We're often told that beating the market over the long term is impossible. A lucky year or two? Maybe. But doing it for more than two decades? That’s supposed to be out of reach.

Paul Taylor has defied that logic. Managing a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 50 local stocks through everything from the GFC to the COVID crash. It sounds exhausting - but he shows no signs of slowing down.

In today’s turbulent market, Taylor’s perspective is more relevant than ever. In this episode of Success and More Interesting Stuff, he shares the key ingredients for long-term success, explains why failure is inevitable in stock picking, and offers his view on why the current obsession with tariffs and trade tensions will ultimately be seen as little more than short-term noise. It’s a rare opportunity to hear from one of Australia’s most consistent and enduring investors.

Go back 20 years and consensus said that managing international equity portfolios from Australia was just too difficult.

Bob Desmond and his team at Claremont Global are proving that is yesterday’s thinking. Starting from scratch in 2012 the business has grown to over $1 billion and the style of picking the eyes out of quality growth has been able to outpace global markets.

Desmond grew up in Rhodesia, the southern African country that was renamed Zimbabwe in 1980. He studied economics in Western Australia before heading back to his homeland to start working in markets.

Life became difficult under the Mugabe regime and Desmond packed his bags and headed to London where his world view opened before his eyes. It was here that he developed his quality growth strategy for stocks.

Always keen to relocate to Australia, Desmond got the green light for his migration in 2008 just in time to sidestep the worst of the GFC. He kicked off his career at financial group Evans and Co. Four years later Desmond and his colleagues set up Claremont Global.

Desmond has used his vast experience garnered on three continents to identify the best growth stocks on the globe. He does not believe in too much diversification and thinks excessive trading is counterproductive.

Tune in to the latest episode of Success and More Interesting Stuff to learn about Desmond's unique style of investing and some of the companies in the concentrated Claremont Global Fund.

Australia is obsessed with interest rates like no other country, and it is distracting us from tackling more pressing challenges, like productivity, that would have a greater impact on the cost of living crisis facing many Australians.

That's the view of former Reserve Bank Governor Dr. Philip Lowe, who spent 43 years working at the RBA, including 7 years in the top job from 2016 to 2023.

Dr Lowe believes the current policy settings from the RBA are suitably restrictive with risks remaining and the battle to tame inflation hasn't been won. Lowering interest rates may ease some of the pain households are feeling, but it isn't the silver bullet many perceive it to be.

In this episode of Success and More Interesting Stuff, Dr Lowe discusses the lessons through his RBA journey and shares his thoughts on some of the pressing economic issues of 2025.