We all like to think we're capable of making rational decisions. Yet it appears when it comes to investing, a switch inside even the most sensible person seems to flick... And rationality disappears in a cloud of emotion ..read more

I wrote an email to my community this week on the notion of enough. And how more money should not be a goal.  So, what's truly important to you? For us, this all starts with a cashflow - the lifeblood of any financial plan. How you allocate the money coming in will determine both the present and the future of your family. It’s not a glamorous topic, but it’s undeniably ground zero of financial success. Your cashflow challenges will evolve as you move through the different life phases. Your early working years are typically about providing for essential daily “needs”. For those whose caree ..read more

Do you remember having debate competitions when you were in school? You couldn’t just make stuff up. If you did, your opponents undressed you, and the adjudicators wiped you off the score sheet. But one-sided Social Media algorithms now feed us steady diets of whatever they think we believe... And if we dine on a bit of crazy, they triple our portions. Donald Trump loves that. If he were Pinocchio, his schnozzle would be longer than the wall he wants to build. Fact checkers counted 30 false claims during his first 2024 debate with Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the Democratic President (a political for ..read more

Smart long-term investors generally have a good understanding of the mindsets and behaviours that lead to financial success. However, even the best of us are still human... These smart investors diligently act on a solid plan and have thought through the various trade-offs that all financial decisions demand. But while the principles of smart investing may be simple to understand, they’re certainly not easy to act on. At least not consistently. Every significant world event affects our financial system. These events typically evoke emotions that, when acted on, can be detrimental to our financ ..read more

It feels like 2024 is the year of the election, with over 64 happening in various countries around the world covering around 50% of the world’s population[1]! These range from the farcical pretense of the re-election of Putin, to that in the UK. At this time, it looks like a probable victory for the Labour party over the incumbent Conservatives, seemingly with a large majority. In the previous election in 2019, British politics was polarised between Boris Johnson’s ‘getting Brexit done’ mantra and a very left-wing alternative of Jeremy Corbyn and his ‘magic money tree’. Today, the two main par ..read more

You won’t see any black and white photos of Edwina and Edwin Moses in your parent’s living room. But you’re related to them. They grew barley about 4,000 years ago. They had plenty of hurdles to leap, so they got busy having several kids. Those kids helped grow and pick the crops. They helped cook and clean. They helped trade barley. They weaponised sticks, stones or slingshots to poke the eyes out of attacking neighbours. These days, unless you’re part of the mob or living in a war zone, you won’t likely need your kids to defend your home or your BMW. You love your children. But they don’t fo ..read more

Mike and Emily wanted to take a long trip together to visit wine country. They thought about it and planned it for years. They could never quite get themselves to go, though. It never seemed to be the right time. Then Mike suddenly passed away from a heart attack. Emily is no longer able to take that trip with her best friend and husband. Chris and Jessica enjoy motorcycle trips and wanted to take their motorcycles on the open road to explore all the national parks in the lower 48 states. They saved up for it. They planned their route. And much like Mike and Emily, they never got around to it ..read more

Most financial life managers earn their clients inestimable multiples of any fees charged, by helping them properly structure their finances in an organised manner, invest appropriately, and stay invested through difficult periods. This is the type of action you SEE, in the form of calls and meetings.  Meeting your financial goals, so that you and your loved ones are free to live the lives you want, requires high-quality, sage, ongoing guidance.  But on top of this 'on the surface' activity, you need a robust, well-diversified, long-term investment strategy. The construction and main ..read more

I love catching up with my colleague Damien, Managing Director of AES Health.  He's never shy in sharing his views on how we can improve corporate health insurance/employee benefits, much like me with personal financial services.  We also enjoy the parallels between our prospective professions. Personal finance, like medicine, requires discipline, prudence, and timely actions. And just as physical health depends on preventative care and informed decisions, monetary well-being relies on sound financial habits. While every investor has unique circumstances and challenges, it’s helpful ..read more

Is your heart beating like a bongo at the thought of investing? With stocks near an all-time high, you might fear being the patsy at the poker table. If you invest at the wrong time, your hard-earned money could swirl down the drain or languish for years while you grow more wrinkled. If that’s your fear, I can help. After all, I’ve added plenty of money to the markets over the past 35 years. And most of the time, stocks were at or near all-time highs. So why listen to me? Truth be told, I’ve done quite well. I was a schoolteacher. And as much as I would love to see every educator earning $100 ..read more