At the "Intergenerational Humans Fest 2026" event on 14 Jun 2023 GMT+7, Dr. Niwes Hemwachirawarakorn, a legendary value investor with a portfolio worth tens of billions, joined to share his intriguing life perspectives under the concept of a "life portfolio."
This time, he did not focus solely on which stocks to invest in but delved deeply into life portfolio allocation to achieve true happiness.
Dr. Niwes pointed out that for people aged 40-50 and above, finances, happiness, and health are equally significant. Even among global financial leaders, once reaching a certain stage, they all prioritize health and happiness, as these three aspects are interconnected and inseparable in their impact.
However, human happiness is diverse and does not always depend on account balances. Each person's nature is built with varying capacities to perceive happiness.
Dr. Niwes gave an example of Vanuatu, a country whose population does not have high per capita income, yet its people rank among the world's happiest because they live adequately without hardship. In contrast, some countries with better financial status have populations who tie happiness to success.
Furthermore, good physical health and absence of illness form the foundation of happiness, which people often overlook. Yet maintaining health should not be stressful or cause suffering.
Some people go to great lengths, giving up pleasures or living extremely strictly,
to gain longevity, which may diminish life's enjoyment. The better approach is to live a balanced life; simply avoiding harm to health suffices.
Dr. Niwes emphasized that money is crucial for purchasing additional happiness and alleviating suffering, but excessive wealth is useless since happiness may not come solely from money.
Ultimately, human basic needs are just a soft bed and good food. Even global billionaires like Elon Musk or Warren Buffett cannot buy beyond these basic needs.
Therefore, excessive money often does not increase happiness and can even cause major problems like family inheritance disputes leading to great misery.
However, money is only one asset within the life portfolio, not the entire portfolio. "Life Asset Allocation" must spread risk across finances, health, mind, and relationships with others.
If we focus solely on wealth while neglecting other parts, life becomes unbalanced and leads to failure in the end.
Thus, maintaining balance across all dimensions of the life portfolio is the key to Dr. Niwes's success in both financial terms and sustainable happiness.
Thairath Money had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Niwes to continue exploring life portfolio allocation from an investment perspective, for those preparing to achieve financial freedom, highlighting key principles and an intriguing portfolio structure as follows.
Dr. Niwes stated that a successful retirement portfolio capable of financial freedom must have income-generating assets (such as stocks or bonds) totaling at least about 200 times monthly expenses after retirement.
For example, if you want to spend 10,000 baht per month, you need to have assets around 2 million baht prepared.
The key is "income-generating assets"; most of the portfolio must consist of assets that can provide consistent returns to us, such as dividends or interest.
Dr. Niwes emphasized that assets not generating income are barely counted as wealth, such as owning high-value land or real estate, which cannot be readily used for spending and are difficult to sell nowadays due to demographic shifts with declining birth rates.
For younger generations, life cannot be left to chance; planning must begin early. He recommends a simple but disciplined formula: set aside 15% of every baht earned, whether from work or inheritance, and invest it continuously.
Importantly, "do not withdraw this money" under any circumstance; let it compound until age 60 to have a chance at financial freedom.
However, investing this 15% requires choosing safe sources with proven reasonable returns, with stocks being the best-growing asset class.
Dr. Niwes assessed current returns: the Thai stock market yields about 5%, the U.S. market may expect 7-10%, and emerging markets like Vietnam have a high chance of 10% annual returns.
Nonetheless, no one knows the future; therefore, the important rule is to diversify risk by investing in multiple countries. Although the U.S. market may yield higher returns, concentrating funds there alone carries risk.
Regarding gold, he advised that unless one is very wealthy, gold is unnecessary. It should be held only in small amounts by the very wealthy as a safety hedge against adverse events.
Finally, after planning and properly diversifying the portfolio, discipline in following the plan strictly is essential. Avoid frequently changing portfolio allocation. Proper allocation and risk diversification initially help balance the portfolio to grow smoothly long-term.
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