Boomers Got Rich by Lucky Timing. What Happens to the Next Generation? with Ashley Owen

Did baby boomers become wealthy because they were better investors, or were they simply born at the right time?

It is a confronting question, because millions of Australians who bought property, invested in shares and contributed to superannuation over the past 40 years enjoyed one of the strongest financial tailwinds in modern history.

From the early 1980s, inflation and interest rates generally trended lower. As the cost of money fell, asset values rose, borrowing became progressively easier and property, shares and bonds delivered unusually strong long-term returns.

Of course, plenty of boomers worked hard, saved carefully and made sensible decisions. Yet effort alone does not explain the extraordinary increase in household wealth. Timing played a much larger role than many people are comfortable admitting.

My guest today, Ashley Owen, believes that this golden era has ended. He argues that younger Australians are entering a very different world, with persistent inflationary pressures, higher average interest rates and potentially lower real returns across property, shares and bonds.

If Ashley is right, investors can’t simply extrapolate the returns of the last 30 or 40 years into the future. Retirement calculations may be too optimistic, traditional asset allocations may be less reliable and the next generation may need to save more, invest differently and remain invested for longer.

In this episode I’m speaking with Ashley Owen about how Australia’s investment environment has changed across generations.

Join me as we unpack what this means for investors, retirees, and the next generation.

Takeaways

• Inflation is global, so Western economies tend to rise and fall together.
• Long periods of falling inflation create unusually strong returns across most asset classes.
• Government borrowing and loose fiscal policy can keep inflation pressures elevated.
• Military spending has repeatedly triggered major inflation spikes throughout history.
• The best recent investing decade was boosted by declining inflation and interest rates.
• Shares generally outperform bonds and cash during most long-term market cycles.
• Bonds can deliver weak or negative real returns during high inflation periods.
• Australian housing holds up better because debt is eroded by inflation over time.
• Rising protectionism and re-shoring increase costs across goods, wages, and supply chains.
• Starting early and avoiding crowd behaviour matter more than chasing short-term trends.

Links and Resources:

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Ashley Owen, Director of Owen Analytics 

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