If you know me through Finax, you know I am deeply passionate about property. Property is an incredible vehicle for building wealth, creating leverage, and securing financial freedom. But recently, I’ve had several clients ask me: Is property the only asset class you invest in?
The short answer is no. Today, I want to share my journey into share investing, how my mindset has shifted, and why understanding different asset classes, and global currencies, can massively accelerate your wealth.
The Control Myth For a long time, I hesitated to invest in the stock market. My rationale was simple: as a shareholder, you can’t control how a company is run. With property, I can force appreciation through renovations, building a duplex or a full development. With shares, I felt like a passenger.
However, over the last couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of learning directly from a former Wall Street hedge fund manager. Through her, I’ve gained access to an incredible network of financial minds, including a manager handling hundreds of billions for a US teachers’ super fund, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, and a highly regarded Chinese fund manager who has delivered over CN¥20 billion in returns to investors.
Being in these rooms completely changed my perspective. I realised that shares don’t just play a vital role in a portfolio; they are the ultimate tool for diversification and liquidity.
From Consumer to Owner My first major breakthrough was looking at my own bank statements. I made a list of the companies I use daily: the banks I mortgage with, my insurance providers, the supermarkets I shop at, and the monthly software subscriptions I pay for.
It was a fascinating realisation. While I was acting strictly as a consumer, these companies were making billions. Why not own a piece of their success?
My Two-Portfolio Strategy Today, I run two distinct share portfolios. I keep things straightforward, no options trading, just straightforward equity investing.
- The Long-Term Vision This portfolio is about buying great companies and holding them. For example, I bought Google shares back in October 2025 at around US$250 a share. It has grown nicely since then, proving the power of holding blue-chip tech over a longer horizon.
- The Opportunistic Approach My mentor taught me a concept popularized by legendary investor Victor Niederhoffer: The market often overreacts to bad news for good companies, but just like an elephant returning to its familiar path, a strong company will eventually recover its trajectory.
I use this second portfolio to capitalize on market overreactions. A recent success was Samsung. When the stock dropped significantly in July, I bought in. Just three weeks later, as the market corrected its overreaction, I sold for a 20% return.
The Power of Currency: A Trans-Tasman Property Win Learning to hop between asset classes isn’t just about stocks versus real estate; it is also about leveraging currency.
In early 2024, I moved money from New Zealand to Australia to purchase a property in Sydney. At the time, the NZD to AUD exchange rate was around 0.95c. Today, it is sitting around 0.79c. Because my capital is locked into an Australian asset, that currency shift translates to a roughly 20% gain on my funds from the exchange rate alone, and that is on top of the capital gains the Sydney property has already generated!
The Bottom Line: Property is Still the Foundation While shares and global currencies offer fantastic diversification and leverage, my core belief remains completely unchanged: property provides unparalleled security.
I truly believe that anyone with a reasonable income deserves the security of owning their own home. More than that, if you are guided properly, homeownership is one of the most reliable and powerful opportunities available to build generational wealth.
Shares can diversify your portfolio, and currencies can multiply your gains, but property will always be the bedrock. If you want to stop dreaming and start building your own property portfolio to achieve financial freedom, we are here to help you get started.