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Scott Phillips

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

A young boy laughs with his grandpa as he puts a fishing net over his head.
Motley Fool Take Stock

Trading? Go fishing, instead.

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Of all of the things an 11 year-old can become obsessed with, I’ll take fishing any day!

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surprised shopper, unexpected news, person at computer with payment card,
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Afterpay increasing credit limits… what could go wrong?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

At the risk of being called Grandpa, I’m from the ‘spend what you can afford or have already saved’ camp.

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a man sits at his computer screen scrolling with his fingers with a satisfied smile on his face as though he is very content with the news he is receiving.
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I wish I'd known this decades ago

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

What would I tell my younger self?

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A little girl wearing a gold crown sulks and pokes her tongue out.
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Alchemy? Nah, Fool's gold, instead!

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

We hope you enjoyed our little joke.

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A man in a suit smiles at the yellow piggy bank he holds in his hand.
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Why are bank shares up so much?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

While we can speculate on the answer, I’m not sure the speculation is useful.

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Model house with coins and a piggy bank.
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'Housing AND Super', not 'Housing OR Super'

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Yeah, but a home is more important than super, right?

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Screenshot from a media appearance ofScott Phillips on Nine News
Motley Fool Media

Building approvals down, and economic growth at risk: Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Here's why the economy may be shrinking.

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A man wearing thick rimmed black glasses and a business shirt with red suspenders sits at his desk sorting through the earnings report of Nickel Mines
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One big lesson from earnings season

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

There is a lot to take in.

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Australian notes and coins surrounded by a calculator and the word super spelt out.
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A simple fix for superannuation

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It's time to return Super to its original purpose, to remove the complexity and to stop it being used as…

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Scott Phillips on Nine Late News 3 June 2022
Motley Fool Media

1.6m Australians facing 'mortgage stress', Coles' margins fall: Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Here's why this could be the story of 2024, unfortunately.

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Scott Phillips on Nine Late News 3 June 2022
Motley Fool Media

Average wage tops $100k, worries for inflation, e-commerce flies: Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Inflation worries continue, and it turns out perhaps we're not enjoying a drink as we used to.

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Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips
Motley Fool Media

Corporate earnings, CPI and retail sales on the agenda: Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Here's why the health of consumer spending is probably the canary in the coal mine.

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Legendary share market investing expert and owner of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett
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Buffett's latest thoughts on business, investing and Berkshire

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Whenever Warren Buffett speaks, or writes, I pay attention.

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Businessman working and using Digital Tablet new business project finance investment at coffee cafe.
Motley Fool Take Stock

Ignore forecasts (and guidance)

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Think like a business owner, not a speculator.

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Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News
Motley Fool Media

Qantas descends, Treasurer's RBA dilemma and Twiggy's payday: Scott Phillips on Nine's Late News

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Scott recaps the bumpy comeback ride for Qantas, the Treasurer vs the RBA and a juicy billion dollar dividend payout.

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Businessman at the beach building a wall around his sandcastle, signifying protecting his business.
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Invest like a Roman general

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Humility is something to be cultivated in all walks of life.

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wooden block letters spelling DCA
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The beauty of dollar cost averaging

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Because it’s Friday. And I’m going to cover some investing fundamentals. But you knew that.

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Share Market News

Announcing Motley Fool's Financial Literacy Week Event

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Get your financial house in order - for free!

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Cubes placed on a Notebook with the letters "ETF" which stands for "Exchange traded funds".
Motley Fool Take Stock

Not all ETFs are the same… and that's a problem

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

ETFs are great… right?

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A man and a woman sit in front of a laptop looking fascinated and captivated.
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Lessons from a $600,000 share price

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Today I’m going to aim straight down the investing fairway.

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Woman and man calculating a dividend yield.
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Unpacking some big economic changes

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

January was pretty busy.

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A woman faces away from the camera as she stand on the beach with an Australian flag around her shoulders and making a heart shape with her hands.
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Happy Australia Day

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

We have much to celebrate, as a country.

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A man looks surprised as a woman whispers in his ear.
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Being told what we want to hear

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The goings-on in Canberra did remind me of one of the more important parts of investing.

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Businessman standing on a desk throwing a lifelife to another sinking in water indicating jobs rescue
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Don't assume you'll be rescued

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It pays to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

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a group of people in shadow profile leap and hold their arms high in wonder of a fireworks display that fills the sky with light and colour and spectacular shapes.
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Happy (Foolish) New Year!

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Investing resolutions we can all keep in 2024

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santa looks intently at his mobile phone with gloved finger raised and christmas tree in the background.
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Some Christmas thoughts

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A little perspective this Christmas might be useful.

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A young woman uses a laptop and calculator while working from home.
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Were you just caught with your pants up?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I believe that share prices will march higher over time. I think it will be a long-term tailwind.

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a woman holds a cup to her ear and leans in with a wide mouthed expression on her face as though she is listening to interesting and perhaps surprising information.
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Life advice from a Motley Fool co-founder

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The Motley Fool is currently holding its annual company conference.

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A man watches the share price movement closely.
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Are you ready for 2024?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

No-one knows, me included, what’ll happen during one arbitrary trip around the sun.

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A fortune teller looks into a crystal ball in an office surrounded by business people.
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Are you ready for the silly season?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It’s that time of year again.

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legendary investor Charlie Munger
Community Service Announcement

Vale, Charlie Munger

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The most iconic investment partnership in history has been broken.

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Focused man entrepreneur with glasses working, looking at laptop screen thinking about something intently while sitting in the office.
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The worst way to think about share price performance

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Don't get caught up in looking at the wrong things.

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A woman screams and holds her hands up in frustration.
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Public policy vs. public outrage

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Let’s go back a step.

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a woman puts her fingers in her ears with a pained expression on her face with her eyes closed as though trying to block hearing bad news or an unpleasant loud noise.
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Some of you don't want to hear this…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I don’t know of any way of investing without the risk of the occasional loss.

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A happy elderly couple enjoy a cuppa outdoors as the woman looks through binoculars.
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Stop paying the 'lazy tax'

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Your bank is not a charity!

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remembrance day poppy
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We will remember them

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

We pause on Remembrance Day to honour and give thanks to those who, in their country’s name, made the supreme…

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A young woman sits with her hand to her chin staring off to the side thinking about her investments.
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Two ways to invest in a downturn

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

What is an investor to do?

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A woman looks questioning as she puts a coin into a piggy bank.
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Why aren't you investing (more)?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Just, as the Nike ad says, do it.

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family putting coins into piggy bank
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Gamble responsibly

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The one investing data point I'd put above all others

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Man looking at his grocery receipt, symbolising inflation.
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Inflation is running hot. Now what?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A little prudence is called for. A little old-fashioned financial discipline. 

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