The following 10 chapters lay out a set of guiding principles about humans and money, the two decisive forces shaping the future. This knowledge will help us see more clearly what’s coming in the years ahead … and smartly prepare for it.

 

Why do we share a common future? Because we already share a key reality today: For no matter where you are, the population of the country you live in is most likely like mine in Switzerland – an aging one. Demographic change, in general, and population aging, in particular, are very powerful forces, permeating ALL aspects of life. 

 

Crucially, the aging of society suspends many of the laws of economics and finance taught in university.  Choices proving smart in a setting of a young and growing population may achieve the opposite result in an environment of an aging and even shrinking one.

 

To live a happy life requires taking the demographic trajectory into account. It should play a central role when we make decisions about education, jobs, buying a home, starting a family, or moving abroad. And, of course, investing. The following 10 chapters provide the basis from which we can draw actionable take-aways. The take-aways will be shared in a separate blog.

 

Let’s be frank. The message is not one of hope but one of necessary acceptance and wise action. It’s not about changing the world, but about adapting ourselves to a changing – and aging – one.  

 

In the first chapter we explore the key actor: the human individual. Everything follows from it.