A Trend I’ve Been Watching for More Than 25 Years
History teaches us that the biggest wealth opportunities rarely appear obvious while they are unfolding.
The people who benefit most are usually those willing to recognise long-term structural trends before the rest of the market catches up.
Over the past 25 years, I’ve spent my career studying investment cycles, demographic shifts and long-term wealth creation.
For most of that time, my focus was Australia.
One of the simplest investment principles I consistently taught my investor community was this:
“Own at least two quality Australian investment properties over your lifetime and, with time, patience and the power of compounding, there’s a good chance you’ll become a millionaire.”
For thousands of Australians, that philosophy proved life-changing.
Most members of my investor community built the majority of their wealth through Australian real estate. As property values appreciated over successive market cycles, many became millionaires through disciplined investing, holding quality assets and allowing time to work in their favour.
Several years later, I also publicly shared my bullish views on Bitcoin when it traded at around US$75, long before it became widely accepted, and later publicly stated that investors should consider taking profits when Bitcoin approached US$110,000.
Looking back over the past quarter of a century, I believe members of my investor community have collectively created wealth well in excess of US$10 billion through Australian real estate, Bitcoin, precious metals and other investments by applying many of the long-term investment principles I have taught.
That is precisely why it surprised many people when, three to four years ago, I publicly announced that I was beginning to reduce my own exposure to Australian real estate while increasing my investment and development activities in Bali and Lombok.
It was a significant shift because, for decades, I had been one of Australia’s strongest advocates for residential property investing.
I wasn’t turning against Australia.
I simply believed Australia had become one of the world’s more expensive property markets, while Bali and Lombok were entering the early stages of a long-term growth cycle driven by tourism, international migration, infrastructure investment and changing global work patterns.
My view was, and still is, that successful investors should never become emotionally attached to one market.
They should follow value.
They should follow long-term trends.
They should diversify internationally where appropriate.
Looking back today, I believe that decision has been well timed.
Bali has experienced extraordinary growth since international borders reopened, while Lombok is increasingly attracting global attention as Indonesia continues investing in infrastructure and tourism.
Past performance never guarantees future outcomes.
However, I believe another major structural trend is already underway.
It isn’t simply about property.
It isn’t simply about investment.
It is about the migration of people, capital and opportunity from increasingly expensive Western economies into rapidly growing parts of Asia.
And I believe we are still only witnessing the beginning.