The Wealth Meta - What Wealth Game Are You Playing?

Investing in broad-based index funds gives you superior returns, NOT average returns

Selecting funds that will significantly exceed market returns… is a loser's gameJohn C. Bogle KEY TAKEAWAYS A broad-based index fund mimics the performance of the index. However, contrary to popular interpretation, it is not a reflection of the average investor return in the market. Passive investing in broad-based index funds, over the long term, generates returns superior to those achievable by most active investment professionals Passive investing also outperforms actively investing in index funds (timing the market, waiting for the…

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20/08/2026

Family / Planning

Couple Finances: A shared life needs shared finances

A Rich Life with a partner is not built on perfection. It is built on consistency, communication, and a system you both trust.Ramit Sethi KEY TAKEAWAYS There are many methods of couple finances, differing in levels of integration and communication Fully integrating finances, combined with frequent and open dialogue, is the most effective long-term method to strengthen the relationship and family wealth Other methods may seem to work in the short-term, and come with longer-term trade-offs As your relationship matures,…

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16/07/2026

Career / Mindset / Strategy

Meta skill #1: Identifying signals vs noise

There is plenty of information.The problem — the central issue — is that the needlecomes in an increasingly larger haystack.Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2013) KEY TAKEAWAYS The world is overloaded with information and news, of which the large majority is noise The ability to pick up signals and to filter out noise is an extremely underrated and critical meta skill to succeed in life In personal finance, noise is anything that distracts you from your investment strategy and financial plan, which,…

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27/05/2026

Planning / Retirement

EPF Series Part 2: Predicting when Malaysians will achieve EPF retirement savings targets

"Retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow."Naval Ravikant Key Takeaways Savings targets grow over time, due to inflation increasing the cost of living Based on current EPF balances and median salaries, most Malaysians, when they reach the age of 60, will achieve the Basic Savings Level but not necessarily the Adequate Savings Level target Increasing the EPF contribution rate or dividend rate over decades can significantly improve outcomes Individual Malaysians should think about increasing EPF contributions,…

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23/02/2026

Retirement

EPF Series Part 1: Where we are now in 2026

The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what incomeGeorge Foreman Key Takeaways When analysing how Malaysians are stacking up for retirement, active EPF members aged 54 is the most relevant cohort to examine. Including inactive or younger cohorts to examine aggregate statistics is not meaningful EPF Basic Savings Level was revised to RM390k, but is only effective in 2030, and is not comparable to the current target of RM240k (on a like-for-like basis) ~40% of…

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28/01/2026

Mindset

Reflections on personal finances and TheWealthMeta for the year 2025

There isn't anything special to me about the New Year. Getting better doesn't happen with one statement you make once a year. Getting better is a campaign of discipline.Jocko Willink Disclaimer: This isn't a typical post of mine, aimed at providing insights and value on a personal finance topic. It's more of a self-serving reflection on my own personal finances, and an affirmation of what I'm trying to achieve at TheWealthMeta. Read at your own discretion2025 has been a year…

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31/12/2025

Investing / Strategy

Investment portfolios should be simple and boring

Simple can be harder than complex. You have to get your thinking clean to make it simple Steve Jobs Key Takeaways The overwhelming majority of investors are best served by a simple and boring Boglehead portfolio, consisting of just 1-3 broad-based market index funds A simple and boring portfolio provides a near-guaranteed 10-12% annual return in the long-term, for virtually zero effort Chasing alpha through individual stock picking or excessive diversification increases decision fatigue, raises the risk of errors, and…

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15/11/2025

Salaries / Strategy

Salary Series Part 6: How to find a new job (with downloadable templates)

It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.Steve Jobs Key takeaways Your career profile is not just your CV. Carefully crafting your profile into a clear, compelling narrative and succinct pitch will elevate your success in the job search Networking is key to accessing the hidden job market, and it doesn't need to be cringey or inauthentic Preparing for interviews is…

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12/10/2025

Fundamentals / Salaries

Salary Series Part 5: Understanding recruitment dynamics and myths

First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate peopleLeo Rosten Welcome back to another post in my Salary Series! In my previous post, I wrote about negotiating salaries for a new job offer. But how do you go about getting those job offers in the first place? That’s where Parts 5 (this post) and 6 come in, where I delve into the dynamics and how to job search. In this post, I’ll explain in detail the dynamics of the…

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28/09/2025

Fundamentals / Salaries

Salary Series Part 4: How to negotiate a new job offer

The correct price for any asset is what someone else is willing to pay for it, because all asset prices rely on subjective assumptions about the futureMorgan Housel Key takeaways Job offer negotiations are an exercise in price discovery You don't know what the maximum salary is possible is til you push boundaries Always negotiate. You don't ask, you don't get The biggest leverage you can have is multiple job offers at the same time Introduction Welcome to the fourth…

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05/09/2025