The Next Five Years

Turning 60 was a milestone. Something to be proud of because the alternative was not surviving to turn 60. 

We all age I know, but sometimes when I look in the mirror I think “who is that old guy?”  Inside I feel like I’m in my 20’s or 30’s, but my knees and back suggest that internal vision of myself is no longer true. 

This week I turn 61. Big deal you may say, what’s another year? But turning 61 already doesn’t feel the same as turning 60. I just realised that I’m just 5 years away from my old age pension! Lucy, my eldest daughter turns 30 in January, Charlie my little girl is already 27, my Mum turns 94 in the New Year. She is now officially my oldest client and that wasn’t the case previously, she was number 10 or 12 in the age stakes. Yet another sign that time waits for no man. 

All of my clients have heard me say.

The next 5 years are the most important years of your life…….and if we are both here in 5 years time I will repeat, the next 5 years are the most important years of your life.

Still it’s a good reminder. When you measure life in 5 year blocks it puts our daily activities in perspective. I am relied upon to measure the performance of each individual share I follow, numerous times a day. However individual clients shouldn’t be measuring their wealth every single day unless they are going to spend it all tomorrow. Like tomorrow is their last day on this planet. 

The Good News

All global markets have at last started to digest what comes next, after interest rates which have been rapidly rising eventually reach their peak. More rate rises are baked in yet, but the battle to tame inflation in the US seems to be having some positive results. Without the FED raising rates so aggressively, it allows the Bank of England to follow a softer path without trashing our currency. The dollar has already started to weaken against major global currencies (Euro, Sterling, Yen etc.) and if you have been reading my previous blogs you will understand a weaker dollar is a good thing for global shares and indeed for lowering inflation generally. Investor sentiment appears to be turning more positive now than where it was in mid-summer.

Let’s hope the good market news continues, but if like me you expect to still be orbiting the sun in 5 years time, it’s time to look away from your valuation today and instead at the planning part of “Financial Planning”.

The Important News

If I was turning 66 today and collecting my State pension and bus pass, I don’t want to be filled with regret, should my life expectancy suddenly have taken a turn for the worse.. What regrets would I have of missed opportunities because I waited?  What could I have achieved if only I had dreamed about it earlier and got my bum off the sofa? What should I have planned to do?

We will all have some life goals missed in the end I guess, as we don’t dare to dream big enough. From early childhood we have continually been told what we can and what we cannot do. Two years ago we couldn’t even leave our homes except to exercise. Rules for this and rules for that. Dreams have been progressively drummed out of us.

What would you dare to imagine if you couldn’t fail?  What if everything you dared to dream of, could come true?  What would you dare to commit to?

As this and my recent blogs have hinted at, I believe we are through the worst of this current down cycle. Some of the early indicators like the weakening Dollar Index above continue to point in the right direction and further positive indicators are appearing weekly. Recovery is coming. 

However if it doesn’t get any better than this and life savings don’t recover to their previous highs in the short term,

• Do you already have enough funds to cover your regular commitments for the rest of your life? 
• Do you currently have enough life savings, assuming a reasonable rate of annual growth, to achieve everything you could dream of from life?

If your answer to the previous 2 questions is Yes and Yes, then it’s time to plan what’s possible over the next 5 years and forget what has happened to us all over the last 2 years.

Me First

Five years from now I do not envisage retiring. Hopefully I will continue to do what I love forever. After almost 35 years in this profession, I still haven’t found any other individual, business or fund manager, who is prepared to look after my family’s life savings as responsibly as I do. I am also fortunate in seeing Charlie’s experience build all the time, which will allow me to share much more of the investment research and investment decisions in the future.

Whilst we continue to look after the wealth of our family, we can also continue to look after your family’s wealth. 

On my birthday I won’t be sat behind my desk,  instead I will be traversing The Panama Canal. Will I be checking in on the markets and answering client emails? Yes of course, my birthday is on a Friday, but on the Saturday and Sunday that follows, the markets and my inbox will be closed. 

You Next

Share with us your hopes, dreams and plans and we will continue to help you to achieve them.

The Bad News

I read recently we don’t own much in life. Even our savings are leased to us, until we choose to exchange them for material goods, taxes, gifts or memories. In the end we hand what’s left onto others including the taxman in an increasing number of cases.

It’s clear our bodies and are lives themselves are also leased, but this time they are not handed on, they are lost forever. We need to understand the “terms of our body lease”, if you read the small print we lose everything.

Get busy living!

In memory of Phil 01/06/1974 – 06/11/2022