The Curve

This week, Sophie and Emma finally have the conversation they've been avoiding for months (maybe years): what beauty spending actually costs women over a lifetime, and whether skipping it is a luxury anyone can afford. They get very honest about what they've personally spent on Botox, filler and laser, then run the numbers on what that money could be worth if invested instead. Plus they unpack why workplace ageism means looking young isn't just about vanity, and whether the "transparency era" of plastic surgery is helping women or just normalising more of it. At some point it stops being about beauty and starts being about tradeoffs; this episode just puts numbers on them.

Sign up to our Substack, Soph's Botox confession is coming (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Denise Richards' facelift recovery in Allure, warning, it's pretty graphic (https://www.allure.com/story/denise-richards-facelift-before-and-after)

Emma’s Links

Pleasure: https://geni.us/pleasureelboynton
Sex Talks: https://www.sextalks.co.uk/
Instagram: / emmalouiseboynton (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUkdXbE1pSV9FeUVqOTBqNEVXaUNkTXxBR3JiS2Fsa0k3aW1xSS1vTjlXajhSV2JKck82cjNlWmNwZDFjUTYyb2lrazZJeE9vMS1pV241eHpldzdhT09SVDZmeVRmcDVNd1h3S3YxZnJpOEhfUlhhSTc5X3RRNHFUVGU3&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Femmalouiseboynton&v=GF8IJCxAEgs)

Substack: https://emmalouiseboynton.substack.com

WTF does that mean? A guide to all the jargony bits:

Compound interest Money making money, then that money making money too.
Opportunity cost What you gave up by spending it on your face instead.
ROI Return on investment, or "was it worth it" with a number attached.
Motherhood penalty The pay cut nobody signs up for but most mums get anyway.
Economic inactivity rate The percentage of people not working and not looking for it either.

Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve

Credits:

Hosts: Sophie Hallwright

Guest: Emma Louise-Boynton

Editor: Kate Callaghan

Producer: Emily Rigby

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline)

For more from The Curve:⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/)

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)⁠⁠⁠

⁠YouTube⁠⁠ (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)

⁠TikTok⁠⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)⁠⁠⁠

⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

00:00:00 Coming up in this episode …
00:01:20 The Curve x Generate
00:01:50 In the red or the green?
00:05:44 The pressure of beauty standards
00:18:22 How much Soph and Emma have spent
00:26:35 Is transparency helping us?
00:34:29 The financial cost of procedures
00:48:43 The Curve x Generate
00:49:29 The professional cost of staying natural
01:03:06 Thanks for listening!
01:05:01 Financial disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.

Generate’s Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider License can be found here: GenerateKiwiSaver.co.nz/disclosures.

*Morningstar KiwiSaver Survey March Quarter End 2026. The Generate Focused Growth Fund returns have ranked in the top three of NZ Multi Sector Aggressive Category Funds for 10 year returns every quarter since becoming eligible in June 2023. Most recently the fund ranked 2nd out of 10 funds for 10 year returns to 31 March 2026.

Would you take a guaranteed 50k or flip a coin for a shot at 1 million? A new YouGov poll reveals a huge gender gap in who's willing to take the risk, and Sophie and Abi discuss whether it's really about risk appetite, or just financial education. Then: why billionaires are buying up land in New Zealand, and how a Kiwi rocket company just spent $8 billion trying to take on Elon Musk. Plus, an AI model "hacked its way out" of a locked test environment (yes, it's as creepy as it sounds), why Apple just became the world's most valuable company while the rest of the Magnificent 7 wobble, and how Dior single-handedly propped up LVMH's entire luxury empire. And in this week's listener question, Abi breaks down the UK's triple lock pension, and why she thinks it's quietly unsustainable.

We are so proud to have created a fund that has been designed essentially by you - The Curve Community. To find out more visit https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/

Submit your money and morals question to The Ethical Hotline: https://form.typeform.com/to/BZHujjGM and if you want to check out any of the questions we've already answered you can find them here! (https://pathfinder.kiwi/pathfinder-x-the-curve/)

Abi’s Links

⁠The Money Manual Book⁠: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/46857...
⁠Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/abigailrosefoster/
⁠TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abigailrosefoster
⁠YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmvbS2HZTs72pst13nBEmJw/videos

Substack: https://elent.substack.com/

WTF does that mean? A guide to all the jargony bits:

Expected value - Maths' posh way of saying "just flip the coin."
Loss aversion - Why losing £20 hurts more than finding £20 feels good.
Golden visa - Buy a big enough house, get a passport thrown in.
Magnificent 7 - The 7 US tech giants worth more than whole countries.
Sandbox testing - Letting an AI loose in a locked playpen to see what it breaks.
Circular financing - Mates' companies paying each other and calling it growth.
Triple lock - The state pension's built-in "always go up" button.
Double lock - Triple lock's cheaper, less generous sibling.
State pension - The government's weekly hand-me-down, currently ~£241.
Workplace pension - The pot you and your employer actually build up.
Universal Credit - The state pension's cousin, minus the good PR.
Inflation eroding savings - Same money, shrinking spending power.

Credits:

Host: Sophie Hallwright

Guest: Abi Foster

Producer: Emily Rigby

Editor: Kate Callaghan

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠

For more from The Curve:⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/)

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)⁠⁠⁠

⁠YouTube⁠⁠ (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)

⁠TikTok⁠⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)⁠⁠⁠

⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

00:00:00 Coming up in this episode…
00:01:14 Pathfinder x The Curve
00:01:43 It's official: The Curve Fund has launched!
00:03:35 In the red or green?
00:04:11 Would you flip a coin for 1 million?
00:12:34 Why billionaires are buying up New Zealand
00:21:54 Pathfinder x The Curve
00:22:35 The AI model that hacked its way out
00:29:14 How Dior single-handedly saved LVMH
00:34:42 Your question: is the triple lock pension sustainable?
00:41:50 Thanks for listening!
00:42:27 Financial disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.

The secret's finally out: The Curve Investments is FINALLY here.

If you've been with us since the dusty, windowless studio days, this is the moment we've been building towards since episode one. If you're new here, welcome, you've picked a big week to join. In this episode, we sit down to unpack the biggest announcement The Curve has ever made: why it's taken years (and a lot of behind-the-scenes tears) to get here, what it actually means to invest alongside us, and why Vic left a career in funds management only to walk straight back into it, this time, on her own terms.

Expect honesty about the hard bits plus all the detail on how the fund works, who it's for, and just how little you need to get started. This one's a big deal. Get comfy.

We are so proud to have created a fund that has been designed essentially by you - The Curve Community. To find out more visit https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/

‘Why now is never the right time to invest.’ : https://youtu.be/mt6Q4-wRvIY?si=9ULFhcl4yjcrP424

Credits:

Hosts: Victoria Harris & Sophie Hallwright

Producer & Editor: Emily Rigby

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline)

For more from The Curve:⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/)

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)⁠⁠⁠

⁠YouTube⁠⁠ (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)

⁠TikTok⁠⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)⁠⁠⁠

⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

00:00:00 The announcement we've been sitting on
00:01:05 Fund vs fund manager: what's the difference?
00:07:53 Why Vic wanted a different route
00:13:12 Recording our very first episode
00:15:42 Raising capital + the investing club
00:25:09 How the fund actually works
00:35:05 Who can invest?
00:36:10 What the fund will invest in
00:39:16 Fund investing vs DIY investing
00:40:56 How Vic's feeling about it
00:49:06 Thank you for listening!
00:49:33 Financial Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.

The Curve Investments Limited is the Manager and Issuer of The Curve Fund. Product Disclosure Statements are available at thecurveinvestments.co.nz.

Family disputes over wills and inheritance have risen by almost 130% in the last decade. We break down exactly why; from rising dementia rates to blended families and second marriages, to house price booms leaving families with tax bills they can't afford, and share practical ways to protect your family from becoming one of these statistics.

Plus, is the Cartier Love bracelet the new Birkin? We look at whether it's actually a smart investment or just expensive peer pressure, and how the pre-owned Birkin market has returned 92% in a decade. And finally, the India exam scandal: how wealthy families have been paying $50,000 to buy medical exam papers in advance, and what it says about the widening wealth divide.

WTF does that mean? A guide to all the jargony bits:

Luxfluencer — Influencer, but only handbags and jewellery.

Emerging market — Fast-growing economy, not quite superpower yet.

GDP — The scoreboard for how much a country produces.

Wealth tax — Tax on what you own, not what you earn. Still just talk.

Probate — The legal admin after someone dies.

Inheritance tax — The bill after death, with a tight deadline.

Expression of wishes form — The pension form you filled in once and forgot.

Power of attorney — Who legally decides for you if you can't.

Abi’s Links

⁠The Money Manual Book⁠: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/46857...
⁠Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/abigailrosefoster/
⁠TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abigailrosefoster
⁠YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmvbS2HZTs72pst13nBEmJw/videos

Substack: https://elent.substack.com/

Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve

Credits:

Host: Sophie Hallwright

Guest: Abi Foster

Producer & Editor: Emily Rigby

Editor: Kate Callaghan

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline)

For more from The Curve:⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/)

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)⁠⁠⁠

⁠YouTube⁠⁠ (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)

⁠TikTok⁠⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)⁠⁠⁠

⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

00:00:00 Coming up in the episode
00:01:12 Generate x The Curve
00:01:30 Red or green week?
00:05:59 Is Cartier the new Birkin?
00:14:52 Generate x The Curve
00:15:54 The exam scandal rocking India
00:24:23 Why families are suing each other over wills
00:37:34 Thank you for listening
00:38:12 Financial disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.

Generate’s Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider License can be found here: GenerateKiwiSaver.co.nz/disclosures.

*Morningstar KiwiSaver Survey March Quarter End 2026. The Generate Focused Growth Fund returns have ranked in the top three of NZ Multi Sector Aggressive Category Funds for 10 year returns every quarter since becoming eligible in June 2023. Most recently the fund ranked 2nd out of 10 funds for 10 year returns to 31 March 2026.

A Chinese startup called Moonshot AI has released Kimi K3 - the world's largest open source AI model, and it's already rivaling the AI tools we all use every single day. It's cheaper, it's fast, and it's backed by the Chinese government. So why is this making investors panic? In today's episode we break down what Kimi K3 actually is, why "open source" AI could mean the end of paying for ChatGPT and Claude subscriptions and whether this is the moment the AI bubble finally pops

Plus: the UK's political chaos and why the stock market has become impossible to invest in, the oil price spike driving up your grocery bill, and a Curve Hotline question from a listener on maternity leave asking how to keep investing on a reduced income.

Submit your money and morals question to The Ethical Hotline: https://form.typeform.com/to/BZHujjGM and if you want to check out any of the questions we've already answered you can find them here! (https://pathfinder.kiwi/pathfinder-x-the-curve/)

WTF does that mean? A guide to all the jargony bits:

Kimi K3 — Free, open-source Chinese AI model now rivalling Claude/ChatGPT.

AI bubble — Fear that AI stock prices are overhyped and could crash.

ETF — A bundle of many stocks in one investment — easy diversification.

FTSE 100 — UK's top 100 listed companies (our S&P 500).

Fiscal headroom — The gap between what govt earns vs. spends.

3 govt levers to close that gap: print money (→ inflation), raise taxes (VAT, National Insurance, GST), or borrow via bonds.

Brent Crude — Global benchmark oil price.

Credits:

Hosts: Victoria Harris & Sophie Hallwright

Editor: Kate Callaghan

Producer: Emily Rigby

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠

For more from The Curve:⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/)

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)⁠⁠⁠

⁠YouTube⁠⁠ (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)

⁠TikTok⁠⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)⁠⁠⁠

⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

00:00:00 Coming up in this episode…
00:01:16 Pathfinder x The Curve
00:01:46 We’re British Podcast Awards finalists!
00:02:48 Abi and Soph’s weeks
00:04:56 Kimi K3 and What It Means for Your Portfolio
00:16:00 Pathfinder x The Curve
00:16:49 UK political instability knock-on effects
00:30:04 Oil prices jump again
00:33:42 The Curve Hotline
00:38:16 Thank you for listening!
00:39:58 Financial disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.