The super-rich aka the top 1% are the kind of folk who have enough money in a gazillion different areas that they could literally sit back and relax. For the next who-knows-how-many years. Oh wait, they’re probably already doing that!

From what I’ve observed and read there are some universal things they’ve all done to get to where they are. 

I’ve brought you these 3 money moves that if you use you could massively upgrade your finances – and your future. Because let’s be real, we could do with a serious upgrade! (If you’re curious – read here how to master these 7 money habits to boost your net worth).

#1 Be a risk-taker 

No risk = no reward.

We think that risk is inherently bad. But risk is also the chance of all going well. Instead of belly-up! Yet we focus on the bad 10000x more than we focus on the good. And this is what paralyses us.

We’re brilliant at concocting a gazillion reasons as to how/why we’ll lose money when we invest but dare we look at the flip side?! 

People who got rich didn’t get there playing it safe. Rolling with the status quo. They didn’t get there by having all their money tucked away in cash like a scaredy cat. (Read here why you should’ve cover yourself in cash despite how comfy it feels now!)

They risked their money. They sent it to stocks, real estate, crypto, you name it. They were aware of the risk of investing and the risk of not investing. Guess which one’s worse! 

I had the chance to meet a fund manager during covid who set up the investment management company he now runs.

He told me how when he started out back in the 70s raising £1 million to start a biz was like begging strangers for diamonds. No one wanted to give them out – least of all for free! Most said no. Slamming the proverbial door in his face.

While others demanded a huge premium. Or, as was the case with most – they laughed him away. He eventually managed to raise that sum of money and pumped all he had into his baby. 

Many told him it would be a huge failure. That he’d never succeed. That since he didn’t study finance/biz/econ he’d never stand a chance. He had studied anthropology btw. The study of what makes us human. But he did it anyway.

He had a dream, a vision and didn’t give up. Sure, it was a big risk, leaving his well paid finance job in the city but he went after what he wanted. And was rewarded. Big time.

Believe in yourself and you’re already halfway there.

Sure, many of us don’t dream to start our own biz but many of us do dream of having enough money tucked away to know we can live our life on our own terms, not someone else’s.

And the one thing all this has in common in risk-taking. Putting yourself – and your money on the line.

Just like we’re afraid of putting ourselves out there (knocking on doors asking for money like that fund manager did makes me wanna squirm) we’re also afraid of putting our money out there.

We’ve schvitzed for it and we don’t wanna lose it. But if you aren’t prepared to take some losses, you’ll never be able to win. 

Know what you’re prepared to lose. Then risk it. And watch your dreams slowly start turning into reality. 

No one ever got rich by playing it safe. 

#2 Always have cash on hand

The rich always have some cash. Somewhere. And I don’t mean any old cash. Cash for buying assets that others don’t want!

When stocks crash, the smart people are the ones who are liquid and are able to pounce.

Cash gives you flexibility. It means you can take advantage of fear in the markets and use it to your advantage. Read here the real reason the top 1% have so much cash.

Back in ‘08, all the cool guys were snapping up real estate. It was like paying peanuts when you were handed diamonds. A no-brainer!

But most were either too scared or lacked cash to buy the stuff.

A friend of mine bought their place in NYC during ‘08. Thanks to depressed real estate prices, he was able to snap up his dream property in a swanky area that he’d never have been able to afford otherwise. 

Very often, investment opportunities come your way when you least expect them. And if you’re short of cash, well, you either miss out on the opportunity or you gotta sell some stuff which is an absolute no-no.

No one wants to be forced to sell because it usually ends up being at an awful time! Like now.

You want to be the one who decides what you want to sell and when you want to sell. The when is probably the important bit!

2 years ago, I invested in a handful of start-ups and the companies that I really wanted to invest in usually came up when I had the least amount of cash!

I kept telling myself that had I had a pile of cash none of those opportunities would’ve come up!

Call it Murphy’s Law or whatever but this is just the way it is and you must be prepared for everything or use you might just come to regret it. Read here the big mistake I made when I started investing – but do I regret it? 

#3 Be patient! 

This one is probably the most important of all. What’s the point of investing in the best companies when you give up too soon! The key to outsized returns is patience. Read here the hidden reward for being a patient investor. (Psst: it works every time!)

I was googling some stats for how long the average investor holds their stocks for (5 months btw!). And I found something really interesting. As our access to info got better and better; the rise of the internet and media at our fingertips, we held our stocks for shorter and shorter.

If you want to hold your stocks for the long term the key is to watch what you read/listen to. 

Having access to info 24/7 is both a blessing and a curse.

And to be honest, having all this negative stuff clogging your mind won’t do any good. This is because most of the media is made up of fear since that’s what sells! But if you’re able to be selective about how much info you soak up, you’ll be in a much better place.

You really don’t need to read it all. And if you’re investing for decades, you really shouldn’t worry yourself with what our economic growth will look like in Q2! It simply won’t matter.

Don’t follow rules to another game. You’re in it for the long haul. 

This reminds me of a story an old family friend of mine told me. He had invested in a private company when he was in his early 40s. Now, the only way he’d be able to get his money would be if they went public (via IPO) or if they got bought out.

Do you wanna know how long it took for his VC investment to bear some fruit? 25 years! He got his handsome payout when he was 65yo. I guarantee 99% of us would not have had that patience.

But big risks = big rewards. And patience is what makes all the difference. Obviously it wasn’t like he could click ‘sell’ and get his money back but it shows how long things can take.

The greatest investments were made possible by being patient.

Planting a seed and watching it grow. Not yanking out the roots every 5 seconds checking if it’s grown a little!

Go on, let time do the heavy lifting for you. 

Disclaimer: This blog is not investment or financial advice. It is my opinion only. This blog is not a personal recommendation to buy/sell any security, or to adopt any such investment strategy. Always do your own research before you commit to any investment