Meet Hayden

What was your relationship with money like growing up?

I love(d) money growing up. I was taught at a very young age that if you wanted something you had to work hard to get it and someone wasn’t just going to give it to you. I feel like I have been working at one job or another my whole life.

I have always been scared of debt, which possibly slowed me down in the world of property but I think it has also helped me in ways, paid off all my uni fees upfront, never had any silly personal loans, just worked hard and saved money. But I do wish I knew or had been told more about investing and how it could work from a young age.

And what is your relationship with money like now?

I am still the same. The fear of debt has gently been massaged out of me (although I still don’t like it) but when you own multiple small businesses you need to be pedal to the floor non-stop, bills (and all the million taxes for small business) aren’t going to pay themselves. My sisters would probably call me a tight arse, ha! But I don’t think so with the amount of $$ that leaves my account each month!

What was your first job? (And how much did you get paid?)

First “Real Job” with a proper payslip and not cash was at Woolies Dee Why as a checkout chick. I loved that job and I loved the fact you got extra $$ on Sunday (loved a Sunday arvo / evening shift). As soon as I was old enough to work, I think that was 14 and 9 months or something like that, I got myself a job. I think I was getting paid $9/hr back then?

How did you first come across investing?

I think I first ever came across investing through an investing style game we would play through school. We were given a fake amount of money and would have to then pick and “buy” shares with it and there would be a competition to see who would get the best return. I can’t remember what it was called but that was my first real introduction.

I wish that had ignited more of a fire in me about investing because I didn’t really look back into any sort of investing until I was into my 30s really.

Was there a memorable early investment?

My first ever investment was into my gym The Cube Gym that I own with my two mates Lewis and Sam. It was a cash, blood, sweat and tears investment to get our gym off the ground. This was back in 2014 and the gym is still going strong today.

We have a massive full service strength and conditioning gym in Brookvale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with over 80 classes per week along with reformer pilates, physio, exercise physiology, massage, hot and cold therapy. It really is a one stop shop.

How are you currently investing and can you provide a breakdown of your portfolio?

My investment portfolio is largely made up of property and small businesses I’ve invested in like The Cube Gym, Studio Maybe, Hard Fizz and OurCow. I’ve also started an ETF portfolio for my daughter Rosie.

Here’s the ETF portfolio breakdown:

Where do you see investing taking you?

This is a good question. All these different investments all have different time horizons and reasons for being there.
The big one is really the property play, and the hope that it will get myself, my wife Jax and our daughter Rosie into our own home one day.

What is one super extravagant and outlandish purchase that you hope investing will be able to buy you in the future?

Boring answer: a home

Epic answer: ability to not have to work non-stop throughout my daughters childhood, spend as much time as a family together and enjoy all the special moments.

If you only had 25 words to convince someone to invest, what would you say?

Get started today. It has never been easier and you don’t need big $$ to get going. It adds up quick and it can change your life. I wish I could turn back the clock and start investing into shares or ETF’s when I was 18.

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We want to hear your ‘How I Got Started’ stories. Respond to this email if you would like to be featured and we’ll get in touch!

Most Aussies know Hayden from his MasterChef days, but that's only part of his story. Behind his TV career, he's built multiple businesses, backed startups, bought property, and recently built an ETF portfolio for his five-week-old daughter, Rosie.

So how did this TV cook go from investing in himself... to investing for his daughter's future? Find out as he joins Jess in tomorrow’s How I Got Started (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

Time in the market beats timing the market

Hayden owns property and businesses, but still has one regret: "I wish I could turn back the clock and start investing into shares or ETFs when I was 18." It is one of the most common regrets in investing. And Bryce and Ren have the numbers to show exactly why on an episode of Get Started Investing. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

Missing the best days is catastrophic. A Bank of America study looked at the S&P 500 from 1930 to 2021 and asked what happens if you miss just the 10 best days of each decade. If you held through the whole period you would have made 17,715%. If you missed those 10 days per decade, you made 28%. In dollar terms, $1,000 invested in 1930 and left alone became $178,150. Miss those best days and you end up with $1,280.

The best days happen at the worst moments. 78% of the S&P 500's best days occurred during a bear market or the first two months of a bull market recovery, exactly when everyone is most tempted to sell or stay out.

No one can time the market. A study tracked 6,582 forecasts from 68 market experts between 1998 and 2012, predicting whether the market would go up or down and when to buy or sell. Their accuracy rate was 47%. These are the experts on TV and the analysts at investment banks. If they struggle to do it, then hat hope do we have?

Even investing at the worst time works. If you had invested in the S&P 500 on the Friday before Lehman Brothers collapsed, the spark of the global financial crisis, you would have been down 46% six months later. But ten years later, with dividends reinvested, you would have almost tripled your money. That is roughly 11% per year, investing at the single worst moment in a generation.

The market crash is front page headlines. The market recovery is business news. But the market has always, historically, recovered and then some.