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On this episode:
Chris Brycki is the founder of Stockspot, Australia’s largest robo investment adviser. Chris is a very intelligent, evidence-based investor. He’s a big advocate for investing via index funds and ETFs, and keeping costs low inside and outside of Super.
Chris is a member of the Cancer Council’s investment committee and ASIC’s board for digital innovation.
I could have chatted to Chris for hours because I really enjoyed his candour and insights about portfolio management. I think every investor, beginner to advanced, should consider his insights in developing robust portfolio management strategies of their own.
To begin, Chris and I discuss a tense investing conversation he had live on television.
Timestamps:
- 0:45: Intro to Chris
- 1:30 – A tense conversation
- 2:40 – Chris’ journey to investing and a $1,000 challenge
- 6:00 – Tips for getting children excited in investing and finance (explain what shares represent, how you can own a business, sharemarket games, etc.)
- 8:45 – Joining UBS and getting an all expenses paid trip to London to have cavier on the London Eye
- 11:30 – Chris is made redundant during the GFC
- 13:30 – Why Chris felt the time was right to start StockSpot
- 15:30 – What is StockSpot and why is it called StockSpot?
- 18:30 – Is a Chris a tech guy?
- 21:00 – What the heck is “robo advice” and is StockSpot one of those?
- 24:30 – Why does StockSpot use ETFs and why did Chris stop ‘picking’ individual shares?
- 27:30 – Is “risk” just volatility or is it the chance of losing money?
- 33:00 – Why does Chris own gold and how does he get that exposure?
- 36:30 – What Chris looks for in ETFs: Physically backed ETFs, cost, liquidity and slippage/spreads. (ETF research paper)
- 43:30 – What is a ‘Smart Beta’ or ‘Factor ETF’?
- 49:00 – Fat Cats of the Super industry
- 54:00 – Why and how the biggest Super funds could be hiding more risk in ‘balanced strategies’
- 57:30 – 3 Ways Chris would fix the Super system
- 1:01:30 – Active fund managers with 0% management fees
- 1:04:30 – Chris’ good podcasts, books and resources
Quote: “incentives of people providing the money aren’t aligned with people managing the money”
Further Reading:
- What is an ETF? (with video)
- What is an index fund? (with video)
- Smart Beta and Factor ETFs Explained (with video)
- Stockspot ETF Report
- Stockspot Fat Cat Funds Report
- PODCAST: Masters In Business
- Books:
