The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

This podcast is 190 episodes old, and yet in all that time, I have never discussed how to choose a multi-asset fund, despite banging on about them for all these years! But now, that omission is rectified, and in this show, I give you everything you need to know and everything you need to do to go about choosing a multi-asset fund. Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk How to choose a multi-asset fund Multi-asset funds should, in my not-so-humble opinion, form the core of anyone’s portfolio. They are a kind of fire-and-forget, off-the-shelf, done-for-you portfolio of assets, which will work for you over time. In this session, you’ll discover: The difference between guidance and promoting a product, and why one will get me struck off The key benefits of multi-asset investing Why I believe passive versions of these funds are best, and what that even means That out and out performance isn’t all it’s cracked up to be The best off-platform research tool to use Which sectors Multi-asset funds reside in How to filter the available universe of thousands of funds down to just a handful How to compare one fund with another Resources mentioned in this show Video: Active vs Passive investing Research tool: Morningstar Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Have you had success choosing a multi-asset fund? Which did you choose and why? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. 

Last week we covered the basics of wealth building, the first steps along the way. This week we need to move that on, and look at the next steps you can take as you gain experience and portfolio value over time.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Building Wealth: Next Steps MeaningfulMoney has to cater to a very large audience, and as such it is often necessary to repeat the basics. But eventually, you'll need to expand your horizons. For those in the position of taking the next steps, this session is just for you. In this session, you'll discover: That there's nothing new under the sun That you might need to consider options which are naturally outside your comfort zone Why the long-term view is the best perspective Some alternative tax wrappers you might find useful beyond pensions and ISAs Some alternative asset classes to consider A tax tip which can save you thousands on a larger portfolio Why gearing is useful when used in moderation Why your growing experience is the one of the most useful tools you can bring to bear Resources mentioned in this show Podcast: Advanced Investing Podcast: Peer to peer lending Podcast: Listener Questions Answered (including a question about private investing) Podcast: Building Wealth in a Low-Return World   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Have you tried any of these wrappers or asset classes? How was your experience? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

This season, we’re talking about building wealth. The basics are in place: you know how to budget, you’re protected against disaster and now you’re looking to build on a sure foundation for the future. This week and next week I’m going to be covering the practicalities of wealth building, starting this week with the basics for those just getting started, and next week developing things for those further along the wealth-building road.     Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Building Wealth: Getting Started Let me start right from the top by reminding you that there are no secrets to wealth-building success. It really isn’t rocket science, and anyone that promises overnight or otherwise speedy results is a charlatan and must be avoided, or reported. Generally, building wealth done right is a slow process, building over time. There are ways to accelerate your progress, which we’ll talk about more next week, but the basic principle is that of building, brick by brick, layer by layer over time until the edifice is completed. In this session, you'll discover: The important of laying strong foundations Why when starting out, you are your own worst enemy Why you shouldn't run before you can walk The only two tax accounts most people ver need The simplest way to make your life, erm, simple The first investment funds you should choose The benefit of automation Why you should track your progress Resources mentioned in this show Podcast: Protecting your future Podcast: Protection Revisited Podcast: Season Three: Behavioural Finance Podcast: Direct Platform Investment, with Mark Polson Platform Guide: From the Lang Cat Video: Platforms, Wrappers, Funds and Assets Budget Software: You Need A Budget Audible audiobooks - Click here   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What challenges have you faced when getting started building wealth? Share in the comments... Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

This week, I am taking a short break from Season Four, and answering some listener questions which have come into the voicemail line over the past few weeks:   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Listener Questions Answered My thanks to the faithful listeners who asked such great questions this week: Thanks to Tory, who asks about a local business crowdfunding and what she should bear in mind before investing Thanks to Lucy, who asks about the Lifetime Allowance and the different protections available. And thanks to Jesse, who is concerned about a coming market correction and wants to know how to reconcile this with my mantra of multi-asset investing. Resources mentioned in this show Podcast: Cashflow or Capital Gains, with Buck Joffrey Audible audiobooks - Click here Transcript And, as always, a full transcript is available by clicking the mahoosive blue button below: (Coming Soon) Merry Christmas! Thanks so much to all my listeners and viewers for making 2016 a record year for MeaningfulMoney. I couldn't carry on without your encouragement and support and the lovely emails you send so often - thank you! Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

This series we’re talking about Building Wealth. But with interest rates at record lows for more than eight years, and with share markets seemingly more volatile than ever, how do you build wealth in a reasonable timescale? Today I’m going to sharing some practical steps to building wealth in a low-return world.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Building wealth in a low return world Plenty of people will try and sell you a get-rich-quick scheme. And plenty of folks, including me, will try to suggest that the best way is to build wealth slowly. But none of us want to put our lives on hold for fifty years while we scrape enough together to retire on. Is it really possible to save out of income and put enough aside to become financially independent? I think the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ but we may need to think a little bit laterally to achieve our aims. In this session, you'll discover: That no-one builds wealth by saving money in a bank The tools that successful investors have at their disposal The miracle of compounding and how to harness it How to stay focused on your wealth-building Why you shouldn't take too little risk Why it is important to look for total return The best way to use gearing Why you should be prepared to think outside the usual investment box And the one aspect of your wealth-building that you can really control Resources mentioned in this show Podcast: Risk, Volatility & Timescale Podcast: Risk Tolerance and Risk Capacity Podcast: Cashflow or Capital Gains, with Buck Joffrey Risk Profile: myrisktolerance.com I nvesting Course: Learn How To Invest Audible audiobooks - Click here Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What strategies are you implying to build wealth in a low return world? Share in the comments... Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

On the long road to wealth creation, we can lose focus if it is a hassle to manage our different accounts and other aspects of our finances. So this week, I’m going to give you some practical wealth building tips to make your life easy.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Practical Wealth Building The short version of this show is that you need to remove yourself from the process of wealth building as much as you can, because if you're anything like me, you're very often the bottleneck. How do you do that? Listen and learn: In this session, you'll discover: Why automation is goooooooood Why decisions should be made rarely Some benefits technology can bring to the process How to save automatically, and then save MORE automatically How to put your investing on auto-pilot How to accelerate your mortgage repayment Why simple is best Resources mentioned in this show Podcast: Session 113 - Putting your finances on autopilot Article: Threshold Rebalancing on Monevator Calculator: Mortgage overpayment calc on MoneySavingExpert Calculator: Offset mortgage calculator Audible audiobooks - Click here   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Do you have any little life hacks that you have employed to get ahead with your wealth building? Let me know in the comments below! Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

The problem with building wealth is that it takes a while; 20,30,40 years or more sometimes. And because it can be a slow process, it can be tough to stay focused, particularly when things are difficult. In this session I’m going to help you visualise your dream so that it inspires you enough to stick to those long term goals.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Setting and sticking to long term goals So, we need to find a way to stick to the process of wealth creation, which we’re going to learn much more about in the coming weeks, even when things aren’t going our way, when we’re distracted or whatever. To do that, we need to know how to set goals in the first place, and employ some practical hacks for keeping the faith when we don’t feel like it. In this session, you'll discover: The right way to articulate your long term goals The danger of distraction Why the journey can be just as important as the destination Why it's essential to dream How to quantify your dreams and distill them to a number Why you should keep your dreams and action steps front of mind Why you need to create a framework to help you stay the course. Resources mentioned in this show Worksheet   Podcasts: Net Worth mini-series, Sessions 154, 155 and 156 Podcasts: Behavioural Finance with Greg Davies, Part 1 and Part 2 Audible audiobooks - Click here   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Have you answered the three questions? What did you learn about yourself and your goals? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

It’s a new season here on MeaningfulMoney and we’re going to be building on the previous two seasons and talk about how to build wealth the right way, that is for the long term. I work with clients every day who have been carefully building wealth over many years, and have done so without living like monks along the way. I am seeking to emulate those people and in this season, I want to try to impart what I am continuing to learn and apply.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Building Wealth OK, so we did a whole season on investing, back in Season 2, and talked about decision-making in Season 3. When I talk about building wealth, I’m not just talking about investing and the mechanics of doing that, but about bringing together all the necessary disciplines to increase your net worth, and your sense of financial wellbeing. Today I want to lay the groundwork for the season. Not sure how many episodes there will be, but it will be at least seven, maybe more. I’m excited to get started… In this session, you'll discover: Why it's important to define wealth correctly My preferred definition of what it means to be wealthy That there's no 'right' way to build wealth Why it's important to use all the tools at our disposal The fundamentals which must be in place before you even think about building wealth Why you should create a vision for your future to hold on to Resources mentioned in this show Book: Robert Kiyosaki - Rich Dad, Poor Dad Blog: The Definition of Wealth Podcast: Cash Flow or Capital Gains, with Buck Joffrey Video: Harnessing the power of compounding Podcast: Informed Choice Radio   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Do you have the basics in place? If not, what are you goign to do about it?! Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Today, I'm chatting to Buck Joffrey MD, an investor from the US, and creator of the Wealth Formula Podcast. Buck’s bio says that he believes traditional investing in stocks and shares for capital growth is no longer relevant and that cash flow is everything. That piqued my interest, and so that's the topic of conversation - cash flow or capital gains?   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Cash Flow or Capital Gains? Buck Joffrey has been there and done that. He's amassed an eight figure net worth using the principles he espouses in this conversation. But I have some reservations/clarifications for the UK market, which I cover after the call. In this session, you'll discover: The trigger that led Buck to begin investing Why Buck thinks investing for capital gains is inferior to investing for cash flow Whether or not he thinks there is any case for investing in the traditional way Some ways Buck recommends for even those with ordinary incomes to get onto the cash flow bandwagon Some likely potholes which might get in the way of success Buck's view on debt, and how to use it Resources mentioned in this show Book: Robert Kiyosaki - The Cash Flow Quadrant Podcast: Real Estate Guys Podcast: The Property Podcast Buck Joffrey: Podcast and Website Transcript And, as always, a full transcript is available by clicking the mahoosive blue button below: Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: So what do you think? Cash flow, capital gains, or both? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Over the past six weeks, we’ve taken a look at what Behavioural Finance is, and spoken to some experts and practitioners for their thoughts on the subject. Today I want to look at applying behavioural finance in real-world situations, so that we all can stand the best chance of making optimum decisions. Applying Behavioural Finance This series has been really well received, and I’m grateful to everyone who has offered feedback. Certainly I’ve enjoyed delving deeper into this subject, which has fascinated me for a while. I know that it’s something I’ll keep coming back to. I want to look at some true-life scenarios where you might have a need to apply what we’ve learned. Hopefully that way, when those situations come around, we can be prepared for them. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. Here are the six scenarios I use to explain about applying behavioural finance What should I do with my portfolio in light of [Insert impending crisis here]? I’ve been checking my portfolio every day and it’s going down. I think I’m gonna sell. Oooo, that looks nice and shiny, should I spend/divert some of my savings, or pass? A friend gives me a stock/fund/sector tip; should I invest? My friend or family member has made big losses in their investments and has cashed everything in. Perhaps I should do the same? I want to invest but the market is high – should I wait? These six scenarios, and doubtless many more, teach us about the five main biases of behavioural finance: Over-reaction/availability bias – taking on too much news flow and reacting accordingly Focusing on short-term performance – in the context of a long-term plan, what does it matter? Following the herd – the wisdom of crowds is rarely visible in investing situations Confirmation bias – being more aware of information that confirms  your pre-existing thoughts, and not being objective Anchoring – latching onto artificial numbers and framing decisions in that context. Resources mentioned in this week’s show Self-check questions: Click the button below to download the checklist of questions to ask yourself when faced with a big decision: Article: Real-world applications of behavioural finance – Nerdwallet Video: Minds, Markets and Magic – Paul Craven Podcast: Risk, Volatility & Timescale For advisers (and anyone, really): Improving Investor Behaviour