WILLING TO TAKE A CALCULATED RISK
As a self-directed investor, Veronica Marshan, 65, follows the sharemarket closely and reads a variety of investment magazines and newsletters. She also manages her husband’s law firm, including its finances and accounts.
For the past 25 years she’s been running their self-managed super fund (SMSF), steadily building a diversified share portfolio and enjoying the challenge. “I’ve got a portfolio of about 40 different shares which I’ve bought over the years as well as some managed funds. More recently I’ve invested in an international share fund and companies listed on the ASX that have overseas exposure.”
The portfolio also has an allocation to cash. “It means I don’t have to sell shares willy-nilly if I need to fund anything,” says Marshan. While her husband, 74, is still working, they do not need the drawdown from their SMSF and re-contribute most of it back into their fund.
As is the case with so many boomers, they missed out on building retirement savings over a lifetime of work. “We don’t have huge amounts of funds in our SMSF because we didn’t start making contributions until 25 years ago.”
Lately she’s been turning her attention to acquiring more income-producing shares. “My husband is not interested in retiring yet. While he can, we continue on and enjoy what we can, when we can. We just hope nothing untoward happens and that our finances continue happily along.”
When Marshan did the FPA’s risk tolerance test, her profile came back as someone who is willing to take calculated risks for significant gains, and is focused on saving for the future. She thought it was pretty “spot on”.
“I’m fairly comfortable with what I’ve done. I’m not a conservative investor. I’m prepared to take some risks. I know that, because we are at the stage where we should be veering towards a more conservative approach. I haven’t used a financial adviser so far but I’ve got to the point where I think we should.”
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