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Investopoly
Investopoly is a twice-weekly podcast designed to help you make better financial decisions and build wealth with clarity and confidence. Hosted by Stuart (tax adviser, financial adviser, and mortgage broker) and Campbell (senior financial adviser), each episode delivers concise, practical insights grounded in real-world strategy, research, methodologies, and case studies.
You will get two episodes each week: a main episode that deep-dives into a single wealth-building topic, and a Q&A episode that answers listener questions and real scenarios. Send your questions to questions@investopoly.com.au
We also writes a weekly blog, and many podcast topics build on those ideas and frameworks. Stuart's forthcoming book, Wealth by Design, will be available in July 2026.
Investopoly
Ep 397: Australian vs International Shares: Why the 45:55 split does not add up
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Why do most diversified Australian portfolios still allocate nearly half of their equity exposure to Australian shares, when Australia represents only around 2% of the global share market?
In this episode, we challenge the traditional 45/55 split between Australian and international equities and examine whether it truly makes sense in today’s global economy.
Campbell breaks down the most common arguments for maintaining a heavy domestic allocation, franking credits, reduced currency risk, higher dividend yields, lower volatility, and familiarity, and tests whether they justify such a significant home bias. While franking credits provide a real and measurable benefit, he explores why that benefit may be meaningful but not transformational. He also unpacks the realities of currency hedging, sector concentration, tax efficiency, and long-term compounding.
Australia’s share market is highly concentrated in banks and miners, with limited exposure to fast-growing sectors like technology. Over the past decade, global markets have outperformed, largely due to stronger earnings growth and broader diversification. Yet over 30 years, returns have been surprisingly similar, which raises a more important question: what does the future likely reward?
Campbell also discusses how the investor stage matters. Retirees seeking income may prefer higher domestic exposure. Accumulators focused on long-term after-tax compounding may benefit from greater global diversification and capital growth orientation.
This episode isn’t about abandoning Australian shares. It’s about thinking more critically about where new investment dollars should go and whether the default allocation most Australians inherit is grounded in evidence, or simply habit.
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Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.
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Important
This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.
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