This piece was a difficult one to write, and I’m still not sure if it’s appropriate or not for this space, but my intent is to look for the positives, and to be reminded of a few key principles, financial and non-financial. I hope it helps, both you and I!

For context. Ronan, a lifelong friend died suddenly last month. His birthday was the same week as my own, so he died far too soon (he, like I, was a young man of 44!). He’s survived by his amazingly strong wife, and 2 kids, who are similar age to our own. While it has been tough for his friends to process, I can only imagine what it’s like for his immediate family.

We shared many birthday parties, including milestone 21st and 30ths. We were primary and secondary pals. When then had the pleasure of being housemates for 3 years in college in Waterford, in apartements above and beside Shefflin’s Pub on Manor Street, where we worked in the evenings. Good time. So much so that I had to move out to a more studious house in 4th year in order to knuckle-down final exams and get the Distinction! With the birth of kids, and us living a reasonable distance apart, we haven’t lived in each others’ pockets in the past 5 or 6 years, but the bond remained, as it does when you’ve been friends for 30 years.

Ronan’s passing has been the first time that I have had to process losing someone suddenly. Again, not a patch on what his family are having to deal with, but it has been somewhat of a discovery for me. I think we learn a lot about ourselves when we are met with challenges (as I write, I am looking at a copy of Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is The Way – a great read about dealing with adversity, I must re-read again!).

Taking lessons from books such as that, rather than focus on the pain, I’ve tried focusing on lessons I can learn from Ronan. And given that this is a personal finance piece, I’ve layered those lessons onto our financial lives, and indeed specifically looking at the great examples set by fabulous clients I have the pleasure of working with. So here goes ‘Ronan’ in acronym format:

Ronan:

R stands for Risk:

Ronan was never afraid to take a risk; stick his head into a melee on a rugby pitch, crash countless friends’ bikes or take sharp career changes! The most successful retirees that I work with are ones that might take calculated risks in their personal or business decisions, but the point here is that they ‘take risk’ with their financial assets.

They realise that to effectively protect the future purchasing power of their money/pension/investments, they must take an evidence-based ‘risk’ with these same assets. Retirees will hopefully be drawing income from these assets for 3 decades or more. Less successful retirees follow the default, and invest their assets in conservative portfolios. Fairly rigorous research has again shown the lack of sense in this approach. The risk of ruin is high when a retiree takes less ‘risk’ and less ‘volatility’ with their retirement invested assets. Not only will you crash your buddies bicycle, you’ll have zero fun in doing it! Read Blog 249 for the nitty gritty.

O stands for Opportunity:

Ronan was always on the look-out for opportunity; a way to make money or avoid having to unnecessarily spend money (baked beans as a replacement for beef in a bolognese anyone!!?), or an opportunity to do something that would make everyone in the room crack-up laughing!

The most successful retirees I have observed are always open to new opportunity. When it comes to investing, they will be invested in such a way that enables them to benefit from progress in any part of the global markets – rather than being solely reliant on one region.

In life and business, they are open to adventures – ensuring that they are not closed-off or closed-minded. Up for anything! If someone put an idea to them their start point is ‘yes’, and will consider it before committing or ruling-it out, as opposed to having a start point of ‘no’. Ronan’s start point was always ‘yes’, and usually remained ‘yes’!

N stands for NFTs:

Ronan would be quick to acknowledge that not everything you touch will work out perfectly! Whether we have a ‘wee accident’ with a stairs and break an arm, lose a cross-country race having led from the front for the whole race, or annoy somebody by saying something daft that you possibly shouldn’t have. Our truth is our truth, own it.

The most successful retirees I have seen are the very same – there will be aspects of their portfolio that they are not delighted with and wish they could have done slightly differently (you’re not diversified if you aren’t unhappy with some aspect of your portfolio almost all the time!!). They will make mistakes with their decisions but rather than beat themselves up about it, they will learn from it and make better decisions in future. Failure is part of every aspect of life, financial and otherwise – its what we do with that failure is where the magic happens!

While none of the clients I work with have invested in NFTs, but anyone would be forgiven for having done so. NFTs didn’t work out. The most famous case probably was the social media chap Logan Paul who apparently bought a Bumble Bee NFT for $667k, only to see it’s value collapse to $10, registering a 99.9985% loss. The frenzy was over!

But anyone that did lose money in them will hopefully have learned a lesson – not to blindly invest into stuff we don’t understand and/or that is mania-driven. But if we do fall afoul, it imperative that we learn our lesson!

A stands for Autonomy:

Formal definition is ‘the right or condition of self-government’. Ronan had that in spades. Decide to take up rugby at a late age, and become a starter immediately, no problem! Eat an entire Viennetta ice-cream cake on a regular basis and never carry any weight! Switch from studying Sports Management to being the Manager of Waterford’s busiest pub in a short space of time, no sweat! Take time out of work to support and care for your family, at the drop of a hat!

The most successful retirees I witness are those that realise the depth of choice and freedom they have. They also possess the tenacity to back themselves, often at the protestations of their kids!! One such retiree bucked the trend of home ownership here, despite it being the ‘comfortable’ thing to do, and instead choose to live across a few different countries for the coming years – living the adventure and freedom. One can only admire that sort of autonomy and bravery.

N stands for Nourishing:

One of the traits of Ronan that rings strongest was his nourishing of others. He was by no means a saintly man, but by god did he support and encourage others. Words of encouragement as you lined up beside him at an under-10’s Seaside League football match in Laytown, a quite word of support as you were making your debut as lead singer of a teenage rock band :0, an arm around your shoulder when you broke up with your first girl-friend. All the tiny gestures that compound over the years to make a huge difference for you, and shape you into the person you are today….

The most content and positive people I deal with are those who seek opportunity to support others. They have the view that they are fortunate, and that they want to ‘pass it on’ in some way. Some will do that by volunteering, some will mentor or coach, and others will do it in some commercial capacity. Which way one does it appears irrelevant, it is simply a case of seeking to help others and to push them up whichever ladder they are trying to climb. Check out our podcast 223 with Fritz Gilbert where he shares the importance and benefit of seeking these types of opportunities. And indeed look at some of this articles at The Retirement Manifesto, where he brings so much value to people as they prepare to start their next chapter – both the financial and the non-financial aspects.

Conclusion

It seems that 5 lessons I’m taking here are;

• Take calculated risk
• Seek Opportunities in everything
• Learn from mistakes
• Live freely and fully on you and your family’s terms
• Nourish and encourage others ceaselessly

While adopting more of these more often is unlikely to change your life dramatically for the better – they’ll surely help enrich it and help us have more fun along the way – however long we are here for.

RIP Ronan – or as you would say ‘see ya later butty’.

Paddy Delaney QFA RPA APA

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