When I took our celebrity investor Blair McDonough to meet Garry Laurence from Perpetual Investments for his masterclass, we filmed it at one of those trendy warehouse buildings which has been converted to a shared office space by WeWork. It was a great example of something that Garry was trying to teach Blair: the art of the pivot.
Blair became quite fixated on this investment principle, as the same approach applies in life, and he really started to understand the strategy of companies which did this in a whole new light.
Garry talked about how he looks for companies to invest in that have successfully mastered a strategic pivot. This means they have seen an opportunity and also understood the risks involved, and have adapted their strategy to take advantage of how the world is changing.
Garry cites giants like GE (General Electrical) as a company which has done this well. But he also talks to Blair about those who didn’t adapt and subsequently lost out, like Kodak which didn’t respond to the advent of digital photography. Blair is able to liken what Garry is teaching him to his own life, and the fact that after almost 20 years in acting, he is looking to pivot and reinvent his revenue streams and wealth creation strategies.
It’s very rewarding to see Blair go through an investment learning journey. At the start he was convinced that property was the way forward, but he didn’t have a solid plan. Now, he is looking at investments strategically and how he can apply these same principles to his own life.
Perpetual Limited is new to our program this season, and it was great to see the long history it has in serving Australians through its Trustee company – did you know that Sir Edmund Barton, our first prime minster, co-founded Perpetual? The company has a strong focus on maintaining that heritage of safeguarding client’s trust, while at the same time pivoting to build a highly successful investment management business.
It’s also a fascinating office to visit because of the old trust documents on display from the vault – being there is like seeing a slice of Australian history. Thanks to Perpetual chief executive Geoff Lloyd and the rest of the team for opening the doors to us and believing that our kind of education is part of a landscape where the industry as a whole is a vital part of the puzzle in creating financial independence and dignity in retirement.
Keep your feedback coming in, I’m loving hearing your thoughts.
All the best,
Like Perpetual Investments? View their Learn from the Money Masters episode here, and read Garry’s extended masterclass here.
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