Summer Listening: The Complete Investment Ideas Series 

This holiday break is the perfect time to catch up on the conversations shaping Australia’s investment landscape. The Actuaries Institute’s Investment Ideas podcast series brings together leading experts to explore seven critical forces reshaping our financial future — and all episodes are now available to stream. 

Whether you’re poolside, on a road trip, or enjoying some quieter moments over summer, this seven-part series offers an opportunity to engage with the big-picture trends defining investment decisions now and in the years ahead. Each episode runs for under 20 minutes, making them easy to fit into even the busiest holiday schedule. 

Your hosts: experience meets insight 

The series is co-hosted by 2024 Actuary of the Year Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles. Jan brings deep expertise across derivatives trading, superannuation, structured finance, institutional banking and private banking. Douglas carries forward a remarkable family legacy — both his grandparents studied actuarial science in 1930s Edinburgh — and has built his own career in investment management. 

“Investment Ideas demonstrates how actuarial skills can be applied to complex market challenges,” says Isles. 

Seven episodes, seven transformative themes 

Together, the series tackles deglobalisation, debt sustainability, demographics, disease, decumulation, digitisation and decarbonisation. 

The opening episode on deglobalisation features Belinda Cheung alongside former Actuaries Institute President Annette King, exploring geopolitical shifts and their implications for portfolio risk and opportunity. 

Debt sustainability follows, with Simon Warner examining Australia’s high household debt and lessons from European economies that have reduced debt-to-GDP ratios through nominal GDP growth. 

In decarbonisation , Nicolette Rubinsztein AM discusses Australia’s energy transition and why complexity and disagreement can often signal compelling investment opportunities. 

The demographics episode brings together Dr David Knox OAM and Associate Professor Katja Hanewald to explore falling birth rates, longer lives, and emerging opportunities in ageing and retirement housing. 

Decumulation addresses one of retirement’s biggest challenges, with insights from Giacomo Tarantolo and Estelle Liu on helping retirees spend with confidence rather than unnecessary restraint. 

Digitisation features Zilinka Jiang on the rapid democratisation of data and AI, while disease concludes the series with Dr Raymond Yeow examining health funding, longevity risk and the intersection of medicine and superannuation. 

A distinctive actuarial perspective 

“Actuaries combine deep analytical skills with a strong instinct for long-term thinking and societal impact,” says Swinhoe. 

Ready to listen? 

All seven episodes are streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Actuaries Digital. Listen all at once or spread them across the holidays — either way, you’ll start 2026 with fresh perspectives on the forces shaping our investment future.