International Investors need to consider the macro-economic environment and jurisdictional factors as critical elements in determining where and how they invest. The longer the timeframe for investment, the more important this becomes. Creating intergenerational...
Interest Rates Rise, So Why Is the Aussie Falling?
The old show business saying is ‘Never work with animals and children.’ Well, if we adapt that for finance, you can add ‘…or try and predict short-term currency movements.’ After my last blog on why the Aussie is being smashed by the Franc, I thought the recent...
Making Sense of Forex – Why the Franc is Smashing the Aussie
Every international investor needs to understand the influence that exchange rates have on the return on their investments. Predicting exchange rates, especially over the short term, is notoriously difficult. This is particularly relevant for my fellow Australians...
Anyone will tell you it’s a Prisoner Island – Aussie expats ask “What do I do with my Super?”
Any Aussie who heads overseas for an extended time will tell you it’s a big move, and on the money side, there are many aspects to consider – new jobs, new currencies, new bank accounts, new tax systems. Eventually, though, the question comes up: ‘I’ve...
From Coin to Code: Navigating the CBDC Era while Clinging to Cash… what are the EU and Australia doing?
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) simultaneously represent one of the most exhilarating and menacing investment developments for international investors. They offer the prospect of reducing transactional friction and lending jurisdictional credibility to...
Navigating the Future: Unleashing AI’s Potential in Financial Advice… and the Looming Threat to Financial Advisers
Like many, recent conversations have involved the advancements of Artificial Intelligence (more generally) and its impact on financial advice (more specifically). Personally, I have looked for ways in which I can benefit my clients and improve my practice ‘lifestyle’...
Beyond the Bank Balance: Exploring the True Dimensions of Financial Wellbeing
Where is the Value in Financial Advice? It’s axiomatic that every single client I have ever seen is seeking to improve their situation. The challenge lies in identifying exactly what improvement is required and how this can be measured. Financial Planners can conduct...
Estate Planning – Succession Issues for International Investors
Are you the next Logan Roy? Estate planning for international investors is an essential but often over-looked issue. Fans of the TV series ‘Succession’ will have seen the friction and fractures that can happen when a family sets about structuring, protecting and...
What the Perth Mint Gold Token can teach us about Cryptocurrency Investing
“I’m not sure it answers a need that people have” Just over three years ago, the Perth Mint announced that it was creating a new cryptocurrency, which came to be known as the Perth Mint Gold Token. At the time, Today Tonight did a story and asked me to make some...
Should you have Cryptocurrency in your Investment Portfolio?
If you accept – as I do – that blockchain is an important and transformative technological development, then it makes sense for investors to ask if they should get exposure to this through owning cryptocurrency. You don’t have to be a crypto maximalist...
Why Blockchain Matters to International Investors
Several years ago, I began researching the hype around blockchain and cryptocurrency. It quickly became clear that the technology was not a mere fad, but I wanted to separate the hype from the substance. There seemed to be much promise for international investors,...
3 Business Lessons I wish I could tell 30-year-old Me
The coolest thing about being 55 years old is you really start to get perspective on life. Your narrative arc even begins to become a little less murky. The downside of this is it makes you realise how you could have done things easier. Avoided the...
Take the Creep out of Creeping: Check your Business Assumptions!
Every one of my business clients seeks to provide a customer experience that is consistent, dependable, and reliable. These qualities are staples to produce a great experience and secure repeat business. One reliable way to achieve this outcome is to ensure that your...
How to Diversify Your Small Business
One of the biggest questions facing entrepreneurs is how to diversify your small business. This is especially the face if you are the proverbial ‘one-man-band’. I’ve seen many of these start-ups over the past year, as changing economic circumstances and technological...
Insider’s Guide to Business Mentors
Taking on a business mentor can be a big decision. A business mentor doesn’t just hold you accountable for achieving your business goals. Ideally, through their input and modelling, they will also have a big influence on your behaviour. After all, the word...
How to be a Great Business Mentee
As a professional business mentor, I often explain how to be a great business mentee. This is because prospective mentees usually ask something like ‘Gee I would really like a mentor. Will you mentor me?’ That’s nice. It’s flattering, even. But when you say that,...
Measuring your Business Mentor Return on Investment
A good business mentor can make a real difference in improving your business. Especially if you are on your own as an entrepreneur in a start-up or small business. So let’s analyse how you go about measuring your business mentor return on investment. Let’s get real,...
Business Decision Making for Entrepreneurs
It can be lonely running a business. Customers, team member, shareholders, regulators – all looking to you to deliver to their expectations. Business decision making for entrepreneurs is a big part of the job. Expectations mean decisions. And decisions aren’t...
4 Ultimate Guiding Principles for Buying a Business
Growing your small business through making an acquisition can be an excellent way to turbo-charge your plans. Every business needs organic growth through the usual marketing. Buying another business though can, almost overnight, take your business to the next level....
What Can Start-Ups and Small Businesses Learn from Billionaires?
Who wants to be a billionaire? I do! I do? Well, why not. After all, as an avid fan of Succession, billionaires seem to have a lot of really nice toys to play with (especially that superyacht). Actually, who cares about being a billionaire – as a business...
3 Critical Success Factors for Business
What do you bring to the table? In my work as a business mentor, I am lucky to meet a lot of people who are desperate to be their own boss – but don’t know where to start. They are usually very hard-working, have some good ideas, but don’t know if they have...
How a Business Mentor can help cash flow
They say that Cash is king. No wait … change that … cash flow is king. No matter what your situation, your place in life and no matter what financial obstacles you may face – if you have cash flow, you have hope. And regardless, asking how a business mentor can help...
3 Simple Steps to Choose your Business Mentor
I’m going to assume you have chosen to get a business mentor to help keep you accountable for success (smart move!) But what steps can you follow to choose the right person? It’s not as easy as it might seem. After all, this person has to understand you but also hold...
Choosing between a Business Mentor, a Coach or a Consultant – Advice for Start-Ups
Choosing between a Business Mentor a Coach or a Consultant Advice for Start-Ups When you are starting a business, you need all the help you can get. You are consumed with the workload and trying to do a million things at once. You are smart enough to see the value...
Business Mentor Case Study: Marketing Consultancy Start-Up
The Client Carl* is the founder of a digital marketing consultancy that helps companies integrate client relationship and marketing systems into their business. He was a superb designer but a novice businessperson. Although Carl is very experienced, his business was...