All Black Beauden Barrett's top investment tips

All Black No. 10, Beauden Barrett has taken time out from his footy commitments to share his investment tips on Investment Company Sharesies website.

Barrett, 27, has revealed on the site that he started his investments aged 18 by buying shares mainly in Australian stocks on the ASX.

He says it wasn't a large amount of money he initially invested, but his parents thought it would be good for him to learn how it all works and to understand his appetite and risk profile. After his first investment, he felt excited and couldn't wait to hear how well it was going every quarter.

Looking back, Barrett says the high-risk, high-return shares were not his best avenue and thankfully, the sum invested was an amount he could afford to lose at the time.

These days "diversification" is important to Barrett. He says as a professional sportsman in such a physical sport — where there's no guarantee or real security when it comes to your longevity in the game — it's important to think about his future and life after rugby.

He is not sure what he will do when he retires from professional rugby, but diversifying means he has the option to work for himself.

"Having skin in the game makes it so real and fun," he tells Sharesies.

The best investment advice he has had? When it comes to property, "You make your money the day you buy". By buying well, he says you can instantly increase your equity and whenever you become emotionally attached, you'll tend to pay too much for it.

He says talking to people is also another good tip and surrounding yourself with positive people who will help you make smart decisions. Money isn't something a lot of people like talking about, he says, but the more knowledge you have, the easier the decisions will be.