First published in 2018 by Major Street Publishing Pty Ltd
PO Box 106, Highett, Vic. 3190
E
W majorstreet.com.au
M +61 421 707 983
Stuart Wemyss 2018
Ordering information
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by
corporations, associations and others. For details, contact Lesley Williams
using the contact details above.
Individual sales. Major Street publications are available through most
bookstores. They can also be ordered directly from Major Streets online
bookstore at www.majorstreet.com.au/shop .
Orders for university textbook/course adoption use. For orders of this
nature, please contact Lesley Williams using the contact details above.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
ISBN: 9781925283570 (eBook)
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.
Internal design by Production Works
Cover design by Simone Geary
Printed in Australia by Griffin Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
eBook edition distributed by
Port Campbell Press
www.portcampbellpress.com.au
eBook Created by
Disclaimer: The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and neither purports nor intends to be advice. Readers should not act on the basis of any matter in this publication without considering (and if appropriate taking) professional advice with due regard to their own particular circumstances. The author and publisher expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a purchaser of this publication or not, in respect of anything and the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.
Contents
Play the long game
Know how much income you need and by when
Spend less than you earn and invest the difference regularly
Grow your asset base and then tilt towards income
Set your asset allocation to reduce risk and maximise returns
Invest in the share market using low-cost passive investments
Only invest in investment-grade property
Protect your investments from expected and unexpected risks
About the author
Stuart Wemyss is a qualified chartered accountant, independent financial advisor and mortgage broker with over 20 years experience. He founded his business, ProSolution Private Clients, in 2002 and has helped hundreds of clients invest successfully. Stuart is licensed to provide financial, credit and tax advice, which means he is able to give holistic advice.
Stuart has always passionately believed in the need for people to be able to access a trustworthy source of independent financial advice. Nothing upsets him more than to hear about selfish advisors ripping off their unsuspecting clients! This passion is what drives him daily to write books and blogs, publish podcasts, appear in the media, advise his clients, mentor his staff and give presentations whatever it takes to help more people access a source of unbiased information and advice.
Stuart is married, lives in Melbourne and has two children. He is a passionate Cats supporter (AFL) and loves a glass of wine (or three)!
If you would like to hear more from Stuart, you can subscribe to his blog and podcast at www.investopoly.com.au.
Acknowledgements
Many people have helped shape my experience, knowledge and views in investment markets over the past 20 years, all of whom have encouraged me to write this book.
Of course, my family and friends are always of great support. My wife has suffered my many long absences while toiling with this book thank you.
I would also like to especially thank Paul Nugent and Richard Wakelin, who supported me when I started my business many years ago. And Joe Bongiorno has been very generous with his time and advice. Thank you gentlemen.
To all the team (past and present) at ProSolution Private Clients, thank you for pouring your heart into helping our clients each and every day. Its a pleasure to work with a group of people who passionately care for our clients wellbeing.
This book is dedicated to
my beautiful wife who lights up my soul.
You give my life meaning and purpose.
Id be lost without you.
How this book is different and
why it might help you
As a financial advisor, when I meet people for the first time they tend to ask questions like the following:
I know I need to do something, but where do I start?!
Should I focus on repaying my home loan as my top priority?
Do I need to invest in property as well as shares, contribute more into super or look at different options?
No doubt you have similar questions (youre reading this introduction after all), and helping you answer questions like these is exactly why Ive written this book. In it, I outline how you can plan your financial journey using a robust and proven investment framework: my eight golden rules to winning the game of building personal wealth.
What financial steps you need to take next will only become clear when you understand how this game and its rules work.
Games are won by applying proven rules and strategies
Youve likely noticed the title of this book is a play on the board game Monopoly the ultimate trading game. Lets be honest, winning Monopoly requires a little bit of luck for example, landing on unowned property and avoiding properties already owned by your opponent. But, in truth, the key to winning this game is making the most of your luck and applying certain rules such as buying as much property as possible, not spending all your cash (having some savings) and negotiating to get a full set as soon as you can. Following these rules will see you winning more games of Monopoly than you lose (and perhaps flipping fewer boards over in frustration).
Building wealth is no different. You can win at the game of building personal wealth by applying a set of proven rules. These golden rules are all proven (they work) and are rooted in logic and simple maths they are not my or anyone elses opinion and can be verified with historical evidence. These rules include things like have a plan, spend less than you earn, forget about the short term and always make decisions that maximise long-term wealth and, if you are going to invest in property, make sure its investment-grade.
Follow my eight fundamentally sound, easy-to-understand golden rules its that simple!
I believe that mapping out a financial plan so that you can have a safe and secure retirement is a lot easier than you might think. Understanding and consistently applying my golden rules will help you work out what you should do next (investment-wise), with virtually no chance of making a mistake even if you dont have a financial brain.
If you already use a financial advisor, the golden rules will help you work out if the advice you receive is sound. They will put you in control of your financial destiny.
