Bambu

  • Launch your own robo-advisor now! Click here to find out more about Bambu GO.

© 2022 Mangosteen BCC Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

05. Dani Saves for Retirement with Aki Ranin

05. Dani Saves for Retirement with Aki Ranin

Remember to rate, review, and subscribe!

Key takeaways

  • The narrative that finance is for people who can afford it must change
  • The best time to start investing was years ago. The second best time is now
  • Technology is needed to make financial advice cost-effective

It is easy to talk about what we want to do after retirement, but talking about the steps we need to save for retirement is a more complex and less frequent conversation. In episode 5, we learn more with Aki Ranin about what mindset to adopt and what methods are available when saving for retirement. 

Dani shares that she has not started saving for retirement because she does not know enough and trying to navigate the different wealth management options in the market is highly overwhelming. Ned adds to this by acknowledging how the terms used in wealth management are confusing for the masses and can be very intimidating for those new to this. The reality is that finance has been for people who can afford it. If you have enough money, chances are you have planned your finances before and know enough about financial terms to be self-directed.

When looking at assets under management, a small percentage of people hold most of the world’s wealth. For those selling investment products,  it is economical to target this small percentage of people and ignore the masses. Additionally, the fees for wealth management have always been high, further dissuading the majority from planning for retirement. This is why technology such as Robo-advisory is necessary to make financial planning more cost-effective and accessible. Through Robo-advisors users put some money in every month, and that amount gets automatically invested on their behalf. Hence, users do not have to stress about navigating the financial market as the Robo-advisor chooses what funds to buy based on the user’s risk appetite. Aki comments that this is the base level of investing that everyone should be doing, but it is not enough. Before diving into investments, it is critical first to understand what kind of life you want to live and when you want to live it. For instance, you might wish to retire earlier in life which affects how you should save your money right now.

After determining what life we wish to live, the next step is planning how to get there. Aki explains that many tend to rely on government schemes like CPF for retirement. However, he notes that these schemes are pretty limited and not foolproof. The money that we put into such schemes is going to those who have just retired. Essentially, this means that we are paying for the retirement of others and can only hope that when it is our turn, there will be people at the bottom of the pyramid that will be contributing. However, if population dynamics skew and there are not enough young people to pay the pyramid, the scheme will eventually fail. As a result, it is essential to make your own plans around retirement.

There are two prominent contrasting opinions about retirement. The first mindset is working hard now and spending the money after retirement, while the second mindset is to spend during our youthful days. Aki believes that these mindsets do not have to be mutually exclusive. With sound finances and putting some money aside regularly, we can enjoy our lives right now while still having a secure future.

Meet Our Guest Speaker

Aki Ranin

COO & Co-founder of Bambu

Technology industry veteran and former software developer Aki Ranin is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bambu. He is a recognized authority in FinTech and an accomplished technology executive with a highly technical background. With a deep-rooted passion for tech, he holds 15 years of experience developing companies and creating spectacular results. In his previous role as Commercial Director for Tigerspike, he focused on growing the financial services business across Southeast Asia and established Tigerspike and Bambu's partnership. Once Vice President of Technology at Avaus, he ran operations and P&L for 50 designers and software engineers. Aki graduated with a Master of Science in Computer Science from Aalto University.

Have A Topic Or Guests Requests?

Get in touch with a topic that you would like us to cover or even better, your name and company to be on air with us.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Keep up with us!

Subscribe to our Newsletter

If you want to keep up with us and get the latest on #fintech and Robo-Advisory, leave your email. No spam, just gold.

Download our
free Case Study

To download our case study, please submit the form below and we will e-mail you the link to the file.