The AI trade – what can we learn from the dot-com bubble? 

Dot- Com

AI has quickly gone from tech buzzword to investment obsession, with “the AI trade” now shorthand for backing the companies most likely to benefit from its growth.   But before you assume today’s obvious winners will still look obvious in a decade, it is worth revisiting the last time a world-changing technology captivated markets. The dot-com era offers a surprisingly …

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 Wealth First Principles #2: A step-by-step strategy to invest in property  

strategy to invest

Investing in residential property is a common goal for many investors. It is a familiar asset class, it is tangible, and many Australians have built a lot of wealth investing in property. The problem is that most investors approach property without a framework. They focus on what they can afford, or what a colleague recently bought, or what they hear …

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When should you be a value-add property investor? 

Many aspiring property investors run into the same issue: limited budget.   That usually forces a choice between buying a larger home in a lower-quality location, or accepting a smaller dwelling, such as an apartment or villa unit, in a blue-chip suburb.   First-time buyers confront this trade-off more than anyone because their financial capacity tends to be tighter.   …

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Which is better: REIT or direct property? 

REIT or Direct property

For most of my career, I have viewed listed property trusts and direct residential property as fundamentally different investments – not substitutes. But once interest rates fell below long-term averages after 2012, many advisers and investors began using REITs as a convenient income substitute: liquid, diversified, and yielding more than term deposits or bonds.  That worked for a while, but the …

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Why relying on property sales data alone could be a big mistake!  

sales data

There’s more property data available to investors today than ever before, much of it free, and it can significantly improve investment decision making. Analysing how a property’s value has changed over time (i.e. its compound annual growth rate across multiple decades) and comparing it to comparable properties in close proximity, is an essential part of investment due diligence.   However, it’s equally important not to become too data driven. …

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How to Avoid the 17% Super Death Benefit Tax 

Avoid super death tax

In Australia, we don’t currently have an inheritance tax like some other countries do. That said, the idea has been popping up in political conversations, especially with the government recently discussing it at the Economic Reform Summit in August.  But here’s the thing: while we don’t have a broad inheritance tax, there is one sneaky …

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What is your return on borrowing capacity (RoBC)? 

Return On Borrowing Capacity

Borrowing capacity is usually an investor’s scarcest resource. Because it’s limited, it should be allocated with great care and consideration. The goal is to ensure every dollar of borrowing capacity is put to its highest and best use. One way to measure this, is by considering the return on borrowing capacity – a simple framework …

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