Right back at the start of 2018 we sat down and made a few bold predictions about what we thought might happen during the year. One of those predictions was very bold indeed. Very specific. Very pessimistic. Bryce bet that on September 15th 2018, 10 years on from the Global Financial Crisis, we would experience a drop in the US market of greater than 20%. Silly, we know. Or was it... Fortunately (well, depending which side of the bet you were on), this wasn't the case, and the world continued as normal. This week we look back on the bet, and the 10 year anniversary of the GFC, as well as give an update on the progress of our portfolios in the ASX Sharemarket game. In this episode you will learn: • Why Bryce's prediction technically could never have happened • If Bryce doubled down on his prediction • Equity Mates' outlook, going forward • Who is up and who is down in the ASX Sharemarket game • Which stocks have been star performers for the boys • And which have been their biggest losers • Bryce is a poet • Alec has a surprise lined up To keep up to date with everything Equity Mates are looking at each week, and what's catching their attention, make sure you sign up to their weekly Thoughts Starters email. Every Monday you'll get the latest in news, thought-provoking articles and some secret investing ideas.

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With our live shows done, we wanted to discuss a theme that came up over and over again in our listener Q&A and conversations afterwards. It's a question both of us had when we started investing and it is one that can lead a lot of people to put investing in the 'too hard' basket. That question is - how do I pick the perfect stock? It's a question that professional investors struggle to answer - even Warren Buffett had his IBM moment. Importantly, it is one that can get new investors lost in a sea of jargon, ratios and charts. So in this episode we explain why new investors should forget stock picking and explain how achieving market average returns over a long time period is all you need. In this episode you will learn: • Why stock picking is the wrong focus for new investors • The three things that investors should focus on instead - reducing the costs you can control, diversifying and asset allocation • How both of us think about stock picking v market average returns Stocks and Resources Discussed: • The Economist - Fund managers rarely outperform the market for long • Slater and Gordon (ASX: SGH) • A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) • Bellamy's (ASX: BAL)

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One of the reasons we started Equity Mates Investing Podcast was to track our journey of learning the ins-and-outs of investing, and more importantly, to get others on the journey with us! As more and more Equity Mates have joined the journey with us, we've been receiving a wide range of questions, which we love. In this episode we've chosen a few of them to answer. In this episode you will learn: • What happens to companies like Spaceship and Raiz, and the underlying assets, when the market tanks • What we think of Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), the 'little brother' of Afterpay • Some of our favourite, and highly recommended, finance documentaries and movies • The best way to listen to this podcast If you want to contact us you can do so through our social media - Facebook, Instagram or Twitter - or email us at [email protected]. We've got a new Equity Mates forum on our website, called 'Ask Us Anything' - so do it, and ask us anything! Stocks and resources discussed: • Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) • Dirty Money • I.O.U.S.A • Betting On Zero • Inside Job • Smartest Guys In The Room • Wall Street

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Previously on the show (Ep #39) we've discussed IPO, or Initial Public Offerings. You might otherwise know them as a 'float'. IPOs are when a private company lists on a stock exchange to raise funds by selling shares to investors, including members of the public. Companies use IPOs to raise money that can then be reinvested to help grow the business.IPOs give investors an opportunity to buy shares at a determined price before it opens on the stock market, with the hope that over time the share price will go up. This week, we review a list of upcoming IPOs on the Australian Stock Exchange. Most of them are standard mining companies, but one really stood out to us as being quite different. In this episode you will learn: • What an IPO is and why companies do them • Which company stood out as a rather unusual offer • The trend that's taking place in venture capital • Why the big billion dollar companies of the world are staying private Stocks and resources discussed: • Uber • Lift • NiceVend (ASX: NVD) • ASX List of Upcoming Floats and Listings

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Australia has a new Prime Minister. That fact was inescapable last week as the two Liberal Party leadership spills were plastered across news headlines. We aren't interested in adding to the political commentary, but instead are interested in the effect these leadership changes have on the Australian market. So that is the question we set out to answer in this episode and accompanying blog post (link below). In this episode you will learn: • How Scott Morrison's victory affected markets. • The different reasons why leadership change may affect markets • How leadership changes of years gone by (Gillard, Rudd, Abbott, Turnbull etc.) have affected the Australian market • What has happened to the Australian market over this period of 6 Prime Ministers • How you should think about news and politics affecting markets more generally Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Equity Mates Blog Post - Do Leadership Spills Move Markets? • Ben Carlson - Why Doesn't the Stock Market care about news? (includes Bank of America chart discussed in episode) • Melbourne Live Show - Wednesday 5 September • Sydney Live Show - Thursday 13 September

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There are so many great investing and business books out there that sometimes it's hard to know where to start, and often, finding the time to finish them is equally as challenging. This episode we review some of the books we've finished reading over the last month or so, to give you some of the great lessons learned. In this episode you will learn: • The biggest risk is not investing • Why young people must start investing early and buck the conventional market wisdom • Why picking 'the hottest' stocks may lead to meager returns • Why you should not judge investing books by their shocking covers • How the founder of Nike is inspiring Equity Mates • (if Alec's tip for the Swans to beat Hawthorn by 30 points came off) Stocks and resources discussed: • Millennial Money: How Young Investors Can Build A Fortune (Patrick O'Shaughnessy) • The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success (Harvard Business Review Press) • The Black Swan: The Impact Of the Highly Improbable (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) • Trade Like A Stock Market Wizard: How to Achieve Super Performance in Stocks in Any Market (Mark Minervini) • Shoe Dog (Phil Knight)

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The competition is really heating up. Over the last two weeks, we have revealed the strategies that we hope will take us to the top of the leaderboard of the ASX Sharemarket Game. The game gives players $50,000 in play money, and 4 months to invest in stocks in the ASX200. The game emulates the ASX in real time. This week we give an update on how the first two weeks have gone for us. Who is in profit? Has anyone had a disastrous start? In this episode you will learn: • The biggest lesson we've learnt from using stop losses • Who is and who isn't making a profit • Which companies have been the most successful for us over the last two weeks • How to utilise the reporting season to get some quick wins Stocks and resources discussed: • The A2 Milk Company (ASX: A2M) • Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES) • NexTDC Limited (ASX: NXT) • WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR) • Kogan.com Limited (ASX: KGN) • Afterpay Touch Group (ASX: APT) • ASX Limited (ASX: ASX) • WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC) • Australian Foundation Investment Company (ASX: AFI) • CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) • Commsec Reporting Calendar

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Investing jargon. We hate it. Nothing makes it harder for new investors to get started than overcoming the wave of acronyms and terminology that comes with investing. We both found it challenging when we started, and we're hoping episodes like this make it a bit easier for those just starting out. We've chosen 5 key investing terms - some because they particularly annoy us, others because they're quite topical - and we break them down so you can understand them. For more experienced investors that may be familiar with these terms, we discuss the utility of some of these terms and Alec quizzes Bryce throughout. So even if you're familiar with the terms, you'll at least get some decent trivia questions out of this episode! In this episode you will learn: • 5 key investing terms, the way they're used and what they mean. • What the terms Alpha and Beta mean for investors. • Why risk and volatility are not the same thing. • What Blue Chip stocks are, and where the name came from. • Understanding what an Index is, and how Alec thinks about them. • How the first index came about and what was included in it. • Why it is important to look beyond share price and look at a company's market capitalisation. • The first company to be worth $1 trillion. Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Equity Mates Pardon the Jargon #2 blog post. • How to make money in bull and bear markets - Stan Weinstein

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It is a decision every investor faces before they make their first trade, and for a lot of people it can be overwhelming. With so many options and so little experience, it is difficult to make the correct choice. No - we're not talking about choosing your first share - we're talking about choosing your brokerage platform. A brokerage platform is simply the place (usually website these days) where you buy and sell shares. There are so many options these days from the more traditional, like the Big 4 Banks, to the disruptive, think phone-based, no cost platforms. In this Basics 101 episode, we break down the options available and what the important considerations are. So if you're trying to make the choice, or think you made the wrong choice, this episode should help you choose the brokerage platform that is right for you. In this episode you will learn: • The three main categories of brokerage platforms available today • What the Big 4 Banks and Macquarie offer • What some of the online-only newcomers are offering in this space • The different prices you'll pay for brokerage • Other important considerations for choosing your brokerage • Which brokerage platforms the boys use and why Stocks and Resources Discussed: • Equity Mates brokerage platforms blog post. • We discussed a number of different share trading platforms in this episode. Rather than linking them all below, use these Finder.com.au resources to do your own comparison and decide what is right for you: • Factors to consider when choosing your brokerage platform (towards bottom of article) • Comparison of different brokerage options in Australia (confusingly, there are two sets of comparison tables in this article, scroll down to the second it is more comprehensive).

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As we started discussing last week, the ASX Sharemarket game has kicked-off. The rules are simple: $50,000 in play money, and 4 months to invest as best you can, competing against all other entrants across the country. The game emulates the Australian Stock Exchange in real-time each day. Alec and Bryce have decided to compete and to record their trades and learnings as they go. Last week Bryce revealed what his initial strategies were for picking his first investments, and this episode it's Alec's turn to reveal how he chose his investments for the next 4 months. In this episode you will learn: • What 'bottom left to top right means' and how it helps to pick a stock • Which company Alec thinks is one of the best capital allocators out there • Which stock both Bryce and Alec have chosen in their portfolio • How Alec has distributed his $50,000 Stocks and resources discussed: • Wesfarmers Limted (ASX: WES) • Cleanaway Wast Management Limited (ASX: CWY) • WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR) • NextDC Limited (ASX: NXT)

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