How we invest
A diversified foundation, with growth and risk tailored to you.
A broad, low-cost core does the patient work of building wealth. A small, deliberate satellite lifts the growth potential, and a cushion sized to your needs softens the ride. Before a dollar goes in, we use historical scenarios to illustrate the losses a portfolio could take, and discuss whether you could withstand them. Future losses may be greater.
Our investment philosophy
The Money Doctor does not manufacture investment products, just as a doctor does not manufacture medicine. Our role is to understand your situation, then advise which investment mix is appropriate, how much you should hold, and when it should be reviewed.
We do not predict markets, and we do not sell products. Every portfolio we build is shaped around what you need it to do, using three clear working parts: the core, the satellite, and the cushion.
How much core, satellite, and cushion you hold depends on what you want the money to do, when you will need it, and how much of a fall you could live through — financially and personally — without selling at the wrong time.
The part many investment conversations skip is the honest one: before you invest, we show you how far the portfolio could fall. Then, when markets test your patience, we stay beside you. Evidence over forecasts, behaviour over noise, and honesty about the downside — that is the whole philosophy.
Satellite — amplifies the growth
Core — compounds quietly, year after year
Cushion — softens the rough years
The building blocks
Three simple jobs, one deliberate design
The Coresets the foundation for long-term growth
Low-cost index funds spread your money across thousands of companies around the world, so no single company’s result decides yours. The core is built for long-term accumulation.
The Satelliteadds growth potential, and more movement with it
A smaller allocation to investments with higher growth potential, there to lift the portfolio’s long-term return. Part of the satellite uses gearing internally — borrowing to increase the amount invested — so both gains and losses can be magnified. We size it so the risk matches your circumstances.
The Cushionhelps smooth the ride
Investments chosen to provide income and reduce overall movement. A larger cushion usually means more stability and less long-term growth potential.
Choose your speed
Four portfolios, one philosophy
More satellite means more growth potential — and a deeper fall when markets drop. That is why the mix is chosen around your timeframe and the loss you could carry without disturbing the life the money is for.
Moderate
a smoother ride with a small growth edge
The cushion is the largest part here at 50%, which tells you what this tier is for: the ride matters more than the peak. The satellite is deliberately small at 5% — enough to add a growth edge, not enough to decide the outcome. Effective market exposure works out at about 55%. Run through a 2020-style crash, the mix falls about 16%.
Balanced
more growth, still a real cushion
The cushion is cut back to 30% and the satellite doubles to 10%, so growth leads and the cushion follows rather than the other way around. Effective market exposure is about 80%. The modelling gives 10.94% a year over ten years; a fall like early 2020 takes about 24% off.
Growth
growth-led, and geared
Built to accumulate: 70% core, a 20% geared satellite and only 10% cushion. The satellite borrows to increase the amount invested, so effective market exposure comes to about 110% — more than the capital put in. The trade is stated plainly: 13.39% a year in the modelling, bought with a 33% fall in a scenario like early 2020. Only for money that will not be touched for a long time.
Enhanced Growth
boldest — for the longest horizons
The boldest expression of the same idea: the core stays at 70%, as it is in Growth, while the cushion drops from 10% to nothing and that room goes to the satellite, taking it to 30%. Effective market exposure runs at about 130%. Nothing in here softens a bad year — a fall like early 2020 models at about 39%. Before choosing it, be sure your cash arrangements and your own tolerance could carry a fall of that size.
Illustrative historical modelling
Higher potential returns, with a greater risk of loss
Modelled growth per year over ten years, from the history of the underlying investments. The bolder portfolios carry more risk to get there.
9.09%
10.94%
13.39%
15.78%
Moderate
Balanced
Growth
Enhanced Growth
Illustrative modelling, per year, based on the ten-year blended history of the underlying investments. Not a live track record. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
What does that actually mean?
What the stated rate would give over ten years
Portfolio
$100,000 in Enhanced Growth, compounded at the stated rate for ten years, models to
at 15.78% a year, the blended ten-year modelled rate
This illustration applies the stated annualised rate to a lump sum over ten years. It is not an actual client outcome or a forecast. It ignores fees, tax, and any money added or withdrawn along the way, and real returns arrive unevenly.
The honest bit
What a fall like early 2020 could cost each portfolio
We model each mix against the sharp market sell-off in early 2020 to illustrate the fall it could take and how long a recovery might run. These are modelled results, not the portfolios' own trading history, and a future fall may go further.
−16%
−24%
−33%
−39%
Moderate
Balanced
Growth
Enhanced Growth
All four recovered in about .
That is what the modelling shows. A future recovery could take longer.
Modelled on the early 2020 sell-off, to illustrate how the ride could feel rather than to predict the next fall. The bolder the portfolio, the deeper the drop — which is why the mix has to match your circumstances.
For context
Ten-year returns beside the big funds, for context
For context only. The MD figures are illustrative modelling and use gearing; the super funds publish returns struck after different fees, tax, risk and reporting periods. The comparison cannot tell you which option suits you.
MD Enhanced Growthgeared
15.78%
AustralianSuperHigh Growth
9.64%
Australian Retirement TrustHigh Growth
9.83%
UniSuperHigh Growth
10.34%
View all figures as a table
| Portfolio | 1 yr | 3 yr p.a. | 5 yr p.a. | 10 yr p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD Enhanced Growthgeared | 16.26% | 18.84% | 11.86% | 15.78% |
| AustralianSuperHigh Growth | 11.58% | 10.78% | 7.61% | 9.64% |
| Australian Retirement TrustHigh Growth | 8.03% | 9.21% | 8.61% | 9.83% |
| UniSuperHigh Growth | 10.63% | 11.79% | 7.93% | 10.34% |
MD figures are illustrative blended returns of the underlying investments to 31 July 2026 — not a live track record — and use gearing. Super figures are High Growth accumulation returns after investment fees and tax: AustralianSuper and ART to 30 June 2026, UniSuper to 31 July 2026. The portfolios differ materially in risk and are not a like-for-like comparison. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Why us
We help you understand the options and choose what fits your circumstances
We design around you
The portfolio is matched to your life, your timeframe and the falls you could carry without disturbing your plans — not a default off a shelf.
We name the bad year first
The drop is on the page before a dollar goes in, never discovered halfway down.
We build from evidence
An index core, one deliberately sized amplifier, every figure traceable to its source. No forecasts, no product-of-the-month.
We stay in the room
A return only ever reaches you if you are still invested when it arrives. Keeping you steady through the fall is the real work.
We review regularly
We review your whole financial position regularly, not only when something goes wrong, and revisit the plan when your life or your goals change.
We keep the cost down
The foundation is low-cost index funds. Ongoing fees work against long-term accumulation, so we keep them down and explain what you pay.
Take the first step
Investing that fits the life you are planning for
Book a free initial conversation. We'll talk through your goals, when you'll need the money, and the falls you could live with, then discuss which approach may suit. You decide afterwards whether to go further.
General information only — it does not consider your personal objectives, financial situation or needs, and is not a recommendation to acquire any specific product. Investments that use gearing (borrowing) carry an amplified risk of loss, and can fall further and faster than the market. Figures shown are illustrative and based on the historical record of the underlying investments; past performance and past recovery times are not a guide to, or a promise of, future results. Comparisons are for general illustration only; the options shown differ materially in risk, structure and reporting basis. Consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination, and seek personal advice, before making any decision.