Advice profession has ‘started paying attention to wealth accumulators’

Takeaways from 2024

What was the most significant thing (good or bad) to come out of this year?

I think 2024 might be recognised as the year the industry finally started paying attention to wealth accumulators. I’ve seen more than a few new advisers and advisories pop up who are solely focused on providing advice outside of that traditional pre- and post-retiree bracket. That being said, the industry is still lagging.

The explosion of podcasts, finfluencers, and other “age-appropriate” media for wealth accumulators demonstrates the massive amounts of interest that young people have in securing their financial futures – demand that is not going to be properly addressed by a handful of individuals or businesses.

What shocked you this year?

One of the biggest shocks for me this year has been discovering the massive misconceptions about “Boomer wealth” in Australia. We’ve all heard the narratives about Boomers owning all the property and driving up prices, but the reality is much more complex. It was shocking to discover that a near majority of Boomers live in poverty and/or experience homelessness.

I was aware of the reality that every generation faces its own unique set of circumstances, and I knew that I was uncomfortable with the “us versus them” narrative that we see all over the press and social media, but it was really eye opening to see just how badly so many of the older generation have it.

In a similar but much less shocking vein, I learned that while there are some in the younger generations who are doing much, much, much better than the average Boomer was at the same stage in life, we’re on track for an even larger percentage of Millennials and Gen Z to be living in poverty later in life.

This means that, without fast and serious intervention, we will be “growing up” into an Australia where a vast majority of people are living in poverty with a very small handful of individuals who are fabulously wealthy.

How do you wind up business for the year?

At Fox & Hare, we wind up the year by reviewing our progress against our mission to “create a more equal world” and celebrating our achievements. This year, we are especially proud to have donated $14,000 to provide gifts and food for families doing it tough in Australia at Christmas.

Additionally, we have covered the first year of tuition for nine students in the Philippines, provided full tuition for another, and committed to purchasing back-to-school supplies for 110 more.

We’ve implemented a raft of improvements for our team that include the introduction of a “parental” leave policy that does away with the idea of “primary” caregivers and celebrates both parents equally, provides extra days off throughout the year and greatly improves the flexibility in our flexible working policies. The entire team will be meeting up to celebrate and get ready for some serious R&R over the holiday period.

What was the biggest achievement this year?

When Fox & Hare launched, we were harangued by the industry, told that “young people have no money”, “they’re not interested in advice”, “they have no assets”, etc. This year, we turned seven and grew to 550 members (not clients) with a collective net worth well over a billion dollars.

Collectively, our members are worth more than the entire Myer retail group, including Marcs, Sass & Bide, the Myer Department stores, and more. We’re really proud of our business and our members for proving the naysayers wrong.