Investing Compass

Shani and Mark speak about offset accounts. There are smart ways to take advantage of your offset account, but balance is the key. You can find the full article here. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds...

Mark and Shani speak about the predatory companies encouraging you to pillage your retirement savings, and the methods that they are using to do this. You can find the full article here . A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by...

Lochlan Halloway, Market Strategist at Morningstar, joins us for a guest episode today. He talks about whether we're in a bubble now, what investors should do and what we can learn and apply from past crashes. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtf...

The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre (GFLEC) at Stanford University has created a three question financial literacy quiz that has been used in more than 20 countries. Mark and Shani run through the three questions, and add a couple of their own. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve...

Buying a home is a financial goal for many of us. Mark and Shani go through the questions you need to ask yourself to get clear on whether it is the right decision for you. You can read the full article here . A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtf...

In this episode, we're joined by Bianca Rose, Senior Portfolio Manager at Morningstar Investment Management. Nobody has a crystal ball, but having a guideline for what asset classes are forecasted to return allows you to make an informed decision about asset allocation. Bianca runs through Morningstar Investment Management's forecast for asset classes, and how this fits into your investment strate...

In this episode, Mark and Shani run through 6 life changing tips that Shani delivered to high school students during a financial literacy course. Do you have any life changing tips? Send them through to mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com, or leave a comment in your podcast app. You can find the full article here. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to...

In this episode, we discuss some key lessons for investors from Morgan Housel's book, Same As Ever. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar. We’ve shared our...

In a listener requested episode, we look at investing and balancing goals outside of super. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar. We’ve shared our journeys...

There are some obvious red flags that investors intuitively know to steer clear of—high fees, low liquidity, poor performance. Mark and Shani run through three lesser-known red flags to look for when you are choosing an ETF. You can find the full article here. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We...

SMSFs (Self-Managed Super Funds) are increasing in popularity. SMSFs provide a lot of great features. They allow investors to access the investments they want, and in the proportion they’d like to. They allow a level of customisation to invest in asset classes that aren’t available through traditional superfunds. The popularity of SMSFs with investors – particularly investors with high balances –...

The largest asset manager in the world, Blackrock has declared that the 60/40 portfolio should be rethought. They also believe that a 70/30 portfolio is likely to deliver 6.5% going forward. Mark and Shani take a look at the research, and what investors can realistically do to still achieve their financial goals. You can find the full article here. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five y...

Two years ago Mark purchased CSL. The share has not done well in that period. Mark goes through his thoughts on CSL, whether it still meets his original thesis, and evaluates whether the share deserves a place in his portfolio. You can find the full article here. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully....

Can you lower your tax burden with a trust? Tax is a large detractor from your total return, can this structure help? Mark and Shani discuss the investors that it may suit and those that it won't. Listen to this before committing, as the establishment and maintenance fees for trusts can put you on the back foot if it doesn't suit your circumstances. You can find the full article here. A message fr...

Is an unrealistic portrayal of investing success holding you back? Mark and Shani talk through their investing journey and their realisation of how to reach their goals. A message from Mark and Shani: For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hund...

Financial advisers are investing in droves in Separately Managed Accounts, or SMAs. We take a look at the benefits of this investment product, and why more and more advisers are joining its church.  A message from Mark and Shani: For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful an...

Many investors are wary after the collapse of First Guardian. What are the steps that you can take to make sure that your super is safe? A message from Mark and Shani: For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professio...

We take a look at how much franking credits adds to an investor's returns, and whether the obsession with the tax credits is justified. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professiona...

We run through why dividends are valuable for investors, and a valuation technique for shares that investors are usually quick to dismiss. A message from Mark and Shani For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professi...

This episode of Investing Compass reviews the Australian superannuation system. For each aspect of the retirement system, Mark gives it a grade, but also shares the average grade that Morningstar readers gave. This week in Mark's Unconventional Wisdom column , he speaks about how investors can navigate their investments and their portfolio in an age of economic disorder. In a world awash with debt...

Some investors focus on what the markets are doing each day to understand how their portfolio is going to perform. In this episode, we run through the common behavioural mistakes that will likely have an outsized impact on your portfolio, and how investors can prevent making these mistakes. To submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to...

This week, Mark and Shani take a look at a quirk to one of the most generous tax concessions that we have in Australia, the CGT exemption for your home. The CGT exemption also allows for you to rent out your property for a number of years, and still claim the CGT-exempt status. We take a deep dive into the tax policy, the circumstances that it suits and the situations to avoid that would make home...

This week's podcast focuses on traditional metrics for understanding whether you're wealthy, and whether there are better ways to assess your progress towards wealth creation in your End of Financial Year review. We run through the ratios you can use during your portfolio review to conduct a holistic assessment. Mark's Unconventional Wisdom column takes a deep look at the state of housing in Austr...

In this episode, we dive into private assets. What they are, their history, the risks and benefits and whether they suit investors. In this week's Unconventional Wisdom column, Mark runs through the reason why private credit is a hard no for him . As investors rush into the attractive yield offered by private credit providers, he urges caution and why all that glitters is not always gold. Shani's...

In this listener requested episode, we look at the difference between Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRPs) and Dividend Substitution Share Plans (DSSPs). There are some very important benefits to each plan that may mean one plan will suit investors better than the other. You're able to find the full article here. To submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or lea...