Advisers need to take into account New Zealand’s ageing population when planning for the future of their businesses as well as their clients.
Friday, September 20th 2013, 6:52AM
by Susan Edmunds
David Greenslade told advisers at Strategi Institute’s Finology Conference this week, that they needed to shift their focus from helping clients to retirement to getting them all the way through, comfortably.
“We need to put in place a solution to meet those needs.”
He said New Zealand’s ageing revolution was massive and all powerful, and something advisers could not ignore. Over the next ten years, the proportion of the population ages over 65 will increase to 25% from 14% at present.
“How do we build a professional business around servicing an ageing population? We need to understand the demographic impacts on the types of investments we recommend to clients.”
Professor Natalie Jackson said the number of accumulators to decumulators would change significantly over the coming decades, and that was something for advisers to be aware of.
People would find there were fewer people coming through wanting to buy their shares or their property portfolios at the sort of prices they wanted, especially in regional New Zealand.
She said advisers would also have to think about issues for people without children as the population make-up changed.
“Baby boomers are passing on the wealth they have generated to their grandchildren, we’re bypassing our children in many cases. Each generation is having fewer children. What are people going to do with wealth when they don’t have anyone to pass it on to?
But she said there was enough advance warning that people could do something about it now, if they wanted to.
“You need to incorporate population ageing in all your analyses, interpretations and advice, and take time to reflect on the implications of intergenerational equity or inequity.”
