Make Better Wealth Decisions: How Financial Advisor's Blind Spots Can Hurt Your Investments in a Rapidly Changing World

Are bonds and GICs really the best way to generate reliable interest income anymore?
If you’ve been relying on traditional fixed income, you may be missing a lesser-known corner of alternative investments that institutions have used for decades. Private real estate debt offers a different approach to earning interest income—one backed by physical assets, shorter lending terms, and structural protections that many investors never consider.
In this episode, John sits down with Spencer Hurley of Trez Capital to unpack how private real estate debt actually works, why it’s often misunderstood, and where it fits (and doesn’t fit) in a modern portfolio.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How private real estate debt generates interest income and why it behaves differently than bonds or GICs
The two biggest risks investors need to understand—and how proper due diligence can reduce them
Where private real estate debt fits within alternative investments across different market cycles

If you want to make better wealth decisions and understand whether private real estate debt belongs in your interest income strategy, this episode will give you the clarity you need — listen now.
More About Spencer Hurley: https://www.trezcapital.com/our-team/spencer-hurley
John De Goey's Books. Grab your copy from Amazon:
Bullshift: How Optimism Bias Threatens Your Finances
STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry
The Professional Financial Advisor IV

Worried about the current investment climate and your money?
Click the link below and book a call for personalized advice to help you feel secure and protected about your retirement:
https://makebetterwealthdecisions.s.gy/podcast
Are you building a portfolio based on stories, headlines, and hot picks—or on what actually works?
Most investors believe smart investing means finding the right stock, the right fund, or the right manager. But decades of real-world evidence suggest something very different. In this episode, John sits down with veteran financial professional Patrick Frigon to unpack what Nobel Prize–winning research reveals about building a portfolio, reducing investment risk, and diversifying investments in a way that actually improves long-term outcomes.
You’ll hear why stock picking is so difficult, how markets absorb information almost instantly, and why trying to outsmart everyone else often leads investors to beat themselves instead.
By listening, you’ll learn how to:
Build a portfolio using evidence-backed principles instead of predictions and opinions
Reduce investment risk without sacrificing long-term returns
Diversify investments in a way that smooths volatility and minimizes costly mistakes

If you want to stop guessing and start making smarter, calmer, and more reliable wealth decisions, this episode will change how you think about investing—press play and listen now.
Start planning with STANDUP Advisors:
https://johndegoey.ca/
John De Goey's Books. Grab your copy from Amazon:
Bullshift: How Optimism Bias Threatens Your Finances
STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry
The Professional Financial Advisor IV

Are your financial decisions built on assumptions that no longer hold true?
Most investors still rely on growth models tied to population expansion — but what happens when 25% of Americans are child-free and birth rates keep falling?
In this episode, we dive into the controversial but urgent conversation around Child-Free Wealth, Demographics, and Investing with Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP®, founder of Childfree Wealth. He explains why the “standard life script” no longer applies, how demographic decline threatens our economy, and what that means for your money.
You’ll discover:
Why demographic realities may upend traditional investing assumptions like constant market growth.
How being child-free changes financial planning — from estate design to long-term care.
What investors and advisors must do now to prepare for a future where sustainability, not endless growth, is the benchmark.

👉 Listen now to learn how to design wealth decisions that fit the real world — not outdated assumptions.
Know more about Childfree Wealth: https://childfreewealth.com/
About John De Goey: https://www.johndegoey.ca/

Are women really facing the same retirement reality as men—or are planners missing something critical?
Women live longer, earn less on average, and experience more career interruptions—yet retirement advice often assumes a one-size-fits-all approach. In this episode, we explore why financial planning for women requires a fundamentally different lens and how structural, behavioral, and educational factors shape women retirement planning outcomes in ways many advisors underestimate.
In this conversation, you’ll discover:
Why compounding life events—not behavior alone—put women at a retirement disadvantage
How financial literacy and confidence directly influence women’s long-term wealth outcomes
What planners can do differently to create more effective, empathetic retirement strategies for women

If you want a clearer understanding of the real challenges shaping women’s financial futures—and how better planning decisions can close the gap—this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
More about Tanya Staples: https://research.conestogac.on.ca/our-team/tanya-m-staples-cfp
Worried about the current investment climate and your money?
Click the link below and book a call for personalized advice to help you feel secure and protected about your retirement:
https://makebetterwealthdecisions.s.gy/podcast
John De Goey's Books. Grab your copy from Amazon:
Bullshift: How Optimism Bias Threatens Your Finances
STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry
The Professional Financial Advisor IV

What happens when you stop trying to say everything in a few minutes and instead go deeper on what matters most?
This episode marks a major change in the podcast. Instead of continuing with short Tuesday commentary, John is ending the Tuesday episodes and putting more time and attention into longer, more actionable conversations and standalone episodes.
The podcast will also be rebranded with a stronger focus on retirement planning, wealth, pensions, and the decisions that can help you prepare for retirement. Going forward, Thursday episodes will feature a mix of John's standalone discussions and conversations with guests, while Saturday videos will continue providing visual explanations of important financial topics.
By listening, you'll learn:
Why the podcast is shifting its focus toward retirement planning and what that means for future episodes.
How deeper, standalone episodes can provide more actionable financial guidance than brief weekly commentary.
What to expect from the new podcast format, including the balance between solo episodes, guest conversations, and Saturday videos.

Listen to the episode to understand why the podcast is changing—and how the new focus on retirement planning can give you more practical, in-depth guidance.
Worried about the current investment climate and your money?
Click the link below and book a call for personalized advice to help you feel secure and protected about your retirement:
https://makebetterwealthdecisions.s.gy/podcast
John De Goey's Books. Grab your copy from Amazon:
Bullshift: How Optimism Bias Threatens Your Finances
STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry
The Professional Financial Advisor IV