Beyond PiggyBanks

I started a podcast for parents. The idea was simple — help them build a financial head start for their children, early enough to matter. That series is called Baby to Graduation. Now my son Rodrigo is heading to university. And that made me think. What does he do when he starts to earn? When the real decisions begin? That is what this series is about. Welcome to The Foundation Years — a Beyond Pi...

Have you just started earning and want to make sure you are making the right choices? Welcome to The Foundation Years — a Beyond PiggyBanks series. Three starting points. One thing in common: income, no dependants, and time on your side. This is the most important financial window of your life — and what you do with it is everything. In this episode I set out what this window is worth, the three t...

This is the last episode of the Baby to Graduation series. Imagine it. Your child is sitting across from you. They are 18, or 20, or 22. You open a screen and show them a number. That number represents years of quiet discipline — monthly contributions that never stopped, markets that rose and fell and rose again, compounding that worked in the background without ever asking for your attention. You...

This is a bonus episode. It sits outside the series — but it is not optional. Everything we have built together — the time, the compounding, the platform, the tax wrapper — can be undone in a single moment of misplaced trust. This episode is about making sure that never happens. In 2024, investment fraud was the single most reported category of cyber crime in the United States. Nearly 48,000 compl...

The engine is built. Now it needs a home. Choosing a platform feels like a small administrative step. It is not. The platform you choose determines what instruments you can access, the fee structure that will quietly compound against or in favor of your returns for the next 20 years, and the regulatory protections covering your assets if something goes wrong. In this episode, I give you the framew...

The recipe is built. But every portfolio exists inside a tax environment — and that environment can quietly take a meaningful portion of everything you have built, or barely touch it at all. In this episode, I give you the map. Four questions every parent needs to answer for their own country: How are capital gains and income taxed? Does your country have a tax wrapper for children or long-term in...

Nine episodes of preparation. Today, everything comes together. In this episode, I walk through how to actually build a portfolio for your child — turning the theory into real percentages, real allocations, and a real engine. Before you can build, you need to answer three questions: What is your objective? How long do you have? What is your risk tolerance? Everything follows from there. I walk thr...

Your basket grew 8%. The market went up. And you still lost money. That is currency risk — and it is one of the most underestimated forces in long-term investing. Not because it is complicated. Because it is invisible. In this episode I explain the difference between transaction currency and base currency, why the same basket can produce very different results for investors in different countries,...

You know the ingredients. Now you need a way to carry them home. In this episode I explain what an ETF actually is — the pre-arranged basket that makes diversified investing simple, accessible, and low cost. I cover the difference between index-tracking and actively managed ETFs, and why the universe of available baskets is bigger than most people realize. If you thought of it — there is probably...

Before you can build a portfolio, you need to understand what you are building it with. In this episode, I walk through the five core asset classes — equities, fixed income, real estate, commodities, and alternatives — explaining what each one does, what role it plays in a long-term portfolio, and what level of risk it carries. I also clarify what an index actually is, and why that distinction mat...

The most important investment decision you will make — and it is not which stock to buy. In this episode we explain the difference between passive and active investing, why eighty percent of professional fund managers fail to beat the market over ten years, and what that means for your child's portfolio. We tell the story of Warren Buffett's million dollar bet against the hedge fund indust...

Two silent forces are quietly working against your child's financial future every single day — and most parents never see them coming. In this episode, we go deeper on inflation — what it is, what causes it, and what it does to money that sits still over time. We revisit the piggy bank problem from Episode 1 and show exactly how much purchasing power disappears over 18 years. Then we turn to f...

Markets fall. Emotions spike. And in that moment, one instinctive decision can quietly undo years of careful planning. This is Episode 04 of Beyond PiggyBanks — where we reveal the real danger threatening your child's financial future. Not complexity. Not bad luck. Human behaviour itself. Panic selling, performance chasing, and cognitive biases — and the simple defences that keep your plan on...

In this episode of Beyond PiggyBanks, we complete the foundation of your child’s financial engine with two powerful allies: Compounding and Automation . You’ll learn how small, consistent investments can grow into something meaningful over time—and why the real power of compounding comes from patience, not perfection. We also explore how to turn your investment strategy into a system that runs in...

In this episode of Beyond PiggyBanks, we introduce two of the most powerful forces behind long-term wealth: Time and Diversification . You’ll learn why time is not your enemy—but your greatest advantage—and how it quietly absorbs risk over the long run. We also break down a simple strategy called Dollar-Cost Averaging , helping you invest consistently without trying to predict the market. But what...

His heart was in the right place… but his money was sitting in a bucket with a hole in the bottom.”In this first episode, I explain how most of us learned about money the hard way—and how parents today can change the starting line for their kids. Through a simple story and practical insights, you’ll discover why saving alone may not be enough and why time is the most powerful advantage your child...

Most of us learned about money the hard way. Beyond PiggyBanks is the podcast for parents who want to start investing early for their children so they can grow up with a powerful financial head start. Through simple explanations and practical strategies, you’ll learn how small investments made early in your child’s life can grow into meaningful opportunities for their future. You don’t need a fina...