Basis Points

It was once a given that investing across a variety of asset classes, meant you were diversified.

Today’s guest believes that may no longer be the case.

AI for example touches debt, equities and infrastructure.

When the old asset-class labels no longer explain the risks and opportunities, what should advisers change in client portfolios?

John Woods, the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Multi-Asset at Australian Ethical Investment shares the portfolio audit that every adviser should run to ensure clients are properly diversified.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:15 When Asset Classes Overlap

05:59 Auditing Portfolio Risk

09:43 Themes with Staying Power

13:05 Resources and Spotting Hype

16:23 Ethical Investing and Risk

18:28 Opportunity in Infrastructure

20:23 Private Markets and Portfolio Fit

21:43 Three Checks for Advisers

23:23 Renewable Energy Meets AI Demand

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned:

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL), TSMC (NYSE: TSM; TWSE: 2330), Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR), Capstone Copper (ASX: CSC), Kodak (NYSE: KODK), Allbirds, now Smartbird (NASDAQ: BIRD), GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO)

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Financial Planning (0.25 hour), Managed Investments (0.25 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by Australian Ethical.

To learn more, visit AustralianEthical.com.au

Please read the PDS and TMD to consider if the product is right for you. Issued by Australian Ethical Investment Limited ABN 47 003 188 930, AFSL 229949.

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason Entwistle is worried. Australian advisers have one of the highest AI adoption rates in the world at a time when there are so many "shiny new toys” coming out.

But he sees a real risk to the speed of this adoption. Taking up AI tools without enough DD could lead the industry to “end up in a bit of a scandal where data has ended up in the wrong spot,” giving the regulator another reason to intervene.

So how can advisers still change with the times without risking their business?

Jason joins Ally to explain why he thinks nailing your data and processes is the key.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:45 Why Advisers Should Take AI Slowly

00:04:51 The Future of Financial Advice

00:07:10 The Risks of Getting AI Wrong

00:10:00 Which AI Start-ups Will Survive?

00:14:06 How Platforms Will Use AI

00:16:31 Keeping Client Data Secure

00:21:17 Building MyHub for the Industry

00:26:37 MyHub’s Launch, Pricing and Partners

00:31:17 AI Adoption and Advice Productivity

This episode was recorded on 17th of September 2026.

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Generic Knowledge (0.25 hour), Practice Management (0.25 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Client Care & Practice (0.25 hour), General (0.25 hour)

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
• Join the conversation on LinkedIn
• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world’s biggest technology companies are burning through their once-abundant cash reserves to fund the AI arms race.

Increasingly, they’re turning to debt markets to fund the buildout.

That means the most speculative part of the market is finding its way into defensives.

So what does that mean for advisers and their clients?

Fixed Income Director at Capital Group, Haran Karunakaran, joins Ally to explain:

• What previous debt-fuelled booms can teach us
• The warning signs emerging in credit markets
• Why this cycle could still play out differently

Chapters:

00:00 AI’s Debt-Fuelled Boom

03:53 Lessons From Past Bubbles

05:57 Cracks in Credit Markets

09:12 Is Credit an AI Hedge?

12:08 How Credit Investors Analyse AI

13:46 What Separates Hyperscalers

17:29 Are AI Bonds Attractive?

20:09 Beyond the AI Trade

22:52 Credit’s Biggest Risks

25:50 Where Credit Looks Attractive

28:18 Rethinking Defensive Allocations

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META)

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Fixed Interest (0.25 hour), Managed Investments (0.25 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by Capital Group. To find out more about Capital Group and their funds, head to their website: https://www.capitalgroup.com/intermediaries/au/en/

Thanks to Capital Group for supporting this episode of Basis Points and helping to keep our content free.

Disclaimer: Past results are not a guarantee of future results. This information has been provided solely for informational purposes and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or instrument listed herein. Statements attributed to an individual represent the opinions of that individual as of the date published and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Capital Group or its affiliates. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide advice.

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
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• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What separates advice practices that scale well from those that get stuck?

After meeting with thousands of advisers, Trellia Wealth Partners Managing Partner Cameron Spittle says the difference often comes down to one thing: the operating model.

In this episode you will learn:

• How leaders can create greater adviser capacity
• Ways to improve operational efficiency, and deliver better client outcomes
• Where businesses should look when workflows start slowing them down

Chapters:

00:00 What Sets Top Practices Apart

02:56 Building Adviser Capacity

06:31 Fixing Operational Bottlenecks

09:08 Scaling Advice Practices

14:10 The Managed Accounts Shift

18:35 Making Managed Accounts Work

23:03 AI and the Future Adviser

27:11 What Top Practices Do Differently

This episode was recorded on 26th of August 2026

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Practice Management (0.50 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Client Care & Practice (0.50 hour)

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
• Join the conversation on LinkedIn
• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rules around leverage have changed. So what does that mean for advisers?

With residential property LRBAs no longer available inside SMSFs, instalment warrants remain one way advisers can use leverage in super.

Citi Global Markets Director Elizabeth Tian and Five Financial Managing Partner and Head of Advice Jason Petersen join Ally to explain how instalment warrants actually work, where they fit compared to geared ETFs and margin loans, and the risks advisers need to consider.

Plus, Jason shares two real client strategies, including how leverage can be used for retirees and younger accumulators.

Chapters:

00:00 Leverage After Budget Changes

02:23 Instalment Warrants Explained

05:13 New Tax Rules Reshape Gearing

09:48 Why Use Leverage?

12:12 Who Uses Instalment Warrants?

14:57 Gearing Across Life Stages

18:36 SMSF Risks and Guardrails

21:10 The Long-Term Gearing Impact

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned:

Citigroup (NYSE: C)

This episode was recorded on 25th August 2026.

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA).

Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Derivatives (0.50 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by TMX Australia Exchange - formerly Cboe Australia. To learn more or subscribe for insights and events, visit www.tmxaustralia.com. Thanks to TMX Australia for helping us keep our content free. Citi’s warrants are traded on TMX. If you're looking to understand the structured product options available to your clients, head to https://au.citifirst.com/ to find out more.

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Want more Basis Points?

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

his podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI tools have had a very “superficial” impact on financial advice so far.

That’s according to today’s guest Simon O’Keefe, founder and CEO of Alcova, an AI adoption and safety company for Australian wealth management firms.

He believes AI can be a “big unlock” for persistent capacity constraints the industry faces. But that so far, financial advisers are using it in ways that barely scratch the surface of what the technology can do.

In this episode, Simon joins Ally to explain why note-takers and copilots aren’t transforming advice businesses, what an AI-native advice practice could look like, and why the traditional CRM model may be under threat.

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clearer picture of what AI could actually change in financial advice, and how to prepare your practice for it.

Chapters:

00:00 AI’s Adoption Problem

03:14 Why AI Adoption Takes Time

05:42 The Problem With AI Tools

07:49 The Future Advice Tech Stack

09:53 Is Your Client Data Safe?

12:49 Future-Proofing Your AI Strategy

15:29 Who’s Actually Using AI Well?

17:52 How Leading Firms Use AI

20:29 One AI Experiment To Try

23:59 AI Isn’t Driving Growth Yet

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned: Salesforce (NYSE: CRM)

This episode was recorded on 11th August, 2026.

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Practice Management (0.50 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Client Care & Practice (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by Alcova AI. To see how Alcova can future proof your AI roadmap head to alcova.ai

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
• Join the conversation on LinkedIn
• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Defensive assets are meant to be the boring part of a portfolio. Now, it’s where advisers are making some of their hardest calls.

Bonds spent the past few decades earning a reputation as the go-to hedge to equities. Since 2022, that reputation has been tested, with the correlation between the two asset classes flipping to positive territory.

So, are bonds broken? Are they still good diversifiers for stocks? Or do advisers need to be looking elsewhere to “diversify their diversifiers”?

In this episode, Zenith Investment Partners’ Head of Portfolio Solutions, Andrew Yap, and Head of Alternatives and Global Fixed Income, Rodney Sebire, outline why they believe now is the time for advisers and investors alike to rebuild the defensive portion of their portfolios.

They share where they are seeing the most opportunity (across both public and private markets), how they assess managers (and the red flags you can look out for), as well as some of the recent innovations in managed accounts that can help advisers track public and private exposures.

Chapters:

00:00 Why Bonds Aren’t Broken

05:05 Is De-Dollarisation a Threat?

07:00 Why Private Credit Boomed

11:11 Spotting Private Credit Risks

15:44 Private Credit’s “Cockroach” Problem

19:00 Navigating Private Asset Structures

21:53 Managers That Stand Out

24:38 Building the Defensive Portfolio

27:43 Why Fixed Interest Excites

Register for your ticket to FinFest Industry Day here!

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Managed Investments (0.25 hour), Fixed Interest (0.25 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by Zenith Investment Partners. Zenith Investment Partners is a leading investment research and managed account provider, with a 20-year track record of delivering premium investment research, fund ratings and investment portfolio solutions for financial advisers. https://www.zenithpartners.com.au/

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
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• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Otter, Partners Group’s Global Head of Private Markets Royalties, argues that royalties are uncorrelated to markets, low volatility, an inflation hedge, and generate a predictable yield. So, it’s surprising that most investors still have zero allocation to the asset class - despite royalties being around for a good 600 years.

They originated with royal families (as the name suggests), where a payment would be made to a sovereign in return for the granting of mining rights. Today, they cover everything from music, healthcare, film, television, mining, oil and gas, books, theatre, and increasingly YouTube.

To be clear, the asset class isn't without risk. Development-stage royalties can return zero if a drug fails approval or a mine never produces. Even established assets can disappoint.

In this interview, we dive into the opportunity in royalties today, what advisers get wrong about the asset class, and perhaps the most perplexing question of all - why so few investors have exposure.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:18 Why Evergreen Fits Royalties

03:56 Streaming Transformed Music

08:31 Beyond Music Royalties

11:41 Energy and Mining Royalties

13:42 How Royalties Are Valued

17:37 Royalties in Client Portfolios

19:07 Understanding Regulatory Risk

20:57 When Royalty Investments Go Wrong

24:03 Why Invest in Royalties Now

27:08 Music’s Untapped Growth

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned: Deterra Royalties (ASX: DRR), BHP Group (ASX: BHP)

Register for your ticket to FinFest Industry Day here!

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Alternative Assets (0.50 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
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• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional. Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grant Hackett has now spent more time working in finance than he did in the pool, but he’s still best known for being one of, if not the greatest, distance swimmers Australia has ever produced.

Hackett hung up his goggles in 2008 and is now the group CEO of ASX-listed Generation Development Group.

In this episode of Basis Points, he takes advisers through the highs and lows of his Olympic career, his early days in business, as well as the significant shifts he believes are coming for the industry.

He also shares his views on what some of the Government’s policy changes (super, capital gains tax, negative gearing and trusts) mean for advisers and their clients.

Chapters:

00:00 Meet Grant Hackett

01:47 From Olympic Gold to Finance

06:20 Olympic Lessons for Leadership

10:44 Inside Generation Development Group

13:44 How GDG Finds Growth

19:28 The Future of Financial Advice

21:05 Investment Bonds and Tax

27:04 What Advisors Are Worried About

29:32 Life After Olympic Swimming

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned:

Generation Development Group (ASX: GDG)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC)

Register for your ticket to FinFest Industry Day here!

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Generic Knowledge (0.25 hour), Managed Investments (0.25 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.25 hour), General (0.25 hour)

———

Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
• Join the conversation on LinkedIn
• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Hamilton has enshrined a simple belief at Hamilton Wealth Partners: Most financial advice practices pay lip service to client experience, yet it makes all the difference in the eyes of clients.

In this episode, he shares how HWP differentiates through hyper-personalised service, from capping advisers at 50 clients to running large-scale client events that function more like weddings than seminars.

He also gets into the harder conversations, how he manages complex family dynamics, what he screens for when acquiring practices, and the delicate balance of incorporating AI to expand capacity without compromising on service.

Finally, he shares his view on markets. Australian equities are at their lowest weighting in the firm's history, and he explains why he thinks the market is overpaying for AI.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:12 Why Advisers Need Differentiation

03:10 Creating Memorable Client Experiences

07:29 Events That Drive Growth

10:32 Scaling with AI and Acquisitions

15:07 Managing Complex Family Wealth

19:52 AI, Security, and Advice

22:36 Market Outlook and Portfolio Positioning

26:44 Chart of the Week & Closing

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned:

Magnificent 7 - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL / GOOG), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Register for your ticket to FinFest Industry Day here!

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours

Knowledge Requirements: Practice Management (0.50 hour)

Legislated CPD Area: Client Care & Practice (0.50 hour)

———

Want more Basis Points?

• Sign up to the Basis Points email
• Join the conversation on LinkedIn
• Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

———

Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.