Equity Mates Investing Podcast

The Vatican is launching its own equity indexes (and the top holdings might not be what you expect). In the second installment of the Equity Mates Community Portfolio Scott pitches Playside Studios. Bryce and Ren also unpack the biggest earnings season themes, from AI CapEx to tariffs, before finishing with a practical breakdown of currency risk and hedging for ETF investors.

In this episode:

0:00 Disclaimer + intro

0:52 The Vatican Bank launches Catholic equity indexes

4:28 US earnings season: equal-weight beating Big Tech

5:56 AI CapEx explodes + tariffs squeeze margins

8:17...

Private credit has nearly tripled in 10 years but most investors still don’t really know what it is or why it exists. In this episode, we sit down with Nehemiah Richardson (CEO & Managing Director of TermPlus) to break down why private credit has grown so fast, where the risks actually sit, and what investors should look for if they’re considering the space.

In this episode:

0:47 Private credit 101: what it is, why it’s grown, and why “growth ≠ risk”

3:44 Why banks pulled back after the GFC (and how private credit filled the g...

Bryce and Ren break down the latest AI spending arms race from big tech (and just how stupidly big the numbers are), then ask why Reddit can smash expectations and still get sold off. Plus, Mr Beat-Up returns with a stock down ~60% from highs: Xero.

The team runs the full four-step checklist and gets into the real debate investors are having right now: are AI agents a genuine moat-breaker for SaaS… or just the latest panic?

In this episode:

02:52 Big Tech’s AI spend hits US$660B. How big is that real...

Bryce and Ren bring in someone who lives in the data every day: David Bassanese, Chief Economist at Betashares, to help cut through what matters (and what doesn’t) for investors heading into 2026.

They unpack five big macro themes dominating markets including inflation, AI, commodities, Trump/tariffs, and China.

In this episode:

00:34 Making sense of macro noise with David Bassanese

01:39 Why the outlook is still constructive heading into 2026

03:26 Inflation update: trimmed mean, housing pressure & RBA risk

07:26 AI boom vs bubble: where are we in the cycle?

Software is selling off, but don’t panic. Today we unpack why markets are suddenly repricing software, why “lazy investors” keep winning, and Luke Laretive is back in for another Pimp My Portfolio with a very spicy mix of ETFs, small caps and crypto.

In this episode:

00:00 — The software sell-off: what’s happening and why

06:29 — What we’re doing about it (don’t panic, build a watchlist)

11:39 — Lazy investors win: the 4-step strategy

13:02 — Beating your brain + the hidden costs of “doing stuff”

19:21 — Pimp My Portfolio: with Luke Laretive and Adem

Four portfolios. One year to prove who can actually beat the market.

In this kickoff episode, Bryce and Ren are joined by Cam Gleeson (Betashares) and Ally Selby (Equity Mates) to lock in the rules and reveal their first portfolios from uranium + copper to Japan hedged, defence, cybersecurity, and a big swing at Asia tech + India.

In this episode:

00:29 The challenge begins

02:29 The rules

03:13 The shared core: DHHF (all-growth, global diversification)

04:50 Bryce’s Portfolio

10:05 Ally's Portfolio

14:49 Cam’s Portfolio

20:31 Ren’...

Corporate blow-ups, property whiplash, and a brand-new segment where the Equity Mates community pitches investment ideas and YOU (plus Bryce & Ren) build a portfolio to try and beat the ASX 200.

In this episode:

00:33 Today’s menu

02:02 Corporate Travel Management: the 5-month trading halt story

05:25 House prices: Sydney/Melbourne flat, everyone else running hot

09:12 Introducing the Community Portfolio: rules + the ASX 200 “bar”

14:46 Pitch #1 AINF: AI infrastructure “picks & shovels”

19:46 Pitch #2 Catapult: Wearable sports tech

Win a $500 Visa Digital eGift Card by completing the 2026 Equity Mates M...

Everyone wants passive income but when should it actually be the goal, and what really works once you get there?

Bryce and Ren sit down with their trusted adviser Matt Ingram (Northhaven Financial Management) to cut through the hype. From dividend ETFs to bonds, covered calls, private credit and property, Matt explains how advisers actually think about income.

In this episode:

00:33 Passive income: why everyone wants it

02:07 Balancing the right goal and timing

09:07 The VHY debate: dividends now vs growth first

12:10 Ranking income options: cash...

Bryce and Ren kick off Monthly Portfolio Updates for 2026 sharing what they’ve changed over summer, how they’re thinking about core vs satellite, and why both are leaning harder into systems rather than hot takes.

In this episode:

00:00 What to expect in our monthly portfolio updates

03:08 Key portfolio changes over summer (debt recycling, leverage, structure)

07:02 Ren’s new core + building an all-weather income sleeve

11:49 Core portfolios deep dive: ETFs, gearing & brokerage choices

22:48 Satellite portfolios: active managers, Bitcoin & gold

28:08 Income strategies, risk management & wrapping up

Bryce and Ren sit down with David Tuckwell from ETF Shares to unpack two companies shaping the future of global markets: Alphabet and Nvidia.

David shares why he believes Alphabet may be the best business in the world, why Nvidia’s dominance goes far beyond hardware, and what actually matters for long-term investors thinking about US mega-caps in 2026 and beyond.

01:27 Introducing David Tuckwell & ETF Shares

03:28 Rethinking scale, moats and long-term growth

06:40 Why Alphabet is still compounding

10:28 AI as infrastructure, not hype

16:13 Nvidia’s software-driven dominance

Bryce and Ren unpack why a stronger jobs report has markets pricing a higher chance of an RBA rate rise in February, before diving into what’s actually been agreed in the long-awaited TikTok US deal (and why the algorithm is the real story).

Plus, a wholesome Pimp My Portfolio with Matt Ingram from Northhaven. Dad Heath submits his daughter Coco’s portfolio, and shares how he makes investing relatable to his kids.

Finally, they go under the hood on three ASX-listed defence ETFs exploring what they hold, how they differ, and what you’...

Luke Laretive is our first guest in the studio for 2026 and he's wasting no time, laying out his call for the year ahead: 2026 is the year of resources.

We're diving deep into commodity cycles, big-cap miners and two stocks Luke says have genuine 10-bag potential.

For more tips from Luke, subscribe to his newsletter at https://senecafs.com.au/subscribe

In this episode:

01:55 Why 2026 is the year of resources

06:27 What’s driving prices

09:09 Why many fund managers will miss the trade

12:36 Top picks by...

We're unpacking what China’s structural issues mean for markets, why SaaS stocks are being punished so hard, and whether AI fears have gone too far. Plus, Bryce finally reveals how his $500 to $5,000 challenge actually ended...tune in to find out!

Win a $500 Visa Digital eGift Card by completing the 2026 Equity Mates Media Community Survey! The Community Survey helps us understand how we can continue to improve our content to help you on your money and investing journey. You can either complete the five compulsory questions, or take 10 minutes to give us a bit more feedback: https...

Bryce and Ren are joined by long-time friend of the show Andrew Brown, value investor and Executive Director at East 72, to put 14 big calls on the table for the year ahead and, as always, Andrew will be back at the end of the year to be held accountable.

There are bold calls on IPOs, spinoffs, Asia, precious metals, the world's sexiest airport, sports teams, and why Australia may once again lag global markets before finishing with a few silver linings to watch closely.

Win a $500 Visa Digital eGift Card by completing the 2026 Equity Mate...

In this episode, Bryce and Ren cover European defence stocks surging, silver's explosive run and why Bryce has rebuilt his portfolio from scratch. Plus, we answer a big community question on superannuation that every Australian should think about.

Win a $500 Visa Digital eGift Card by completing the 2026 Equity Mates Media Community Survey! The Community Survey helps us understand how we can continue to improve our content to help you on your money and investing journey. You can either complete the five compulsory questions, or take 10 minutes to give us a bit more feedback: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r...

Equity Mates is back in the studio for 2026 and Bryce and Ren are kicking off the year with the big investing themes they’re watching, plus the annual Stock of the Year showdown (and yes, Bryce is coming in hot again).

They unpack: the future of health, the rise of “luxury feelings” over luxury goods, whether China takes the lead in tech AND culture, and why 2026 could be a stock picker’s market full of turnarounds.

Win a $500 Visa Digital eGift Card by completing the 2026 Equity Mates Media Community Survey! The Community Survey helps us und...

As 2026 kicks off with big headlines (AI bubble? trade wars? geopolitics?), Alex Thompson from Viola Private Wealth joins Ren to zoom out and discuss why good investing fundamentals don’t change, even when the world does.

They unpack what’s driving markets, why private markets are becoming more relevant, and the simple portfolio disciplines Alex uses to keep clients on track.

In this episode:

02:46 How will 2026 be different to 2025?

10:53 Is AI a bubble? The role of leverage, debt markets, and why the answer matters less than portfolio design

13...

We’re back with Essentials, breaking down how we actually invest.

In this episode, Bryce and Ren explain their core & satellite approach, why low-cost index funds form the foundation of their portfolios, how dollar cost averaging removes emotion from investing, and the simple framework they use to find and assess individual stock ideas.

Timestamps:

01:16 Core & satellite explained

02:33 Building the core

04:25 Why beating the market is hard

06:22 Bryce’s core portfolio

08:14 Ren’s core portfolio

08:42 Dollar cost averaging

13:06 The satellite portfo...

We’re continuing our 2026 Essentials series with the seven rules of great long-term investing: the principles Bryce and Ren come back to every year, no matter what markets are doing. They break down the habits, mindsets and structures that matter most if you want to build wealth over decades, not chase fads or headlines.

In this episode:

02:13 Rule #1: Always think long-term

03:23 The Lehman Brothers example

04:40 Rule #2: Your savings rate matters more than returns

05:22 Why small changes compound

07:25 Rule #3: Diversification

08:32 Rule #4: Keep costs low

...

We’re kicking off the new year sharing the essentials for kickstarting investing in 2026. In the next four episodes Bryce and Ren go back to basics and beyond to help you build long-term wealth with simple, repeatable habits.

In this episode:

01:00 What this series covers

02:30 Why we're investing in 2026

06:01 Compounding refresher

08:48 Time in vs timing the market

10:19 The risk of not investing

13:18 Why we love stocks

15:30 Investing vs speculating

17:13 How great companies can work for you

20:32 Amazon case st...

In our last Equity Mates Investing episode for 2025, Daniel Kelly, Chief Investment Officer at Viola Private Wealth, joins us to unpack how professional investors think about portfolio construction. We dive into Viola's methodologies for manager selection and building an “all-weather” portfolio that can hold up across times of turbulence and change.

In this episode:

• The Core Squared Satellite model and why Viola runs two “cores” instead of one

• How to think about liquidity (and why most investors get it wrong)

• The five alternative asset classes Viola uses to diversify risk

• The red...

In this episode Alister Coleman, managing partner at Folklore Ventures, joins us to unpack how an early-stage VC identifies standout founders, world-class products and long-run opportunities (even when it’s just “two people and a laptop.”)

In this episode:

• What Ansarada taught Folklore about sticky products and misunderstood markets

• How Auror became one of NZ’s quiet breakout successes in retail loss prevention

• Why frontier tech like Hullbot and Creighton show Australia’s edge

• The coming AI bubble… and why Alister is still leaning in

Ready to secure your...

Today we’re joined by Arden Jennings, co-head of Emerging Companies at Ausbil and portfolio manager for their small and micro cap funds.

Arden explains why he thinks 2026 will be the year for Aussie Small Caps, and what companies might grow into household names over the next couple of years (or decades!).

In this episode:

For more information about Ausb...

We’re continuing Best of the Best, our series profiling some of Australia’s top investors and the processes behind their performance.

Today we’re joined by Anshu Sharma, portfolio manager and co-founder of Loftus Peak, to unpack how a pure-play disruption investor thinks about Nvidia, AI, semiconductors, GLP-1 drugs and more.

In this episode:

We’re continuing Best of the Best series and today we’re joined by Julia Weng, portfolio manager at Paradice Investment Management, who has consistently beaten the ASX 200 in large-cap Aussie equities.

Julia breaks down how she navigates banks, miners, defensives and the repeatable process behind Paradice’s edge.

In this episode:

• Why return-on-capital and aligned management teams drive Paradice’s stock picking

• How Julia builds conviction: expert calls, field research and evidence over hype

• The advancements in robotics and automation being overshadowed by AI-hype

Ready to sec...

We're kicking off Best of the Best, our series profiling some of Australia’s top investors and the processes behind their performance. Today we’re joined by Andrew Mitchell, founder and senior portfolio manager at Ophir Asset Management.

Andrew explains how true small-cap specialists uncover opportunities most investors never see, and the hard, unglamorous research that sits behind Ophir’s track record.

In this episode:

• How Ophir builds conviction: customers, suppliers, ex-staff and on-the-ground research

• “Pounding the rock”: daily stock theses, avoiding drift and constant re-checks

• The most underrated...

Every year, Andrew Brown comes on to make big calls about markets, and then actually fronts up at the end of the year to see how he went. In this episode, he reviews his 14 bold predictions for 2025 and unpacks where he nailed it, where he missed it, and the investing lessons in between.

We cover:

• US equities, bond yields and why the macro calls went sideways

• AI euphoria vs reality (who made money and who didn’t

• Chinese tech’s big comeback vs booze stocks’ continued hangover

• Small caps, luxury a...

2025 had everything. An AI infrastructure boom, China roaring back, gold up nearly 50%, surprise rate cuts and a few scandals we’d all forgotten about (Coldplay Kiss Cam CEO, anyone?). We break down what actually mattered for your portfolio.

In this episode we cover:

• The biggest market moments of 2025

• How the ASX, S&P 500, Europe, Japan and China really performed

• The standout winners

• The surprising underperformers

Then Simon jumps into the hot seat for his annual Mr Beat Up review, running through which beaten-up stocks bounced…and which on...

Are you being ripped off…without even realising it?

We brought in Channel 9’s finance editor Chris Kohler to unpack the scams, tricks and corporate tactics hidden across Australia’s economy from your mortgage to your supermarket shop to your Friday arvo punt. Chris’ new book How They Get You lifts the lid on the big (and small) ways companies quietly extract more from your wallet… and what you can do to push back.

Also in this episode:

Nvidia had one of the wildest 36 hours in market history smashing earnings, soaring after-hours, then wiping out $450 billion in value by the next day. We break down what actually happened.

Then we turn to one of the biggest events of the year Sohn Hearts and Minds where 11 of the world’s top fund managers pitched their best stock ideas for 2026. Special guest Liv from the Equity Mates team reports on the vibes in the room and joins us for a draft championship!

From entertainment giant's TKO Group and Live Nation to Morimatsu, builders of...

Seb Mullins, Head of Multi-Asset and Fixed Income at Schroders helps us cut through the noise and identify the signals that matter for investors heading into 2026.

We cover why the US economy may stay red-hot, why Europe and emerging markets could finally rebound, and the labour-market wobble that could decide whether the next 12 months boom… or break.

Also in this episode:

Strap in for a rapid global tour through what matters (and what doesn’t) as...

Bitcoin has slid into bear-market territory and we dig into the what's really driving the sell-off.

Plus, we also look at a surprising shift in the US: obesity rates are finally dropping, driven by the explosive rise of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic. What does it mean for stocks like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk?

That’s not all in this episode:

To su...

Everyone needs an exit strategy — and today we're breaking down what it actually takes to retire well at any age.

Financial adviser Dylan Pargiter-Green returns with three case studies:

We unpack the numbers, the lifestyle trade-offs, how much you really need, and how super vs outside-super assets should work together. We also dig into housing decisions, longevity risk, and the small tweaks that make a mass...

Warren Buffett has penned his final shareholder letter.

From Berkshire’s 60-year compounding machine to the handover to Greg Abel, we break down the lessons worth carrying forward.

Then we head to Guinea, where the long-awaited Simandou project (“the Pilbara Killer”) has finally shipped its first iron ore. What does this mean for BHP, Rio, Fortescue and Australia’s tax base?

That’s not all in another big episode of Equity Mates:

Over the past decade, Alan Pullen and the team at Magellan are focused on finding the world’s best companies and staying disciplined through the hype.

As Portfolio Manager of the Magellan Global Opportunities Fund (ASX:OPPT), Alan is navigating a market obsessed with AI and asking the big question: are we in a stock market bubble?

We cover:

This episode is sp...

Fifty-year mortgages are being pushed by President Trump in the US. Could this be the fix for housing affordability, or a ticking time bomb for long-term financial stability?

We also tackle a community question about the hidden dangers of ETF overlap and what it really means for your portfolio’s diversification. To go even deeper, check out our Get Started Investing episode on the topic here 🔗

Plus, we feature clips from our interview with Tim Carleton, Chief Investment Officer at Auscap Asset Management, who argues three out of the four Big Banks in Austra...

AI-powered investing might sound futuristic, but Armina (Arms) Rosenberg, Portfolio Manager at Minotaur Capital, is proving it’s already here. Arms joins host Ally Selby to share how Minotaur is using artificial intelligence across every step of the investment process - and the global stocks she’s buying and selling right now.

They cover:

• Why Poland’s CD Projekt could be gaming’s next major success story

• Practical tips for using AI to supercharge your own investing

• Europe’s role in the energy transition through Prysmian Group

• The rise of “affordabl...

One of the world’s fastest-growing companies isn’t in Silicon Valley - it’s right here in Australia. We unpack the rise of IREN, the local success story powering the AI boom, and ask how the ASX fumbled a $30 billion opportunity.

Also in this episode:

·      📈 What’s Caught Our Eye This Earnings Season: Results beyond Big Tech

·      💼 Pimp My Portfolio: Adviser Matt Ingram helps Corey refine his high-risk, stock-only strategy

·      👀 Watchlist: The companies catching our eye right now: Carvana, SiteMinder, and dLocal

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Want to get involved in the podcast? Record a voice...

Over the past 25 years, Jason Huljich and the team at Centuria have built one of Australia's largest property investors.

With $20 billion in assets under management, the team invest in all types of commercial real estate: from office buildings to industrial warehouses to farm greenhouses - Jason and his team are across it.

So today we wanted to pick his brain and understand the state of the commercial property industry.

We cover:

In this episode we take a closer look at Big Tech’s latest results and what they reveal about the broader market.

Plus, in Pimp My Portfolio Luke Laretive helps community member Sheridan assess whether his strategy is on the right track.

And Mr Beat Up is back putting WiseTech to the test using our 4-Step Stock Checklist — a simple framework you can use to assess any company.

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Want to get involved in the podcast? Record a voice note or send us a message 

And come and join the c...