FIFTY50 CHALLENGE There are several guaranteed ways to wealth that I can think of: Choose your parents wisely Choose your partners carefully Choose your country shrewdly As Australians, it’s this last point that we have all got right. We talk endlessly about the 5 underlying drivers of our economy and while those 5 drivers remain embedded into the underlying DNA of our economy, they must manifest into a Boom Bust cycle. Understanding these drivers provides us with an enormous competitive advantage in the investment decisions we make. The quality of these drivers ensures the productive nature of our economy continues to advance at a rapid rate. We take our superior infrastructure for granted. Our quality network of roads, water, communication and electricity and our education system is supported by pre-schools, schools, universities and other learning institutes. Although many […] 150

GROWING UP I loved the long summer school break as a kid. Spending days at the beach and riding about with my mates. Occasionally we went away for a week or two as a family, but those summer holidays were long and ensured that there was plenty of time to spend with mates. Winter is here and although the cold has set in, as a family we’ve been discussing what to do over the upcoming June break. The family is split – skiing in the snow or chase the golden sun? My two boys, Judd and Rhett are very similar in many ways but also so different. One for the snow. One for the sun. Although there is only 17 months between them, physically they look decades apart! Juddy (14 yrs old) looks almost a man standing 186 cm,  yet “Little Rhettsy” barely […] 150

17.24% RETURN FOR THE LAST 12 MONTHS I was pumped! The blue ink from my favourite pen permanently marked the page with my messy signature. It was done. Signed! Sealed! The deal completed and all that was left to do was deliver the contract and the first of the Calnan Flack Model Share Portfolios would be live! Calnan Flack had joined the big game as Money Managers. Ian and I had been planning these portfolios for a long time. We meticulously plan everything, and we had put an enormous amount of planning into these portfolios. Investing is 90% preparation. I guess that’s why they call it “Financial PLANNING”. Fast forward 12 months… We gain the opportunity to critically review our public record. It’s something that we wanted to be able to do for a long time but until now ASIC has not allowed us. […] 150

WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO USE ECONOMIC THEORIES THAT DON’T WORK? There is NO doubt that understanding the Investment & Credit Cycle and how they are underpinned and effected by the underlying economic drivers provides us with a Very Powerful Investment Edge. We spend a lot of time at both our Forecasting Conferences and Opportunity Summit reviewing how the drivers are manifesting this cycle and the opportunity that this is creating for astute investors. It is amazing how many investors have NO idea of the cycle and consequently they miss out on so many opportunities… Today I re-read this article and just couldn’t let it slide! Although it’s quite old, the point we can extrapolate from it is just as relevant now as it was when it was written. I would urge you all to read it and then think about the […] 150