Make Your Money Work for You

Unlock the Future of Global Investment in India
Join us in the vibrant heart of Mumbai for an exclusive event designed to connect discerning global investors with India’s most promising opportunities. From cutting-edge technology startups to transformative infrastructure projects, India’s dynamic economy offers unparalleled growth potential.

Engage with industry leaders, gain deep insights into India’s evolving business landscape, and explore how geopolitical shifts and government initiatives are shaping a robust investment ecosystem.

Hosted at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, this is your gateway to harnessing the potential of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Don’t miss the chance to position yourself at the forefront of India’s economic renaissance.

The draft program of the Meet Up is available on here. Let us know if you are considering attending.

Make Your Money Work for You
A good friend of mine of nearly three decades retired last month at the age of 54. David spent the past two decades building up a private investment firm in the Middle East. I suspect that he is comfortable as he enters a new stage of life.

As we discussed his possible next moves, he said, “I cannot imagine not working.”

Without thinking, I immediately blurted out, “It is time to make your money work for you.”

Anyone who knows me has heard this phrase many times before. It is one of our mantras at Obris, and a driving principle in my own life.

Why? People need to grasp that wealth creation is far less about hard work and more about working smart to ensure that our wealth works hard for us.

While my statement was new to David, he has worked hard leading his company to grow wealth since its inception.

The significant difference today is that David is ready to stop putting in 12-hour days and should expect that his money will work 24 hours a day to continue to grow his wealth.

He should feel great freedom as he enters a new chapter, one in which he has the freedom to do whatever he wants if his wealth works for him.

Working for your Money
My parents taught me to work hard. Their definition of “work hard” meant to accept any income producing job that was offered to me. From the age of eight, I learned to work and to accept whatever challenges were put before me.

I was ambitious. I was also focused more on accumulating assets than on spending my hard-earned money on trivial possessions.

By the time I entered university, I had amassed decent savings thanks a sizable portfolio of miserable work experiences I would never want to repeat.

I had also developed an exemplary work ethic — a valuable trait, but not the most effective approach for building wealth.

For the first two decades of my career, I believed that the harder I worked, the more I would make. The more I made the more I could set aside for retirement. Index funds and an employer sponsored retirement plan appeared to be good supplements to Social Security – the U.S. government funded pension that I can receive when I retire.

Fortunately, I began to understand that this was a flawed strategy.

Challenge the Work Ethic
Very few people become wealthy purely by working.

Less than 1% of the global population earns incomes high enough to independently reach millionaire status without additional investments or assets.

While a small minority of “comfortable” people attain wealth purely through working, the majority leverage work as a steppingstone to engage in wealth-building activities like investments, business ownership, or acquiring assets that will appreciate.

According to a study by U.S. based Fidelity Investments, approximately 88% of millionaires did not inherit their wealth but built it themselves through various means, including employment, entrepreneurship, and investments. 

This reinforces the importance of transitioning from “working for money” to “making money work for you” for sustained wealth growth.

I did not work hard, enough, long enough… said no one!
Three of my good friends – all Obris members – live in Queensland, Australia. While we were together in Brisbane several weeks ago, I was reminded how much I appreciate their commitment to living their best lives – as they ascribe to making their money work for them.

Adam supplies all of Australia with sunflowers and lilies through a flower farm he built over the past 25 years. We first met at an Obris event in Delmar, California nearly a decade ago. While Adam loves getting behind the wheel of a tractor, he is not a farmer. His roots are in farming, but he realized early on that few farmers live their best lives outside of the farm.

At his core, Adam is an astute investor who manages a diverse portfolio. Such investing affords Adam the ability to live freely – to live the life he chooses.

Craig and I met at a Nomad Capitalist event three years ago. With a portfolio of residential retail properties, Craig may be the most astute real estate investor I have met. I love learning about the financial model he has developed to make his money work for him. He is teaching his three young adult sons to do so as well.

I appreciate that by working only a few hours each week, Craig has ample time to do what he loves the most – surfing, traveling the world and loving on his family.

When I asked Craig for permission to share his story in this article yesterday, he told me to add, “In addition to teaching my sons, I also share my info with many other young people, friends of my kids, kids of my friends, my nieces, nephews, etc. I encourage them to all share with others, so it ripples out and helps many people.”

Nathan may be the smartest 20-something I know. We met a few years ago while embarking on a self-guided pub crawl around the Sydney Harbour with Adam.

Nathan is a highly regarded hotel/motel real estate broker in Central Queensland and Brisbane with $60M+ in sales under his belt.

As an aspiring investor, Nathan started attending Obris events to build his network, and to glean from seasoned investors. I appreciate that he loves his work but is not content for “work” to consume his career. He caught on early in life to the value of building his wealth, and to utilizing such wealth to live freely. 

How to…
This is one of several recurring topics that we discuss from many different angles among Obris members, and specifically at our events. For those who have yet to attend an Obris event, I strongly recommend coming to our Mumbai Meet Up in November where you will see wealth building strategies articulated and demonstrated.

As a reader of the Global Investor, you want your money to work for you. With that in mind, we highlight several strategies to help you succeed.

Shift your wealth building paradigm – Wealth should work harder than you ever did to build it. Whether you are employed, entrepreneurial or even retired, start to own this mantra as yours – make your money work for you.

Examine the cost of not putting your money to work for you – You could approach this insight from many different angles. While cash is often king, sitting on cash through savings accounts or stagnant investments, you will experience considerable inflation erosion over time.

Consider lost potential of unrealized investments – you will most likely gain little if you don’t invest.

And consider your emotional and lifestyle costs. Do you really want to make that daily commute to a 40+ hour per week job? Leverage your time and wealth building effectively to avoid burnout and limited time with your loved ones.

Experience the power of compounding – compounding refers to the process where the returns on an investment, like interest or dividends, are reinvested to generate even more returns over time. This creates a snowball effect, where your money grows exponentially faster than it would with simple interest. We often cite the Crown High Yield Debt Fund which has produced an average annual return of 21% over the past six years. A $100K investment in the Debt Fund will triple in less than four years.

Begin to adopt smart wealth building strategies – we will dig deeper into this insight in a future Global Investor newsletter. In the meantime, do your research and begin to apply strategies to activate your wealth. Come to an Obris event and we will teach you.

Don’t go it alone – surround yourself with likeminded investors. Learn from others who have expertise in areas where you are a novice. Learn together.

Protect what you have built – As you grow wealth, you will want to consider strategies to optimize tax efficiency and protect your wealth.

Learn, learn, and share what you learn – Quality newsletters, books, websites like Investopedia… study, grow and share insights and your quest with your loved ones.

Embrace the Investor mindset – Own that you are an investor.

Own wealth as freedom – take action now. If your money is not working for you, get started. Experience the freedom that will allow you to serve your life and your family legacy.