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10 June 2026
The FMA's access to advice report says some good things. But a report that urges banks deeper into advice without acknowledging the risks, and that critiques sector conservatism without any acknowledg…
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20 January 2026
“There’s a gap between knowing something intellectually and truly believing it. Visualising your spending, your financial projections, or your mood data can close that gap — making abstract knowledge…
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9 May 2025
I recently made a submission to the FMA's access to advice review. The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 isn't just about regulating advice — it also includes a purpose to ensure the availability of…
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3 September 2023
Even if you could fund a business venture yourself, that doesn't mean you should. I explore why seeking external funding can make sense even when you have the means — touching on expected value, utili…
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18 May 2023
I'm taking a break from publishing on this blog — it might be permanent, I'm not sure. Before signing off, I thought I'd share some articles I wish I'd published: exit interview thoughts on Fairhaven…
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17 April 2023
My views on AI, and specifically how it is likely to impact financial advice in the short- to medium-term, have evolved a lot in the last year or so. When the facts change, I try to change my mind — a…
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2 April 2023
I've always said my crystal ball broke sometime in my late teens or early twenties. But right now, that feels more true than usual. The emergence of AI has me genuinely uncertain about what comes next…
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25 February 2022
Consumer NZ is paving a road to hell with good intentions in the way it talks about personal insurance, and especially personal insurance advice. I'm a paying member and a fan — which is why it's so f…
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12 March 2021
The idea that there's one specific right way to invest, or manage your financial affairs, is kind of weird. Yes, I give clients specific recommendations — but that's what I'd do in their shoes. In rea…
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11 September 2020
When I give financial advice, one of the most important questions I ask is about job security. It's easy to think about this in terms of your current role. But there's a second, often more important f…
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15 May 2020
Many people think they lack financial literacy when what they really lack is financial confidence. In my experience, with clients and with friends and loved ones, the issue is much more often confiden…
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21 February 2020
My submission on FMA funding: the regulator shouldn't be mostly funded by the industry it regulates. That setup invites regulatory capture and muddles who the FMA is actually working for.
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14 February 2020
If you engage a financial adviser, you might think the decision will leave you better off financially. Not necessarily. I often encourage clients to spend more, or point out they can afford to earn le…
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12 July 2019
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…
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28 June 2019
The most valuable thing I do as a financial adviser isn't running numbers. It's having conversations. The right questions uncover what a client actually cares about, which is usually the hardest and m…
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17 May 2019
When it comes to money, I'm a "set and forget" kind of guy — one sign of a good strategy is that you can leave it alone. What you should review, every so often or when life shifts, is whether the plan…
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5 April 2019
I'm very sensitive to conflicts of interest — I've built my own business specifically to avoid them. Which is why it might surprise you that I'm a strong advocate for commission as the way insurance a…
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17 December 2018
Scott Pape, aka The Barefoot Investor, has a cult-like following on both sides of the Tasman. I like his values — he bats for the consumer and calls out things most people in the financial services in…
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15 October 2018
Australia's Royal Commission into financial services misconduct is worth New Zealand's attention. Two themes kept recurring in the interim report: dishonesty and greed. The commission also made clear…
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31 August 2018
I'm raising my fees substantially — from $879 to $1,800 including GST. Writing this is a way of being transparent with readers and clients, and getting my head (and my feels) around the decision. $879…
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20 May 2018
If the first thing you ask a financial adviser is where they get their research from, you're probably conflating two very different roles. Advisers work with clients; investment managers sit in front…
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11 March 2018
Most investment advisers in New Zealand charge asset-based fees — a percentage of your portfolio. On $1 million, that's typically around $9,000 a year, every year, with no obvious link to the work bei…
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11 November 2017
Some links to interesting articles in published media such as The Press, The Sunday Star Times, and The Herald from recent months: John McCrone wrote a valuable article about "How to succeed at the re…
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26 September 2017
Innovation doesn't need to be revolutionary or technological. When people think "innovation" they think iPhones — but iterative change counts, and so does doing things differently. I'm allergic to bus…
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21 August 2017
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…
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11 August 2017
The FIRE movement — financial independence, retire early — is alluring. The core lesson is simple: increase your savings rate, live frugally, and you can retire decades early. I'm sympathetic to it, a…
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30 July 2017
Excessive investment fees are "a tax on smart people who don't realise their propensity for doing stupid things" — a line from a Freakonomics episode that cuts close to how I think about my job as a f…
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15 May 2017
Many people don't think they have a financial plan. They're wrong. Even without clear goals or articulated strategy, you're acting as if you have one — maybe spending more than you earn, maybe skippin…
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25 May 2016
Advisers don't add value by beating the market. Vanguard's 'Advisor's alpha' research points to the soft stuff — strategy, discipline, guidance — as where the real value sits. It's often underrated.
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25 July 2015
Conflicts of interest are unavoidable in professional services — the question is how you manage them. Disclosure is the popular answer, but research suggests it can actually make advice worse, not bet…
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16 January 2015
I like the idea of the Australian tax receipt — showing each taxpayer where their money went. But the execution has two problems. The chart double-counts welfare spending, inflating the visual impress…
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14 November 2014
Online rating services for financial advisers are flavour of the month across the Tasman. There could be benefits — steering clients away from bad advisers, for instance. But the best-rated advisers p…
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13 September 2014
Commentary on both sides of the FOFA changes exaggerates their impact. Most of the "protections" being debated already exist in other forms — breach of contract, professional negligence, dispute resol…