We all know the adage that states “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”! So what would you say if someone offers you the opportunity to invest R60 000 to get a return of R30 million? Would you go for it?

I must admit that at first site I also thought it to be too good to be true. The average time it takes for a pyramid scheme to implode is around two years. It has to get all the fools into the scheme and then it implodes. I have yet to encounter a scheme in my thirty years’ experience that proved to be valid and where everybody was happy at the end.

So what made me look differently at this opportunity? Firstly I asked a few people if they would be satisfied to trade R60 000 for R30 000 000 and astonishingly almost all said they would be ecstatic.  If we look at people retiring today the majority accumulate between R5 000 000 and R15 000 000 at retirement so it corresponds with the majority being happy to receive R30 000 000.

Most people don’t have enough money at the age of 65 to retire financially independent and require assistance from some sorts. Very few (not even 1% of the population) can afford to retire at the age of 50. I have encountered many young IT professionals expressing a desire to retire at 40 but haven’t seen many achieving it. There were just a lack of planning and committing to a savings strategy.

So here is the “get rich quick scheme”. Give me R60 000 and I will give you R30 000 000. The only catch is that I want 50 years. Yes, that’s the best “get rich quick scheme” you will ever find.

Old Mutual’s Investors fund just turned 50. It is officially the oldest unit trust in SA.

If you started to invest R100 per month on 1 October 1966 and you maintained it until 1 October 2016 (50 years) you would have contributed R60 000 of your own money and the value today would be R30 000 000.

Many people start saving for their children’s education or other short term goals but if a parent started contributing R100 pm with the view of establishing a fine retirement for their child it could be the best you have done for your child.

The interesting fact is that this particular fund didn’t shoot the lights out. In actual fact the fund almost showed no return in the first 5 – 10 years.  But the patience and extended time in the market proved very valuable.  The fund eventually produced an average growth of 18.3% over the 50 years.

It is thus within reach of everyone to make sure they achieve lofty goals. No wonder Warren Buffett’s only regret is that he only started investing in shares at the age of 11 instead of at the age of 6.

So peace of mind is saving in (the right) “get rich” scheme!