Investopoly

A bucket company doesn’t change my allocation: I’d still favour global shares. Rebalance with new money and dividends, not by selling.
Campbell here, filling in for Stuart. Simon has $2 million in a bucket company and too much in Australian shares. I explain why the new minimum 30% tax on capital gains levels the playing field for companies, why retained franking credits are so valuable, and how to reweight without paying unnecessary capital gains tax. Penguin Guy has an ETF portfolio in a family trust. I cover whether rollover relief lets him move it into personal names or a separate investment company, how company dividends end up taxed, and why investments should never sit inside your trading company. A 58-year-old listener asks when to accept that an investment thesis hasn’t played out, after nine years without growth on a South Yarra apartment. My answer is to hold, switch to interest-only and focus on super. Finally, Wayne asks about using carry-forward concessional contributions before his income passes $250,000. I cover spouse contribution splitting and why you must lodge a notice of intent.
If you run a business through a trust, Business by Design covers trading structures in more depth: https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
00:00 Campbell fills in, and where the question queue is up to
 01:16 A South Yarra apartment with no growth in nine years
 03:15 When to accept an investment thesis hasn’t played out
 05:36 Melbourne’s flat cycle and why holding still makes sense
 06:39 Cash flow neutral: switch to interest-only and build super
 08:08 Simon: asset allocation inside a bucket company
 09:08 The CGT discount and the new minimum 30% tax
 10:36 Why a company can beat a trust on income tax
 11:18 Franking credits that build up in an investment company
 12:35 Australian vs global shares in a company
 14:11 Episode 397 and a higher international allocation
 15:17 Reweighting with new money: turn off dividend reinvestment
 17:15 Wayne: carry-forward contributions before Division 293
 17:54 How spouse contribution splitting works
 19:17 Why split: the $500,000 cap, transfer balance cap and age gaps
 21:48 The government co-contribution for a low-income spouse
 22:29 Do you need a notice of intent to claim?
 23:22 Which year’s unused cap gets used first
 24:11 Division 293 and the $250,000 threshold
 25:31 Penguin Guy: trusts under the proposed minimum tax
 26:44 Business trusts and the minimum 30% tax
 28:34 The flexibility you give up in a company
 29:44 Rollover relief for an investment trust
 30:38 Stamp duty, and what one state has said
 31:15 Can you roll over into your personal name?
 32:10 Selling inside a company and paying dividends
 33:49 When holding investments in your own name is fine
 35:04 Why investments shouldn’t sit in your trading company
 36:13 Wrap-up
Related episodes:
 Ep 397: Australian vs International Shares: Why the 45:55 split does not add up
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/18714304-ep-397-australian-vs-international-shares-why-the-45-55-split-does-not-add-up
Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19764156-ep-425-family-trust-investing-are-trusts-still-worth-it-under-proposed-tax-changes
Ep 422: Blame the 20-year growth cycle, not necessarily the Victorian government
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19642011-ep-422-blame-the-20-year-growth-cycle-not-necessarily-the-victorian-government
Q&A - Sequence of returns risk retiring early: bridging to super
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19885744-q-a-sequence-of-returns-risk-retiring-early-bridging-to-super
Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X
Run your own business? 
Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
Our most popular free guides:
Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
Download them here
Got a question for the podcast?
Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au
Subscribe to my weekly blog:
Stay connected here
Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

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Have full cover while you’re young and it’s cheap, then cut it back as your assets grow. Income protection matters most, trauma the least.
In this episode I explain how we calculate life, TPD and income protection cover, and why the final step is weighing the premium against what that money could earn if you invested it instead. I also cover:
Why we always use stepped premiums rather than level premiums
Why life and TPD belong inside super and income protection outside it
Choosing waiting periods and policy definitions for income protection
When to review your cover, and why yearly reviews can lull you into keeping too much
The insurance calculator worksheet is free to download from the new resource site at investopoly.com.au.
00:00 Introduction and the new Investopoly resource site
 03:57 Insurance as a necessary evil
 04:58 Why most advice recommends too much cover
 05:55 The four types: life, TPD, income protection and trauma
 08:36 TPD insurance: own occupation vs any occupation
 10:22 The tension between paying for cover and investing
 11:19 Cutting cover back as your asset base grows
 13:34 How your insurance needs change across life stages
 15:21 Stepped vs level premiums
 18:21 How to calculate life and TPD cover
 20:42 Weighing affordability against cost
 22:33 How much income protection you need
 23:26 How premiums and benefits are taxed
 25:33 Where to hold life and TPD cover
 26:50 Income protection waiting periods
 27:55 Policy quality and the three-tier definition
 29:01 Why thorough underwriting is worth the hassle
 30:06 Trauma insurance: the most optional cover
 32:24 When to review your insurance
 34:34 Next week: bonds
Related episodes:
How much you need to retire (October 2026). Referenced at 00:18, and the cut-back-as-assets-grow argument relies on the same are-you-on-track thinking.
The super report episode (July 2026). Related because it covers choosing a super fund, and this episode covers which funds have competitively priced life and TPD cover inside super.
Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X
Run your own business? 
Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
Our most popular free guides:
Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
Download them here
Got a question for the podcast?
Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au
Subscribe to my weekly blog:
Stay connected here
Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

An 8.4% return isn’t the problem; what drove it is. I’d struggle to justify active funds and a 0.76% fee over a diversified ETF.
In this listener Q&A, I explain how to judge short-term returns, why active fund outperformance rarely lasts, and why Jack probably doesn’t need to pay an adviser to run around $420,000 across super and his trust. I’d keep his family trust and gradually move his direct shares across when the price suits. I’d also keep his property as an investment under the six-year rule and switch the loan to interest-only. 
Max asks if he can wind down at 44 with about $5.4 million invested. Spending around $180,000 a year is roughly 3.3% of that, so the bigger job is putting his cash to work. Tom is retiring in his early 60s with property inside and outside his SMSF. I’d lean towards keeping the SMSF property for the pension phase, selling one or two personal properties, and investing for growth rather than income. Josh asks whether a family trust still makes sense after the budget and how fast to deploy $450,000 of borrowing capacity. My answer is still the trust, with a bucket company added later, and a steady monthly amount that steps up if markets fall.
00:35 Jack: Is 8.4% too low for a 28-year-old?
 02:43 Why active fund outperformance rarely persists
 03:38 What drove the return matters more than the number
 07:52 Why value-aware portfolios can lag early on
 08:50 Wrap platforms, EX20 and Australian shares at 28
 10:05 Do you need an adviser for $420,000?
 11:40 Shares in your own name and keeping the family trust
 12:59 Rent or buy? Using the six-year rule
 15:02 Switching the investment loan to interest-only
 15:34 Max: winding down at 44 with $5.4 million
 16:53 The missing number: how much you spend
 17:27 Earning 6.5% after tax, and trimming gold
 17:47 Putting $900,000 of cash to work
 19:10 Tom: moving from work into retirement
 20:47 Get as much as you can into super
 21:29 Why property needs a flexible exit plan
 22:27 Keeping SMSF property for pension phase
 23:23 Selling one or two properties and investing for growth
 24:19 Why I’d be careful with VHY
 25:52 Josh: family trust and bucket company after the budget
 27:37 The rollover election and the minimum 30% tax
 28:18 Lump sum vs drip-feeding $450,000
 30:00 Kids’ money: family trust over investment bonds
 30:57 Coming up: how much insurance you need
Related episodes:
 Ep 430: Is financial advice worth it? What rules can’t fix.
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19923707-ep-430-is-financial-advice-worth-it-what-rules-can-t-fix
Ep 427: How to assess whether property and share markets are attractively priced
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19832497-ep-427-how-to-assess-whether-property-and-share-markets-are-attractively-priced
Q&A - Untangling a messy structure, cutting losses, and low-income investing
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19720854-q-a-untangling-a-messy-structure-cutting-losses-and-low-income-investing
Ep 429: How much do you need to retire & are you on track? Work it out here.
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19893951-ep-429-how-much-do-you-need-to-retire-are-you-on-track-work-it-out-here
Q&A - Deploying an inheritance, selling an average property, and funding a long retirement
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19832494-q-a-deploying-an-inheritance-selling-an-average-property-and-funding-a-long-retirement
Ep 403: Lump sum share market investing: risky or rational
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/18951456-ep-403-lump-sum-share-market-investing-risky-or-rational
Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19764156-ep-425-family-trust-investing-are-trusts-still-worth-it-under-proposed-tax-changes
Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X
Run your own business? 
Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
Our most popular free guides:
Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
Download them here
Got a question for the podcast?
Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au
Subscribe to my weekly blog:
Stay connected here
Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Read Full Blog Here
Russell says advice adds 5.5% a year and Vanguard says 3%. A disciplined, rules-based approach captures much of that, but not all of it. I think these reports overstate things by assuming that without an adviser you'll panic, chase returns and keep changing strategy. In this episode I split the mistakes the reports cite into two groups: the ones a rules-based framework prevents, like concentrated portfolios, cash drag and return chasing, and the ones it can't, like ownership structures, how to allocate surplus cash flow, and super contribution strategy. I also cover why knowing the rules isn't the same as following them, the March 2020 test of your own discipline, and the portfolio size at which advice pays for itself.
00:00 The "advisor fee: $0" bill that prompted this episode
 00:55 Revisiting episode 319 and the Russell and Vanguard reports
 01:51 Why I'm sceptical of these estimates
 02:31 What if you already follow a rules-based framework?
 03:23 Breaking down Russell's 5.5%
 04:53 Vanguard's Adviser's Alpha framework
 06:07 The wealth equation and where mistakes cost real money
 07:25 Separating the mistakes rules can and can't prevent
 07:46 Portfolio design mistakes a rules-based approach fixes
 10:20 Complexity and knowledge gaps rules can't fix
 12:34 When the numbers make advice worthwhile
 13:18 Why knowing what to do isn't enough
 16:15 The best days in the market and why indexing works
 17:48 The acid test: what did you do in March and April 2020?
 20:19 Economies of scale: when advice pays for itself
 22:12 Choosing an adviser as a decision that moves the dial
 22:59 Using someone you trust as a sounding board
 23:52 Summing up
 25:26 Next week: how much insurance you actually need
Related episodes:
Episode 319 (2024): my earlier look at the value of financial advice, focused on portfolio size and complexity. Referenced at 00:55 and again at 20:19.
Episode 414: the handful of life decisions that really move the dial. Referenced at 22:12.
Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X
Run your own business? 
Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
Our most popular free guides:
Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
Download them here
Got a question for the podcast?
Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au
Subscribe to my weekly blog:
Stay connected here
Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Selling your home needn’t undo debt recycling. I’d substitute the security with a term deposit or your next home to keep it deductible.
In this listener Q&A I walk Dave through substitution of security and simultaneous settlements, and explain why I’d pay a little more for a flexible lender. I then answer Marcus on whether to offset an investment loan or use a high-interest savings account. On the top marginal rate the offset usually wins, unless a low-income spouse changes the maths. I also cover why I wouldn’t pay investment debt down to zero. For Michael, I explain why you shouldn’t keep an average property just for the negative gearing, and how much leverage a 30-year-old actually needs. Dominic asks about moving assets out of a family trust ahead of the proposed 30% minimum tax, and my answer is still to do nothing yet. Nathan asks who benefits from quarantined negative gearing, and what the UK’s experience tells us about housing affordability.
00:00 Nathan: who benefits from quarantined negative gearing?
 01:19 Vested interests: new builds, commercial and offshore buyer’s agents
 03:00 Why commercial property yields don’t stack up
 04:34 Lessons from the UK’s property tax changes
 08:32 Tax settings only move affordability at the margin
 09:30 Dominic: moving assets out of a family trust
 10:01 Two minimum 30% taxes, and why to do nothing yet
 11:05 CGT rollover relief and the stamp duty problem
 11:53 Will the trust tax be rescinded before the 2028 election?
 13:49 What common-sense tax reform would look like
 15:13 Business as usual for your discretionary trust
 15:35 Michael: should I sell an average investment property?
 18:00 Don’t hold an asset just for negative gearing
 18:40 Property vs shares: the power of leverage
 21:19 Never a bad time to sell a bad asset
 23:07 Dave: debt recycling when you sell your home
 24:21 Substitution of security using a term deposit
 25:54 Simultaneous settlement from old home to new
 26:27 If the bank repays your loan by mistake
 27:16 Why lender flexibility beats a lower rate
 29:01 Revaluations and using lenders in the right order
 30:24 Marcus: offset an investment loan or use a savings account?
 31:16 Comparing before-tax and after-tax interest rates
 32:39 When a non-working spouse changes the answer
 34:14 Why not to pay investment debt down to zero
 35:47 Coming up: do you really need a financial adviser?
Related episodes:
 Q&A: Upgrade or rentvest, home equity loans, and going non-resident
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19862011-q-a-upgrade-or-rentvest-home-equity-loans-and-going-non-resident
Q&A - Choosing a pension account, topping up in retirement, and offset versus debt recycling
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19803896-q-a-choosing-a-pension-account-topping-up-in-retirement-and-offset-versus-debt-recycling
Q&A - Deploying an inheritance, selling an average property, and funding a long retirement
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19832494-q-a-deploying-an-inheritance-selling-an-average-property-and-funding-a-long-retirement
Q&A - Sequence of returns risk retiring early: bridging to super
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19885744-q-a-sequence-of-returns-risk-retiring-early-bridging-to-super
Ep 425: Family trust investing: Are trusts still worth it under proposed tax changes?
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19764156-ep-425-family-trust-investing-are-trusts-still-worth-it-under-proposed-tax-changes
Why common-sense tax reform is vital to Australia’s future
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/14044773
Optional:
 Ep 426: The do not invest list: why good investors say no
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19748907-ep-426-the-do-not-invest-list-why-good-investors-say-no
Ep 423: Negative gearing deferred - here's how to manage the cash flow gap
 https://investopoly.buzzsprout.com/2005600/episodes/19680010-ep-423-negative-gearing-deferred-heres-how-to-manage-the-cash-flow-gap
Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X
Run your own business? 
Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/
Our most popular free guides:
Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
Download them here
Got a question for the podcast?
Email us at questions@investopoly.com.au
Subscribe to my weekly blog:
Stay connected here
Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.