Futurist Keynote, Birmingham: Investing in the Exponential Era, Personal Finance Society

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

We all work hard for our money, and then we want our money to work hard for us so we can retire in comfort, but the exponential future makes investing and planning for the future more challenging that ever.

Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog.

Firstly, thank you to Lee for asking me to be the keynote at this year’s Personal Finance Society event held at the ICC in Birmingham in front of an audience of over 2,000 of the UK’s finest financial advisors and professionals where we discussed the Future of Investing and Personal Finance in the exponential era.

Today the rate of disruption is faster than it’s ever been before, and it’s accelerating. However, while disruption can be a good thing from an investment view if you can see it and navigate it well enough, if you’re blindsided by it then its impact on your asset and investment portfolios can be disastrous – disastrous enough to turn your family’s inheritance into a pittance, and your golden retirement into a never ending commute to the local supermarket to work behind the tills.

When we take a look at pensions, for example, on the one hand oil and gas stocks are cratering as the world switches from polluting fossil fuels to green alternatives, which drives down the value of pension plans exposed to these once important industries, and then, elsewhere, as individuals live longer thanks to the emergence of new exponential healthcare technologies that have the potential to extend human lifespans to 100 years or more, again, not only does that have a significant impact on how people save and how much they save, but it also has a significant impact on pensions planning, as well as multi-generational estate and inheritance planning. All of which is just the tip of the melting iceberg.

During my keynote I discussed the impact of all these technologies and trends in more detail, as well as the impact that new ways of working and the emergence of so called Robo-Advisors will have on the personal finance industry. So sit back, grab a molecular coffee and enjoy the show, and then talk to your own financial advisor about your own plans, and if you need hooking up with someone, well after this presentation I know a few people who can help …

THE GALLERY

Check out some photos from the event, from backstage to the front of house.

THE SOCIAL STAGE

Thanks to everyone including @PFSConf who tagged tweeted and spread the message using #PFSFutureProof – always remember to #ExploreMore