Investment Strategies for the Time-Poor - The Definitive New Zealand Guide
Our guide explains popular investment strategies for high-income but time-poor investors, must-know facts to invest confidently and efficiently, and frequently asked questions.
Updated 9 April 2024
Summary:
Our guide covers
- It's important for all New Zealanders to invest in the right strategies, but it's even more essential for time-poor people. Whether you're a mother of five, a tradie working two jobs, or doing full-time work alongside study, many New Zealanders will be juggling lots of different commitments and responsibilities that lead them to not have enough time to allocate to investing.
- Many New Zealanders earning high incomes are consumed in their job, and focus on their income and minimise expenses where they can. However, creating an optimal investment strategy (that doesn't require much hands-on work and time) is just as important as focusing on maximising income.
- Regardless of time and income, all New Zealand investors must ensure their wealth continues to grow and aligns with their financial goals without sacrificing their most precious resource: time.
Our guide covers
MoneyHub Founder Christopher Walsh Explains the Risks of Rushing Investments and Why You'll Always Need to Keep Watch:
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"If you're time-poor, a blend of common sense and strategic thinking is essential to invest effectively. Automation in investments, such as setting up ETFs or index funds, is undoubtedly efficient, but there are risks.
Investing heavily in tracker funds and ETFs for their diversification benefits is a common strategy, yet it's important to remember that diversification doesn't equate to the absence of risk. Market-wide downturns can impact these funds just as they do individual shares. Understanding the risks and performance history of these funds is crucial before committing. Outsourcing tasks like tax filing or investment planning can be a great time-saver, but it should not lead to complete disengagement. It's not time-consuming to stay involved and informed about your financial affairs, even when professionals are involved. However you proceed, please be careful and make sure you don't rush any decisions - too many New Zealanders have lost money looking for 'big returns on one investment'. There's a lot of downside if you don't diversify". |
Christopher Walsh
MoneyHub Founder |
Your free guide to investing strategies for the time poor, thanks to BlackBull Markets
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What is Defined as “Time Poor”?
The term "time poor" refers to individuals or households that experience a scarcity of discretionary time, meaning they have limited or no free time after accounting for all necessary activities, including work, commuting, household chores, and caregiving responsibilities. This concept goes beyond the simple notion of being busy - it underscores a condition where the demands of work and life responsibilities significantly encroach upon personal time, leisure, and relaxation, often leading to stress and a decreased quality of life.
Time poverty is increasingly recognised as a significant issue in many societies, especially in the context of rising work hours, long commutes, and the blurring of lines between work and home life due to the proliferation of work from home (and email on phones). It affects low-income individuals (who may work multiple jobs or long hours to meet basic financial needs) and high-income professionals (who may have demanding careers requiring extensive time commitments, such as lawyers, accountants, consultants, investment bankers) alike.
Being time-poor can have various consequences, including reduced time for social interactions, leisure activities, physical exercise, and self-care, all of which can negatively impact mental and physical health. The recognition of time poverty has led to discussions on work-life balance, flexible work arrangements, and societal values related to work, leisure, and well-being.
Time poverty is increasingly recognised as a significant issue in many societies, especially in the context of rising work hours, long commutes, and the blurring of lines between work and home life due to the proliferation of work from home (and email on phones). It affects low-income individuals (who may work multiple jobs or long hours to meet basic financial needs) and high-income professionals (who may have demanding careers requiring extensive time commitments, such as lawyers, accountants, consultants, investment bankers) alike.
Being time-poor can have various consequences, including reduced time for social interactions, leisure activities, physical exercise, and self-care, all of which can negatively impact mental and physical health. The recognition of time poverty has led to discussions on work-life balance, flexible work arrangements, and societal values related to work, leisure, and well-being.
What do “Time Poor” people need to prioritise?
For the time-poor, the key to effective investing lies in:
Like any New Zealander regardless of income or amount of spare time, maximising "bang for the buck" will always be the priority. Everyone wants to invest optimally to generate the highest return whilst taking on the least risk (permanent loss of capital), volatility, and time or effort put into researching and positioning their investments.
- Simplifying as much of your investment strategy as possible.
- Automating as much of your investment strategy as possible.
- Outsourcing all other tasks by leveraging both technology and professional expertise.
Like any New Zealander regardless of income or amount of spare time, maximising "bang for the buck" will always be the priority. Everyone wants to invest optimally to generate the highest return whilst taking on the least risk (permanent loss of capital), volatility, and time or effort put into researching and positioning their investments.
Ten Popular Investment Strategies for High Income and Time-Poor New Zealanders
The strategies outlined below are not intended as financial advice. Instead, they are a compilation of established methods for effectively accumulating wealth, which do not require a substantial investment of time.
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Automate your investmentsIf you're time-poor, you simply cannot consistently track the performance of your investment portfolio, weigh up whether to buy and sell certain shares and organise how much you need to contribute each month or quarter. The most efficient thing you can do is to 'set and forget'. While you might be leaving 'money on the table' by not doing more research, you’ve got to do the best that you can with the (small) time you have. A strategy of proven funds and ETFs will, in most cases, significantly outperform poorly researched share trades.
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Stick to Index Funds and ETFsIf you don't have the time to constantly follow the things you're invested in, you won't have the time to react quickly in case something significant in the market happens. For example, if you decide not to invest in mainly ETFs and concentrate heavily on Tesla and NVIDIA shares, you'll likely need to react quickly if something adverse happens to these specific companies (such as the company missing profit or earnings estimates, or any other company-specific information).
When investing in broad market ETFs, you're far more likely to ride out the volatility and not have to worry if any one share does poorly (given that you're invested across many different shares and industries). Not only that, but investing in ETFs is far more cost-effective (their expense ratios will be far lower than if you were to buy and sell the same shares in your account consistently). |
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Outsource your taxesIf you're high-income and time-poor, the last thing you want to spend time on at the weekend (after working a 50 - 60-hour week) is taxes. Many New Zealanders who are time-poor people outsource obligations like tax filings through accountants or utilise tax analytics software like Sharesight (for share trading and FIF) or HNRY (for sole traders, company directors drawing earnings and side hustles).
Not only do you save time by not having to trawl through your financial statements, but you can also ensure that the experts (accountants or software) do the best job possible so that you don't miss anything when you file your tax returns. Our guides have further details: |
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Outsource your investment strategy (talk to a fee-only financial advisor)Financial advisors aren't warranted for most New Zealanders due to their fees and very specialised expertise. However, high-income New Zealanders have a premium on their time and effort. This is because any time they spend on investment strategy, they're not spending earning money at their high-income job - which could be at an opportunity cost of hundreds of dollars an hour. For this reason it may make sense for this small subset of New Zealanders to get financial advice.
Outsourcing your investment management could make sense if you have a high dollar per hour assigned to your time. Not only that but moving the mind burden and stress away from you and onto a third party can be just what time poor New Zealanders need. The most significant step you can take in your investment strategies is your asset allocation. Too often, time-poor people just invest in what is easiest. Whether it's an advertisement from a bank for a term deposit or a share investing platform offering a sign-up bonus to invest, ensuring your total assets are invested appropriately according to your age is important. As a rule of thumb, if you're younger, you likely want a higher risk-reward allocation (e.g. equities). If you're older and have less time to retire, you might want a lower risk-reward allocation (e.g., a more balanced weighting across equities, bonds, and term deposits or cash). While the above is well-known general advice, Financial Advisors can pick apart your specific life situation and offer what makes sense for you, your goals and what you want out of life. Financial advisors are especially useful if your life and financial situation are complex. If you're high-income and time-poor, you likely fall into this category and hiring a financial advisor for personalised advice and portfolio management would be worth it. It's a minimal time investment (a few hours with them), and they'll be able to handle all the details, allowing you to focus on your career or business. Note, there is a big difference between a fee-only financial advisor and a financial advisor who takes a flat percentage of your assets each year. We suggest considering a fee-only financial advisor (that might cost a few thousand dollars in advice fees) to get your asset allocation set right and to ensure your investments align with your goals. It’s much cheaper to check in and pay the $2,000 every few years than have a financial advisor extract $2,000+ a year (e.g. 1% of your investments if you have a $200,000 portfolio) for no additional advice or support. For more details, check out our list of trusted financial advisers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. |
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Accelerate your learning through courses or modulesAs a time-poor New Zealander, you don't have the time to take a three-year business degree or a six-month course at university. However, building your knowledge and skillsets is still important to becoming a better investor.
You don't have to become an expert at everything, but it definitely pays to continue developing your investing knowledge. Whether that's a podcast, accelerated one-week course, or online subscription platform, utilising compressed learning modules is a great way to upskill yourself in the shortest time period. Not only is it fully online (meaning you can go through and learn things on your schedule), but it can be done whenever (e.g., there's not a set time you have to clock in and out), meaning you can find a time that suits you (which is a valuable commodity to the time-poor with crazy schedules). |
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Prioritise passive investmentsFor the time-poor, anything that requires you to consistently check in or actively do something is a drag. The ideal investment for high-income New Zealanders is to choose investments that aren't hands-on. A perfect example of this is passive income. For example, if you had $100,000 and invested it in a bank’s two year term deposit offering 6% (with the option to reinvest any interest payments automatically), you could easily not look at or touch your investment for two years, and it would continue to grow and compound in value.
For the time-poor, efficiency is everything. This is why passive income opportunities that don't require time and effort are popular. These include dividend-paying shares which are designed to grow your wealth without active involvement. Further resources: |
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Leverage technology to your advantageThe more you can outsource your investment strategies to technology, the more time you’ll save. Whether that’s going through a robo advisor to understand your asset allocation, using online brokerage and share trading apps to ensure you can quickly rebalance or invest, or automating your bank transfers so any excess money you get from your paycheck (after you've paid your bills) goes into your investment account.
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Efficient rebalancing and reviewsIt's all too easy for time-poor New Zealanders to set an investment strategy and then forget about it. While the strategy you set at the start may be right for you, things change, plans change, and goals change, and it's increasingly important to review and rebalance it.
Having said that, those who have a high-income and remain time-poor are notorious for not having the mental space to regularly sit down and assess things. However, you don't have to have weekly check-ins to see how your net worth is growing. What's more important is intermittently scheduling a few hours to review and assess whether your current investment strategies are working for you. We recommend, at minimum, every year for a few hours - say on a weekend - to either review on your own. If you’re uncomfortable doing so, talking to a fee-based financial adviser may be worth considering. |
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Leveraging focused news and media to stay informed with minimal effortEven with a hands-off approach to investing, staying informed about financial markets and economic trends is beneficial. Subscribing to curated investment research and newsletters and utilising financial news apps can keep investors up to date without requiring significant time investments.
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Try to avoid real estate (especially DIY land development or renovations)While New Zealanders are somewhat obsessed with property and investing in real estate, if you're time-poor, real estate is arguably the worst idea you could pursue if you're buying a home to rent etc. Not only is it extremely illiquid (meaning you can't easily buy and sell it), but researching, bidding, owning, managing, and developing property is extremely time-intensive and may not be worth your time and effort after all is said and done.
For high-income, time-poor New Zealanders - a better alternative might be to invest in REITs. You get the benefit/upside/yield of property investing (and the leverage that each REIT company uses) without all the admin and upkeep associated with typical property investing. |
Your free guide to investing strategies for the time poor, thanks to BlackBull Markets
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Investment Strategies for the Time Poor - Must-Know Facts
Our list of must-know facts includes important reminders to ensure building wealth is as effective as possible:
One fact is proven time and time again - consistently investing over time yields better results than trying to time the market. Market timing requires constant monitoring (which the time-poor don't have) and can lead to missed opportunities or increased risk - anyone who is time-poor will rarely be able to react to market movements. This is why ETFs and index funds are increasingly favoured.
- Put a dollar value on your time: We all know time is valuable, but it's never been clearer than for those time-poor. However, without a way to benchmark, there's no way to know how much your time is really worth. By assigning a value for your time (e.g. $50, $100, $200 an hour), you become far more aware of what your time is likely costing you (and ensure you're only spending your time on the highest-value things possible).
- Don’t forget that income is still a key lever of wealth creation: While focusing on your investment strategy is extremely important (and the best way to take advantage of compound interest is investing - e.g. you don't want to leave your money sitting in cash getting dwindled by inflation), the income you make is one of the biggest levers of wealth creation. The nuances of your investing strategy don’t need to be micromanaged - instead it’s best to focus on the income you’re generating and investing.
- If you're a high earner and time-poor, there's an argument to pay off your debt entirely: The more debt you have, the more monthly payments you'll have to make and the more things you'll need to keep track of. For those time-poor with expensive debt such as car finance and mortgages, this is one more thing to track. One strategy to simplify and save time is to pay off your debts entirely - saving you time and mindshare each month. There’s a further argument that investment returns are likely to be less profitable than the cost of repaying expensive debt. However, the one caveat is if your debt is 0% (such as a student loan debt) or on a no-repayment period (like a balance transfer). In either of these situations, financially speaking, it makes sense not to pay them off any earlier than their due date.
- You won't always be time-poor: While it can constantly feel like you're running out of time, energy and focus come in waves. There will come a period where you won't be as "time-poor" as you are now, and you can take things a bit slower. Investing wisely and consistently without overthinking every decision is the best way to grow wealth without being consumed in daily price movements.
- Getting the basic foundations right is 80% of the work: The biggest risk for the time-poor is not setting asset allocation right. Begin by clearly defining your financial goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. You've done 90% of the work upfront already. These elements are crucial in shaping your investment strategy, ensuring it aligns with your long-term objectives and comfort with market fluctuations. Any short-term buying and selling, market news, or other investment strategies in the interim ultimately don't help you grow your wealth.
- Simplification is the best: A complex portfolio isn't necessarily superior. Simplifying your investments can reduce the need for constant monitoring and decision-making. A well-chosen selection of broad-market index funds, ETFs, and key shares can provide the diversification and performance you seek with less upkeep
- Stay flexible and adaptive: The financial markets and your circumstances will evolve. An effective investment strategy for those with limited time to manage their portfolios is one that can adapt to changes without requiring constant adjustments.
- For the time-poor, sometimes 80% is 'good enough': If you’re already working hard and have little time as it is, that free time you have left at the end of each week is precious. Remember that you’re already putting in a significant amount of effort working during the week to achieve your financial goals - the next most important thing you can do is focus on your quality of life. Wealth accumulation should not come at the expense of personal happiness and well-being. Trust that the work you’re doing (and the investment strategy you’ve landed on) is “good enough”, and don’t forget to live for today as you secure your financial future.
- Diversification leads to far less stress (especially when you're time-poor): Diversification (across asset classes and geographies) remains a cornerstone of effective investment strategies, helping to mitigate risks and improve potential returns. For time-poor investors, this means looking beyond traditional shares and bonds to consider alternative investments, real estate, international markets such as Australia and Asia, and other asset classes that can provide growth opportunities and income streams.
- Time in the market vs timing the market: Time-poor, high-income earners tend to aggressively grow their wealth fast, usually led by their high-stress work environments. This can sometimes lead poor New Zealanders to invest in high-growth, high-risk strategies and frequently buy and sell in hopes of growing their wealth faster.
One fact is proven time and time again - consistently investing over time yields better results than trying to time the market. Market timing requires constant monitoring (which the time-poor don't have) and can lead to missed opportunities or increased risk - anyone who is time-poor will rarely be able to react to market movements. This is why ETFs and index funds are increasingly favoured.
Frequently Asked Questions
We answer common queries below to help you make informed choices about how to invest effectively.
What is the most time-efficient way to invest?
Generally, passive ETFs and index funds are the most time-effective way to get broad, diversified market exposure without paying high fees. If you don’t have the time to invest and research individual shares, ETFs and index funds are by far the most optimal way to invest.
Can automated investment services match my investment goals?
Automated investment services, or robo-advisors, use algorithms to tailor investment strategies based on your specified goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. They can be quite effective for general investing goals but may lack the personal touch for more complex financial situations. For time-poor New Zealanders who don't have the ability to take half a day to talk with a financial adviser, robo advisors are directionally correct and only take a few minutes to walk through online.
How often should I check on my investments if I'm time-poor?
There's no one "prescribed check-in period" for reviewing your investments, but once a month, every quarter, six months, or year (for a few hours) is usually a good rule of thumb. If you can only do it once a year, that's also fine (especially if you set up your investment strategy correctly at the start).
What is the quickest way to analyse my investment performance?
Many investment platforms provide dashboards with easy-to-understand metrics and summaries of your investment performance. Comparing your annualised returns to relevant benchmarks can give you a quick overview of your investments' performance.
Your free guide to investing strategies for the time poor, thanks to BlackBull Markets
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