Ask An Advisor

Hello and welcome back to Ask An Advisor.

As we wrap the year we’re looking back at some of the amazing conversations we’ve had with our advisors to pull out some of the key lessons we’ve learnt.

Over the next 2 weeks we’ll highlight 6 lessons we think are worth reflecting on over the summer break.

Thanks for the support as always, and have a great day!

- Bryce and Alec

This newsletter is sponsored by J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Key lessons from Ask An Advisor 2023

Charlie Viola - Portfolio construction and investing with small amounts

Something that has really stuck with us here at the EM office is Charlie’s advice on how to build a portfolio with small amounts of money when you’re early on in your journey.

He suggested it’s best to focus on building large positions in two or three investments, that are good quality, rather than take a spray and prey approach and have multiple small-dollar investments. Once you then reach a critical mass (about $50,000), then you can start to look at building more positions elsewhere.

This is worth thinking about as (from experience) it’s easy to get excited when you start out and putt $500 here, $500 and there and then you soon find that you have a diverse portfolio of small positions, that don’t amount to much.

Jelena Koncar - Using debt recycling to build wealth

“What is debt recylcing and how can I use it"?” has been a popular question this year, so we put it to Jelena very early on in the episode.

With both of us having just entered the property market, the concept of debt recycling was new to us. While we probably haven’t build up enough equity just yet to really put this strategy to work, it was interesting none-the-less and we’re sure there are people in the community who are doing this, or considering it. Something we’ll be keeping in mind for the future!

Patrick Malcolm - Be honest with your budget

Getting your cashflow right is critically important. It’s the foundation that allows you to live within your means and put your money to work.

We’re often asked for budgeting strategies, so we asked Patrick what he thought were some key principles to building a budget.

His answer was about being honest with yourself. Don’t create a budget that you WISH you had. Create a budget that is true and honest. Don’t put your finger in the air and assume. Do the work, look back over your transaction history for the last few months and actually understand what you’re spending money on. Otherwise you’ll be trying to operate in a world that’s not reality.

Want to ask a question?

We have a star-studded list of advisors waiting to answer your question, so what are you waiting for?

Email [email protected] with your question 

Tips to build wealth, your way 
thanks to Betashares Direct

—----------------------

Get out of your way and automate your investing

You’ll always be able to find a reason not to invest. Maybe the market is falling and you’re worried that the worst is yet to come. Or maybe the market is rising and you’re worried that it’s overvalued. Whatever the moment, you’ll always find a reason to worry.

That is why automating your investing and dollar cost averaging is so powerful.

Let’s say you invested $100 a month into a broad stock market ETF. If you did that for 20 years, from January 2004 to December 2023, that would be $24,000 invested. If you had invested that money and reinvested your dividends:

• In Australia (S&P/ASX 200) you would have $52,955

• In the United States (Nasdaq 100) you would have had $146,097

In that 20 year period we saw war, terrorist attacks, a global financial crisis, a global pandemic, multiple US Presidents and plenty more reasons to worry. Over the next 20 years we’ll have plenty more reasons to worry.

But trust us, you’ll regret letting that worry stopping you from getting started.

—----------------------

Automate your investing your way with Betashares Direct. Access professionally-constructed, pre-built portfolios or build your own custom portfolio, for low monthly fees. Or, automate your investments into ETFs trading on Australian exchanges with $0 brokerage*.

Find out more

*Refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for information on interest retained by Betashares on cash balances and portfolio fees associated with AutoPilot portfolios.

Betashares Capital Limited (ABN 78 139 566 868, AFSL 341181) is the issuer of Betashares Invest, which is available through Betashares Direct. Read the Product Disclosure Statement and the Target Market Determination for Betashares Invest, available by emailing Customer Support at [email protected] or at www.betashares.com.au/direct, to consider whether the product is right for you. This information is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your financial objectives, situation or needs. You should consider its appropriateness taking into account such factors and seek professional financial advice. Investing involves risk.

Keep learning

Podcasts

This week on Equity Mates Investing we review our bold predictions for 2023 and reveal who won Stock Of The Year!

Online courses

The Rask Value Investor Program with Equity Mates, is Rask’s full online investor training complete with stock market valuation templates, Excel downloads, investing checklists, case studies and hours of HD video.