Why managing your finances is like doing an Olympic triathlon.

The beauty of the triathlon is that you need to be strong in the swim, the cycle and the run otherwise you have absolutely no chance of getting on the podium.

Out of all of the Olympic sports, I think it translates best to my job, but instead of swim, cycle and run, I deal with the financial triathlon: people, portfolio and planning.

The Swim (The People) 

The people side of managing your finances is the first leg, it’s arguably the most important.

It doesn’t matter how good your portfolio (Cycle) or your planning (Run) is, if you have bad financial habits or make big mistakes you’ll be out of the race before it is even getting started.

Dealing with these habits, biases and not panicking in turbulent times requires a lot of discipline and consistency. The keys to being a successful swimmer (According to my wife who’s a national medalist)…. discipline and consistency.

The swim leg of a triathlon is absolute chaos. The athletes who get a good start, navigate the conditions well, avoid making mistakes and manage their nerves generally do the best. This leg can’t win you the race, but it can definitely lose you the race.

The Cycle (The Portfolio)

Portfolio management is the second leg.

It used to be about flair and individual brilliance but for most, now it is all about efficiency and marginal gains, just like cycling.

Generally during the cycling leg of a triathlon, a group of riders will work together rather than trying to go off on their own. Why is this? Because it’s more efficient and generally a less risky strategy. It’s rare that the rider with the most flair and the shiniest bike leads the way. In fact, in pro cycling, the fastest bikes sometimes have all the paint stripped off. Sometimes, boring is best… which is also the case with investment portfolios.

The cycle leg can be a difference maker in a triathlon but it mainly sets up the run, exactly like how the portfolio sets up the planning in the financial triathlon.

The Run (The Planning)

The planning is the final leg where the medals are decided.

The key to good planning is knowing how much you have, what you will have in the future, knowing how much is enough and how to get to the finish line with the perfect amount left.

There is no ‘gold standard’ way of tackling the run leg of a triathlon. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, GB’s Alex Yee paced his run perfectly to move into the lead in the last 500m and take gold in the men’s event. Cassandre Beaugrand powered ahead from the front to win the women’s event for France.

Every race is different, and you have to pace yourself!

Triathlon is an amazing, inspiring sport and is always one of my favorites to watch at the Olympics.

I’ve only ever done one sprint triathlon and to be honest I was just happy to get round in one piece. The financial triathlon is definitely my preferred event!