If I lost everything, I’d start a business I could get up and running in less than an hour. No money, no website. Just my phone. Here’s what I would do… Step one. Write a list of people’s ‘pain points’. Cooking, cleaning, ironing, gardening, washing windows, cleaning gutters, walking dogs, aged care, etc. Step two. …
Elanor is devastated. Just after we came out of lockdown during the pandemic, the chain smoking widow and her daughter reached out for some advice regarding a granny flat arrangement. The situation was pretty straight forward until she shoved her will under my nose while she darted outside for a bunger. Here’s what happened… About …
Its late Sunday night and I’ve almost nodded off to sleep when my phone pings. “Can you talk?” It’s Kate. A good friend of mine from uni. I stare at the clock for a moment and then climb out of bed and head towards the family room. “Sure” I ping back It must be urgent because …
Imagine this… You have a $5m mortgage on a house worth $3m and no other assets. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news… Your annual income is -$200,000 (minus) because your mortgage repayments far exceed your income. This is what the US economy looks like right now. It’s on its knees! Here’s the problem… …
He tried running from the cab driver but he was too slow. The cabbie swiftly grabbed his arm and ordered him into the cab. “Get in” he said softly. The beaten alcoholic was dripping with fear. It was a miserable, wet night in the dead of winter when the cabbie found him. The derelict was hiding …
“Sell everything,” he said firmly but calmly. “WHAT!…WHY?” I asked. “I have cancer.” I went numb. Bob started a tiny toy store in the late seventies. Back then very few people had credit cards except maybe a ‘bank card’, so he became the bank and offered his customers ‘lay-buy’. His business exploded! He sold toys, bikes, sports …
Continue reading “The Man Who Changed My Mind About Property”
Which thought is more frightening… A) Car accident B) Shark attack I’m tipping you chose B. Here’s why… Terror is mental. Or more specifically, terror is a figment of our imagination. (And I say that with the greatest of respect) You see, for most people, it’s easier to imagine being attacked by an aggressive set of teeth …
Six years ago, a mate of mine bought an accounting firm up north and it’s been going gangbusters ever since. And then about three years in, he had to find some larger office space for his bulging roster. Everyone got a new desk except the receptionist. She was made redundant. It wasn’t her fault. The …
Imagine this… You own a very successful business thanks to the rock solid relationships you’ve built with your clients and then they threaten to walk if you don’t bend for them. What should you do? Do you acquiesce or dig your heels in and say “NO”! Obviously it depends on their demands. But what if …
“GO BACK TO THE FARM YOU EFFING RACIST PIG!” That spicy (redacted) email came in on the back of last week’s Moowsletter – Stop Holding Your Breath For Rates. All because I mentioned the ‘I’ word. Here’s what happened… Last week I said immigration is one of the reasons inflation will remain sticky and keep …
This time four years ago Covid had well and truly raised its invisible head. The stock market was in free fall, the Easter show had just been cancelled, and whispers of a depression were getting louder and darker. Thankfully it never came to that. But only because world governments crash tackled their economies with steroid …
By the end of 2021, it was impossible to walk from here to there without someone chewing my Bitcoin ears. “Hey Suncow, I was thinking of buying some Bitcoin, whatdayareckon?” I even saw one conservative couple in their fifties take some equity out of their home to buy $100k of Bitcoin. It was manic. Sadly, …
Get your peepers around these numbers… In the past month Tesla has gone from $125 to $225, an increase of 70%. Meanwhile, the kings of Artificial Intelligence – Nvidia and C3 – are up 380% and 460% respectively, this year. Their run has been so impressive it’s made the darlings of the tech sector – …
Growing up, AI stood for artificial insemination. It worked like this. When mum and dad first bought the farm in Kangaroo Valley, dad would phone the AI centre in Berry when a cow came on heat. He’d tell them what bull (semen) he wanted and a few hours later a technician would arrive to inseminate her. …
All of a sudden I didn’t notice the cold air coming off the water. It’s early Thursday morning and I’m jogging across the Iron Cove Bridge when I tap the radio app on my phone, just in time for the 5am news. Tina Turner is dead. It feels like I’ve just hit a bridge pylon. …
Three weeks ago a mother asked if I had any advice for her twenty-five-year-old son who can’t save. It came on the back of last months Moowsletter about the rental crisis. Specifically, a lot of first home buyers have been bumped out of the market again and are losing hope. Some have given up on …
The caller yelled down the phone… “WILL YOU ADMIT YOU GOT IT WRONG?!” It was March last year and by the end of the call, I was wishing I sat on the fence and said nothing. Here’s the mistake I made… At the beginning of 2021, I started warning clients and subscribers that interest rates …
When accounting software sensation, MYOB, first listed on the stock market in the late nineties, many thought it would put accountants out of business. Investors genuinely believed we wouldn’t need accountants if a machine could do it all. Consequently, it’s stock price rocketed! And so did the demand for accountants. This week I met a …
I’ve never been a crypto cuddler and I probably never will be. But in the past month Bitcoin has jumped 63%! Its gone from US$19,000 to US$31,000 in a few fast weeks. Not bad hey. So why’s it running all of a sudden? In March, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse bank all …
It’s the first day of lockdown, March 2020, and there’s a convoy of removalists not far from where I’m writing this moowsletter. Young renters are fleeing back home because it’s cheaper and safer. Things are getting serious. The Corona virus is now referred to as COVID-19. It has no antibody, no vaccine and no one’s …
A fisherman pulls up at a wharf in his little boat with a good catch of fish. Moments later a big-shot businessman swaggers over to him … “Hey mate, how long did it take you to catch all those fish?” “About three hours” “Not bad. And what do you do for the rest of the …
Jack and Diane have been married for forty-three years. Diane works three days a week in a local business because she enjoys the patter. Her days off are spent spoiling the grandkids, doing lunches, pilates, and stuff around the house. Jack retired about six years ago to get a hip replacement and Diane reckons it …
What would you do? You’re the Governor of a central bank which means your job is to set interest rates. Inflation has been screaming for more than a year and consumers are still hurting. You’ve pushed rates up further and faster than expected and now borrowers are reeling. Worst of all, three banks have collapsed …
Imagine this. You’re standing on the harbour bridge looking down at the Opera House and next to it you see a two-person tent. If the tent was the stock market the Opera House would be the bond market. And just like the Opera House, people eventually take the bond market for granted and head up …
Continue reading “Why The Worlds Most Boring Asset Is Beginning To Rock”
Well, didn’t that blow up in their faces! The Prime Minister and Treasurer thought they could break an election promise that would impact less than 1% of superannuants and everything would be sweet. And then BOOM! Talk about misreading the room. Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison made the same mistake in 2016. They promised no …
He was beyond excited. He just couldn’t show it until he left their house. It’s 2010 just after the Global Financial Crisis, when a landscape architect is sitting in front of his clients in their Mosman home on the lower north shore of Sydney. Their dream of having a perfectly manicured garden was urgent so …
It felt like all three couples conspired to call me at once. The only thing was, they didn’t know each other. It was bang, bang, bang in the first week of February last year. All three were first home buyers desperate to break into a white-hot property market with an average mortgage of $800,000 each. …
It’s early Thursday morning and I’m sitting in my favourite café. And every time I look up from my yellow writing pad, I notice a lady looking my way. A few minutes later she’s standing at my table. “Hi, are you Suncow?” “Yes” “I’ve been reading your moowsletters, can I ask you a question please?” …
A merchant rode into a village littered with stray monkeys and offered the locals $100 per monkey. Everyone thought he was crazy except two blokes. The two blokes took up the challenge and presented the merchant with a monkey each, and he immediately gave them a $100 per head. They couldn’t believe it! So they …
It’s a stunning Saturday afternoon and you’re out at lunch with an old friend you haven’t seen in years. Everything is going along nice and peachy until she starts talking about her retirement, which is at least ten years away. The timing is perfect because only a few nights ago, you and your partner were …
A young farmhand rode into town looking for work. He could turn his hand on almost anything, so he didn’t mind what was on offer. He also had a few dollars stashed away so he wasn’t desperate for money either. He just needed three meals a day and somewhere to lay his head at night. …
Just before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, I met a heart surgeon at a charity lunch who specialised in transplants. By sheer coincidence, a week earlier, I had watched a documentary about the late Dr. Victor Chang who performed Australia’s first heart transplant. It turns out this fellow was mentored by Dr. Chang. Anyway, after I …
In 1990, interest rates went from 12 to 17.5% in six months. Commercial loans went as high as 22% and unemployment rocketed. Reason: The economy was going full throttle which sent inflation soaring. Consequently, the RBA hiked interest rates to cool things off and very soon we got the recession ‘we had to have’. I …
This time every year, I think about two clients of mine whose son was charged with two counts of murder leading up to the Sydney Olympics, 2000. In particular, I remember this… The feeling of disbelief when I received the first phone call and then reading about it in the paper the next morning. Feeling …
At forty years of age, Ellen Latham was in the prime of her life. She was a single mum, working in her dream job as a fitness instructor at a high-end gym in Miami, earning good money. And then unexpectedly, she was fired. She was absolutely devastated. It wasn’t just the loss of income but …
Exactly fifty-two weeks ago today on a blistering hot Saturday afternoon, I sent a video to my clients that raised a few eyebrows. In a sentence, I opined we were heading towards another Global Financial Crisis (GFCII). The threat of a China trade war had gone up in smoke and consequently, the markets took off …
Alexander Kearns was a twenty-year-old uni student forced into locked down. Soon after, boredom set-in so he started trading the stock market with only a few dollars, no income, and no experience. He appeared to be doing well and very soon trading became his new sport. But then one day his father walked past his …
They haven’t seen him since last Christmas and in the space of twelve months, he’s grown one…
Not long after COVID-19 reared its invisible head, Fred’s boss sent him home with one last pay…
Mary’s in her early seventies and widowed. She owns the house she and her husband bought just…
It’s about 2pm, Thursday, when I arrive back at my desk after lunching on Japanese with a good…
Three weeks ago, a suit from one of the big fund managers in town rang me to set up an appointment….
It’s early Saturday morning and I’m in my favourite café when the couple next meet to me ask what I’m doing…
How the tables turn. Twelve months ago, most people had no idea what franking credits were. Today,…
Everyone has a wishing well. On the surface floats our dreams, goals and aspirations but deeper down where the water starts to get a little murky, linger one or two regrets. Every wishing well is an amalgam of our past and future. One of the biggest regrets I see in a lot of clients is …
In case you’re one of those unfortunate souls who missed my last Moowsletter – Why I Like Cows, here’s a very quick recap… Imagine for a moment, you’re the proud owner of a cow and she produces 5,000 litres of milk per year. And let’s say she’s worth $1,000. Now, suppose the market for cows …
Continue reading “Why I Like Cows: Part II – Managing the Herd (portfolio)”
Cows are simple, beautiful creatures. They also stand as the perfect metaphor for investing as well. Let me give you an example. There’s a belief amongst some investors that if a share price drops, it impacts how much dividend (income) it pays you. It doesn’t. I’ll show you what I mean. Imagine for a moment, …
A few years ago, I considered setting up a mortgage broking business as part of the Suncow offer but the more I looked into it, the more I realised you can’t do both jobs well, so I stuck with planning. And thank heavens I did. Monday week ago, Justice Kenneth Hayne handed down his recommendations …
5 Cups is my number one recipe for three reasons. The first two are obvious. Not only is it really yummy, it’s also drop-dead easy to make. Easier than a salad sandwich. The third reason is not so obvious, although it’s my favourite. Each time a new client comes on board, I bake this slice …
The last time I spoke about negative gearing was February 2016. The topic had been flogged from pillar to post in the media and I opined there was ‘no way’ any government would ban it. To do so would be political suicide. Well, it looks like I was wrong. If Bill Shorten wins the next …
Megan is a good friend of mine with a nagging headache. We recently caught up for lunch when she asked what I thought was the ‘best super fund’…and I immediately started talking about ‘paddocks and cows’. That’s when I got the “WHAT?!”, response! Anyway, I said there is no ‘best super fund’. It’s a myth. …
Megan is totally confused. And she’s no dumb dumb either. Far from it. Megan is not a client of mine but she’s a very good friend who I’ve known for years. She also completed a Master’s Degree in Applied Finance about eighteen months ago as well. But right now, her finance degree means diddly squat. …
In the first week of February every year, there’s a great young guy who I wish a ‘Happy Birthday’ at the bottom of the Moowsletter. This year the message was brief. “Happy Birthday Shahab Sayyad, the best chef I have ever met. You’re a gun! “ He had just turned twenty-four. ‘Shabs’ is also an …
It’s one thing to be wrong at the top of your voice, but it’s something else when it turns into a joke! In early February when the stock market dived, it produced what’s called a ‘breakaway gap’, which I likened to a marriage breakdown. Remember the story about John and Jenny? John was caught snogging …
Jack is confused. And the more he chats with other people the worse it gets. Jack arrived in Australia about twelve years ago and is now in his mid-forties. He’s a diesel mechanic for a truck and tractor mob out in the western suburbs of Sydney and has about $200k in savings. He’s not hitched …
Rachel had had enough. As in, E.N.O.U.G.H. On the outside, she appeared bubbly and full of energy. On the inside, she felt like a failure. Riddled with guilt and shame. She was also a single Mum bringing up two teenage boys. And to support them, she worked long hours in a gift shop she’d owned …
It’s around 9pm, Thursday, February 1, and I’m under the pump. I’m also at a local boozer having dinner with PJ, a colleague of mine. Outwardly, I’m as calm as. Inwardly, the last thing I feel like is a beer and a chicken parma. I’m pre-occupied with an intractable situation regarding an estate and I’m …
Continue reading “One Little Experiment and One Big Thankyou!”
Ted is a sheep grazier just out of Orange in Millthorpe, NSW. Great bloke, brilliant farmer. The farm is a family operation plus they have one part-time worker named ‘Sterlo’. Sterlo’s a tad mad but he has a heart the size of a watermelon and you wouldn’t swap him for anyone. You need blokes like …
Jack is getting a little frustrated. He came on board as a new client just before Christmas. At the time, I recommended he invest half of his funds now and leave the balance in cash, just to take advantage of a correction in the market. We’re now six months down the track and he’s sick …
I know some things are easier said than done. And I also understand I have probably just put a big target on my back. But I want to give this idea a shot. You are most welcome to tell me what you think…. especially if you’re a parent! Ellyse is a family friend. She is …
Continue reading “Would You Pay Your Kids $1/day to Brush Their Teeth?”
This is a true story. Only the personal details have been redacted for privacy reasons. Jack and Diane have been married for forty-three years. Jack is seventy-one and Diane sixty-eight. They have three children and seven grandchildren. Diane works four days a week in a local business just because she enjoys the patter. Her wage …
As a 57-year-old, Donna McKenna just wanted to know how much she needed for retirement and if she’d have enough. In other words, when could she stop working and fill her days with fun stuff like spending time with family, travel, plus all the other things she’d sacrificed during her very demanding career as a …
Before you pick up your spears, let me make one thing very clear. Suncow Wealth is a Fee-For-Service practice, we do not do commissions. As such, I am not here to defend those practices who operate on a commission-based model. They can fight their own ugly battles, of which there are plenty right now. Instead, …
Let’s get the ugly stuff out of the way first. On two separate occasions I have publicly opposed a Royal Commission into the banks because I didn’t believe it was the best way to clean out the filth that has surfaced this week. You can see my posts here and here. (Remember Jane who wanted …
Try swallowing this. Imagine later this year when you lodge your tax return, your accountant tells you the tax office owes you a tax refund because you’ve paid too much tax. And then in the same breath, she tells you you won’t be getting the refund because the ATO has decided to keep it! That’s …
Continue reading “What Shorten’s Retirement Tax Really Means”
In January, a real estate agent referred a young couple to discuss Airbnb – the hero of the sharing economy*. Their situation was this. Both are in their early thirties and had recently bought a two-bedroom unit as their Principle Place of Residence. They would also like to start a family in the next few …
Napoleon Hill famously said, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. And so it was this time ten years ago. At one point during the GFC, things were that bad, the world’s financial system was literally on the brink of collapsing. Another straw would have …
Continue reading “Why You Can Expect Interest Rates To Go Up”
Last Friday afternoon just after the market closed, I got a call from George*. I’ve never met George but he sounds like good fella. He’s also a subscriber of the Moowsletter, so clearly he’s no dumb dumb. ? George was a tad nervous after reading last week’s Moowsletter – ‘Will the Market Fall Further?’ In …
Continue reading “What Advice Did We Give Our Clients If The Market Corrects?”
Right now, the U.S. stock market looks like a marriage breakdown. But is it just a separation or a full-blown divorce? For us, the writing has been on the wall for a while. In October, we hosted a webinar called ‘How To Profit in a Falling Market’. The basic thesis of that webinar was we …
Fred and Georgina are about two years out from retirement. Their home is paid off, the kids have moved out, and now their only responsibilities are to each other (plus spoiling the grandkids). Fred works in a factory making ceramic tiles and Georgina works in a local business as a shop assistant. They have a …
Continue reading “How Much Do I Need For A Comfortable Retirement? – Part 1”
So here we are eh, about 700 words from the end of 2017. It seems hard to believe the most popular Moowsletter of the year, Why Starting Beautiful Doesn’t Work, was written eleven months ago! It only feels like last week that my inbox got swamped with responses. It obviously touched a few people. For …
“I’m so angry with you I could spit!” That was the response I received from a lady one Saturday morning after I posted a blog in April, 2016, ‘Do We Need a Royal Commission into the Banks?’. I was minding my own business reading the papers in a local café when she walked up and …
Continue reading “Why The Royal Commission Into The Banks Is A Joke”
If I had to explain bitcoin in one sentence it would be this: bitcoin is like a wheel without a ‘hub’. It’s a peer-to-peer system where all transactions (spokes) occur between users directly without going via an intermediary such as a bank (hub). (Yes, I know, that was more than one sentence). But if you …
On Tuesday morning, I attended a breakfast in the city. It was a ‘think tank’ with a bunch of stockbroker types. The invitation came off the back of last week’s Moowsletter, ‘Jumping at Shadows’. The breakfast was also conditional. Meaning, you had to bring at least one original idea. You couldn’t just turn up, lean …
This time twenty years ago the world was whipping itself into a gale force frenzy. We were gearing up for the new millennium. The Y2K bug (Year 2000) was looking like a genuine show stopper. The belief was computer programs storing year values as two-digit figures (such as 99) would revert to 00 instead of …
In early March, I posted a Moowsletter titled, ‘What About Our Parents’. The cut and thrust of which, ‘bill shock’ (power and gas) is going to hit retiree’s harder than most beginning July 1 this year. Put simply, they have to manage a fixed income against rising cost pressures. On cue, I got a flurry …
No penny drops louder than an ‘ah ha’ moment. It’s the clarity and certainty that makes all the noise. As is often the case, ‘ah ha’ moments are usually so simple you’re left wondering why on Earth you never saw them in the first place. But that’s what makes some lessons so profound…their simplicity. Mine …
Most people install a house alarm after they’ve been done over. Tax is the same. Most tax payers seek to reduce their tax when it’s too late, usually in the following financial year. A few years ago, I received a call from a lady who was keen to start making plans for their retirement. She’d …
Continue reading “Why Some Accountants Don’t Give Tax Advice”
If it wasn’t for MasterChef, I wouldn’t know where to find Channel Ten on the TV remote. And I’ve tried watching the rugby but listening to their commentary is like playing naughts and crosses with myself. It’s mind numbing. Not even Sandra Sully is enough to make me look sideways at the struggling network anymore. …
Our bouncing budget looks like this. Naythan and Natalee own a small new-age business but its running at a loss. They approach their accountant but he refers them to their bank to increase their credit limit. Even though their business is losing $10,000 pa, the bank agrees to lend them $75,000 as long as they …
Dave was one of the nicest blokes I have ever met. I first met him while he was going through the divorce of his first wife, he just needed a hand with a few bits and pieces. A few years later he remarried and became a proud father for the third time. I had never …
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t think about this guy. I think he’s that special. He’s also the reason I introduced the ‘Back Paddock’ a few years ago, to share stories like his. I first learnt about Tom during a visit to the Loaves and Fishes Restaurant in Ashfield three years ago. It …
You and I are being lead right up the garden path to a house full of smoke and mirrors. And it’s the best magic show in town, at least until the smoke fades and the truth begins to emerge. According to every State and Federal politician, the reason Sydney housing is unaffordable right now is …
Continue reading “The Inconvenient Truth About Housing Affordability”
It’s been a sensitive week. For starters, this week’s Moowsletter was supposed to be about the ‘Inconvenient Truth’ underlying housing affordability. Fortunately or unfortunately, a colleague suggested I rewrite it because he felt it might create some unnecessary headaches. I thought he was being a bit precious at first but eventually my precious side agreed …
I had another Moowsletter organised for this week but right at the last minute I decided to send this out instead. I don’t know if it’s the time of year, change of seasons or something else, but I know this poem by Rudyard Kipling is really going to resonate with a few people right now. …
In 1960, two men made a bet. It was only $50 but thank heavens they did because hundreds of millions of children would be uplifted and entertained as a result. The first man, Bennett Cerf, was the founder of publishing firm, Random House. The second man was Theo Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Cerf …
Continue reading “Why This Is One of My Favourite Books Ever”
There’s one particular fund manger around town who loves a microphone, preferably a megaphone, and if there’s a camera in front of him, all the better. For the sake of this post, I’ll call him ‘Polish’ because that’s exactly how he comes across – all clipped and correct without ever tripping up. Polish is a …
About six months ago, a cafe re-opened within a few kilometres of where I’m writing this post. And even though this area needed another coffee machine like you and I need a kick in the shins, this one was an absolute sitter. The footpath leading up to its front door was layered with gold. In …
Every Wednesday morning, a very dear friend of mine whips herself into a mad panic. All self-induced of course. Straight after she finishes knocking herself out at the gym, she throttles it home for an even bigger workout, and it’s punishing. For the next hour or so, she frantically cleans, folds and packs away everything …
Continue reading “Why Starting Beautiful Doesn’t Always Work”
While at Uni I worked in a pub not far from College to help pay my way. It wasn’t anything fancy, just an old fashioned boozer open to all comers from around Glebe, Redfern – mostly war vets, coppers, journo’s, washed-up and wannabe boxers, plus a few academics searching for an answer to something at …
A few years ago I got a call from a mate of mine. Nothing urgent. He just wanted to chat. It was also a phone call I will remember for a very long time to come. Growing up, all Sam wanted to do was be a farmer. But not just any farmer, a great one. …
The last time I did a long lunch was Friday, June 24. Brexit election day. I was on my way back to Sydney when I stopped in to see a mate at Camden for a bite to eat. By the time I got back to the car it was 3pm and Brexit was a done …
As far as coaches go, there may be some as good, but none better than this bloke. I first met Craig Bellamy, coach of the Melbourne Storm rugby league team, while waiting for a ferry at Milsons Point in 2008. He was super fit, self-assured, and dripping with decency. His eyes didn’t deviate once for …
Theodore R. Johnson worked for the United Postal Service (UPS) and never made more than $14,000 a year, and yet, he accumulated a net worth of more than $70 million. Incredibly, what got Johnson started was when he told a friend he couldn’t save. But his friend reminded him that if his taxes were increased, …
The Dogs of the Dow is one of my all-time favourite strategies. In fact, it’s a bit like an old Labrador, unfailingly loyal and it rarely disappoints. The only problem is it’s so simple many investors quickly discard it because they believe something so simple could not possibly out-perform the market. But it does. Welcome …
Whether we like it or not, the banks simply could not afford to pass on all of this week’s interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The RBA cut interest rates by 25 basis points but the banks only passed on about 13 of those points. As usual, most within the commentariate went …
Continue reading “Why The Banks Did The Right Thing With Interest Rates”
A few months ago I was watching a You Tube video of Gordon Ramsay being interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel in the US. Kimmel started the interview with this… “What’s the first thing you teach your chef’s?” “We teach them how to taste”. Bang. Just like that. He didn’t even pause. In other words, Ramsay and …
I wasn’t going to write a Moowsletter this week because I didn’t think there was much to write about. To be honest, I still don’t, but Brexit is all the rage this weekend and most people are keen to understand two questions – what is Brexit and what does it mean? The answers to both …
For some, the run-up to end of Financial Year feels like two or three weeks of rip, bust and tear. It can best be described by what I call ‘The Clock and Compass Theory’. It kind of goes like this. Imagine you wake up one Saturday morning and make a snap decision to drive from …
If you watch the very best coaches (in any sport), you will notice their approach is more universal than tactical. In attack, they talk about running at ‘space’ or putting a player in the ‘gap’. In defense, they talk about denying the opposition ‘time and space’ or shutting them down. These are universal laws and …
In the last eighteen months, the Woolworths stock price has dropped from a high of $37.74 to a recent low of $20.50. Almost 45%. Prima facie, Woolies is priced as if it’s broken, but it’s not. So why do the Fresh Food People look like they’re past their use-by date? The first thing to note …
About eight years ago I met a retiree named David. A really nice guy who had been a maths teacher for forty plus years. Not surprisingly, he’d accumulated a sizeable amount in his super (or the equivalent of). When I met David, we were in the depths of the GFC and he was five years …
Short answer: No. However I wouldn’t oppose one either. Let me explain. Firstly, there is a very, very, fine line between unconscionable conduct and corrupt behavior. Case in point, Comminsure. One month ago Comminsure had their brand torn to shreds by the ABC’s, ‘4 Corners’ program. Whilst their behaviuor was unscrupulous to say the least, …
Continue reading “Do We Need A Royal Commission Into The Banks?”
To be honest, I’m still in a partial state of disbelief. In case you didn’t see it, the ABC’s Four Corners program ran an investigation on Monday night called ‘Money for Nothing’. In the space of forty five minutes they shredded the CBA owned insurer, Comminsure, to pieces. And rightly so. In short, Comminsure was …
Never underestimate a desperate man. Especially one with nothing to lose like Bill Shorten. Only four weeks ago, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was dropping like a stone in the polls and getting the tripe kicked out of him on the way down. He desperately needed a circuit breaker so he played a wild card (proposing …
By almost any measure, Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most successful comedians and writers of all time. According to Forbes magazine, Seinfeld reached his peak in earnings when he made $267 million dollars in 1998. (Yes, in one year.) 10 years later, in 2008, Seinfeld was still pulling in a cool $85 million per …
Continue reading “How One Hour A Day Made Jerry Seinfeld Very Wealthy”
AirBnB has more hotel rooms than any hotel in the world but doesn’t own one room. UberX is now the world’s biggest taxi business but doesn’t own one taxi. Quite often, one of the things that restricts our growth is what I call ‘unspoken assumptions’. Unspoken assumptions assume everything must follow a logical order or …
On September 1, 1939, Germany made an unprovoked attack on Poland. Two days later, Britain and France retaliated and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany. It was gloves off and guns on. World Word II (WWII) had just begun. WWII was described as a ‘total war’. It involved 61 countries and 1.7 billion …
A few people have asked where The Lemon Tree went to. I decided to take it out of the Moowsletter because I felt it was too much reading for everyone. Instead, I am going to turn it into a special post at the end of each month because I think there are some great stories out …
Everyone has a wishing well. On the surface floats our dreams, goals and ambitions but deeper down where the water starts to get a little murky, linger one or two regrets. Every wishing well is an amalgam of our past and future. One of the biggest regrets I see in many clients is they wished …
What do you do? Do you go along to get along or do you run the risk of spoiling a nice lunch by broaching a sensitive subject with a very good friend? Know the one? Well, that’s the exact position I found myself in a few weeks ago. I caught up with an old work …
A young farmhand rode into town looking for work. He could turn his hand on almost anything so he didn’t mind what was on offer. He also had a few dollars stashed away so he wasn’t desperate for money either. He just needed three meals a day and somewhere to lay his head at night. …
I reckon September is like a second birthday. Perfect weather, footy finals every weekend, and then a long weekend waiting with its arms wide open at the end of it. It’s more like a birth-month than a birthday. It’s heaven on a stick. But back to the footy. (And just before you lose yourself with …
Continue reading “Don’t Die With The Music Still Inside You”
As a young stockbroker I was fascinated by the price movements of different stocks. Still am. For hours on end I devoured and studied countless stock charts looking for something that had either been oversold or overbought. It was like the treasure hunt that never ended. For the uninitiated, price charts are like weather reports. …
Putting a ban on negative gearing would have to be one of the most nonsensical ideas I have heard in ages. The problem is, it has supporters camped in every major political party (red, green and blue). For the unacquainted, negative gearing involves purchasing an asset using borrowed funds (gearing), and because the income received is less than …
The stench that is now spewing out of Greece has been building for some time. In fact, anyone with a nose for basic economics could smell this rancid mess brewing some years back. It’s now enough to make a grown man gag. Welcome to the Greece Trap! I know I said I wouldn’t be back …
Jack and Jill feel let down. They recently changed accountants and have just found out they’ve been paying more tax than they should have. They don’t understand why their last accountant never said anything. Both are in their mid-fifties and the owner operators of a water cooler business called “Fetch’n’Fill”. Last year the business made …
Continue reading “5 Reasons Why Some Accountants Don’t Give Advice”
A few years ago, a mate of mine referred a mate of his to get some advice. He was interested in building a property portfolio, in particular buying property off the plan (OTP). When we met, Steve (not his real name) was in his early 40’s. A really nice guy and a very proud husband …
Four years ago a young couple from the Nth Shore came to see me about buying an investment property. It was their first acquisition and they were mustard keen to get going. After discussing their goals and objectives, they wanted to know what areas I had in mind. Without hesitation I said the western suburbs, …
For mine, watching the bond market is on par with watching budget night on the box. You know its important but it can be a tad boring. In fact, it’s about as exciting as watching paint dry sometimes. However, that may change very shortly. The bond market could well become an excitement machine and the …
Continue reading “How The World’s Most Boring Investment Could Rock Stock and Property Markets”
Most people have a sense of, “I can do that”, to some degree. It’s central to our survival. It’s healthy, positive, and it engenders confidence. It can even fill the heart with hope. But every coin has two sides. Only this one is more like a double edged sword – diamonds on one side, daggers …
How far do you think it is from Sydney to Canberra? About 300km? Or did you answer that question in hours like everyone else? Wealth is exactly the same. Measuring wealth in dollars and cents is analogous to measuring distance in mileage instead of time. It doesn’t work anymore. Stamina is no different. We think …
Last week a mate of mine said a mate of his was looking for a Financial Planner. My mate said his mate had already interviewed three planners and apart from not knowing who to trust, they all seemed the same. He also said one seemed a bit dodgy because he kept calling him mate when …
Ernie and Bert have been best mates since childhood. Almost inseparable. When they were younger they made a pact they would get rich together. They figured their wealth, combined with their cooking skills and good looks, would one day make them a good catch. Now in their mid-twenties, they would like to buy their first …
A few weeks ago I caught up with an old mate of mine. I’m embarrassed to admit it but it had been almost two years since we last shook hands. No particular reason other than life just goes that way sometimes. Work, family and other whatnot. I fired off the first email in early February …
The Back Paddock is a New Year’s resolution of mine. I’ve been trying to find the right opportunity to roll it out but it never seemed to surface, until now. So what is it? The Back Paddock is the Moowsletter equivalent of a back page. It won’t be a sports section as such, although you …
Four nights of kissing doesn’t make a marriage. It just feels like it at the time. It’s almost impossible to see any negatives at the beginning of a relationship. The positives seem to be everywhere and endless. Almost omnipresent. But eventually the negatives appear and you wonder where they’ve been. Truth is, they’ve been there …
Four nights of kissing doesn’t make a marriage. It just feels like it at the time. It’s almost impossible to see any negatives at the beginning of a relationship. The positives seem to be everywhere and endless. Almost omnipresent. But eventually the negatives appear and you wonder where they’ve been. Truth is, they’ve been there …
The Australian property market has clicked into a two speed market again, only this time it’s being led by Sydney and Melbourne. Confidence is sky scraper high and homeowners continue to price property as if interest rates will never go up again. Naturally, there is much conjecture about whether or not Sydney and Melbourne can …
“Real genius is found in simplicity”. Travel World co-founder, Gayle Rich Aldi is a supermarket power-house rooted in simplicity. Its business model is simple enough to give it a genuine point of difference yet strong enough to bruise the duopoly of Coles and Woolies. David has Goliath in his sights and Goliath is nervous. Aldi’s …
I was going to wish you a happy New Year until I walked into Coles the other day and saw hot cross buns for sale and then got all confused. I mean, how does a bloke respond to that? There’s obviously big bucks in little buns. So I gave it some thought and decided on …
You can usually feel the question coming. There’s often a little tell just before a client pops the most frequently asked question about superannuation. It’s like a southerly change. First you see the leaves move before the clouds appear. And it usually goes something like this: “What do you think about buying property inside super?” …
Today is exactly four weeks until Christmas Day. And whether you look forward to it with dread or delight, it is highly likely you will give careful consideration to the sort of dinner you enjoy and the company you share it with. For the lucky ones, it’s a belly busting occasion with all the trimmings. …
Dave was one of the nicest blokes I have ever met. A fantastic guy and enough friends for ten men. He had recently remarried and became a proud father for the third time. I had never seen him happier, and deservedly so. We were great mates. Not long after the birth of his third daughter …
One of my favourite quotes comes from economist Gene Fama, Jnr. He says… “Money is like soap, the more you touch it the less you have”. Three weeks ago I wrote a Moowsletter called Surviving the Mother of All Stock Market Corrections. In summary, it spoke about the benefit of investing in a core stock …
A lot of people have asked if purchasing a few Medibank shares would be a good investment. It’s a good question. There’s been a lot of conjecture around the upcoming Initial Public Offer (IPO) and a number of investors feel uncertain about what to do. And for good reason. Some analysts believe it has a …
I guarantee, you, and everyone you know, and everyone they know have fallen for the father of all retirement mistakes, at least once. When I first came into financial planning it stood out like a third thumb. But before I reacquaint you with ‘Dad’, see if you can identify the pattern in the following four …
As expected, last week’s Moowsletter – ‘Fat Pitch Investments’, left a few subscribers sitting bolt upright in bed worrying about a possible stock market correction in 2015. And if you were one of those, then in a perverse sort of way it served its purpose. Here’s why… The Most Important Question Of All If the …
Continue reading “Surviving The Mother Of All Stock Market Corrections”
In 1960, two men made a bet. There was only $50 on the line, but millions of people would benefit from their little wager. The first man, Bennett Cerf, was the founder of publishing firm, Random House. The second man was Theo Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. [1] Cerf made a bet with Dr. …
Here’s some weirdness for you. I love watching the footy every weekend but I don’t follow any particular team. Instead I prefer following the careers of each coach. That’s not too weird is it? Every coach has his own motives, moves and machinations and there’s a lot to be learnt from them. Their success leaves …
The picks and shovels theory is gold. Literally. It’s about 150 years old and responsible for creating many fortunes, large and small. The problem is this market darling more often looks like an ugly duckling. Investors tend to go for something that’s a bit better on the eye. The picks and shovels theory originated from …
About eighteen years ago I had the opportunity of meeting a heart surgeon who specialised in transplants. At one stage he was mentored by the late Dr. Victor Chang so it was a real privilege to meet him. I find anything to do with medicine fascinating so to be fair, it wasn’t hard to get …
What would you prefer to invest in? The best restaurant or a hungry crowd? If you answered the best restaurant, your preference maybe to invest with a microscope. If not, you may prefer to invest with a telescope. So which one is more important? Investing with a microscope. Microscope investors are also known as ‘value’ …
Continue reading “Should You Invest With A Microscope Or A Telescope”
There’s an old adage in the markets called ‘Seven Cranes in the Sky’. Very simply, this maxim implies that whenever you can see seven cranes in the sky, business is booming. But right now it looks more like seven cranes per suburb – they’re everywhere! It’s as if they were last year’s Christmas present. The …
It was a client meeting I will never forget. In late 2008, I was sitting in front of a widow who seven months earlier had lost her husband to cancer. If the distraught figure in front of me wasn’t enough, the life lesson I was about learn would be impossible to forget. Put simply… What …
I didn’t think it was possible but Mario is lost for words. Absolutely speechless. On the meeting table in front of he and Maria is a plastic hand grenade and a three bedroom house made out of lego. It’s a disturbing site and Mario is not even game to guess why it’s there. Especially since …
A fight has broken out. Last week I told Mario and Maria that I wouldn’t buy an investment property to save tax. As soon as Mario got back to the building site, he told his brothers, Nick, Con and John what I said. Immediately an argument erupted between he and Nick and they haven’t spoken since. …
Continue reading “Why I Wouldn’t Buy an Investment Property to Save Tax”
Mario thinks I’m playing games. Last week I suggested his home is not an asset. This week I have asked if he knows the difference between good and bad debt. Being a very proud Italian, he says, “Ina Italy, we paya cash for everyting. That’sa a gooda debt. Anyting else, that’sa a bada debt”. Thankfully …
Continue reading “Good Debt vs Bad Debt – The Power of Debt Recycling”
Not surprisingly, Mario feels offended when I suggest his house is not an asset. If he didn’t know me better, he would have told me exactly what he thought, expletives and all! But he trusts there must be a method behind my madness so he stays with me. Welcome to lesson one of the End …
I am often asked why I moved from Stockbroking into Financial Planning. In a sentence, it can be best explained by what I call ‘The Clock and Compass Theory’. Imagine this. You make a snap decision to drive from Sydney to Brisbane for the June long weekend. You estimate it’s a twelve hour trip so …
Ken and Barbie would like to build an investment portfolio and possibly reduce their tax. They have some savings but want to keep them as a buffer. Instead, they take out a line of credit against their home for $200,000 and make one investment each. Barbie is a beautician. She decides to put her strengths …
Continue reading “The Difference Between Investments and Acquisitons”
I know some things are easier said than done. And I also understand I have probably just put a big target on my back. But I want to give this idea a shot. You are most welcome to tell me what you think….especially if you’re a parent! Ellyse is a family friend. She is also a …
Neville and Nancy have just changed accountants and they’re not happy. They don’t know if the last accountant was asleep at the wheel or if the new one is telling fibs. Neville owns a bricklaying business called ‘Bricks’n’Bits’. With shoulders like a medium sized house and a big white smile to match, Neville could easily be the …
Continue reading “Why Some Accountants Don’t Give Financial Advice”
By the time I put my feet up after dinner last Sunday night I was totally spent. Exhausted. All I wanted to do was watch some TV. I was especially looking forward to the story about John Maclean on 60 Minutes. John was a professional rugby league player who was hit by a car while …
Jack and Jill were in their mid fifties and approaching retirement. They were debt free with a bit put away so they agreed to pull up stumps at age 60. They couldn’t wait. Jack had his own panel beating shop and legend has it that even as an apprentice he could do the work of …
Do you ever feel frustrated when you don’t fully understand something other people seem to ‘get’? It annoys you but doesn’t annoy you enough to stop and get it sorted. It’s a bit like one of those odd jobs around the house, it’s not hard but for some reason it doesn’t get done. Weird isn’t it. …
Dave is good mate of mine. He is also my exact opposite – yoga teacher, vegan vegetarian (won’t even touch dairy milk chocolate!) and the biggest petrol head I know! However, despite our differences in ‘taste’, Dave is like most other guys a few years either side of 50. He begins to give his finances …
Information provided by Suncow Wealth is general in nature and does not take into consideration your personal financial situation. It is for educational purposes only and does not constitute formal financial advice. Remember, the value of any investment can go down as well as up. Before acting, you should consider seeking independent personal financial advice that is tailored to your needs. Suncow Wealth Pty Ltd is a Corporate Representative No.441116 of AFSL 342766.