Investopoly

ProSolution
ProSolution
  • 3.7 (3)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Investopoly is a twice-weekly podcast designed to help you make better financial decisions and build wealth with clarity and confidence. Hosted by Stuart (tax adviser, financial adviser, and mortgage broker) and Campbell (senior financial adviser), each episode delivers concise, practical insights grounded in real-world strategy, research, methodologies, and case studies. You will get two episodes each week: a main episode that deep-dives into a single wealth-building topic, and a Q&A episode that answers listener questions and real scenarios. Send your questions to questions@investopoly.com.auWe also writes a weekly blog, and many podcast topics build on those ideas and frameworks. Stuart's forthcoming book, Wealth by Design, will be available in July 2026.

  1. 2d ago

    Ep 430: Is financial advice worth it? What rules can't fix.

    Read Full Blog Here Russell says advice adds 5.5% a year and Vanguard says 3%. A disciplined, rules-based approach captures much of that, but not all of it. I think these reports overstate things by assuming that without an adviser you'll panic, chase returns and keep changing strategy. In this episode I split the mistakes the reports cite into two groups: the ones a rules-based framework prevents, like concentrated portfolios, cash drag and return chasing, and the ones it can't, like ownership structures, how to allocate surplus cash flow, and super contribution strategy. I also cover why knowing the rules isn't the same as following them, the March 2020 test of your own discipline, and the portfolio size at which advice pays for itself. 00:00 The "advisor fee: $0" bill that prompted this episode  00:55 Revisiting episode 319 and the Russell and Vanguard reports  01:51 Why I'm sceptical of these estimates  02:31 What if you already follow a rules-based framework?  03:23 Breaking down Russell's 5.5%  04:53 Vanguard's Adviser's Alpha framework  06:07 The wealth equation and where mistakes cost real money  07:25 Separating the mistakes rules can and can't prevent  07:46 Portfolio design mistakes a rules-based approach fixes  10:20 Complexity and knowledge gaps rules can't fix  12:34 When the numbers make advice worthwhile  13:18 Why knowing what to do isn't enough  16:15 The best days in the market and why indexing works  17:48 The acid test: what did you do in March and April 2020?  20:19 Economies of scale: when advice pays for itself  22:12 Choosing an adviser as a decision that moves the dial  22:59 Using someone you trust as a sounding board  23:52 Summing up  25:26 Next week: how much insurance you actually need Related episodes: Episode 319 (2024): my earlier look at the value of financial advice, focused on portfolio size and complexity. Referenced at 00:55 and again at 20:19.Episode 414: the handful of life decisions that really move the dial. Referenced at 22:12.Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

    Ep 430: Is financial advice worth it? What rules can't fix.

  2. 3d ago

    Q&A - Debt recycling when you sell your home: keep the deduction

    Selling your home needn’t undo debt recycling. I’d substitute the security with a term deposit or your next home to keep it deductible. In this listener Q&A I walk Dave through substitution of security and simultaneous settlements, and explain why I’d pay a little more for a flexible lender. I then answer Marcus on whether to offset an investment loan or use a high-interest savings account. On the top marginal rate the offset usually wins, unless a low-income spouse changes the maths. I also cover why I wouldn’t pay investment debt down to zero. For Michael, I explain why you shouldn’t keep an average property just for the negative gearing, and how much leverage a 30-year-old actually needs. Dominic asks about moving assets out of a family trust ahead of the proposed 30% minimum tax, and my answer is still to do nothing yet. Nathan asks who benefits from quarantined negative gearing, and what the UK’s experience tells us about housing affordability. 00:00 Nathan: who benefits from quarantined negative gearing?  01:19 Vested interests: new builds, commercial and offshore buyer’s agents  03:00 Why commercial property yields don’t stack up  04:34 Lessons from the UK’s property tax changes  08:32 Tax settings only move affordability at the margin  09:30 Dominic: moving assets out of a family trust  10:01 Two minimum 30% taxes, and why to do nothing yet  11:05 CGT rollover relief and the stamp duty problem  11:53 Will the trust tax be rescinded before the 2028 election?  13:49 What common-sense tax reform would look like  15:13 Business as usual for your discretionary trust  15:35 Michael: should I sell an average investment property?  18:00 Don’t hold an asset just for negative gearing  18:40 Property vs shares: the power of leverage  21:19 Never a bad time to sell a bad asset  23:07 Dave: debt recycling when you sell your home  24:21 Substitution of security using a term deposit  25:54 Simultaneous settlement from old home to new  26:27 If the bank repays your loan by mistake  27:16 Why lender flexibility beats a lower rate  29:01 Revaluations and using lenders in the right order  30:24 Marcus: offset an investment loan or use a savings account?  31:16 Comparing before-tax and after-tax interest rates  32:39 When a non-working spouse changes the answer  34:14 Why not to pay investment debt down to zero  35:47 Coming up: do you really need a financial adviser? Related episodes:  Q&A: Upgrade or rentvest, home equity loans, and going non-resident  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19862011-q-a-upgrade-or-rentvest-home-equity-loans-and-going-non-resident Q&A - Choosing a pension account, topping up in retirement, and offset versus debt recycling  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19803896-q-a-choosing-a-pension-account-topping-up-in-retirement-and-offset-versus-debt-recycling Q&A - Deploying an inheritance, selling an average property, and funding a long retirement  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19832494-q-a-deploying-an-inheritance-selling-an-average-property-and-funding-a-long-retirement Q&A - Sequence of returns risk retiring early: bridging to super  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19885744-q-a-sequence-of-returns-risk-retiring-early-bridging-to-super Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19764156-ep-425-family-trust-investing-are-trusts-still-worth-it-under-proposed-tax-changes Why common-sense tax reform is vital to Australia’s future  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/14044773 Optional:  Ep 426: The do not invest list: why good investors say no  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19748907-ep-426-the-do-not-invest-list-why-good-investors-say-no Ep 423: Negative gearing deferred - here's how to manage the cash flow gap  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19680010-ep-423-negative-gearing-deferred-heres-how-to-manage-the-cash-flow-gap Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

  3. Oct 6

    Ep 429: How much do you need to retire & are you on track? Work it out here.

    Read Full Blog Here To spend $120k a year from age 60, you need about $3m to never touch your capital, or $2.1m if you plan to run it down to zero by 90. Most super calculators can't tell you whether you're on track, because they ignore investments held outside super, especially geared property, and they don't handle retiring before 60. In this episode, I walk through a set of tables you can use to add up your super, ETFs, and investment property and see where you'll land. I also cover how to choose between a perpetual and a depleting portfolio, why $1 contributed to super grows to nearly $47 compared with $21 outside it, and what to do if you're well behind or well ahead of your target. The tables and worked examples are on the blog, linked above. 00:00 Introduction and podcast ratings update  02:58 Why super calculators don't tell you if you're on track  04:12 The numbers: $2.1m depleting vs $3m perpetual  06:28 The early retirement problem: accessing super before 60  07:45 The wealth equation and why time matters most  08:07 Perpetual vs depleting portfolio: which to choose  11:31 Return assumptions and sequencing risk  12:30 Why life expectancy favours a perpetual portfolio  14:16 Modelling assumptions: returns, inflation and tax  17:14 Selling assets at retirement and the cost base assumption  19:30 How to use the tables  22:06 Investing inside vs outside super: $47 vs $21  23:07 Table 7: retiring before 60  24:58 Worked example: couple aged 40 with super and ETFs  26:04 Worked example: geared property investors aged 35  28:33 Table 8: spending more than $120,000 a year  29:49 What to do if you're materially behind target  32:19 What to do if you're materially ahead of target  33:57 Caveats and limitations of the modelling Related episodes: Episode 402 (March 2026): on spending more today, or in the healthy years of retirement, once you're well on track. Stuart references this episode directly at 32:19.The super report episode (July 2026): on choosing the right super fund. Stuart references this at 25:46.Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

    Ep 429: How much do you need to retire & are you on track? Work it out here.

  4. Oct 5

    Q&A- Sequence of returns risk retiring early: bridging to super

    Sequence-of-returns risk in early retirement is manageable with a big enough cash buffer. What I'd test is how you'll feel spending it. In this listener Q&A, I work through Michael's plan to retire at 52 and use an ETF portfolio plus three years of living expenses in an offset to cover the eight to ten years until he can access super. I also explain why I like locking in an undrawn loan facility before you need it. Then I look at a 33-year-old couple's debt recycling bonus and RSU income into ETFs, and where ownership structure, tax drag, and internally geared ETFs fit in. I cover what the draft 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts means for passive investment trusts (short answer: do nothing yet). I finish with whether money above $250,000 in an offset account is at risk. 00:00 Michael's question: retiring at 52, before super access  02:39 Do the numbers stack up?  03:15 Building a valuation-aware ETF portfolio  04:43 The behavioural test: spending your cash buffer in a downturn  06:15 Should Michael gear any further?  07:58 Locking in borrowing capacity: borrow when you don't need it  11:47 Listener two: debt recycling RSUs and bonuses into ETFs  12:54 Why RSUs matter for blue-chip property demand  15:59 Spouse super contributions, and a tax policy idea  18:20 Super contribution splitting  19:42 Ownership structure for a debt-recycled portfolio  23:03 ETF distributions and tax drag  24:24 Is a non-trading investment company worth it?  25:21 Internally geared ETFs: GHHF and GBGL  27:14 Justin's question: the proposed 30% minimum tax on trusts  28:26 Problems with the draft legislation  30:09 Options: gearing, CGT rollover, fixed elections  31:09 Why to wait: 1 July 2028 start and an election first  32:25 Craig's question: offsets above the $250,000 guarantee  34:15 Checking whether your lender is an ADI  34:31 Coming up: are you on track if your wealth is outside super? Related episodes:  Ep 427: How to assess whether property and share markets are attractively priced  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19832497-ep-427-how-to-assess-whether-property-and-share-markets-are-attractively-priced Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19764156-ep-425-family-trust-investing-are-trusts-still-worth-it-under-proposed-tax-changes Q&A - Cash-heavy at 48, bridging to early retirement, and debt-free at 31  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19753485-q-a-cash-heavy-at-48-bridging-to-early-retirement-and-debt-free-at-31 Optional:  Q&A - Untangling a messy structure, cutting losses, and low-income investing  https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19720854-q-a-untangling-a-messy-structure-cutting-losses-and-low-income-investing Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

  5. Sep 29

    Ep 428: Why interest rates may need to stay higher for longer

    Read Full Blog Here Back in 2023, Stuart argued that inflation and rates could stay higher for longer than most expected, drawing on 50 years of history showing that once inflation tops 8%, it typically takes a decade or more to settle. That call has aged well: after cutting through 2025, the RBA has already hiked three times in 2026, and underlying inflation has climbed back to 3.6% in a second wave the Bank's own models failed to anticipate. But revisiting the research has sharpened his thinking. Stuart walks through three forces keeping inflation elevated: a less aggressive RBA, government spending, and the AI data-centre boom competing for the same workers and materials, while weighing newer studies suggesting credible inflation targets may tame it faster than the grim 11-year median implies. His most important point has had too little attention: rate rises may simply bite less than they did 20 years ago. An ageing population, older households holding savings rather than debt, and mortgage offset balances up 49% since 2022 all mean a growing share of spending comes from people barely touched by higher rates. The uncomfortable corollary: cuts may not revive spending either. If your strategy relies on rate cuts, stress-test it. Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

    Ep 428: Why interest rates may need to stay higher for longer

  6. Sep 28

    Q&A: Upgrade or rentvest, home equity loans, and going non-resident

    Four listeners think several moves ahead. Silvia, who arrived in Australia in 2025 with a high income but low super, lays out a detailed plan: switch to variable with an offset, interest-only to preserve deductibility, build a buffer while catching up on super, and asks the deeper question: does stretching for a $1.6M blue-chip upgrade in her 40s make the household too single-point sensitive, or is superior asset quality worth the serviceability risk? And if they move abroad in seven years, is one high-quality asset or two average ones the smarter play? Shadi, relocating to Sydney for family support, weighs selling his renovated Melbourne PPOR into a soft market versus keeping it as a now-grandfathered negatively geared rental and rentvesting, complicated by cross-collateralisation with a Kew unit. David asks a clean execution question: how to structure a fresh $100–200k equity release into ETFs alongside existing debt-recycled holdings. Finally, Adrienne, heading to Dubai for two to three years, wants to confirm how non-residency affects the six-year rule on her home and the tax treatment of her Melbourne investment apartment. Structure, sequencing, and post-Budget nuance throughout, with the usual reminder that these are general discussions, not personal advice. Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

  7. Sep 22

    Ep 427: How to assess whether property and share markets are attractively priced

    Read Full Blog Here Stuart calls his approach value-aware: buying high-quality assets when they're attractively priced. Quality decides whether something is worth owning; price decides when to invest and how much. In this episode, he explains why both matter: your return comes from two engines: growth in an asset's underlying value and the uplift (or drag) as its valuation mean-reverts toward trend. For property, the entry price is everything because it's lumpy, illiquid, and bought at a single point, and he explains why the final third of a multi-decade hold delivers more than half the growth, so selling during a flat patch can cost you the best phase. He walks through how to judge whether a market is undervalued: long-term price trends, rental yields, relative values between property types and cities, and replacement cost. For shares, where you invest progressively, he unpacks four metrics and how much weight each deserves: price-to-earnings (richest history, but interrogate the "E"), free cash flow (most honest, hardest to benchmark, and complicated by AI capex), price-to-book, and dividend yield as a cross-check. Using the FTSE 100 as a worked example, he shows why the strongest signal is several measures agreeing, never one ratio in isolation. Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

    Ep 427: How to assess whether property and share markets are attractively priced

  8. Sep 21

    Q&A - Deploying an inheritance, selling an average property, and funding a long retirement

    Four listeners at very different scales. "James," 45, describes himself as not being great with money but ready to fix that with a $480k inheritance, a high income, and 15 years to run. His head is spinning: pay off the mortgage, debt recycle, go all-in on ETFs, start an SMSF, and is property still viable over a 14–15 year horizon versus shares? Stuart brings order to the questions. Alex, in his early 40s, asks a question many quietly avoid: when do you sell an underperforming or average investment property? Having bought in Perth after exceptional growth using a buyer's agent, he now doubts the fundamentals and wonders whether to redeploy toward ETFs. Finally, Dominic, turning 55 with an $8.8M property portfolio and a just-announced redundancy, wants to engineer a specific outcome: $160k a year for the first 15 years and $110k from 70 to 100, inflation-adjusted, while slowly selling down and bridging the gap to super. Sequencing, structure, and the hold-or-sell discipline throughout, with the usual reminder that these are general discussions, not personal advice. Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X Run your own business?  Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/ Our most popular free guides: Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes. Download them here Got a question for the podcast? Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au Subscribe to my weekly blog: Stay connected here Important This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

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3.7
out of 5
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About

Investopoly is a twice-weekly podcast designed to help you make better financial decisions and build wealth with clarity and confidence. Hosted by Stuart (tax adviser, financial adviser, and mortgage broker) and Campbell (senior financial adviser), each episode delivers concise, practical insights grounded in real-world strategy, research, methodologies, and case studies. You will get two episodes each week: a main episode that deep-dives into a single wealth-building topic, and a Q&A episode that answers listener questions and real scenarios. Send your questions to questions@investopoly.com.auWe also writes a weekly blog, and many podcast topics build on those ideas and frameworks. Stuart's forthcoming book, Wealth by Design, will be available in July 2026.

Information

  • Channel
    ProSolution
  • Creator
    Stuart Wemyss & Campbell Wallace
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    585
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Investopoly
  • Show Website
    Investopoly

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