Is Time your Most Valuable Asset?

The “Time is Money” approach to investing: 3 tips to improve your financial position.

Time is potentially our most valuable, precious and powerful asset; do you spend it as you truly deserve, in your very best interest?

As I write, business leaders from around the world are travelling to Davos (Switzerland) for the World Economic Forum 2018, with the objective of “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”; through the initiatives pursued, the teams involved will dedicate their time to improving the world we live in, on a macro-economic scale. Closer to home, we often feel that we live in a fractured personal environment also… maybe some individual time management initiatives are called for…

Are you aware of the driving force that motivates you to excel in your professional and personal life? Having collaborated with thousands of busy, international professionals throughout the years, I have become increasingly aware of an alarming paradox… Professionals are committing more and more time, energy and effort to their careers; they are connected almost 24*7, constantly focused on seemingly endless, anxiogenic “to do lists”. In this context, rare moments of leisure have become so precious that they are, necessarily, exclusively devoted to friends and family. People are relentlessly dedicated to their specific missions in life, but due to this integrated, new “workstyle”, they often miss the opportunity to ensure that the money, which they work so hard to earn, is working hard for them in return… while time escapes them. Does this sound all too familiar? It is estimated that 40-60% of current UK students will never pay off their student loans, in parallel research by AON shows that 54% of working people (in the UK) are concerned that they are not saving enough for retirement.

The passion to implement the most adapted solutions for such active people, with accounts and life-projects spanning multiple countries, is the fundamental driving force in my activity each day. In this context, as I work to improve the financial situation of my clients, the words of the Donna Summers classic from 1983, seem truer than ever:

“She works hard for the money, So hard for it (Honey), She works hard for the money, So you better treat her right…”

The song describes a lady who clearly needs support; I believe that personal finance is an extremely intimate subject and I’m aware that many people try to juggle alone with income, spending and savings (all of which inevitably fluctuate variably throughout a lifetime), without using time or seeking the support of experts to facilitate their projects.

Time flies, our needs evolve constantly, so the insight of a personal wealth adviser has become essential.   That’s why I help people to take a more holistic approach; I demonstrate to my clients that TIME may become their most valuable asset, spent wisely it may enable them to earn a far more rewarding return on the capital they work so hard to build.

Conciliating these multiple factors that influence our lives is increasingly complex, so follow these simple steps, using TIME to your advantage, and your finances may well become a growing asset, rather than a limiting constraint:

1. By selecting a wealth adviser able to ensure a seamless solution - with the input of a team of experts - from your current account, through your savings, to your retirement planning (and beyond), you will find an optimal service to add value to your financial planning. Thanks to this single point of contact, you will gain access to expert insights on a broad range of topics, without the need to consult multiple institutions, and with the assurance of a coherent global solution. In fact, a good wealth adviser will integrate aspects of taxation and in-depth analysis to meet your specific requirements, even covering multiple countries. Build a strong working relationship with your carefully chosen wealth adviser; by effectively spending less time you will achieve far more.
2. Time is money… so invest any spare cash wisely rather than leaving it “sitting” in a current account where its value may be diminished by an increase in inflation; instead make the most of time available, ask for guidance from your wealth adviser to get compound interest working in your favour and watch your savings grow.
3. Implement the organisation and habits that fit in with your schedule (rapidly updating income and outgoings on a spreadsheet during a flight, for example). The range of money management tools available to you, from on-line banking to budget tracking and long-term planning is as extensive as it is underutilised. Ask your wealth advisor to help you to structure a system that meets your specific needs and enables you to use a few minutes a day to your advantage, rather than spending tedious days and stressful nights when preparing your annual tax return.

The leaders at the World Economic Forum 2018 announce that they will work to achieve their goal through an “…unparalleled global effort in co-design, co-creation and collaboration”. This reflects the unique approach, albeit on a different level, consistently adopted by our teams at Piguet Galland. We support the individual needs of each client, bringing together the most appropriate experts to contribute to the realisation of our clients’ dreams. With our distinctive "workstyle", focused on co-designing, co-creating and collaborating, we ensure an optimal return on our clients' time AND money, because we realise how truly valuable and precious every single minute is for them and their families.

May the time of those contributing to the success of the World Economic Forum 2018 be spent just as wisely…