

Investopoly
Stuart Wemyss
Each episode is packed with concise tips, strategies, research, methodologies, case studies, and ideas to help you safely and effectively grow your wealth. Stuart Wemyss, a qualified financial advisor, accountant, tax agent, and licensed mortgage broker, delivers holistic advice. With four authored books, including "Investopoly" and "Rules of the Lending Game," Stuart shares his insights through a weekly blog, which is replicated on this podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 30, 2021 • 17min
The three most common mistakes made by investors
After almost 20 years of interacting with investors (and potential investors) on a daily basis, I’ve noticed some common themes that prevent investors from achieving their potential. If you can avoid all three, you are almost guaranteed to achieve financial security.Whilst some of these matters seem relatively simple, you should not let their simplicity fool you into thinking that they are anything less than critical.Why do we tend to overcomplicate matters?I believe that investing is simple. If you adopt a rules and evidence-based approach towards making investment decisions, it is virtually impossible to make a mistake. Successful investing is rooted in sound logic and basic math. There is nothing overly complex about it that cannot be explained in simple terms. That is why I wrote Investopoly – to outline 8 time-tested rules that if followed, would guarantee investors avoid making costly mistakes. I apologise if that sounds like a sales spiel. And I appreciate it sounds like a big promise. But I stand by it.If investing is simple, why do people over-complicate it? Of course, the reason depends on the individual. However, I think there are probably two reasons.Firstly, there is a lot at stake i.e. my family’s financial security, our dreams and goals. Given what’s at stake, people can have the tendency to over-think it due to fear of making a mistake.Secondly, to many people, investing seems complex. Humans tend to think that complex problems require complex solutions. The truth is, simple solutions tend to be very effective, exhibit lower risk, lower cost, easy to implement and easy to understand.Most mistakes are made by over-complicating financial decisions than over-simplifying them.Investment mistake # 1: try to work it all out themselvesAs a rule, I don’t perform my own dental work. I go to a dentist. When buying a property, I don’t do the conveyancing myself. I engage a professional and experienced lawyer. I don’t service my car… you get the point.I rely on various professionals when (1) the consequences of making a mistake are unacceptable and (2) I don’t have enough knowledge and experience to give me a high level of confidence that I will not make any mistakes.It has always puzzled me why soSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Nov 23, 2021 • 20min
Are we in a bubble or micro-bubble?
With property and share markets trading at all-time highs, it’s reasonable and perhaps prudent to consider whether we are in a (asset price) bubble. Bubbles cannot grow indefinitely and at some point, all bubbles burst.Is the share market about to crash?Share markets around the world have been incredibly resilient throughout the pandemic and almost all markets are trading above pre-pandemic levels. That probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise, as government fiscal support here and abroad has been unprecedented and interest rates couldn’t be much lower.Rivian is a good example of a bubbleThere are some very clear examples of bubble-like share market valuations. The recent listing of shares in Rivian Automotive Inc. in the US (NASDAQ) is a perfect example. It listed on 9 November raising $US12 billion from investors. Rivan is valued at $US110 billion making it the 5th most valuable automotive manufacturer in the world, behind Volkswagen, which sells 2.8 million units (cars) per year. It’s worth almost as much as Australia’s most valuable company, CBA.Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Rivian is that is hasn’t manufactured one product yet. That’s right! It hasn’t generated $1 of revenue, let alone a profit. It is true that Amazon has agreed to buy 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian, which are to be on the road by 2030, but it effectively hasn’t manufactured one unit. There is no conceivable way on earth that a $US110+ billion valuation could be justified for this company. It’s insane.But not all stocks in the US are overvaluedIt is true that the large US tech companies have contributed substantially to the US stock market’s returns over the past 10 years. The FANMAG stocks now account for almost 24% of the S&P500 index. The total value of these six companies is almost $US8.5 trillion. Japan’s entire stock market is worth $US6 trillion. It is also noteworthy that Tesla’s market capitalisation (value) has added almost $US0.5 trillion to the S&P500 index since joining it in December 2020.But some of these tech companies have been driven by sound fundamentals. Take Apple as an example. It took 38 years to reach a $US1 trillionSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Nov 16, 2021 • 23min
How to attract a great advisor
A financial advisor’s job is to develop a plan and help you implement that plan over many years, so that you achieve your financial and lifestyle goals. This includes navigating the inevitable changes in your circumstances, markets, investments and so forth – knowing when to stick to the plan and when to alter it.Achieving your financial and lifestyle goals is an incredibly valuable outcome. Therefore, it is very likely that financial advisory fees will be a small fraction of that value.Just like in any profession, the best people are typically in high demand. Of course, when selecting an advisor, you definitely want the best that you can afford.Shrinking pool of financial advisorsAccording to research house, Rainmaker, approximately 30% (9,000) of financial advisors have left the industry since 2018. There are now less than 20,000 financial advisors in Australia.There have been lots of legislative changes over this time that have prompted financial advisors to change careers or retire, including the banning of commissions, mandatory tertiary education standards(all financial advisors must pass a mandatory exam before 1 January 2022), increasing insurance costs and ever-increasing compliance obligations and so on.The changes that have been implemented over the past few years have contributed towards lifting the bar (professionalism) for financial advisors. Of course, this is a good thing for the industry and its clients. But the result is that there is a growing shortage of financial advisors in Australia.It’s the person, not that business that mattersA financial advisor and their client have a very personal relationship. This relationship is based on a high level of trust. Therefore, it is critical that clients find an advisor they feel comfortable with. Of course, there’s a personal/emotional element to this.Second to trust is experience. Whilst it is possible to systemise some facets of the advice formulation process, what cannot be systemised or automated is experience. Experience is one of the most important and valuable benefits a financial advisor must share with you. Knowledge tells you what to do and experience tells you when and how to execute. The cSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Nov 9, 2021 • 21min
How to invest in property for less than $1 million
It is becoming increasingly difficult to buy an investment-grade house for under $1 million in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. This begs the question; if your investment property budget is less than $1 million, where and how do you invest it?Brisbane is becoming more difficultIn early August 2021, I presented an investment case for buying an investment-grade home in Brisbane. My wife and I subsequently followed this advice (I put my money where my mouth is) and we purchased an investment-grade house in the Brisbane suburb of Indooroopilly, which settled last month.Whilst I am still very bullish about the Brisbane market, it is becoming more challenging to buy an investment-grade house for less than $1 million. Whilst it is still possible, it may not remain that way for long.House budgets must be substantially more than $1 million in Melbourne and SydneyIt will not come as a surprise that you need a budget of substantially more than $1 million to buy an investment-grade house in Melbourne and Sydney.In Melbourne, you need more than $1.3 million and approaching $2 million and above in Sydney.Of course, it is possible to find houses in these capital cities for less than $1 million, but these tend to be in non-investment-grade locations and/or have unacceptable compromises. That is, they are not deemed investment-grade assets.Remember, there’s never a good reason to invest in a sub-standard quality asset. Your long-term investment returns will be directly related to the quality of your investment assets. You cannot expect good investment returns from an average (or below) quality asset.A villa unit could be good optionVilla units are typically small houses that share the same block of land e.g. there might be 3 to 4 on the same block. They are often single-level homes that were constructed in the 1960’s or later. Typically, owners share some amenities, such as driveways, but mostly the owner has a direct interest in, and control of, their parcel of land.Villa units are often prevalent in impaired locations such as busy main roads or secondary suburbs. However, it is possible to find some investment-grade villa units in blue-chip suburbs, but you must select judiciously. Villa units are scarce asSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Nov 2, 2021 • 20min
Inflation and interest rates: where are they heading?
The topic of rising inflation and its potential impact on interest rates has been dominating the financial press over the past few weeks. The bond markets expect that higher inflation readings will force central banks to raise interest rates.It’s my opinion that higher inflation is likely to be temporary. And it’s also useful to remember that “markets” (and popular opinion) are not always right. Bond markets priced in higher inflation in February 2021 but eventually normalised after a few months.A quick economics lesson: why does inflation lead to higher interest rates?Inflation is a measure of rising costs. Inflation is measures by the ABS using a basket of goods and services. High inflation is bad for an economy because it erodes purchasing power, increases uncertainty and can have a negative impact the value of a country’s currency.A key role of the RBA is to manage inflation so that it remains inside its targeted 2% to 3% band. It does that by changing the cash interest rate (currently 0.10%). Increasing interest rates, reduces spending (because the business and private sector must direct more money towards interest costs) and therefore reduces demand for goods and services which cools price increases.Therefore, if markets expect that high inflation will persist, they price in that interest rates will increase, which negatively impacts the value of existing bonds, particularly if the coupon (interest rate) is fixed. This has been happening since August 2021 i.e. bond value have been falling.What’s causing higher inflation?As announced by the ABS last week, Australia’s inflation is 3% for the year ended September 2021, which is at the top end of the RBA’s target band. It was slightly less than expected (3.1%) and lower than last quarters annualised reading of 3.8%.This time last year, inflation was less than 1%, so what has happened since then? The chart below sets out how prices have changes over the past year. Five categories have risen by more than 2% over the past year being transport, furnishings, health, alcohol and tobacco and recreation.See chart here. Subscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Oct 26, 2021 • 19min
Will the property market ever crash?
Will the property market ever crash?I started ProSolution almost 20 years ago and if there’s been one common theme over that time, it is how “expensive” property is. This theme can be expressed in many ways such as predictions of property market crashes, housing affordability “crisis”, comparison of Australian property prices to other parts of the world and so forth. This noise is often unhelpful for property buyers.The reality is that property has always seemed relatively expensive. And it’s probably never going to change. You must get used to it and learn to make prudent decisions despite the prevailing property price rhetoric.I felt ill after almost ever property I’ve boughtIn December 2006, I engaged Richard Wakelin to select and purchase an investment-grade property. He ended up buying a single-fronted Victorian cottage on a small block (146 sqm) in Prahran, Melbourne for $723,000. It was a record price for that street (the street is lined with similar Victorian cottages) and probably suburb. Paying a record price didn’t feel satisfying. In fact, it gave me indigestion. J But I trusted that buying an investment-grade asset that possessed sound fundamentals will work out well in the long run.This property last sold in August 2019 for $1.362 million[1] (unfortunately, I had to dispose of it as part of my marriage separation in 2012). That makes the price in 2006 seems relatively cheap today.Government policy supports property prices, and probably always willThe government’s policies have always supported property values. Of course, we can argue about the merits of this. And I think there’s a strong case to argue that the government shouldn’t interfere with the property market. But the reality is, they always have, and probably always will.There are several examples of this including taxation incentives like negative gearing, Rudd governments doubling of the First Home Owners Boost in 2008 in the middle of the GFC, federal government asking the banks to provide loan repayment pauses last year and so forth. As soon as the property market has some challenges, the government always steps in.There are two realities to acknowledge. Firstly, falling home values are bad for the whole economy. They impair consumer confidence and theSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Oct 19, 2021 • 22min
How do the big changes to income protection insurances affect you?
I wrote a blog in February 2020 highlighting the first phase of government mandated changes to income protection insurance products. The second phase of changes were implemented at the beginning of this month, and they are very significant. This blog discusses these important changes and how they may affect you.BackgroundIn December 2019, the insurance industry’s regulator (APRA), released a report outlining a number of compulsory changes that it mandated for income protection insurance products. Income protection insurance pays you a benefit if you cannot work due to accident or illness (it does not protect you from involuntary unemployment).These changes were deemed necessary because insurance companies were losing literally billions of dollars on these products i.e. cost of paying benefits far exceeded premium revenue. However, no insurer wanted to make the first move to stem the losses. Fearing that insurance companies may eventually exit the Australian market (if no action was taken), the regulator stepped in and mandated changes to make products more sustainable.There were two main issues that caused these products to be so unprofitable:1. An inability for insurance companies to change terms to accommodate new risks. Mental health is a good example. Mental health claims were immaterial when policy terms were written 20 years ago. However, today, claims due to mental health are more substantial.2. Long term benefits are very costly. If a 30-year-old claims on a policy and is never able to return to work, the insurer could be paying a benefit for the next 35 years. That is very costly. Therefore, it is important that policies only provide for genuine claims. Unfortunately, for the insurers, some policy terms are so generous that they sometimes act as a disincentive to cease being on-claim. This exacerbates losses.Summary of the changes made this monthAll insurers launched new product suites at the beginning of this month (existing products are no longer available). These new products reflected four important changes:1. The amount of income that can be insured has reduced from 75% to 70% of your gross income. Replacing less oSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Oct 12, 2021 • 19min
Freedom to choose the work you do for love, not money (how to plan)
I have noticed that more people are attracted to seeking out work that they have a personal connection with, particularly since the beginning of Covid. That is, for a growing number of people, the emotional rewards (satisfaction) that their work offers is becoming more important than the financial rewards. This might include working in the not-for-profit sector, working for a socially conscious organisation or starting their own business.Of course, not everyone has the flexibility to immediately resign from a high paying job. But of course, you can put a plan in place that allows you more freedom and flexibility in the future. I wanted to discuss the common considerations we tackle when working with clients in this regard.Three phases of wealth accumulationIt is important to recognise that there are typically three phases associated with becoming financially free as illustrated below.ChartPhase one: Accumulation – this phase involves accumulating the required quantum of assets needed to fund retirement. That could include acquiring investment property(s), making additional contributions into super, investing surplus cash flow into shares and so on. This phase typically requires you to contribute as much cash flow as possible i.e. to maximise your earnings and minimise your expenses.Phase two: Income flexibility – the main aim of this phase is to give your investment assets enough time to benefit from the power of compounding capital growth. This phase requires you to earn enough income to pay for living expenses and maintain your investment portfolio. That is, you may have flexibility to earn less during this phase either through changing roles or not working full-time.Phase three: Retirement – it probably goes without saying that this phase doesn’t require you to generate any personal exertion income. All living expenses are funded from your investment/asset pool.Therefore, if you would like to get yourself into a position where you have more choices regarding the type of work you do (i.eSubscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Oct 5, 2021 • 19min
Likely tightening in lending rules is unlikely to impact investment-grade property
Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg has asked the Council of Financial Regulators to investigate the fact that credit growth is materially outpacing growth in household income and to advise on any policy responses.In lay terms, the Treasurer is worried that people are borrowing too much money compared to their incomes and that could be risky for the economy.Increase in home lending is pronouncedIt has been well documented that house prices in Australia have been rising at a fast pace over the past year. But this isn’t unique to Australia. This is also a global phenomenon, as illustrated in Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index report released last week. This report ranks the house price growth in 56 countries and Australia ranks 18th.It is higher loan volumes that have caused higher property prices. The ABS chart below shows that most of the increase in lending has been driven by owner-occupiers (being the dark blue line), not investors.CHART ON WEBSITEThe monthly volume of home loans has been rising significantly since mid-2020. The average volume of lending between December 2020 and August 2021 was $21.7 billion per month. The average for the 10-year period prior to June-2020, was only $11.6 billion per month.Approximately 60% of the increase in lending over the past 9 months has been driven by an increase in the number of borrowers. And 40% has been driven by an increase in the average loan size i.e. people borrowing more. This makes sense as higher income earners have largely been (economically) unaffected by the Covid lockdowns.Level of household debt is a worryThe chart below illustrates how the level of household debt (blue line) has increased over the past three decades. The green line depicts the interest cost of this debt. The interest cost has remained relatively contained for the past decade, thanks to falling interest rates.CHART ON WEBSITEHousehold budgets will clearly be more sensitive to future interest rate increases because they have more debt. This means that any future increases in the RBA Cash Rate will be more effective in containing inflation (Subscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Sep 28, 2021 • 18min
How much insurance is do you need? And how do you minimise its cost?
Personal insurance is becoming more difficult to obtain and increasingly costly to maintain. This blog outlines the approach we take when formulating how much insurance our clients need and strategies to manage its cost.What is personal insurance?This blog refers to personal insurance only. That typically includes up to four products:§ Income protection insurance – which pays a monthly benefit if you are unable to work due to illness or injury;§ Life – pays a lump sum benefit if you die;§ TPD – stands for Total and Permanent Disability which pays a lump sum benefit if you are unable to ever return to work in the future, due to illness or injury; and§ Trauma – pays a lump sum benefit if you are diagnosed with a ‘specified condition’ which, statistically, includes cancer and cardiovascular events. Even if your ability to be able to work is not impaired, you can still claim a benefit. Benefits are paid according to diagnoses, not symptoms.Other common insurance products such as health, house and contents and car insurances are defined as ‘general insurance’ products. These are the domain of general insurance brokers, not financial advisors.What determines how much insurance you need?In most situations, the two key factors which dictate how much insurance you need are:1. Financial commitments and obligations including mortgages, living expenses, children’s education, dependents and so on. The higher the levels of commitments, the more insurance cover you need. I view the cost of insurance as a necessary consequence of borrowing money. That is, if you aren’t prepared to obtain insurance to reduce your risk, then perhaps you should reconsider borrowing.2. Your financial strength or net worth. The stronger your asset base is, the less insurance you need, as you have sufficient financial resources to maintain living expenses and meet goals for the rest of your life in the event you cannot work. Of course, if you do not have sufficient assets, you need some level of insurance cover.Your requirements often depend on your stage of lifeIn the below video I walk you through the four common life cycle phases and how they relate to your insurance requirements.[Embed video https://vimeo.com/615661071]Subscribe via www.investopoly.com.au/emailDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.


