: The money book that gives you choice. Disclaimer

Self-employment is one of the 3 pathways to achieving Financial Autonomy. What are the key 12 elements you need to cover off to succeed as a self-employed person? We covered the first 6 elements last week and this week we'll cover the other 6. Disclaimer

Self-employment is one of the 3 pathways to achieving Financial Autonomy. What are the key 12 elements you need to cover off to succeed as a self-employed person? That's what I'll be covering in this and next week's episode. Grab the free toolkit: www.financialautonomy.com.au/159  

Today Melissa Martin is a successful Melbourne photographer, but that's quite a way from where she started her career journey. In this chat we explore: The challenges many women in particular face when they start a family and find that their previous career no longer works in their life. How Melissa went about finding a new path. Some of the clever things Melissa did to achieve success Plus plenty more! Melissa's web site: https://www.melissamartinphotography.com/ Entrepreneur You program mentioned in the interview:  https://find0101.lpages.co/entrepreneur-you/  

The Financial Autonomy book is now available. Discover the full Financial Autonomy framework and build your own strategy to gain choice via the free downloadable companion workbook. Free delivery within Australia if purchased direct. Visit www.financialautonomy.com.au/book_order   This weeks episode: What is insider trading, why is it a crime, and why does Hollywood seem to love it so much? That’s what we’ll be exploring in this episode.

Looking for an easy, low-cost way to getting started with investing? Ted Richards from Six Park might have your solution. Learn more about Six Park - https://guidancefs.sixpark.com.au/ Grab the Financial Autonomy book - https://find0101.lpages.co/financial_autonomy_book/   Disclaimer

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) sounds dry, I know, and in truth, and it is. But it's likely you're going to hear a whole lot more about it, and the idea of jobs guarantees, in the coming months and perhaps years. Why?  Because MMT proposes an interesting solution to unemployment. And battling unemployment will be the number 1 agenda item around the country and the world over the next few years.

What's Aged Care have to do with financial autonomy and gaining choice? At some point, your parents are likely going to need age care and it might come down to you to solve it for them. An awareness of how the system works and some of the basics, is something I’m sure you will find valuable. Financial adviser and age care expert Susan Cooper explains some of the jargon and we discuss the key considerations when you’re helping a loved one with a move into aged care. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY    Disclaimer