Retirees who invest in life reap the richest rewards

It was a good point very well made. At the Australian Shareholders’ Association Investment Conference in Melbourne this week, an audience member related how, whenever he ever speaks to a financial adviser, their typical response after telling them how much he is worth is, ‘I can make that grow’.

No doubt the audience, as well as the panel, Jamie Nemtsas of the Melbourne-based financial advice firm Wattle Partners and author Bec Wilson, who writes extensively about retirement, were listening with bated breath for some insights into how he has made his portfolio grow.

Would it be shares, property, bonds? Perhaps even crypto? Could he had even found the way to pick the card every Saturday at Flemington or Randwick.

If that’s what they were waiting for, they were to be sorely disappointed. This audience member wasn’t interested in making more money. He had enough, more than enough, to see out his life comfortably. In relating his story, it spoke to a contented life, especially as his children, in his words, ‘want me to spend the pile’.

Instead, what he wants is a financial adviser who will think about how he can gradually reduce his capital without shooting himself in the foot by investing in junk.

“So, the point must be made that as you get older, financial capacity diminishes. I’ll confess to the fact that as I get older, I’m less and less interested in picking stocks.  I’m more interested in doing investments that will take care of themselves without hurting me financially.”

It was refreshing insight in somebody ageing who doesn’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard, preferring to use the time left to spend the money to savour life to the full. Certainly, it struck a chord with Nemtsas, who responded by saying he knows many people of a similar age with the same experience.

“Early in retirement, it’s all about investments. Then they become disinterested. They have their portfolio set up and then it becomes about their legacy.

“How do you transfer your wealth to the next generation or to the rightful owner of that wealth? So, it might be charity, it might be someone outside the family. In our book – with his partner Drew Meredith they have written a book on retirement titled the golden years – we advocate that there’s three elements to retirement – timing, education and love.”

Nemtsas posed the question: Would I be happy to hold my money in a Vanguard balanced fund? And the answer? “If I had enough money, absolutely. And I wouldn’t lose a minute’s sleep for the rest of my retirement if I had enough money, even with my knowledge on investments.”

Wilson, too, appreciated where the audience member was coming from. “I’m not an investment picker or a financial adviser, but I have watched what has happened in my own family and with friends who have been very active in the market.

“I agree. They do hit a point where they have enough. It’s a reminder that relationships are the most important legacy you have – and the joy of life is the bit to live for.

“I’m watching it with my dad who’s 77, financially secure, and is in the gym three hours a day, fit as a fiddle.”

She told how her father admitted he was a ‘crappy dad’, too busy working to have time for family. But he made it his mission in life to be the best grandfather. He’s done it by being part of their lives. Before they were 12, he took them on trips, forging the relationships.

“Now they are older, he’s still interested in them. Today, these kids are in their late teens and 20s, and they drive hours to visit him. They don’t go for money; they go for love. He sits there and listens to their stories of growing up as adults.”

That’s a good investment for a retiree. One can only suspect the audience member who asked the question that sparked these two responses was nodding his head in agreement.

Nicholas Way

Nicholas Way is editor of The Golden Times and has covered business, retirement, politics, human resources and personal investment over a 50-year career.