The paradox of advice
If you decide to engage a financial adviser, you might think that the decision would make you better off financially. That’s not necessarily true. I was chatting with some clients recently and had a...
Category: Financial advice
What does wealth mean to you? [VIDEO PRESENTATION]
This week I gave a 30-minute presentation to a group of engineers. I talked about investing and insurance, while emphasising the importance of making financial and lifestyle decisions that are in line with YOUR...
Fiduciary: yet another “F” word
Every now and then, I see people use the word “fiduciary” when it comes to financial advice. Although I 100% support what the term represents — an alignment between the interests of client and...
Questions I ask clients (and why I’m not afraid of roboadvice)
“I’m not racist, or a Luddite, but…” If you want people to listen to what you have to say, a good gambit is to say “I’m not racist, but…”. The room will go quiet....
A financial plan should be based on YOUR circumstances, needs, and objectives
When it comes to money, I’m a “set and forget” kind of guy. If you have a good investment strategy in place, you should be able to forget about it and focus on other...
How money misconceptions can put your life into hard mode
My son is starting to get into video games. In many games, you have the option between playing on “easy mode” or “hard mode”. Sometimes I think we unnecessarily put our lives on “hard mode”,...
How to flawcast your financial future
One of the most valuable exercises I run through with clients is “flawcasting” their financial future. It’s one thing to create a personal balance sheet setting out your existing assets and liabilities, and getting an...
A curmudgeon reads The Barefoot Investor
(Ugh. This has been the most popular article on this blog for a long time, despite the fact that there are far more interesting and useful articles on this site. I’ll update this article...
Kiwis should embrace supermodels
(When I talk about embracing “supermodels”, I’m actually talking about embracing “super models”. As in, all Kiwis should care about the policy settings relating to NZ Superannuation. If you were expecting something more salacious,...
On bank conduct and culture
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published a long-awaited report on bank conduct and culture earlier this month. The review, and the report, are interesting, if you’re into...