The Money Puzzle

Renting where you live and investing your spare funds to maximise capital growth is steadily becoming a key factor in the residential market - especially for younger buyers. But the key to success in this area is optimising your position as an investor - rather than a homebuyer. 

Arjun Paliwal of buyer's agency, InvestorKit joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in this episode.

In today's show, we cover:

• Perfect Ma...

It sounds so good: Sophisticated Investor status is open to all investors who have enough money to get across the line. But did you know a financial adviser is no longer legally bound to act in your 'best interests' if you sign along the dotted line? Three million people now qualify for Sophisticated Investor status but the regime is creaking and it's time for serious overhaul of the rules. 

Peter Burgess, CEO of the Self Mana...

A remarkable 100,000 Australians refinanced their mortgage to a better rate in the three months to June this year. If you have yet to join the party, the pathway to lower mortgage costs is now clear, here's what to do...

Mortgage broker, Christian Stevens of the Flint group, joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in this episode.

In today's show, we cover:

• How to cut your mortgage rate without moving banks 
• Reducing...

Roger Montgomery is the founder of Montgomery Investment Management. While he is into adventure sports, when it comes to investing he's acutely focused on managing risk. From working at a fish and chip shop to managing $1.5bn in funds, he offers his advice on wealth creation for those in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. 

In this bonus episode of The Money Puzzle, Sydney fund manager Roger Montgomery sits down with The Australian'...

Investment scams empowered by AI are going to get worse in the years ahead - and no amount of regulation is going to stop 'bad actors' inside finance. 

Self-defence in the form of financial literacy is the answer: investors need it, kids in school need it, but the government has put the issue on the back burner. It’s time for a change.

Tracey West, financial education manager at Ecstra, the financial literacy foundation ...

The Federal government is pushing big super funds into the housing market: That market is currently dominated by 'mum and dad' investors - Would big funds do better? Overseas experience of major institutional ownership of housing shows that rents rise when big funds buy into housing because they need a higher running yield. In turn, traditional buyers get priced out.

Nerida Conisbee, chief economist at Ray White joins Associate Edi...

This week's economic summit coincided with a surprise move by the Albanese government to lift the deeming rate for the first time in four years: The measure reduces access to the pension for wealthier Australians. Moreover, it's exactly the sort of change that advisers have warned are set to come down the line as Treasurer Jim Chalmers exerts his influence in the second term government.

Will Hamilton of Hamilton Wealth Partners joi...

Immigration numbers were meant to float lower this year but a surprise pick up in numbers over the last few months coincides with a tightening of the rental vacancy rates across the market. For renters it means any short-term easing in pressure is now off the table, but for property investors it signals a return to rising rental income.

Pete Wargent of the AllenWargent Property Buyers joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in...

The new super tax may dominate the headlines, but for most investors with less than $3m in super, a bigger headache is navigating increasingly risky marketing promotions in finance.Off the back of the recent First Guardian scandal - where some investors were offered 'free super reviews' - today we take a hard look at booming business of luring people into switching super funds.

Liam Shorte of the Sonas Wealth Group joins Assoc...

If it wasn’t said by a top financial adviser, you might dismiss it as a quote out of context, but  Partners Wealth Group Jack Tossol is not kidding: He says a generation that has ‘sunk everything’ into the family home will miss the chance to have a successful tax-deductible investment plan.

It’s a provocative notion, challenging die-hard principles of money management, but with...

 In this bonus episode of The Money Puzzle, The Australian’s Wealth Editor, Julie-anne Sprague, unpacks what it takes to be a great investor with one of the nation's top stockpickers, Jun Bei Liu. How did Liu learn to invest? What did she learn when things went wrong and what's her advice for everyday investors wanting to build their wealth?

Jun Bei Liu of Ten Cap joins Wealth Editor Julie-anne Sprague in this bon...

Inside the advice sector, they call it ‘the sweet spot’: The perfect amount of money to have in super that also guarantees you access to a government pension. With the majority of Australians accessing full or part-time pensions, it’s a big game and the rules have been clear for a long time.

But those ‘pension access’ rules may soon be overhauled as the government launches a major tax review this ...

Property investors have watched the Melbourne market sink for a decade. But the tide is turning, early investors are being rewarded as the latest numbers for Victoria show green shoots in the nation’s second biggest city.

Stuart Wemyss of the ProSolution Private Clients group joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in this episode.

In today's show, we cover:

• Green shoots for Melbourne as city prices lift 
• A...

In today's special edition to mark the online launch of The Australian's 'Wealth Vertical', wealth editor Julie-anne Sprague joins James Kirby to talk about how an experienced financial journalist sets about investing.

Wealth editor Julie-anne Sprague joins Associate Editor-Wealth in this episode.

In today's show, we cover:

• Do the very rich tell us anything useful?
• Financial advice: Getting it is one thing, using it is another
...

So the story goes, you buy inside the 'zone' of a top public school and your property purchase can only be a winner. Well actually... the numbers don't really say that: In fact, as an investor you may do better somewhere else!

Eliza Owen, head of research at Cotality Australia, joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in this episode. 

In today's show, we cover:

• Are public school zones hot property or not? 
• S...

The markets are overheating : Records are being made on the ASX while profits are actually falling. As we inch towards the most dangerous time of the year for the share market, you should be rebalancing your investment portfolio.

Adviser and family office chair, Dr Doug Turek joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby, in this episode.

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In today's show, we cover:

• Rebalancing time - whether you like it or no...

2025 started slowly for house prices - and the absence of a second rate cut mid -year might have cooled sentiment - but economists are now upgrading their forecasts as prices move significantly higher.Bank of Queensland is now calling a 6 per cent price increase for houses across the nation this year and next year.

Peter Monckton, chief economist at Bank of Queensland joins Associate Editor - Wealth, James Kirby in this episode.

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The extensive wealth of triple murderer Erin Patterson is almost certain to now be the subject of claims from the estates of her victims: The extraordinary story highlights some key changes in the world of wills and inheritance. 

In today's show, we cover:

• Rich from inheritance, Erin Patterson now set to face money claims 
• The rapidly changing rules for wills and inheritance
• Why Wills left on iphones will become more...

If buying off the plan property is so long associated with later problems, why do investors ever do it?
Today we take a look at the value proposal offered by off the plan property with its discounts, tax breaks and guarantees...

In today's show, we cover...

• The best and worst of off the plan investments
• Who is offering the guarantee?
• Buying through Self-Managed Super funds
• A listener wants to construct their own in...