Why financial advice has become generic (and how to actually stand out)

More from Basis Points All episodes →

1. 

   S2 · 8 Sep 2026 · 23 min

   How to gear inside super without property

   The rules around leverage have changed. So what does that mean for advisers? With residential property LRBAs no longer available inside SMSFs, instalment warrants remain one way advisers can use leverage in super. Citi Global Markets Director Elizabeth Tian and Five Financial Managing Partner and Head of Advice Jason Petersen join Ally to explain how instalment warrants actually work, where they fit compared to geared ETFs and margin loans, and the risks advisers need to consider. Plus, Jason shares two real client strategies, including how leverage can be used for retirees and younger…

2. 

   S2 · 1 Sep 2026 · 27 min

   Why financial advice has an AI problem (and what actually fixes it)

   AI tools have had a very “superficial” impact on financial advice so far. That’s according to today’s guest Simon O’Keefe, founder and CEO of Alcova, an AI adoption and safety company for Australian wealth management firms. He believes AI can be a “big unlock” for persistent capacity constraints the industry faces. But that so far, financial advisers are using it in ways that barely scratch the surface of what the technology can do. In this episode, Simon joins Ally to explain why note-takers and copilots aren’t transforming advice businesses, what an AI-native advice practice could look…

3. 

   S2 · 25 Aug 2026 · 30 min

   Zenith’s guide to rebuilding defensive portfolios

   Defensive assets are meant to be the boring part of a portfolio. Now, it’s where advisers are making some of their hardest calls. Bonds spent the past few decades earning a reputation as the go-to hedge to equities. Since 2022, that reputation has been tested, with the correlation between the two asset classes flipping to positive territory. So, are bonds broken? Are they still good diversifiers for stocks? Or do advisers need to be looking elsewhere to “ diversify their diversifiers ”? In this episode, Zenith Investment Partners’ Head of Portfolio Solutions, Andrew Yap, and Head of…

4. 

   S2 · 18 Aug 2026

   From kings to catalogues: The overlooked asset class with a 600-year history

   Stephen Otter, Partners Group’s Global Head of Private Markets Royalties, argues that royalties are uncorrelated to markets, low volatility, an inflation hedge, and generate a predictable yield. So, it’s surprising that most investors still have zero allocation to the asset class - despite royalties being around for a good 600 years. They originated with royal families (as the name suggests), where a payment would be made to a sovereign in return for the granting of mining rights. Today, they cover everything from music, healthcare, film, television, mining, oil and gas, books, theatre, and…

5. 

   S2 · 11 Aug 2026 · 33 min

   Grant Hackett on resilience, tax changes and his push to quadruple adviser numbers

   Grant Hackett has now spent more time working in finance than he did in the pool, but he’s still best known for being one of, if not the greatest, distance swimmers Australia has ever produced. Hackett hung up his goggles in 2008 and is now the group CEO of ASX-listed Generation Development Group. In this episode of Basis Points, he takes advisers through the highs and lows of his Olympic career, his early days in business, as well as the significant shifts he believes are coming for the industry. He also shares his views on what some of the Government’s policy changes (super, capital gains…

6. 

   S2 · 28 Jul 2026 · 26 min

   The biggest shift in financial advice history is less than 2 years away

   Advisers’ entire tech stack will collapse in the next two years; that is the bold prediction of Paradino AI Co-Founder and CEO Alex Gassner. He sees the glaring gap between the 15,000 financial advisers in Australia and those 16 million Australian’s who need advice, as being closed in one way only- by purpose-built AI tools. Courtenay Fox, Co-Founder of Fox & Hare Financial, knows this firsthand. After testing around 10 AI tools before narrowing it down, her firm now runs AI across everything from file notes and paraplanning to document review and client communications. No client data goes…

7. 

   S2 · 21 Jul 2026 · 26 min

   Is value dead? One of Australia’s greatest investing veterans weighs in

   The Hall of Fame fund manager and IML founder, Anton Tagliaferro, has seen enough cycles to know we’re nearing the top. He is convinced we are in a "speculative frenzy" of a bubble. In this episode, he provides his outlook on markets and where he’s seeing value. Chapters : 00:00 Introduction 01:22 AI Bubble or Déjà Vu? 03:54 Why AI May Disappoint 07:40 Is Value Investing Dead? 10:17 How Anton Invests Personally 15:15 Back Into Fund Management 16:56 Small Caps and New Fund 20:45 Advice for Uncertain Markets 23:25 Quant Funds Take Over 24:41 Final Market Outlook 📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned:…

8. 

   S2 · 14 Jul 2026 · 23 min

   The insider's guide to private credit: Red flags, risk & the road ahead

   Do you understand what you're investing in within private credit? Frank Danieli, Managing Director and Head of Global Credit Solutions at MA Financial explains why that is so important. From funds providing better disclosures, to advisers having a clearer understanding of what classifies as “private credit”- Danieli talks through the road ahead for the asset class. Plus, Ally asks for his take on whether we’re in a private credit reckoning. Chapters : 00:00 Introduction 01:34 Defining Private Credit 04:17 Diversification Beats Specialisation 07:47 Why Close A Fund? 10:31 Biggest Credit…

9. 

   S2 · 7 Jul 2026 · 26 min

   4 structural shifts driving markets over the next decade

   What will be the biggest risks and opportunities in markets over the next decade? While nobody has a crystal ball, Capital Group’s Investment Director Matt Reynolds joins the show to discuss the four structural shifts he believes will have the biggest impact on the decade to come. Plus, he explains the biggest mistake advisers are making with “diversified” portfolios. Chapters : 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Shift One AI Opportunity 05:13 AI Bubble Or Earnings Boom 08:52 Shift Two Rewiring Globalization 10:23 Industrial Winners Emerging 13:59 Shift Three Consumers Want Experiences 19:07 Shift…

10. 

    S2 · 30 Jun 2026 · 18 min

    Dollar Cost Ravaging: Why retirement flips the rules of investing

    What if the strategy that built your clients' wealth is the same one quietly destroying it in retirement? A new report from Milford; When Timing Becomes the Biggest Risk in Retirement, suggests that retirement fundamentally changes the maths of investing- including Dollar Cost Averaging. Ally sits down with Regan van Berlo, Australian Country Manager at Milford, to hear how the report affects the way advisers prepare their clients for retirement. Chapters : 00:00:00 Why Retirement Changes Portfolio Construction 03:38 Advising Clients 15 to 20 Years Earlier 00:07:04 Managing Sequencing Risk…