flawcasting

1. 3 December 2025

   What I’ve been up to

   It's been a while. I stepped back from Fairhaven Wealth and NZ Wealth & Risk in mid-2023, and the years since have been a mix of difficult and gratifying. In this article I share what's been happening…

2. 4 April 2023

   AI, red herrings, and Superman vs Voldemort

   Red herrings are things that distract us from what is really important — a bit like bringing up the upcoming movie Superman vs Voldemort during a conversation that is hitting a lull. When it comes to…

3. 12 June 2020

   Retiring early is expensive (and so is private education)

   Every time I run the numbers, the cost of private secondary education stuns me. Retiring early is expensive too. Neither is wrong — just know what you're trading off.

4. 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…

5. 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…

6. 31 May 2019

   You’ll never have the “right” amount of insurance (but don’t let that stop you)

   You'll never have the "right" amount of insurance, because you're dealing with uncertainty. You can only tell what you needed with hindsight or a crystal ball. For most people the best case is paying…