Best of Shani’s Future Focus in 2025
Hand picked editions that resonated with investors this year.
This was the first year of my Future Focus column, released each Wednesday. I’ve put together a round-up of the five articles that I felt resonated most with investors - that I received the most questions feedback and comments about.
Thank you for your support during 2025 and for reading along. Looking forward to 2026 with you.
Future Focus: My investment portfolio used to be gold bangles
Ways that women have taken back financial control.
I explore the deeply personal and cultural roots of financial security for women, from the gold jewellery traditions in Sri Lanka to informal savings networks like kitty parties, stokvels and equubs that help women build financial resilience in the face of societal and economic constraints. In this article, I reflect on my own journey to financial independence in Australia, where my emergency fund has replaced the symbolic role that gold once played in my life. Using research from Morningstar, I highlight how building a strong emergency fund is one of the most foundational steps women (and all investors) can take toward financial control and peace of mind.
Future Focus: Are you making the right decision saving for a home?
How to weigh up whether the biggest financial commitment you will likely make is right for you.
This edition walks readers through the real trade-offs involved in saving for and buying a home beyond the mammoth task of amassing a 20% deposit. I couple my experience with Morningstar research, breaking down the hidden costs of home ownership, the opportunit cost of tying up so much of your financial resources, and lay out the questions you need to ask yourself about your goals, future plans and motivations. Instead of simply accepting societal pressure to own property, I encourage readers to thoughtfully reflect on whether buying a home aligns with your broader financial goals and what alternatives (like renting or investing) might serve you better.
Future Focus: One of the most generous tax breaks in Australia
But only if people owning a home get it right.
I break down one of Australia’s most generous and least understood tax concessions: the six year rule for property. I explain how the rule can allow homeowners to move out of their principal place of residence, rent it out, and still potentially avoid capital gains tax when they sell, taking advantage of the main property exemption. I use practical examples to show how this concession can materially change outcomes for people. I also run through the circumstances that it may suit, including navigating life transitions like career moves, relationships and starting a family. Leverage your knowledge to retain more of the wealth that you’ve built.
Future Focus: Are you wealthy?
These are some of the factors that determine if you’re doing well.
Many investors are laser focused on defining their success through net worth. In this article, I provide other ways to measure wealth aside from the headline net-worth number. These other measures align more with the ability to live the life you value. I explore how comparing ourselves to others, chasing arbitrary financial milestones and focusing solely on accumulation can make you feel perpetually behind. I lean on our Morningstar behavioural research to encourage readers to rethink wealth on more personal terms, and the markers that can help you track this progress.
Future Focus: Six life changing tips
I recently ran a financial literacy course for students. These are the life changing tips I gave them.
This Future Focus article was centred around those that are pre-accumulation and getting the foundations and mindset right. I reflected on a presentation that I gave to high school students as part of a financial literacy course. It is a good reminder for seasoned investors, but also an article I hope you feel you can share with those in your life who have been thinking about getting into investing. I hope that it can be a reference point for some investors, in the same way that Shane Oliver’s five charts are for me. They are simple concepts, but are often the lessons that are most important for investors. I go back and read Shane’s article often, and it resonates with me now as it did when I first started investing.
Invest Your Way
For the past five years, Mark and I have released a weekly podcast and written on morningstar.com.au to arm you with the tools to invest successfully. We’ve always strived to provide independent, thoughtful analysis, backed by the work of hundreds of researchers and professionals at Morningstar.
We’ve shared our journeys with you, and you’ve shared back. We’ve listened to what you’re after and created a companion for your investing journey – Invest Your Way. Invest Your Way is a book that focuses on the investor, instead of the investments. It is a guide to successful investing, with actionable insights and practical applications.
If anyone would like to support this project you can buy the book at the below links. It is also available in Kindle and Audiobook versions. Thanks in advance!
