NZ Everyday Investor

Will a higher OCR crash New Zealand property, or is that just what we need? In this episode we’ll unpack why bank economists are suddenly keen on future hikes, how that lines up with record profits and rising net interest margins, and what it all means for house prices, mortgage refixes, and already‑stretched Kiwi households. I’ll finish with how I’m setting my own mortgage terms right now – including a big 5‑year fix rolling off – so you’ve got a real‑world example to compare your own strategy against.

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The RBNZ’s OCR decision lands Wednesday, 18 February, and it's expected to hold at 2.25%. The deeper truth? Australian banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac) dominate New Zealand’s mortgage market, influence media and politics, and shape house prices and the economy at large. With fragile recovery signs amid persistent inflation, will their pursuit of wider margins on “safe” lending tip us toward Japanese-style housing stagnation? Rupert Carlyon of kōura Wealth joins to discuss.

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Will gold, or bitcoin, come out on top in a monetary reset?

Given the volatility in precious metals, bitcoin, and AI stocks last week, it's a timely reminder...All investments come with the chance of the price going down instead of up, and if you feel fear when markets wobble, just remember the possibility it might not be what your investing in that’s the problem. The best time to change your portfolio is not when you’re spiraling and wondering if you were wrong, but when it’s clear you were right.

The best invest...

Crypto isn’t always the risk – we are. In this episode, I talk with Paul Holland about why everyday investors are losing billions to scams, how AI is super‑charging the problem, and what you can actually do about it.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

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Passive retirement income sounds like the holy grail, right? Imagine the money quietly rolling in while your capital sits there untouched – perfect!

Yet when you dig into how this is usually sold to retirees and pre‑retirees, it often turns into something very different: concentrated bets, misunderstood risk, and portfolio structures that look “safe” on the surface but are fragile underneath. Read more.

Watch the YouTube Version here.

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In this one I'm a sharing recent episode from the Token Affairs podcast, the official BlockchainNZ podcast, hosted by Trevor and Bryan – two guys right at the intersection of industry, regulation, and innovation in the digital‑asset world. We're asking the question, do digital assets (bitcoin specifically) belong in a 'normal' investment portfolio?

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Lucia Xiao is a self-made investor and property coach. After moving here from China she started off in a state home but went on to build a $17m portfolio over 5 years, all while quitting her day job and building a business. This is her story of hard work and how she used a strategy to build wealth with property that not many experts promote.

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With property, you either take the bull by the horns, or you get out of the ring before you’re carried out. In today’s episode, I’m joined by Nick Gentle from iFind Property to talk about why, heading into 2026, that balance between courage and self‑preservation matters more than ever for everyday investors.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN 2025!

In 2026, three geopolitical hotspots matter most for Kiwis watching the world: Venezuela and US renewed /Monroe Doctrine in the Americas, Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, and China’s expanding reach across the Pacific. Reuben Steff, geopolitical analyst and regular guest on the show, joins me to unpack what these flashpoints really mean. As great‑power rivalry hardens, New Zealand’s long‑running strategy of sitting in the middle may be running out of road. Is this the decade where we finally have to choose a side between US and China, or is ther...

Bonus episode: Travelling this summer? Here's my gift to you. For over a year now I've occasionally been experimenting with Suno.com to create music, often using AI again to transform my podcast notes into cryptic song. Some of them are quite catchy - enjoy!

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Today's a unique episode and for those who love a good story, this one's for you.

The failure of First National Bank of Lindsay as more than a small, local bank collapse and instead as a window into a broader pattern of organised crime, regulatory failure, and moral decay centred on the I‑35 drug and human‑trafficking corridor and illegal Chinese‑linked marijuana operations in Oklahoma.

Special thanks to Jack Gamble.

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Woo-hoo! Just realised it's episode 500!

Pretty sure it's tradition to celebrate with silver, so in this one, I take a closer look at this precious metal and ask the question, is it for saving, speculation, or watching from the sidelines?

Hatch: For US markets.

Sharesies: For local, and international markets.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take...

Everyday, banks and governments justify new rules, checks, and blocks in the name of preventing fraud, money‑laundering, terrorism, and scams. It's a reasonable objective: stop bad actors and protect vulnerable people. It's just that, at some point, the line between protecting customers and controlling customers, can quietly disappear.

Special thank you to John Alcock.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto...

Not a week goes buy where I don’t hear of the difficulties associated with buying digital assets like Bitcoin, from regulated institutions – all in the name of safety, they gate keep, ticket clip, dilute, surveil, ration, throttle, censor, inflate, tax, sequester, audit, and potentially even confiscate wealth that belongs to the people. Read more.

Special thank you to Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx and claim $20 worth of Bitcoin if you sign up (subject to t's and c's).

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Steve Orenstein is the founder of LOCATE Technologies, a publicly listed company that's relocating to NZ.

This episode is a fascinating case study around how NZ can be good at some things, and occasionally wins, despite the odds!

Please remember that all types of investing carry some degree of uncertainty. Always do your own due diligence before taking action on anything discussed in this episodes.

For more information, check out https://www.locateshareoffer.co.nz/

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Are we paying too much tax? "Yes", said all the people paying the vast majority of taxes in NZ. "No", said everyone else.

Whether we think it's fair, or it's theft, Kiwi's ought to prepare now for a future where higher rates of taxation are inevitable.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

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Rick Rule, the most hated contrarian precious metals and resources expert talks to me on this one about 3 very odd ingredients in my own portfolio. We talk about gold, and how it'll play a role in everyday money, the silver price paradox, and first-time topic, uranium!

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

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Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz shares a little about her own property journey, then comments on the shift currently happening in the property market.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have...

Are you tax-compliant with your crypto-holdings? Over 70% of Kiwi's aren't. I'm talking with Tim Doyle, of Doyle Accountants.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better mana...

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

Affilia...

The Official Cash Rate (OCR), which influences the floating mortgage rate, and short term fixed-rates, dropped last week. Everyone has a view around what SHOULD happen, but no one's talking about what WILL happen. Read more.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRe...

Watch YouTube version here.

Diversification, or placing your money in more than one type of investment, needs to be applied more broadly. Spreading your bets across the US, rest of world, emerging markets, and Australasia is fine start, but the jobs not done here. If all these investments are denominated in dollars, then you still have a huge concentration problem. Read more.

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Ex-Financial Adviser Tony Walker joins me on this one.

Here's 4 things you’ll need to keep front of mind if you’re planning to, or you already are, handling your retirement. 1 – Learn how to identify the best, short term investment strategy 2 – Keep it simple 3 – Use your mortgage for the win, and lastly 4 – Stay laser-eyed on real returns. Read more.

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Special thanks to Zac Townsend from Meanwhile, for joining me to unpack how life insurance works, when the money changes.

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Swyftx: With over 1 million customers across New Zealand and Australia. Ask yourself …”Where can crypto take you?". Check out Swyftx.

MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that need...

In 2021, the combination of spiking interest rates, differential tax treatment, new RBNZ regulations, and the CCCFA, put and end to the residential property party. Although some of the sting's been taken out, many property investors are formulating a plan to exit, once any sign of life returns to the market. Where will they go?

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

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Big thanks to property expert John Kenel.

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MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

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The Bitcoin Adviser: Plan for intergenerational digital wealth.

H...

My guest on this one is Michael Every, Global Macro Strategist with Rabobank.

We're no better conditioned than dogs waiting for a bell to ring. Bad stuff happens, rates go down, house prices go up. Easy.

But now, after almost 4 years of watching house prices stagnate,  if you're anything like me, you're wondering if the rules have changed.

It's scary to suggest this, but I think they have. Read more

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...

Learn more about Loan My Coins.* For multi-signature wallets, check out The Bitcoin Adviser.*

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MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

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Markets create reality through our collective expectations and actions. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy fed by mass-psychosis. Read more.

Special thanks to Charlie Meadon, CEO of Eccuity.

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MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check o...

G. Edward Griffin is the author of The Creature From Jekyll Island. If you ever wanted a deeper understanding on the origin and aims of the US Federal Reserve, this is it. Learn more about Red Pill University.

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MyRent: See why residential property investors all over New Zealand are switching to myRent.

Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  t...

Recording date: 18th of July 2025

The question of whether Bitcoin is fueling a political revolution is something I’ve been chewing on for a while. I think it is, but I reached out to John Alcock to see what he thinks (and I got more than I bargained for!). Read more about it here.

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Can genuine, transformational wealth still come from work hard and focus? With record amounts of cash sitting idle in bank accounts and property markets showing signs of strain, many aspiring investors and business owners face an uncomfortable truth. Is now the time to quit, or double down? Read more.

Many thanks to Luke Kemeys, from Next Advisory and Keep The Change!

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Sometimes the future doesn’t tap politely. It knocks, and while the instinct is to keep the door bolted, at some stage we need to do better. That’s what’s happening right now in New Zealand, as John Alcock aims to facilitate the country's first property sale powered entirely by a blockchain. Read more.

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Thank You Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the tru...

It’s a dwelling, but it’s an asset class too - People buy property to live in it, and to grow their wealth in it. Since the early 1970’s, property values have doubled roughly every 7-10 years in many Western countries, including here in NZ. But sitting here in 2025, after watching at least 3 years of falling prices, it’s natural to wonder if the party’s over. Maybe whatever caused prices to rise for over 50 years really is starting to reverse. Before you do something foolish like sell it all and plough it all into something silly like Bitcoin, c...

New Zealand was one of the first economies where the central bank hiked interest rates.

Being first, I wonder if that means other countries watch us to see how sensitive economies are to monetary policy? Read more

Special thank you to Mary Jo Vergara - senior economist at Kiwibank.

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Thank You Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true o...

the art of investing is balancing growth and protection, for both you and your kids. Read more.

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Thank You Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

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The Bitcoin Adviser: Plan for intergenerational digital wealth.

Hatch: For US markets.

Sharesies: For...

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Thank You Provincia: Whether you're looking to invest, or you have a commercial property that needs better management -  they the true one-stop shop for wholesale industrial investors. Check out Provincia.co.nz for more.

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The Bitcoin Adviser: Plan for intergenerational digital wealth.

Hatch: For US markets.

Sharesies: For local, and international markets.

Easy Crypto: To buy and sell digital assets.

Sharesight: For tra...

I believe the core ingredient in any wealth building strategy is the acquisition of just a few assets. As we acquire assets, we need to start thinking more, not less, about all the things that rob us, and no, not just fees. Read more.

Catch the full Michael Saylor talk here

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Recently, I attended a conference which centered on what I suspect will be the future of money in a more digital world. One of the best presentations I sat through was from author (of a book called 'Broken Money') and macro-analyst Lyn Alden - 'Nothing stops this train'. The current form of money we use (fiat currency) is tethered to a leveraged system with no easy way to deleverage. Ironically, the strategy we can use as households to build wealth (leverage to buy scarcity) is what may help our governments survive the train wreck coming. Read more.

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Has New Zealand lost its way? If so, the only path forward is to honestly acknowledge what we once were, understand how and why we’ve changed, and then chart a course for the future we want. It’s a tough question, no doubt, but like any hard problem, there’s a reward waiting on the other side. I’m joined today by Mike Grimshaw, a self-confessed ‘intellectual mongrel’ and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Canterbury, whose eclectic work spans radical theology, cultural theory, and New Zealand’s identity.

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