Most of us assume that getting ahead financially means working harder, watching the markets, and making smart moves. The data says that’s wrong.

In this episode, Frances talks with Sean Freer, Director of Global Exchange Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, about why passive investing consistently beats active fund management, and what that means for everyday investors.

We talk about:

• Why 86% of professional fund managers fail to beat the index over 15 years
• What index funds and ETFs actually are, and how to choose between 14,000+ options
• The NZX 50, the S&P 500, and how market concentration really works
• Why fees quietly destroy your investments, and what to do about it
• The behavioural finance traps that cause investors to sell at exactly the wrong moment
• Why the "set and forget" approach outperforms almost everything else

Whether you're new to investing or already have a passive strategy, this episode will sharpen your thinking… and probably confirm you're overcomplicating it.

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to http://odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock