Equity Mates Investing Podcast

Since our first interview with George Lucas a lot has changed. When we last interviewed him, he was the head of Acorns Australia. Now, less than 6 months later, he is the CEO of the publicly traded Raiz. We've been getting a lot of listener questions about the rebrand of Acorns Australia and what it means, so we thought who better to answer those questions than George Lucas himself. In this episode we get the back story and inside details of Acorns Australia's decision to rebrand as Raiz and to list on the ASX. This is also an exciting first for us, our first interview with an ASX-listed CEO. In this episode you will learn: • How Raiz, previously Acorns, helps you 'save in the background of life' • Why Acorns Australia rebranded as Raiz. • How George and his team came up with the name Raiz. • The reasons why Raiz went public. • The IPO process including the investor roadshow and how George felt on opening day. • How the company has performed since going public. • Growth in the FinTech market that is making it easier for non-professionals to invest. • Raiz's plans to get into Superannuation • The Raiz Rewards program, and how you can get companies to put money towards your investing goals Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Raiz Invest Limited (ASX: RZI) • Link to Raiz website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"This is not mission impossible!" - Matt Leibowitz, CEO of Stake This episode is a cracker. As many of you are aware, we were invited to participate in a trading competition, hosted by Stake, to beta test their new trading app. The rules were simple. We were given $500 (USD$370) to trade through Stake, in American stocks. We had two weeks to make as much money as possible, and we had to trade at least three different companies. Mission accepted! However, for Equity Mates, this was going to be a massive challenge, because our view on investing is much, much longer-term than two weeks. We had to radically change our mindset. We sat down with Matt for what was going to be a short wrap-up of the competition, and reveal of the results. However, as we got started we couldn't help picking Matt's brain further and further with questions about his trading during the competition and his views on technical analysis. We had a very open conversation with him about the tricks and habits of being a successful trader. In this episode you will learn: • How much money we won or lost in the competition, and where we placed • What our biggest learnings were from the two weeks • The stocks we picked, and why we picked them • The stocks Matt picked, and why he picked them • About the importance of using a stop loss, and how to best manage them • The basics of volatility, and how Matt used it to his advantage • How to "be a lion in the jungle, and wait for your prey to appear" • Why money drives markets and not the news cycle • Why everyone has the ability to manage their own money • Why investing is not about being right, it's about making money • The best books for technical analysis Stocks and resources discussed: • Avalara (AVLR) • Netflix (NFLX) • ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF 3x Leveraged (TQQQ) • VIX Short-term futures ProShares (VIXY) • Frontline (FRO) • Fortinet (FTNT) • ProShares Ultra VIX Short-term Futures ETF (UVXY) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a little different to most. When the rumours first broke about football superstar Christiano Ronaldo going to Juventus, the Juventus share price jumped 8%. We didn't realise Juventus was publicly traded and started doing some researching. This episode is the result of that investigation - an exploration of some of the strangest and most surprising companies out on the market. In this episode you will learn: • About sports teams that are publicly traded, including one from Australia • How you can invest in stadiums • If owning a sporting league is better than owning a sports team • About a company that searches for lost treasure • Some of the strangest futures markets that have been banned by the US Government Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Juventus (Italy: JUVE) • Machester United (NYSE: MANU) • Brisbane Broncos (ASX: BBL) • Madison Square Garden (NYSE: MSG) • Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN) • World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) • Formula One (NYSE: FWONA) • Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ: OMEX) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following on from the last episode, where we discussed three important elements for building an investment portfolio, we deep dive into our own portfolios to compare our strategies and see if they align with our investing goals. We both have similar long-term goals, yet the way we approach constructing our investment portfolios are quite different, based on our risk appetite, asset classes and our short-term view of the market. One of us is heavy in cash, expecting the market to turn, and wanting to be in a position to pounce. The other is well diversified across direct stock picks, hybrids and gold. We look at what the strategies are behind our portfolios and what our next moves are. In this episode you will learn: • How we have approached our portfolio construction over the past few years • How our portfolio reflects our long-term investing goals • What a hybrid is, and why Alec has invested in them Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to build a great investment portfolio? - it's easier than you think! There is no real hidden secret that only the professionals know about when it comes to building a successful investment portfolio. A portfolio is the total collection of assets that you invest in to create wealth. Now, it doesn't have to always be shares. Many portfolios of the best investors around the world are made up of different asset classes, from cash, to bonds and property. This episode we debunk the myth that you need to be an expert to start building a great portfolio. The truth is, it's simple, as long as you're dedicated, do your own research and are prepared to have some fun. We discuss the three building blocks that we think are fundamental to building a portfolio and that are achievable for the beginner. In this episode you will learn: • What the three components are that make the foundations for a strong investment portfolio • What Bryce and Alec's investing goals are, and if their portfolios are set up to achieve them • The difference between Growth, Income and Protection portfolios • Some of the most common asset classes that make up many investor's portfolios Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stock buybacks are all the rage these days. Fuelled by tax cuts, low cost of capital and not a lot of growth opportunities on the horizon, companies have been buying back their shares by the bucketload. In fact, since 2010 there has been $3.5 trillion in shares bought back in the US alone. Buybacks are great for shareholders in theory - one day you owned 5% of the company, the next day you owned 7% without lifting a finger. How good! However, in reality buybacks haven't always been great for investors or for the companies buying back the shares. In this episode you will learn: • What a buyback is and how it is done • The theory behind buybacks • Notable examples of recent buybacks - Apple, Boeing, Cisco, ANZ just to name a few • Why Australia doesn't see as many buybacks as other markets • The downside of buybacks, including some notable examples of buybacks gone wrong Stocks and Resources discussed in this episode: • Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) • Boeing (NYSE: BA) • Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) • ANZ (ASX:ANZ) • General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) • The Economist article on Buybacks (2014) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an exciting episode for us! We've been invited to join in a trading competition, hosted by our friends at Stake (if you haven't already, you must sign-up - you can trade stocks in the US without paying brokerage, and they'll swing you $25 to start you on your way, just head to www.equitymates.com/stake), and we're up against some of the best financial journalists in Australia. The rules are simple. We've been given a small amount of money to trade through the Stake platform, and can only buy sticks from the US. We have 2 weeks to make as much money as we can (all money going to charity, chosen by the winner). We must make a trade everyday, or be able to justify why we have decided not to trade, and we must trade at least 3 stocks over the two weeks. We know nothing about technical analysis trading. We invest with a long-term approach so we've never had to think about how to make trades that will get us a return in 2 weeks! It's going to be so fun! We're going to record the whole two weeks. Each conversation we have together about what to do, our strategy, which stocks to buy, we are going to record, and by the end we'll have an awesome package to share with you guys about an intro into technical analysis. So stay tuned! In this episode you will learn: • How we came to choose our first stock for the trading competition we are in • How competent we feel with technical analysis • Where the 'ticker' originated from • About the capitalist of all capitalists - JP Morgan • About the history of one of the most famous finacial streets in the world - Wall Street Stocks and resources discussed: • Avalara Inc • Stake Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Rule number 1: Never lose money. Rule number 2: Never forget rule number 1" - Warren Buffett Managing risk is critical to long term investing success. To fully enjoy the effects of compounding it is critical you don't lose your money in the first place. Similarly, concerns around losing money are what stops a lot of people from ever investing in the first place. This episode will help you protect your downside, and manage your risk. We discuss strategies both of protecting your downside in individual trades and also across your portfolio as a whole. What you will learn: • Where Bryce has been and what he was doing. • What we mean when we say 'protecting your downside'. • Key ways to protect your downside in individual trades • Stop losses • Trailing stops • Key ways to protect your downside across your portfolio • Shorting or inverse ETF's • Counter-cyclical assets • Holding cash Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Inverse ASX 200 ETF (ASX: BEAR) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something we wanted to understand through this podcast is how expert investors find, evaluate and make decisions on stocks. End-to-end, what is their process? Andrew Brown, Executive Director of East 72 Holdings and first repeat podcast guest, agreed to spend some time walking through his process for a company he recently invested in. If you want to understand how expert investors think and understand what they look for, then this episode is for you. [If you haven't listened to Part 1 of our interview with Andrew Brown (episode 52 here), we'd suggest checking that out first] In this episode you will learn: • How Andrew identified Cabcharge as a potential investment. • Andrew's research process to study the company. • Why Andrew drove Uber for 3 months, and what he discovered. • How Andrew identified and valued 'non-core' assets the business owned. • The questions Andrew took to the Cabcharge auditor at their Annual General Meeting. • How Andrew then looked at Cabcharge's balance sheet and valued the business. • What happened with Cabcharge between our first interview and now. • Andrew's approach to managing his investments and staying on top of information once he's made a trade. Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Cabcharge (ASX: CAB) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode marks a first for Equity Mates. Our first repeat guest! Who better to have back on than Andrew Brown, the Executive Director of East 72 Holdings. Andrew is one of the most insightful investors we've met in our time doing Equity Mates, and is a true contrarian. Do you think the internet has made old media a bad investment? Not Andrew, who since our first interview last year has done extremely well investing in legacy media companies like News Corp, Fairfax and Channel 9. Or do you think Uber's rise means we should avoid investing in the taxi industry? Not Andrew, who has been investing in Cabcharge (he takes us through his logic behind the Cabcharge investment in great detail in part 2 of this interview, to be released Thursday). So we hope you all enjoy listening to Andrew as much as we enjoyed talking to him. In this episode you will learn: • Who Andrew is and how he invests at East 72 Holdings. • How Andrew's stock tips from our last interview are going. • Andrew's thoughts on McGrath Real Estate's struggles. • Why Andrew's old-school media picks have done so well over the last year. • Why Andrew isn't backing down from his Apple short (Even after Warren Buffett has invested in the American tech giant). • Good ways to manage investing information. • The information sources Andrew doesn't consider valuable. • Where you can find client letters from some of the world's best hedge funds. • How Alec managed to overload his inbox trying to keep up with information. • How Twitter helped build the case against Blue Sky Stocks and Resources Discussed: • PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund (ASX: PGF) • McGrath Real Estate (ASX: MEA) • Kogan (ASX: KGN) • News Corp (ASX: NSW) • Nine entertainment group (ASX: NEC) • Fairfax (ASX: FXJ) • Domain (ASX: DHG) • Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) • Subreddit 'Security Analysis' • The three hedge fund letters Andrew mentioned: • Horizon Kinetics • Greenhaven Road • Greenwood Investments • Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) [We know the audio isn't perfect in this interview (especially with the background noise between 30min - 33min). Trust us, it's worth persevering. Every time we speak to Andrew we leave as better investors and we're confident listening to him will have the same impact on you.] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.