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Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Scott Phillips is The Motley Fool’s Chief Investment Officer in Australia. He is Advisor of The Fool’s flagship investment service, Motley Fool Share Advisor and the Portfolio Manager of Motley Fool Everlasting Income and Premier Portfolio, as well as running our most premium service, Motley Fool Platinum. He is passionate about investing, having managed his own portfolio for over 15 years. A dyed-in-the-wool Fool (in the best way), he has been a member of The Motley Fool since 1999. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Management) and a Graduate Diploma of Accounting. Before joining The Fool, Scott worked in various Sales and Finance roles in industry, which has allowed him to see the good, bad and the ugly of corporate management close-up. Giving him a great understanding of the way businesses run – and what separates the business wheat from the chaff – Scott wholeheartedly agrees with Warren Buffett when he said he was a ‘better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor’. Scott left a successful career to follow his passion – helping our members achieve the best possible investment returns, and helping Australians learn to better manage their money. It’s no surprise he ended up at The Motley Fool.

Recent Articles

man jumping from 2020 cliff to 2021 cliff representing asx outlook 2021
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Simple steps to get financially fit in 2021

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

New Years Resolutions to help you take charge of your finances...

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lessons learned in 2020 concept
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As we bid farewell to 2020, don't miss this lesson…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

We made it to the end of 2020! Just don't waste the lessons...

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Santa at the beach gives a big thumbs up, indicating positive sentiment for the year ahead for ASX share prices
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Merry Christmas, and here's to a brighter 2021…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It's been a tough year, but the future is still bright... And yes, as the most reprinted editorial in history…

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How do you live on bank interest when rates are this low?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

If you want a better solution to interest rates near zero, my answer is a well-balanced portfolio containing dividend shares.

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asx shares to avoid buying represented by wooden blocks spelling do it or don't
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I wouldn't buy this if I was you…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

In trying to create wealth, I wouldn’t be buying shares in a company whose product is trading at what I…

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A fit woman stands on a hill facing the water at dawn with open arms embracing the future
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Investing advice from a teenager

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A school motto offers a timely reminder for investors to keep striving in challenging times, and embrace the future with…

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woman looking worried as she holds a piggy bank, indictating a share investor holding on amid a volatile ASX market
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How some people got a 10-bagger, despite COVID-19

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Want to snare a 10-bagger? Don't run away when the ASX market stumbles. Stay optimistic. Buy quality shares. And hold…

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A hand protecting a pink piggy bank from being smashed by a hammer, representing the prevention of bank or government raids on super
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I thought I'd seen the worst financial policy in years. Then this…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Scrapping increases to Super payments is a money grab. Don’t let the government take a huge chunk of your retirement…

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Why every pessimist is right (often to their cost)

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The Pessimist's Creed: "There's (always) a hole in my bucket, dear Eliza"

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asx investor placing wooden house block on other blocks spelling words stamp duty
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The end of Stamp Duty… and the beginning of a new tax

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

No more Stamp Duty - is this a case of ‘Property Tax and chill’? Or are we being sucked into…

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Unimpressed businessman looks down his glasses, indicating an unhappy and critical investor
Share Market News

What can you do when the ASX is down?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The peanut gallery will have a field day bagging the ASX for its market shut down today. But does it…

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red flower
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We Will Remember Them

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Today we stop at 11am, to reflect on the sacrifices paid by our service men and women in our country’s…

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It was close. Too close. At least now we have a winner

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It was a remarkable week. Who was the biggest loser?

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When 'cutting rates' doesn't mean what you think it means

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Here's a red hot question for the Big 4 banks: Why haven’t you passed on the cash rate cuts to…

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STOP PRESS: Today's RBA rate cut is only the sideshow.

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It's momentous but we all expected a record cut to interest rates today. And there are 3 other parts of…

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Melbourne Cup tips inside (yes, really!)

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A low-key Melbourne Cup may not stop the nation today, but we've brought our regular tipster Lewy back to share…

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shares to buy in US election represented by blue and red fists coming together against backdrop of US flag
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Here's what the US election means for investors

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Nothing... We can't predict the outcome of the US election. So tune out the politics. Save, invest, and buy the…

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A greedy woman gloats over a cash incentive.
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Don't listen to me. Listen to Charlie Munger…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

When it come to the financial services industry, it pays to remember that the incentives of others don’t always align…

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optimistic investing represented by eerie close up of lion's eyes
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So much brainpower… wasted by betting against humanity

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

See, optimism isn’t blind faith. It isn’t ignoring reality. It’s realising that humanity and progress are inseparable, despite setbacks.

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Bunnings stock represented by hand holding a sausage in bread against backdrop of Bunnings store
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If you LOVE a Bunnings sanga, you might LOVE the stock…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Love matters. Love isn’t enough, of course but if you can find a company that has loving customers, you’re off…

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A man in a suit carrying a briefcase carefully keeps his balance while he walks a tightrope.
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The Budget verdict, without the politics

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

In a COVID-19 recovery bid, the Government has thrown everything and the kitchen sink at the Federal Budget. Here's our…

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rise in asx share price represented by one hundred dollar notes flying freely through the air
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Is the Treasurer destroying the village to save it?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Letting credit flow more freely is a worthwhile goal. As long as the credit goes to people who can responsibly…

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Young girl wearing a suit and tie with rocket wings looks to the sky representing the highest traded stocks today
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Building an empire, one Ooshie at a time

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

You and I can buy any number of shares. But we can’t buy them all. The question we should be…

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businessman holding chalk board with the words 'you're fired' on it representing rio ceo
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Rio's CEO walks the plank…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Three Rio executives are going to walk the plank. It is almost certainly too little, too late. But it’s something.

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Share Market News

What are the odds that Tom Waterhouse makes a great investor?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Who knows if Tom Waterhouse will be a good investor. But years of working as a bookie should give him…

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hand picking dice with happy face from selection of neutral and sad face dice
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Here's why stock-picking is hard (but you should do it, anyway)…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

If you’re going to beat the market, you must take a position that’s different to the market. Why? Because if…

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crystal ball reflecting NASDAQ stock charts
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NASDAQ plunges 5%. What next?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Well that was quick. And brutal. But it wasn’t unexpected.‘It’ is the 5.23% fall in the NASDAQ composite index overnight.

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Unless you think bank CEOs need more money?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The odds are excellent that 99 out of every 100 people are paying too much for their home loan. Now…

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man pulling the darkness and virus back from sunshine
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Optimists 1, Pessimists 0

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

5 months and 8 days later...

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Illustration of male investor with facemask looking toward gold trophy
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The Investors' Creed

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Don't listen to these 'imposters'

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Woman in mustard yellow blouse on laptop holds both hands out to either side with graphic illustration of question marks above them
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Apple shareholders are either correcting a mistake… or making one

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

$500 billion. That’s the extra ‘value’ that’s been created in Apple shares over just the last 20 or so trading…

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ASX 200 tech shares Investor touching a screen with a smiley face icon on it, indicating a surging ASX share price
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Four companies that got crushed (and why you had to own them)

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Good investing isn’t about always being right (it’s not possible). It’s about being right as often as possible, to end…

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White puzzle pieces being split apart on blue background
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Is it time to break up Big Tech (and our banks)?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Australia has long been the land of the duopoly (two dominant players) and oligopoly (a handful of dominant players). So…

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Share market uncertainty
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How COVID-19 is locking in our economic future…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

In this time of uncertainty, one thing is clear: Keynesian economics – spend in tough times, and recover it in…

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asx investor holdind wooden blocks in hand that spell ego
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Investing 101: Humility > Arrogance

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Humility beats arrogance, because you give yourself more room to change course, and you’ll likely learn something.

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Ready for the "80% stock market crash"?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Predictions of an 80% stock market crash make for great headlines, and our brains are programmed to expect the worst.…

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Half a million people with no Super… At. All.

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

More than half a million Australians starting again... from scratch

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What history tells us about investing through COVID

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It seems strange to say, but at some future point we’ll forget most of the events of this current COVID…

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My pre-holiday trading strategy

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The ASX -- and investing in general -- isn’t the place for action, activity or trying to be too clever…

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Banknotes floating in front of a graphic representation of the share market
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Apparently free brokerage is to blame…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Apparently, they’re taking advantage of free brokerage. In reality, it’s a fig leaf covering the sins of the supposed professionals.

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