Finance & Fury Podcast

The future state of the housing market.

In this episode, we look at the influence the RBA has and will have on housing prices. We look at interest rate movements and regulations and how prices are expected to respond.

The evolution of share markets

In today’s episode, we break down the history of share markets, focusing on the ASX, to look at how we ended up with the system we currently have. We also look at the makeup of the ASX 100 years ago and how this has changed over time.

Is the economy back to the 1970s?

In this episode, we will be looking at the economy of the 1970s, the share market correction that occurred and what contributed to this. The aim of this episode is to see if will we experience the same sort of market conditions, or if what we are dealing with is something completely different.

Is it better to invest in passive or active funds?

In this episode, we look the pros and cons of both sides of the passive or active investment argument. We review the historical performance of average active manager to the index that they track and explore why they under or overperform.

Is it possible to outperform the share market?

In this episode, we look at the works of Fama and French. Two men who stated that it is impossible to outperform the market, whilst also providing a later framework to do so.

Reducing the barriers to entry for property investments

In this episode, we look at using Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as a way to gain exposure to real estate investments and compare this to direct property ownership. We go through the pros and cons of this structure and explore where they can fit in to an investment allocation.

How much do you need to save for retirement?

In this episode, we answer a question from Jason on how much you need to retire. We look at an article by the ABC on this subject and explore the figures and assumptions used, as well as considerations that need to be taken

Is it worthwhile to invest in defensive Managed Funds or ETFs?

In this episode, we answer David’s question about cash assets that held in managed funds or ETFs. We discuss look cash held in unitised investments, look at allocations based around your goals, as well as the opportunity cost of investing in defensive funds.

Have bond prices already factored in interest rate hikes or will they lose further value when interest rates do rise?

In this episode, we answer the question from David. We look at bond pricing theory and compare this to when prices of bonds change, before or after interest rate changes are announced.

Will a Russian debt default cause a global financial collapse?

In this episode, we look at the looming Russian debt default and if this is the catalyst for another financial collapse or simply another blimp on the radar. We will look at the ramifications from a Russian debt default and what this could mean for global financial markets.

When do you know that the share market has bottomed out?

In this episode, we look at that it is almost impossible to time the exact bottom of the market. However, we look at four indicators to tell when financial markets have been oversold and are become cheap to purchase.

Keep calm and carry-on investing

In this episode we look at some long-term data and explore the reason that holding the course of an investment strategy works better long term than trying to guess what will happen in the short term. We go through four key facts to remember when your emotions are telling you to sell.

The economic impact from the Russia-Ukraine conflict on financial markets

In this episode, we look at the core reasons as to why markets fall, explore the economic consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to determine if this is a genuine cause of concern for financial markets.  We also look at if there can be a buying opportunity through an overreaction from financial markets

The negative gearing debate – should the government get rid of it?

In this episode, we look at Robert Kiyosaki’s comments on negative gearing. In doing so, we will cover what negative gearing is, does it really help property investors and has it led to property price increases?

Where do you stand in relation to the average Australian?

In this episode we look at the average financial position of the Australian population. The aim of this exercise is to provide a bit of a wakeup call if you are below the averages, and to help provide strategies to close the gaps. But in the end, you should only compare your financial situation to yourself from yesterday and build towards your own financial independence.

The rules of money – Building a solid financial foundation!

In this episode we do a breakdown on the Richest Man in Babylon. We go through a summary of the classic rules of money that helped me build a solid financial foundation early in my financial journey.

Don’t budget! Allocate your financial resources instead.

In this episode, we look at an alternative method to traditional budgeting where you instead allocate your financial resources. We explore the concept of paying yourself first and the general categories to direct your cashflow to better your financial position.

Crypto coming to an ETF near you

Hi – hope you’re all going well and welcome to Finance and Fury. In this episode – look at cryptoasset investments and the increase in accessibility for retail investors through alternative structures – as in Western economies – US, EU, and Aus – these are becoming available for retail investors through structures like ETFs – i.e. exchange traded funds This comes off the back of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg- looking at a series of regulatory and tax proposals covering digital wallets and cry...

Critical thinking for making investment decisions

Welcome to Finance and Fury. Sorry for the break over the past two months – been busy with moving into our newly built place – been in a process of trying to clear out lantana and fallen trees from 5,000sm – that combined with helping take care of my daughter and the excess work in a led up to the end of the year I didn’t have time to get an episode out – sorry – all weak excuses aside – in this episode – We will go through Critical thinking for making investment decisions to make 2022 your ...

Is the property party coming to an end?

Welcome to Finance and Fury – In this episode, we will be looking at the future of property prices based around recent changes in lending assessment, bond yields and what this means for interest rates It comes as no surprise when I say that property prices have gone up a lot over the past 2 years – well above forecasts – at the same time, and in a causal manner, interest rates and bond yields have declined to record lows – but is the party coming to an end sooner than expected? As there are...

Are we heading towards “Stagflation”?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. Currently, the prospect of stagflation is being seriously debated by economists and policy makers across most economies – the big question is – will we suffer stagflation – and if so, how do markets react? The first stages of an energy crisis are currently in the making - In Europe - natural gas prices have tripled in the last three months – with rising petrol prices across the globe – even in Aus, petrol prices are up – Why do energy prices matter and what d...

“The survey says…” - What Wall Street currently thinks the biggest risks to markets are

Welcome to Finance and Fury. I was looking at an interesting survey that is regularly conducted – so in this episode What do investment managers think the top risks to the markets are? This is a survey that Deutsche Bank regularly does where it surveys investment managers and Wall Street participants – The results help to gives some insight to the thinking of portfolio positions from those that control some of the largest levels of money flows in the investment landscape – This is inter...

Moral hazard and the Evergrande collapse

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In this episode we will be looking at the Property market in China and focus on the Evergrande developments – in particular if there is actually a timebomb starting to surface – and look at the potential contagion risks to the rest of the world – such as the Aus and US Many in the press are comparing what is happening to Evergrande as another Lehman’s moment – which was one of the defining collapses of a financial institution that lead to the flow of effects cul...

Finding your purpose and building your ideal life

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In the last episode we talked about finding meaning in life, even in the worst of possible situation. That topic leads in nicely with purpose, which we will be covering in this episode. As Finding a purpose gives life additional meaning – and having fulfilment in life through having meaning helps to fuel a purpose – which further fulfils meaning – quite a symbiotic relationship – But to build on this purpose and work towards this, goals are also important -   ...

Society, individual purpose and the undiscovered self

Welcome to Finance and Fury. I’d like to start a serious conversation about the individual self and our drive for meaning within society. This relates to economics and by extension, personal finance – as economics focuses on how the individual incentives drive decision making – all with the aim to maximise our utility – i.e. gain the maximum benefit – which could mean we driven by money, freedom, or some other purpose - What drives the way that we act? - so in this episode, we will be addi...

What is an economic moat and how can this help an investment portfolio?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In this episode, we will be looking at investing using a moat. Moats are an effective tool for defence historically – you would put one up around a fortified structures – such as a castle or town – can be filled with water or not, many different types and variations – but the whole aim is to make a location more defensive from attacks – so what does a moat have to do with investing? Well – in this episode we aren’t talking about defending your castle from som...

What are the best ways to save for a home deposit?

Welcome to Finance and Fury – For this week’s episode we are answering a question from listener David – surrounding some options to save for a home deposit “The conventional wisdom is to save for, say, a home deposit in a bank account with as high as possible interest rate. However, recently it seems house prices are rising quicker than I can save, and interest rates are lower than CPI. If my goal is to have a sufficient deposit in ~3 years’ time, what are your thoughts in keeping saving...

Will the next financial crisis come from the USA or China?

Welcome to Finance and Fury This episode, look at where the next financial crisis may come from – Will it be from the USA or from China? This is a question I was thinking about the other day – as there is a lot of talk about the Chinese economic being built on a house of cards and at risk of collapse – but if this does collapse, will it lead to a world-wide economic recession? Or, will the USA beat China to the chase and trigger the next collapse? So, in this episode – we will look at the...

How can factor investing help you achieve your desired returns?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In this episode we are going to look at the different factors to consider when deciding on how you should select investments This is an interesting topic – as everyone will have different factors that influence their investment decisions – but the ultimate outcome for most people is to make money – i.e. you wish to receive a return on your initially invested capital – and do so at a rate that beats your opportunity cost – i.e. the next best use of the funds, lik...

Investing in megatrends for long term capital growth

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode we are going to have a look at investing in megatrends. When investing – there are many different approaches people can take – people have different return requirements – hence, when constructing a portfolio of investments, you may try to isolate certain sources of return – such as capital growth or income focuses If you are retired and needing a passive income, then an income focus is more important – so purchasing share that pay FF dividends, or...

The economics of the Olympics – A golden opportunity or a bronze bust?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. As you might have seen, Brisbane has won the bid for the 2032 Olympics – but is this a good thing for the SEQ economy and the people living in it? in this episode we will have a look at the economics of the Olympics – we will Look at the costs and benefits of hosting the games – to see if firstly Brisbane/QLD is going to benefit – and if there is economic gain for being the host –– Lots to unpack here – lets get into it   Introduction - The Olympics have evol...

What affects demand and prices of property in Australia?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In this week’s episode, we will be looking at the demand for property in Australia. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode – it may be worthwhile – discussed supply of property in Australia – this week we will be focusing on demand – which in conjunction with supply = the price of property When looking at property price movements – there is an equation to crack – low supply and high demand = price gain e where has limited supply but lots of demand i...

The future of property supply in Australia

Welcome to Finance and Fury. In this episode we look at the future of the supply of property in Australia. We will talk about the availability of land in Australia, look at the population density and supply of developments, as well as what the future supply has in store – assuming that the demand stays constant, then the areas with under supply will see price gains – those with supply abundance will see price stagnation Australia is a unique country – outside of places like Antarctica, o...

Is the share market at risk of de-risking?

Welcome To Finance and Fury. Is the market at risk of de-risking? Bit of a mouthful – but over the past 12 months the share markets has been going on a run with higher flows of capital going to higher risk shares over those that could be considered defensive shares – those with lower historical risks due to the backing of fundamentals, such are earnings In this episode – we look at the cycles of share markets – looking at the longer-term trends of periods of risk taking and periods of risk...

The freedom in financial freedom

Welcome to Finance and Fury. What does your future have in store for you? It is hard to say exactly – so instead, what does your ideal future look like? You might be thinking about next year, the year after that, or 20 to 40 years in the future – Let’s say that in regards to this question – think about once you have achieved financial independence – i.e. finished your working life and are retired – where are you, how are you living, what are you doing and how are your funding this? Have you ...

Can investing using environmental, social and governance scores help to outperform the market?

Welcome to Finance and Fury - Is ESG investing the way of the future and good for your portfolio? Within the last few years, large publicly listed companies and investment managers investment are really paying attention to what is known as an ESG score – which stands for environmental, social and governance – it is meant to be used as a determinant on the sustainability of investments – the concept of sustainability it is growing in prominence in every sector of the economy, but particular...

Is high inflation here to stay?

Welcome to Finance and Fury - The big question on many investors minds at the moment is if inflation is going to be transitionary, or something that is going to set into the economic framework for the long haul – maybe not for the next decade, but for the next few years at least – if you listen to Central Bankers, the inflation within the economy is transitionary i.e. going to last a few quarters then revert back to normal, if you listen to investment pundits, it is something that could set ...

Central Bank Digital Currencies – coming to a wallet near you.

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode is to look at Central bank digital currencies - Central banks releasing digital currencies is an inevitability at this stage - proof-of-concept programmes are currently in the works across the globe - with more than 80% of central banks looking at digital currencies – The RBA is one of them There is a lot of cover in this topic – we will define a central bank digital currency and go through why central banks are looking at pure digital currencies a...

Banks and cryptoassets – the first introduction of a regulatory framework.

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode we will continue looking at the crypto markets. In particular, we focus on the regulatory frameworks that have been released by the Bank for international settlements, BIS for short. One division of the BIS - the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision - released a consultation paper this month to provide a framework to every nation’s regulator of financial institutions on how to treat cryptocurrencies - Now – the Basel Committee on Banking Superv...

El Salvador and Bitcoin - a match made in heaven?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode we will continue to look at what is happening in crypto markets. After last episode, we are starting a bit of a mini-series on crypto and digital currencies. This wasn’t originally intended but I have been doing more of a deep dive into this topic and there has been some timely news articles that I want to cover. In this series, we will look at a few factors in relation to the crypto markets. Mainly governmental and financial institutional adoption...

My thoughts on cryptocurrencies: the ups and downs of an unregulated market.

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode we will look at crypto markets as there is a fair amount of noise being generated in this space at the moment. Just a heads up that this will be a bit of a longer episode as there is a lot to unpack. I have made my position on crypto markets fairly obvious in the past – if you haven’t listened to any of those episodes, I will provide a bit of a summary of where I stand in relation to cryptocurrencies – and whilst markets price dynamics has changed ...

Printing an unbacked currency to avoid asset price declines. What could go wrong?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This week we will be looking at the Mississippi bubble. I find it a very interesting story of speculation and devaluation – creating a situation of loss of confidence in an early form of fiat currencies –– Lessons to learn from this – I get asked the question a fair bit – what happens to the value of every asset when denominated in fiat currency if fiat currency fails – and it is a good question - But in this instance the Mississippi Company bubble can help to p...

Signs of financial instability: How inflation and rising bond yields affects fiat currencies and what this means for financial markets.

Welcome to Finance and Fury. Today, signs of financial instability that are emerging in markets – why are inflation and rising bond yields affecting fiat currencies – and what this means for markets – modern economy is interconnected and complex – so do my best to break these all down There is a growing recognition that price inflation has the potential to increase significantly in the near future It has already increased significantly in certain areas – timber/wood, food, and petrol esp...

How do you both manage and protect your wealth in times of war?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode is a little outside of the box, the topic comes from a listener, Mario. He asked the question of how does someone both manage and protect their wealth in times of war? and are there actual strategies that one can implement if a war was to break out? So, in this episode we will look at if there are strategies that are implemented as part of managing a portfolio to safeguard against the impacts war has on share markets and other asset classes.   ...

The Federal Budget: How will you be affected and will the proposals benefit you?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This episode we’ll be talking about latest federal budget that was announced this week - and the implications this will have for individual There were many announcements in the budget – few good things like the reduced tax on innovated products – but we will be focusing on individuals Many of these announced changes haven’t passed legislation yet – but very likely they will – the budget for individuals focused on taxation, superannuation and housing Persona...

Announcement: Delay of episode until after the 2021 Federal budget

How to minimise market timing risk for your investment strategy.

Welcome to Finance and Fury. There are concerns at the moment when it comes to investing – and that is that markets are at their all-time highs – concerns aren’t that markets continue to go to new all-time highs, but that the market falls through in the short term – what goes up must come down – the major concerns are around how far this may go down This episode – want to go through how to minimise timing risks – in other words, how to still invest now and if you see the market go down, m...

Will the proposed Stamp Duty reforms make property more affordable?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. A few weeks ago we went through the NZ government tasking the RBNZ with looking at property prices with monetary policy. in that episode, we went through why it probably isn’t going to really work well – politically the perception is that the Government is trying – but for the CB to make housing affordable through monetary policy, their only real recourse is to increase interest rates which would potentially put many households into default – leaving to an overs...

How do you change your investment strategy over time as the portfolio value increases?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. This week the topic is from a listener, Gabriel. That is “how do you change your investment strategy over time as the portfolio value increases? more specifically, how do you see someone building a growth portfolio starting with $10,000 and what would they change when they get to $100,000? What about $1,000,000?” This is a great topic, thank you for suggesting it. Everyone is different- no one right way to go about this – I have clients invested in a simi...

Should Central Banks be tasked with housing affordability?

Welcome to Finance and Fury. Firstly, sorry for the delay in episode, been over a week now – daughter was born last week, so been pretty busy helping care for her and trying to find a time to record in between work – should be back to normal from next week Interesting episode today – as one central bank in particular has now been tasked with the problem of housing affordability – This is the New Zealand central bank (RBNZ) – Can Central banks make property more affordable? If you are fami...