Early last year when Covid was starting to spread in Hong Kong, my friend's wife was forced to work from home. The two of them have intense work schedules as bankers, and soon the chap's wife grew sick of her long hours stuck at her desk in their flat while her partner was still seeing colleagues every day.
His wife hated working alone at home so much that she decided to quit and take early retirement. She has adapted quickly to her new life, starting her days with a jog by the sea and scheduling tea time with friends in the afternoon.
It didn't take long for my friend, a senior loans banker, to start to question his own rise and grind schedule. The pandemic had put enough pressure on him at work, and now that his wife was free to do as she liked, the man began to consider his own career future.
His answer? He quit his banking job too. Now, rather than being a cog in the machine, he is joining his wife on her morning jogs, and starting to build his own investment portfolio in the afternoons — something he says will keep him busy. But, as a long-time loans banker, the chap still has some learning to do before he can fully manage his own money. He has started studying stocks more closely and gauging the value of commodities.
After a few weeks of his studying, I asked my friend what investment expertise he has learned.
“Don’t buy football clubs, and you’ll be fine,” he said. Some sound advice, indeed!