We are getting older and our investment portfolio should be young
Current pension system
Is the current Spanish pension system sustainable and is it correct to base it on the contributions of active workers to pay the pensions of retirees? This question has been flying around the economic and social landscape in Spain for a long time. Fellow Funders does not have an absolute answer to this important question, although we do seek to offer solutions to uncertain scenarios.
Aging of the Spanish population
The increase in global life expectancy and the low birth rates (mainly in the most developed countries) accelerate the growth of the percentage of older people. This leads to a gradual aging of the world’s population.
This global aging issue is even faster in Spain. Some data confirms that:
- Spain has doubled the number of people over 65 in the last 30 years.
- Currently, the population over 65 in Spain is about 17% of the total population, of which 25% are 80 or over.
- According to studies, in 2050 people over 65 in Spain will represent more than 30% of the total population (30% will be 80 or over).
- In the early 1970s the average number of children per woman in Spain was 3. Today the average is approximately 1.2 children.
Changes in the labor market
The drastic changes in the labor market such as increased geographic mobility, high unemployment and self-employment, and declining wage levels have also influenced the increase in population aging.
Solution to maintain our living standards after retirement
Faced with this situation, we must be honest and ask ourselves what measures we should take individually to try to maintain our living standards after retirement as much as possible.
At Fellow Funders, where some of us will no longer be 50, we believe that it is essential that each of us begins to consider the inescapable need to define a “financial cushion of the future,” that is, to build an investment portfolio.
If we finally reach the conclusion that we must go for rainy day fund, a lot of questions will arise: How do we build this investment portfolio? Do we manage it personally or do we hand it over to an expert? What is the necessary level of savings and how often do we need to generate a significant portfolio? What types of assets should be in our portfolio? Many questions and answers that will be related to our expectations and way of being.
OUR CONCLUSIONS
At Fellow Funders we do not have miraculous answers to all these questions. However, we do want to share with you a number of conclusions:
- We believe in the need to build our investment portfolio.
- It is never too late to start building this portfolio.
- In this portfolio, recurrence and constancy are more important than the amount of money we allocate.
- The portfolio must necessarily be diversified, both in terms of investment risk levels and terms.
At Fellow Funders we believe that an efficient portfolio should contain an alternative investment portion (5-10% of the total investment) and we are committed to presenting our investors with investment opportunities in startups and micro-SMEs that comply with our parameters of professionalism and transparency.
We want our investors to have the possibility to access refreshing investment opportunities, having at all times clear that the expected future profitability must be in line with the risks that this type of investment entails. This is our commitment since the beginning of our activity, and we want to continue in the future.
Do you wish to join the world of Fellow Funders? We are waiting for you!
