Investopoly

Rule 7 in Investopoly was direct: only invest in investment-grade property. Eight years on, the core of that still holds, but Stuart has sharpened the method and genuinely changed his mind about one part of it. In this episode, he explains why Wealth by Design reframes the rule from "invest in investment-grade property" to something more demanding: own property with enduring, scarce and...

You can download the full report, including the four decision flowcharts and annual review checklist, here: https://prosolution.com.au/best-super-fund-australia/ Most people choose a super fund by looking at which fund produced the highest return last year. But that is the wrong question. The better question is: which investment strategy and super structure is most likely to deliver the best after...

Three thoughtful listeners, each already doing a lot right and looking for the sharpest next move. A 49-year-old single police officer, no mortgage, $810k in super, a growing ETF portfolio, asks the perennial question: buy an investment property, keep doing what's working, or borrow to invest further in shares? Stuart weighs the options against her plan to retire at 57. Slav returns with two...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Golden Rule 6 was simple: invest in the share market using low-cost index funds. Eight years on, that argument has been comprehensively won, arguably too well. Stuart charts the scale of the shift: the ASX ETF market has ballooned from 133 funds to more than 450, and from $36 billion to over $350 billion. Indexing went from contrarian to consensus. But that very boo...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth by Design Here You can't build wealth unless you spend less than you earn and invest the difference, which makes cash flow the most fundamental discipline of all. The trouble was always effort. For years, Stuart's method was to hand-categorise three months of transactions a deliberate compromise, since analysing two or three years by hand was simply u...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Five listeners at very different life stages, each wrestling with where to direct capital next. Perth couple "Amelia and Ivan," with two investment properties and a baby on the way, weigh three distinct strategies: hold and sell later to fund a renovation, swap a townhouse for a better-taxed property, or add a third and keep them all. Stuart works through...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here This one is different. Of all the rules in the series, Rule 5 is the first where Stuart admits he has genuinely changed his mind, not refined a nuance, but rethought the core idea. In Investopoly , he taught the textbook approach: blend negatively correlated assets to smooth out portfolio volatility, the classic diversification playbook most investors are told to fo...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth by Design Here For decades, negative gearing tipped the scales toward borrowing for an investment property over spending more on your home; investment interest was deductible, home loan interest wasn't. But with negative gearing quarantined and the effective capital gains tax rate climbing from around 20% to closer to 30–35% under the post-2027 indexation...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Three richly detailed listener situations, three very different crossroads. First, Charles, 51, unemployed, four kids in private school, and a sprawling portfolio spanning a Singapore apartment, an SMSF, regional Queensland property, land parcels and a $500k crypto holding. His question is deceptively simple: in what order should he sell to fund a Melbourne home, an...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here In this episode, Stuart revisits Golden Rule 4 and admits that half of it has changed. In Investopoly , the advice was to build your asset base, then tilt toward income as retirement approached. Wealth by Design confirms the first half but overturns the second. Here's why. Stuart makes the case that the real objective isn't income at all; it's after-t...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth by Design Here With the government's changes to established residential property now looking likely to become law, the investment case has fundamentally shifted, and those who try to ignore it will be exposed. In this episode, we unpack why quarantining negative gearing losses hits investors so hard: the asset costs materially more to hold each year, yet c...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here In this mailbag episode, we tackle five listener questions spanning some of the trickiest decisions in personal finance. A Brisbane couple in their mid-forties, with strong super balances and a plan to knock down and rebuild, ask whether to ease off super contributions to kill debt faster or keep compounding inside the lower-tax environment and whether debt recyclin...

Pre-order Wealth By Design Here Episode three of Eight Rules Revisited continues the Thursday series comparing the eight golden rules from Investopoly with the updated versions in Wealth by Design, released 28 July. Rule 3 — spend less than you earn and invest the difference- is one of the most straightforward principles in personal finance. It is also one of the most reliably ignored. The rule it...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth By Design Here Both Houses have passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. Royal Assent is pending but considered a formality. For investors, property owners, business owners, and superannuation members, the changes are substantial, and the details matter enormously. This blog provides a clear, technical breakdown of what the legislation a...

Pre-order Wealth By Design Here This episode brings together six listener questions that each involve a meaningful financial decision and, in several cases, significant personal uncertainty alongside significant financial capacity. The first comes from a couple in their late thirties who received a substantial inheritance, now holding $3.6m in cash alongside a share portfolio and three properties....

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Episode two of Eight Rules Revisited continues the Thursday series comparing the eight golden rules from Stuart's 2018 book Investopoly with the updated versions in his new book, Wealth by Design, released on 28 July. Rule 2 states that you must know how much income you need and by when. That principle hasn't moved. What has tightened considerably is every...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Most people assume building wealth requires making hundreds of good financial decisions. In reality, a small number of choices do almost all of the heavy lifting, and this episode identifies exactly which ones. The first is the choice of partner, arguably the most important financial decision a person will make. Alignment on spending, saving, and...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here This episode brings together four listener scenarios united by a common theme: significant financial capacity, but genuine uncertainty about which move to make next and in what order. The first comes from a Sydney couple earning $540k who feel house-poor despite their income carrying a $1.9m mortgage on a home bought partly for its duplex potential, with a medium la...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here This episode is the first in Eight Rules Revisited, a Thursday series running alongside the regular podcast. Each week, I take one of the eight golden rules from my 2018 book Investopoly and compare it with the version in my new book, Wealth by Design, out on 28 July. Some rules have changed, some have tightened, and some have simply been confirmed by eight more yea...

Read Full Blog Here Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Financial advisers often manage their own money quite differently from the clients they advise. After more than two decades of observing both groups up close, those differences have become a reliable indicator of what genuinely good financial decision-making looks like in practice. In this episode, Stuart shares nine observations drawn from that...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here This episode brings together four listener questions united by a common challenge: knowing which lever to pull next when the financial position is solid but the path forward feels unclear. The first comes from a retiree who connected with a recent episode on underspending in retirement, but raises a dimension that wasn't covered how to factor substantial debt-f...

Read Full Blog Here Pre- Order Wealth By Design Here Commercial property is being actively promoted as a compelling alternative to residential investment, particularly as higher interest rates reduce borrowing capacity and tighter tenancy laws make residential property less attractive. On the surface, the pitch is appealing: higher rental yields, tenants paying most outgoings, and the potential fo...

Pre-Order Wealth by Design Here This episode brings together three listener scenarios that each involve genuinely complex financial positions, multiple moving parts, significant income, and decisions where getting the sequencing right matters enormously. The first comes from a 34-year-old specialist trainee doctor in Sydney, engaged, planning a family, and facing a highly unusual income trajectory...

Pre-order Wealth by Design Here Read Full Blog Here Superannuation's enforced long investment horizon is one of the most underused structural advantages available to Australian investors. This blog examines whether internally geared ETFs have a role to play within super, and backs the analysis with detailed financial modelling rather than theory alone. The numbers are compelling. A 30-year-ol...

Pre-Order Wealth by Design Here This episode brings together four listener questions that each wrestle with a different dimension of long-term wealth building, from the early decisions that set the trajectory to the late-stage sequencing that determines how comfortably retirement unfolds. The first comes from a 28-year-old physiotherapist two years into his career, carrying $1.1 million in mortgag...