The Money Puzzle

Australians will borrow to the gills to buy the family home. They will also take big loans to enter the property market, but when it comes to the share market they hold back. Today we look a serious look at ‘leverage’. In this episode, we cover:  What you need to know about borrowing for investment If annuities are so sensible why are they not more popular? How franking credits work* The case for...

The big banks offered a consensus estimate that capital city house prices would rise by 5.7 percent in 2024. With a rush of negative data since the year began, this week we interrogate those bullish forecasts and see if they can be taken seriously. In today's show, we cover: Will gloomy consumers drag property prices lower? NSW leads the investor rebound  Why one in three immigrants head to Melbou...

The share market beat all expectations in 2023 and what's stopping a repeat performance in 2024? Lots of things actually but then again volatility is the name of the game when your money is at risk on listed markets. Here at the Money Puzzle we just assume a real return of around 9 percent each year and then it's a question of the stock choices you make. In today's episode, we cover: The outlook f...

In our first property episode of the year, we look at the very promising outlook for apartments, the improving inflation picture, and the chance that rates might drop. We also take note of the potential headwinds in the next 12 months - especially the sharp decline in ‘buyer intention’ which has just been reported by Commonwealth Bank. In today’s episode, we cover: The property fundamentals of 202...

How might you start collecting art? "If you enjoy it hanging on your wall, then that should be enough," says one of our best-known contemporary art collectors, former China ambassador Geoff Raby. And he should know, he built an art collection worth more than $3 million before donating it to La Trobe University.   In today's episode we cover; finding your own path in the art market, negotiating wit...

Driving a classic car that looks wonderful - and might just make you a small fortune - is something most investors have probably considered at some stage. Today we talk to one of the country's foremost car collectors who operates in the global market and has been in the game since he was a teenager. In this episode we cover:  How to start collecting cars Where the bargains are this year The key fa...

This is the second in our summer Fun Money series. There is money to be made and fun to be had collecting wine: But how do you get started?  It's a tricky business finding good wine, storing it, and indeed not drinking it until the right time!  In today's episode, we cover: How to start a wine collection  Finding the top Australian wines to colle  Getting to know the pricing of top vintages   Main...

How about having fun and making money too - it's entirely possible if you become an expert collector of cars, art, wine, rare books...or maybe even whiskey. ((Hey! you can even put them in your Self Managed Super Fund). Over the next four weeks tune in for a wide-ranging guide to collecting:   In this episode, we kick off with financial adviser James Gerrard and host James Kirby on the first thing...

A spot by the sea? A place in the country? Can you do it...should you do it? The holiday home as a property investment enters the public imagination around about mid-December each year.  In today’s episode we cover; the difference in buying a holiday home compared to a permanent residence, the biggest mistakes people make, how to locate and settle on a property and the demands of managing a second...

So you want that car? The problem is you know very little about it - and certainly not enough to deal with the guy with a devilish grin coming towards you in the showroom. In today's episode we cover ; How to approach buying a car  The special circumstance of buying a luxury vehicle   How to behave yourself in the showroom  Rarity and brand power - how to get a car that will improve in price  Mada...

Melbourne is growing faster than Sydney. In the next decade, the two cities are expected to draw level in terms of total population. So why is Sydney three times better for property investment returns than the Victorian capital? In today's episode, we cover: The weakness of the Melbourne property market   Is the foreign investment clampdown anything to worry about? Using  your mortgage to optimize...

Who are the families behind Australia’s biggest companies? What are they like and what can we learn from them as investors? In today’s show, we cover:  Getting to know the Pratts and the Packers Meet the Millners (who just engineered a $3.5 bn takeover for Perpetual) The new arrivals in the billionaire set Extracting more value from Listed Investment Companies  Damon Kitney author of The Fortune T...

There is now hard evidence that investors are back in the residential property market. What's more, they are borrowing faster than owner occupiers and we can expect to see this translated into more demand from investors in the year ahead. What does it mean for the market? In today's episode, we cover:    The changing dynamics of a hot investment market Are clearance rates weak?  History suggests o...

We were told AI would take off as the investment theme of the year and it came to pass - that's why the NASDAQ has been about six times better than the ASX 200 in terms of returns this year. In today's show, we cover:  The next phase of AI for investors Finding the 'picks and shovels' in the AI boom Some stocks to consider for 2024 Behind AusSuper's banning of Origin Energy share purchases Clay Ca...

It's one of Australia's biggest banks but we never see any data from it - in fact, we heavily underestimate the role of family finance in helping first-time buyers get started in the property market. But this is a key factor set to underpin yet another lift in house prices in 2024 if the economists have it right. In today's show, we cover:   The Bank of Mum and Dad   Immigration levels and the ren...

Many investors now rely heavily on social media influencers for investment guidance: But who are these operators and do they have your best interests in mind? It's a key question for investors and regulators and the game is evolving very quickly indeed. In today's show, we cover:  The pros and cons of social media investment guidance  How crypto investing through social media is a world within a w...

Australian house prices could see a nationwide fall next year with Sydney leading the downturn on a forecast drop of four per cent, according to property research agency SQM. But in today's podcast, one of the top buyer's agents on the ground in Sydney reflects wide scepticism in the market over any perceived softening of prices. In today's episode we cover; the factors that will hold the market u...

Australian investors kept away from bonds for many years preferring instead ‘bond proxies’ such as the banks and telco fully franked shares. And they did the right thing because bonds have been bad news for the last three years - especially bond ETFs where total returns have let people down. But now the time may be right …for government bonds bought one by one and held to maturity.  In today’s epi...

For a while, it seemed as if the China buyer - a potentially powerful influence at property auctions -had left the scene. But in recent months Australia has emerged as the number one overseas destination for China-based property investors, even surpassing Canada in terms of activity. In today's show, we look at how the China buyer rebound is changing the market, where are the mortgage stress signa...

The nation's super funds will be able to widen the range of financial advice they offer under the new Future of Financial Advice legislation: What does it mean for you?  In today's show we cover; how the market's second biggest fund - ART - plans to expand advice, the reality of super's little known inheritance tax, what is Nick Bolton up to at Magellan and can the ASX withstand the loss of major...

Everyone likes to think they know their own neighborhood: As a result ‘home bias’ is a major issue among property investors. For first-time investors the issue is acute: The first steps into property would be even more daunting if the investment was in a distant city. But staying at home - especially in Melbourne - may just mean missing the best opportunities. In today’s show, we cover :  Making s...

We are on the cusp of the biggest handover of wealth in the history of the nation: A wall of money- estimated at $3.5 trillion - from both wills and super is about to transfer to the next generation. In Australia, we don't have an inheritance tax (though we do have an effective tax of 17 percent on money inherited through Super). With everyone living longer and the age of inheritance moving ever h...

The housing market is in a state of paralysis. Renters can’t find accommodation yet investors are moving their money out. There must be a way to revive the market for all concerned. In today’s show we examine a simple change to Capital Gains Tax that could breathe new life into this moribund market. Better still, such a tax change would not require cross-border agreement from the states and there...

Ozempic is causing a sensation in the health industry: Originally a weight loss treatment, it is now clear the so-called GLP-1 drug can have positive effects on other health conditions such as diabetes. But for Australian investors, it means a string of household favorite stocks such as CSL and ResMed have been hit hard. Today we look at whether the 'Ozempic-sell off' may just be a rare opportunit...

Across Australia home prices have lifted higher than anyone might have reasonably expected: it means millions of Australians have financial power locked up in their homes. Accessing home equity is one of the few ways the average investor can get to finance extra investments or settle financial emergencies without having to pay exorbitant credit card rates. In today's show we cover; how to use the...