John Keats, English poet, wrote of ‘Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness” in his Ode to Autumn. That season in Australia may not be quite as mild as in Europe but it can certainly be misty … and in more ways than one. Anything obscuring the investment landscape – mist, smoke, fog, or stormy weather – will induce uncertainty. Good investment outcomes require clarity on the road ahead … and here’s how you can get it

Our lives progress in distinct phases. Up to about 35, we are energetically climbing the ladder. By 45 we are half way up it (and half way ‘home’). By 55 we’ve put in many hard yards, learned many lessons and are eager to do many other things before ‘it’s too late’: explore, reach new horizons, and take things a little more easily. To achieve these goals, we need to carefully outsource those tasks which have always taken a lot of our time. Prudent investing is most likely one of them.

We’ve all done it. We call a service provider to confirm something or make an enquiry and, these days, the auto-response we hear goes along the lines of, “All our consultants are busy right now but your call is important to us. Please select from one of the following options …”