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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

Surfer riding a wave.
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Lithium might be the new oil… in all the wrong ways

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

ASX trends can be a fantastic wave on which to surf ... or they can wash you straight onto the…

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A mature woman looks out her window while drinking a coffee and thinking
Share Market News

Don't play the game you can't win…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The best advice is not always found in investment textbooks. Here's why.

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man celebrating with bottle of champagne at a party
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I made 2% the other day. Break out the champagne?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Paying too much attention to short term share market movements can be counterproductive. Here's why...

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surge in asx growth share price represented by tiny bean stalk being watered by miniature watering can
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I might be getting old, but it has its benefits

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

From little things, big things grow. The analogy is the same for investing in ASX companies as it is for…

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Sydney airport share price represented by hand placing a clock into a piggy bank
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Make up for lost time…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A dollar saved today has the same potential future yearly gain for all of us.

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model house and reducing stacks of coins with percentages, house prices asx
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How on earth do you justify Australian house prices?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

It's a question usually asked, rhetorically, in exasperation by those trying to buy their first homes, or by others worried…

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Downward red arrow with business man sliding down it signifying falling asx share price.
Share Market News

Learning to love share price falls

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

If you're going to be buying shares it might just pay to cast this volatility in a different light.

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falling graph tornado indicating financial volatility
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Market Volatility Update

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

If there’s one thing 2020 should have taught us, it’s that the stock market is volatile. So what should you…

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Graphic depicting Australian economic activity.
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My Budget Verdict

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I watched the Budget speech, so you didn't have to...

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ASX shares Victorian state 2021 Budget written on chalkboard with colourful balloons
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Here's Why I (Seriously!) Love The Budget

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Treasurer Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Budget

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ASX miners crash opportunity broker buy asx shares represented by investor throwing hands up towards icons of buy and sell broker upgrade buy
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Wrong… but still right!

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

You don’t win the game by making no mistakes. You win it by making fewer than the opposition and scoring…

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A trader stand looking at a sharemarket graph emblazoned with the words buy and sell
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Okay. I admit it. I was wrong.

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

To beat the market, you have to do something different to the market. That means you need to ignore what…

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basket of grocery items with smart phone ordering system
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Retail just changed. Forever…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The seismic shift most investors missed.

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Rich man posing with money bags, gold ingots and dollar bills and sitting on table
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Untying the CEO pay knot

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

How much is too much when it comes to both executive pay and government support for struggling businesses?

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A share market investment manager monitors share price movements on his mobile phone and laptop
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Investing has a problem…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Investing has a problem. Actually, to be more specific, investors have a problem. See, humans are drawn to things that are…

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Anzac Day 2021 banner image
Share Market News

Lest We Forget

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I was still a kid in 1987 when Australia belatedly welcomed home our Vietnam Veterans. I can't really remember what…

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A smiling woman holds a sign saying 'Don't panic', indicating unwanted share price movement
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Growing pains, or something worse, for Kogan?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

A major share price fall is painful, but if you get the psychology of investing right, it's unlikely to cost…

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pug dog going to work with nerd glasses and big ugly eyes, isolated on white background
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To beat the market, do something different…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I was moved to think about ties again thanks to a weekend tweet by ex-Wallaby and current journo and author,…

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Excited office workers through paper in the air, inidcating a positive share price rise in ASX software and digital companies
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What to make of all this good news?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The good news kept rolling in during a bumper week on the ASX. Hear all about it on the latest…

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A young entrepreneur boy catching money at his desk, indicating growth in the ASX share price or dividends
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A win for the good guys!

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The Federal Government is apparently dropping its potential opposition to increasing the contribution our employers make to our super accounts.

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man looking through window at sky scraper buildings
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Don't drink (your own) Kool-Aid!

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Are you investing because of how 'you' think or act, rather than how the whole market does?

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shares of the future represented by investor drawing forward arrow on blackboard against backward facing arrows
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Are you buying the companies of the past, or the future?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

In the 'new normal', some businesses with long term growth potential have been thrown out with the bathwater. Have another…

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property prices represented by person holding on to miniature house
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Rising property prices aren't a surprise. But falls won't be, either…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

If you’re buying a house because property prices always go up, or because they don’t -- or can’t - come…

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Retail smackdown: Few winners, many losers

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Retailers and retail landlords are fighting to keep their heads above water in a challenging industry landscape. Investors beware.

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ASX bank share price represented by white Piggy Banks on green background
Share Market News

Big Four Banks. Big Gains?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

What do you reckon was the average share price return for Australia’s Big Four banks over the five years to…

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gamestop shares represented by neon light saying let's play
Share Market News

Announcement: Motley Fool Launches FoolStop, Endorses Spelling of 'Stonks'

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

the recent speculative mania around GameStop (and the subreddit, Wall Street Bets) has convinced the company that the effort has…

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Share Market News

Where should I put my Super?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

How do I make sure I’m in the right Super fund? It is a cracking question. For a couple of…

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piggy bank wearing mask
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They weren't telling you to buy? Ouch.

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

How you could have made a 48% gain by doing nothing.

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Two people in suits arm wrestle on a black and white chess board.
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Has CBA found its Afterpay-killer?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has finally taken on buy now, pay later giant Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)…

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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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Want to be 'smart'? Or want to make money?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Who could’ve seen this coming? Me.

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A hand holding a sign which says HELP is buried in paperwork, indicating an overload of information
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Struggling to ride the wave of constant investing news?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Too much information coming at you? Here's how not to miss the (investing) forest for the trees.

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A man in a business suit bangs his head against the wall of a city building.
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Don't make Buffett's $10 billion mistake…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

I think I'm jinxed. Or Murphy's Law is real. Or both.

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graphic depicting international women's day 2021
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Don't take it from me. Take it from them…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

On International Women's Day, we hear from some of the women of Motley Fool Australia about investing and pursuing a…

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cartoon of angry mob charging forward with pitchforks
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Get your pitchforks ready…

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The problem with throwing a kitchen sink at something is that, even if it’s warranted, someone has to clean up…

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A piggy bank is shaded by a sun umbrella on a beach, indicating a call to protect superannuation savings
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Tell the government #HandsOffSuper

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

The latest political spin urges Australians to gut their Super to buy a house. We tell the pollies #HandsOffSuper and…

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invisible asx share gains represented by giraffe standing against matching background
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Some of my best gains last year were invisible

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

This investing game has a stark, unforgiving scorecard. Either you’re making money, or you’re not. There’s nowhere to hide.

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What gives, when profits rise, but share prices fall?

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Overwhelmed by earnings season ups and downs? Here are some tips to help investors ride the waves and prosper in…

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A sunset scene though the fingers of two hands, indicating the bigger picture
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What I'm paying attention to, this earnings season

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

One way to choose a winning ASX share that harnesses good returns is to look at the bigger picture and…

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ASX share investor sitting in front of lap top with head in hands
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Don't make the same mistake I made

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Please, learn from my biggest mistake...

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social media shares represented by magnet attracting various emojis
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What 'Facebook vs. The Rest' means for you

| Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Will Google get enough value for the money it’s paying? Will the media companies lose too many eyeballs by being…

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