‘Big decisions’ wealthy people make while others are on August holidays
A wealth manager has explained what the money savvy are up to this month
Paul Denley (Image: Newspage)
While millions of Britons spend August switching off on holiday, many wealthy families are doing something very different: using the quieter weeks of summer to make some of their biggest financial decisions.
According to wealth manager Paul Denley, August has become an unofficial “financial MOT” month. Instead of reacting to market headlines or worrying about day-to-day volatility, affluent investors use the breathing space to review their investments, pensions, tax planning and long-term goals. He believes the biggest advantage isn’t having more money, but having more time to think clearly.
Paul Denley, CEO of London-based Oakham Wealth Management, said: “Affluent people certainly enjoy holidays, but many also use the quieter weeks of August to make some of their biggest financial decisions. While everyone else is trying to escape work, they’re creating the mental space to think about succession, investing, tax planning and what they actually want from the next decade. Wealth is often built not by working every minute, but by occasionally stepping back and making better decisions.”
Mr Denley said many people wrongly assumed wealth was built simply by working harder.
He said: “There is a paradox at the heart of this. The busiest, most successful people I meet do their clearest thinking when they are, on paper, doing the least. The inbox slows, the diary empties and, despite the occasional headline, the constant noise of day-to-day business begins to fade.
Now’s a good time to make decision, Mr Denley said (Image: ferrantraite via Getty Images)
“What is left is space – and space is where good financial decisions are made. Most poor decisions, by contrast, are made in a hurry, in reaction to a headline, or under the low-grade pressure of a permanently full week.”
One of the first things many wealthy investors review is whether their portfolio still matches the level of risk they intended to take. After a strong run in markets, successful investments can quietly become a much larger part of a portfolio than originally planned. Rather than chasing the best-performing shares, Mr Denley said experienced investors often did the opposite.
He explained: “For many wealthy families, August is quietly the most productive financial month of the year. It’s when they carry out what I’d call a personal financial MOT.
“That review is less glamorous than it sounds and that is precisely the point. It starts with asset allocation – the single biggest driver of long-term investment outcomes and the thing most people never revisit. The disciplined response is not to chase whatever has done well, but to rebalance back towards the original plan.”
August is also when many families review whether they are making full use of tax allowances, whether cash is sitting idle and whether pensions and ISAs remain as tax-efficient as possible. With an Autumn Budget expected later this year, Mr Denley said wealthy families prepared rather than panicked.
He said: “Wealthy families rarely make knee-jerk decisions based on rumours. Preparation, not prediction, is the real edge.”
Perhaps surprisingly, he believes the most important conversations are rarely about money itself.
Mr Denley added: “They are the ones families put off all year: who inherits what and when, how much to help children and grandchildren now rather than later and what the next decade is genuinely for.
“The real lesson isn’t about wealth at all. Whether your portfolio is worth £50,000 or £50 million, taking one uninterrupted afternoon to review where you are, and where you’re trying to get to, may be one of the highest-return investments you make all year.”
