The Rules of Investing

This week's guest is Callum Burns, Portfolio Manager of the highly successful SGH ICE fund. Higher returns require higher risk and volatility… Or at least, that’s what finance theory would tell us. Is it possible to ‘have your cake and eat it too’? Callum Burns, Portfolio Manager of the SG Hiscock ICE Fund clearly thinks so, and he’s got the track record to back it up. His fund has produced 11.88% p.a. over the last 10 years, and he’s achieved this with significantly lower volatility than the benchmark. How’s he done it? In short, by finding franchise businesses, with stable, growing earnings, at a reasonable price. In today’s podcast, we break this down into its parts to understand what really makes him tick. We discuss how he validates his view on a company, how to know when it’s time to sell, and he shares a couple of stock ideas from the local small cap market.

This week’s guest is Rick Rule. Rick is the President and CEO of natural resources specialists, Sprott US Holdings. According to Mining Journal, Rick is one of the top five most influential people in mining globally; an honour that he shares with President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.

This week's guest is Jim Mellon, billionaire investor, speaker, and co-author of Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity. We discuss: * His 2005 book that predicted the oncoming storm of the GFC * The coming bear market in tech stocks and why he’s short Facebook * The new developments in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes that could significantly improve survivability * The changes in lifestyle that are already extending our lifespans Medications that could dramatically extend lifespans and healthspans * The winners, losers, and economic effects of longer lives

Peter Cooper is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Cooper Investors, one of Australia’s leading boutique investment firms. His success is probably best conveyed by the incredible performance of the CI Brunswick fund, which he manages personally. This fund has outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index by a cumulative 537%, or 8.3% p.a. since inception in 2004. In this week’s podcast, we discuss: • Two exciting ‘clusters’ of investment opportunities that have him excited today, including his ‘big idea’ for the next 30 years • The two different types of value (value creators and reversionary value) and why you need to think about them differently • Two ASX small caps floats that he’s participated in over the last year, and why he likes the companies so much • A personal story of some of the philanthropic work that CI have undertaken • Which ASX stock he’d want to own if the market were to close for five years.

Peter Cooper is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Cooper Investors, one of Australia’s leading boutique investment firms. His success is probably best conveyed by the incredible performance of the CI Brunswick fund, which he manages personally. This fund has outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index by a cumulative 537%, or 8.3% p.a. since inception in 2004. In this week’s podcast, we discuss: • Two exciting ‘clusters’ of investment opportunities that have him excited today, including his ‘big idea’ for the next 30 years • The two different types of value (value creators and reversionary value) and why you need to think about them differently • Two ASX small caps floats that he’s participated in over the last year, and why he likes the companies so much • A personal story of some of the philanthropic work that CI have undertaken • Which ASX stock he’d want to own if the market were to close for five years.

This week's guest is Giselle Roux, Chief Investment Officer at Escala Partners. We discuss where we are in the interest rate cycle, how to invest as rates rise, and whether the Fed can manage a rate-hike cycle without causing a recession.

Dr Don Hamson from Plato Investment Management discusses some common mistakes that investors make, how to avoid a dividend trap, and heard his views on the suggested changes to dividends.

We all know that big caps are growth-constrained and mid and small caps are where you find the real opportunities in the market. For example, a2 Milk has seen its share price jump more than 20 times in three years to give it an $8 billion market cap, putting it into among the 50 biggest companies on the ASX. Awareness in the market that global stocks present a better opportunity is now reaching tipping point, so in this week’s podcast we chat with global mid-cap specialist, Arik Star who's the Portfolio Manager of Ellerston Global Investments. We discuss how he finds opportunities by looking for companies going through periods of change, how they profited from the recent spike in volatility, and the $21 billion opportunity for content creators.

After a rough start to the year in 2017, smaller companies had a stellar run in the back half that once again shone light on the smaller end of the market. With nearly 20 years’ experience running a small cap mandate, Rob Frost from OC Funds has seen this kind of thing before. In our first podcast for the new season, Livewire Editor, Patrick Poke, sat down with Rob to learn about small cap investing. Is it better to pick the right themes, or the right stocks? What's more important, growth, or value? And which ASX small cap would he own if the market was going to close for five years? He answers all these questions, and explains why traveling makes you a better investor, in this week's podcast.

Disruption is everywhere these days. Whether it’s Amazon and Kogan disrupting traditional retail, Facebook and Google disrupting print and television advertising, or Netflix disrupting pay TV, it’s impossible to avoid. Incumbents face the dilemma of disruption: adapt to new ways and risk hurting their existing business, or stick to their existing model and risk becoming redundant in an ever-changing world. At the forefront of digital disruption are the global tech giants; Amazon, Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, Google, and Facebook, to name a few. This week’s guest on Livewire’s Rules of Investing is Alex Pollak, CEO of Loftus Peak, which specialises in investing in these global disruptive businesses. In this episode, we discuss which firm has the best CEO, whether the Chinese firms can challenge the Americans on their own turf, and whether technology stocks are in a bubble.

In the first podcast for 2018, Livewire Editor, Patrick Poke, sits down with Dr Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy and Chief Economist at AMP Capital. The topic at hand is Australia: the share market, the economy, wages, and of course, house prices. They discuss UBS's report late last year that "Australia's 55-year housing boom has come to an end." Is this hyperbole, or is there a nugget of truth? Oliver says that while a crash is oversold, he expects to see a fall of 5-10% in capital city house prices. So, tune in here for the first episode of Livewire’s Rules of Investing for 2018.

In Livewire's final podcast for 2017, Livewire's Co-Founder and Managing Director, Tom McKay, sits down with Niki Scevak, Partner and Co-founder of Blackbird Ventures, one of Australia's most successful VC firms. With a keen interest in public markets and the teachings of Munger and Buffett, Niki provides a unique perspective on VC investing. He was also a university classmate of Australian billionaire and Atlassian Co-Founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes. In this fascinating podcast, they discuss what makes a great management team, some 'red flags' to look out for, and what's he's most excited about right now. Make sure you stick around to the end to hear which of the big tech companies has the best chance of being a world-leader ten years from now.

A 1640% gain in a calendar year is not something you see very often, but that’s what Bitcoin holders have experienced so far in 2017. Jordan Eliseo, Chief Economist at ABC Bullion, called it “the best bull market in finance” when we sat down recently to record the latest episode of Livewire’s Rules of Investing. But is Bitcoin really the future of money, as the bulls would have you believe? To achieve these lofty goals, it will need to displace the USD, Euro, Renminbi, and gold. So, can Bitcoin overcome the naysayers and become the ‘Amazon of money’, or is this giant bubble waiting to pop? Find out in the latest podcast below.

In the third episode of Livewire’s new podcast, we break from the traditional podcast format and sit down with three different guests at this week’s Future Generation Investment Forum. First, Matthew Kidman from Centennial Funds (and host of Buy Hold Sell) discusses some current risks in the market, two areas he’s avoiding, and the stock he’d own if the market closed for five years. Next, Geoff Wilson from Wilson Asset Management explains how they go about picking fund managers that are likely to outperform. Finally, Louise Walsh, CEO of Future Gener| ation, explains how they pick charities for their donations and how they measure the success of their investments – the parallels with investment management are fascinating. You can listen to the podcast at the link below, or download it on iTunes.

In this week’s Rules of Investing, I sit down with Craig McDonald, co-founder and CEO of Global Founders Funds Management. After successful careers at Goldman Sachs, Craig and his co-founder were inspired to start GFFM when they came across research suggesting that founder-run businesses outperformed the broader market. This seems intuitive, with firms like Amazon, Facebook, and Google being among the strongest performers in the world in recent years. Closer to home, Seek, Harvey Norman, Flight Centre, and Nick Scali have all been successful businesses, run by founders. We think there are some important lessons here for all investors, so don’t miss this week’s podcast, hosted by Livewire Markets’ Editor, Patrick Poke.