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Investing Compass
Can you lower your tax with a trust?
Can you lower your tax burden with a trust? Tax is a large detractor from your total return, can this structure help? Mark and Shani discuss the investors that it may suit and those that it won't. Listen to this before committing, as the establishment and maintenance fees for trusts can put you on the back foot if it doesn't suit your circumstances.
You can find the full article here.
A message from Mark and Shani
For the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.
We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.
The book is currently in presale which is an important time to build momentum. If anyone would like to support this project you can buy the book now. Thanks in advance!
Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from Booktopia
In this week's edition of Unconventional Wisdom, Mark explores whether dividends are the answer for investors, and specifically retirees. Many members of the Morningstar community have shared that the reliable passive income provides them peace of mind. He explores how dividends can bring this for investors, but also improve living standards and provide retirement certainty by reducing longevity and sequence of returns risk.
In the next instalment of Bookworm, Joseph turns to the writing of value investing legend Marty Whitman for insight. Joseph highlights Whitman's unusually consistent approach to stock selection over the decades, and looks at how ignoring short-term performance versus benchmarks could unlock a long-term investing edge.
In this week's edition of Future Focus, Shani looks at new research from Vanguard regarding how you can improve your retirement income by up to 50%. Many retirees focus on overspending in retirement, but there is a real risk of underspending. Shani runs through the factors that investors need to consider to find the right balance between quality of life and longevity of retirement savings.
To submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.
Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
More episodes
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8. Most surprising tax rules in 2025–2026
14:54||Season 7, Ep. 8Mr. Taxman, Adrian Raftery, listed 101 tax rules - Mark and Shani run through the ones that jumped out at Shani when she read the book.You can find the full article here.Would you like more free insights from Mark, Shani and the rest of the Morningstar team? You can find them here.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
7. Why I don't like dividend stocks
31:10||Season 7, Ep. 7In this guest episode, we have James Gruber, Editor at Firstlinks. He has a debate with dividend lover Mark, about why he doesn't like dividends.You can find James' full article here.Would you like more free insights from Mark, Shani and the rest of the Morningstar team? You can find them here.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
6. Three ways to make your family's life easier
11:59||Season 7, Ep. 6No one wants to think about what happens after you die, but a few steps can save your family a lot of pain at an already difficult time in their life. We run through three ways to make your family's life easier and give you peace of mind.You can find the full article here.Would you like more free insights from Mark, Shani and the rest of the Morningstar team? You can find them here.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
5. Lessons for investors from Droneshield (ASX: DRO)
14:52||Season 7, Ep. 5Droneshield has had a meteoric rise - and fall. We take a look at the back story - what the company does, what impacted the share price and importantly - what lessons investors can take from this.Disclaimer: Neither Mark or Shani own Droneshield. Morningstar analysts do not cover this company.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
4. 2026 Market Outlook
14:16||Season 7, Ep. 4We take a look at the market going into 2026, and how investors should think about the year ahead.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
3. 5 considerations for new ETFs
20:59||Season 7, Ep. 3In this guest episode, we host Shamir Popat, Senior Analyst, Manager Research, at Morningstar. He runs through his report and findings on what investors should consider before investing in new ETFs.You can find more on the report here.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
2. [BEST OF 2025] Dividend ETFs
17:38||Season 7, Ep. 2We take a look at the top episodes of 2025. In this episode, we take a deep dive into dividend ETFs and how investors can pick one that suits them by running through 4 dividend ETF examples.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
1. [BEST OF 2025] One of the most generous tax breaks in Australia
16:01||Season 7, Ep. 1We take a look at the top episodes of 2025. In this episode, Mark and Shani take a look at a quirk to one of the most generous tax concessions that we have in Australia, the CGT exemption for your home. The CGT exemption also allows for you to rent out your property for a number of years, and still claim the CGT-exempt status. We take a deep dive into the tax policy, the circumstances that it suits and the situations to avoid that would make homeowners pay more tax than they need to. A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.
53. [BEST OF 2025] Cage fight: US & Australian retirement systems
23:56||Season 6, Ep. 53We look back at the top episodes of 2025. In a listener-requested episode, we look at the pros and cons of the US and Australian retirement systems.A message from Mark and ShaniFor the past five years, we’ve released a weekly podcast to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.The book is now available! It is also available in Audiobook format from most sellers.Purchase from Amazon or Purchase from BooktopiaTo submit any questions or feedback, please email mark.lamonica1@morningstar.com or leave us a voicemail to feature on the podcast here.Audio Producer and mixer: William Ton.