LETTERS TO ASTON
Martin Hawes
Penguin Books - $40

This is a surprising book. I am generally not interested in books on financial subjects and am somewhat suspicious of books that purport to tell you how to invest well to improve your financial position so that you become wealthy.
But lured into reading the book by its title and cover, and the respect I have for the author, I ended up reading it in one long sitting last night (not the recommended way to read it by the way), and found it highly readable, most accessible and in fact rather interesting. I wish that I had had access to the book and its sage advice 20 or more years ago while still in corporate life and thinking about retirement investment strategies.

When Martin started thinking about the types of things he’d like his first grandchild, Aston, to know, he settled on writing a series of letters to capture and distil the financial lessons he himself has learned. He also decided to collate those letters into a book.

“I’m writing these letters in case I’m not there to help Aston when he has grown up. I don’t expect him to start to read these letters for a good while yet (he is after all only three) but I’d love to think that later in life and throughout his life he can stand on my shoulders and benefit from the things I learned. These letters contain the fundamental, enduring principles, the foundations of investment that apply for all time, and at all times. If Aston can grasp these then I know his life will be solid in at least that area. The details will follow later, naturally, when he applies them.”

At the beginning of the book there is a most interesting author's note which the author and publisher have kindly allowed me to reproduce here:

Aston James Saunders was born on 13 October 2006 to Mike
Saunders and Golda Hawes. His parents thought they were
having their first baby – but they weren’t: they were having my
first grandchild. On the day Aston was born, I took one look at
him and instantly became so besotted that I rang my lawyer to
change my will. Since then I have several times changed my will
further (when he first smiled, when he first said ‘Granddad’ . . .).
This kid knows how to get ahead and probably doesn’t need
financial advice.
At the moment, Aston is a happy little chap. And why shouldn’t
he be? He’s doted on by everyone around him, waited on hand
and foot and indulged at every turn. Spoilt? Maybe – in any event,
may his family long continue to have the ability and resources to
look after him as well as they do now.

These letters are what I want to say to my grandson when he
grows up. I expect Aston to be bright (given his genetics), but
he may not be that interested in money and finance. Bright or
not, interested or not, he will at some stage need to make some
investments and that is the one thing I know I can help him with.

These letters contain the enduring principles of investment, not
the detail like tax rates and the latest investment products, which
come and go over time. There are some fundamental truths
about finance which Aston needs to know and to stick to if he
is to manage his money successfully – if he can appreciate the
fundamental principles, the detail will follow when he needs it.
These letters are about the big building blocks of investment, the
things every successful investor has to know. If Aston can grasp
these, I know he will be solid in at least one important area of
his life.

About the author:
Martin Hawes is probably New Zealand’s most widely-known and trusted finance writer. He is certainly the most prolific as in addition to his regular columns, he is the author of fifteen books including one on family trusts that has sold over 100,000 copies.
Martin is also President of Save the Children New Zealand, lives in Queenstown with partner Joan Baker, and enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering, cycling, fishing and skiing. He is clearly besotted with being a grandfather!

Letters to Aston: Lessons learned from a lifetime of investing by Martin Hawes, published by Penguin Books, November 2009, RRP NZ$40