asset allocation

3 June 2022
Every asset class has bad years, even bonds

Bonds have been performing terribly, yet I still call them defensive assets. Every asset class has bad years; regression to the mean is real; bond losses remain smaller than share losses; and your cap…
8 April 2022
The 4% rule is a mind-killer

I love rules of thumb — in the right place at the right time they're invaluable. Working out how much you need to retire isn't one of those places. The 4% rule is a dumb rule that a lot of smart peopl…
4 June 2021
Volatility is inevitable

Every time I work with a client, I make a bald statement of fact. If you invest in growth-oriented investments, there WILL be times when the value of those investments drops. Sometimes significantly.…
22 January 2021
What is your asset allocation?

Asset allocation — how your investments are split up — is really, really, really important. Get it right and you can make plenty of other mistakes and still be fine. Get it wrong and you're choosing b…
27 March 2020
Could I have picked this market crash?

COVID-19 had me questioning a lot of things, including my long-standing devotion to index-based investing. In retrospect it felt like I could have picked the crash — so could I have? Probably not. The…
6 March 2020
The magic’s not in the numbers (or: Why this blog is squishy)

I rarely talk numbers on this blog, which might be surprising since it's mainly about money — and I LOVE spreadsheets. Numbers change, past performance isn't future performance, and precision can make…
18 October 2019
My manifesto

"Wealth" isn't just about money, and "success" is personal. Don't over-complicate your financial life — make it boring so the rest of your life can be interesting. Everyone has a financial plan, wheth…
12 July 2019
How much buffer do you need? (Or: four things I agonise over when providing financial advice)

I have clients worth tens of thousands of dollars, and clients worth tens of millions of dollars. I find it much easier to advise clients with millions rather than thousands. As a general rule, the we…
14 June 2019
Stop complicating your financial affairs!

Kiwi personal finance forums are full of smart people endlessly debating which fund or platform is "best". I get frustrated with those debates, because they're operating in shades of good. Get your as…
16 September 2018
How to calculate your asset allocation

The most important thing to get right when investing in financial assets is asset allocation. It refers to how your funds are invested across different classes, such as shares and bonds. If you get th…
2 October 2017
“What investment return can I expect?”

People often ask me what investment return they can expect. I wish I could give them a number. I can't. Nor can anyone else — historical outcomes for the exact same portfolio vary wildly depending on…
21 August 2017
What is your investing risk profile? Answering a risk questionnaire won’t tell you.

If you've engaged a financial adviser, you'll be familiar with risk tolerance questionnaires — and robo-advisers lean on them even harder. Here's a dirty little secret: they're not nearly as valuable…
2 July 2017
Weekend reading (1 & 2 July 2017)

A weekend round-up of money writing worth your time. Susan Edmunds on divorce after 50 and the case for contracting out before you marry. Edmunds again on creating a sense of wealth by knowing your ne…
28 May 2017
Weekend reading (27 & 28 May 2017)

Two articles from the weekend's Your Money section worth reading. Janine Starks on the long-run cost of staying in a default KiwiSaver fund — roughly $600,000 over 40 years for a 25-year-old. And Susa…
12 April 2017
“Hurry up and wait” – why laziness is an investor’s best friend

In most of life, the best things go to those who hustle. Spend more, get more. Investing is the inversion: the riches go to those who wait, and performance and fees are inversely related. You’re rewar…
4 April 2017
“Fees never sleep.” – Warren Buffett’s bet

For most people, I advocate investing in low-cost passive investments. Warren Buffett is probably a bigger advocate than me. He bet $500,000 that a low-cost S&P 500 index fund would beat a basket of h…
14 November 2014
Picking stocks should be the least exciting part of an investment plan

A financial planner's job isn't to pick stocks. That's the work of someone at a Bloomberg terminal all day. A planner's focus should be you — your circumstances, goals, risk tolerance, cashflow. Asset…

asset allocation

Every asset class has bad years, even bonds

The 4% rule is a mind-killer

Volatility is inevitable

What is your asset allocation?

Could I have picked this market crash?

The magic’s not in the numbers (or: Why this blog is squishy)

My manifesto

How much buffer do you need? (Or: four things I agonise over when providing financial advice)

Stop complicating your financial affairs!

How to calculate your asset allocation

“What investment return can I expect?”

What is your investing risk profile? Answering a risk questionnaire won’t tell you.

Weekend reading (1 & 2 July 2017)

Weekend reading (27 & 28 May 2017)

“Hurry up and wait” – why laziness is an investor’s best friend

“Fees never sleep.” – Warren Buffett’s bet

Picking stocks should be the least exciting part of an investment plan

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