Some people fear change, some people embrace change, some people seek change. Irrespective of your chosen approach, change happens, and it’s not always good.
With 25% of this decade already behind us, we’ve seen:
- A pandemic
- Brexit
- A bear market, now a raging bull market
- Black Lives Matter protests
- Land war in Europe instigated by an egotistical psychopath
- Unprecedented fires, floods, droughts, heat waves and hurricanes
- Rise and fall of crypto
- Launch of space tourism
- The worst inflation in 40 years
It’s no wonder investment markets have yo-yoed.
What’s happened is all very well, but what’s coming for the rest of the decade? Author and keynote speaker David Houle sets out four key areas of change.
Climate Change. There are facts, fears and flat-earth deniers and you’ll have heard differing views from the news, from David Attenborough, perhaps even from a school child. Many actively avoid the issue, hoping others will fix it for them. But it isn’t going away, however hard you bury your head in the sand. Every step not taken today, is two more steps your children have to take tomorrow.
Technological change. Artificial intelligence and robotics. Driverless cars are on the road and jobs are at risk of redundancy. AI can mimic human speech, translate languages, diagnose cancers, and draft legal documents. Neuroscience is moving to fully understand and map the brain. This new deeper understanding of how the brain works could have a transformative effect on new forms of computing. Will we talk to Alexa and Siri, or will they read our minds?
Economic Change . Tackling climate change requires more than just electric vehicles, recycling, and eating less meat. Pressure on the planet’s natural resources are largely a result of a growing population and increasing wealth – the more money we have, the more we buy, the greater our carbon footprint. Some are debating whether GDP is the right way to measure success and the quality of life it offers.
Equally, there are people proclaiming growth at all costs, but in this decade of twists and turns, many of us are yearning for a more steady, measured and balanced approach. Money is important to enable a good life but time, a stable community and a healthy environment are every bit as important.
A Changed Place in the World. People are two clicks away on a hand-held device. Geographic limitations have decreased, but so too has its protections. An infection in China or a leaky gas pipe in the Baltic Sea affects us all. We can no longer be an island.
What does all this mean? It probably means more uncertainty. It probably means vast change, and fast change. To counter this, we need to build resilience to change within our financial planning. It’s different for everyone, but it starts with understanding what’s important to you and why, and then creating a Sustainable Wealth Blueprint to show how to get there, safely and calmly, whilst everything around you is falling apart.
*Please note that capital is at risk and these investments are designed for the long term.
Source: The 2020s: The Most Disruptive Decade in History (substack.com)
Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash
