Following five years on board yachts and a transition period, former crewmember Josh Farry and his colleague Kalé Emery were working at a traditional financial advice firm, which was sales based and old school, when they noticed that wasn’t what resonated with people. So Farry and Emery designed their approach around good, free information and financial education, ultimately founding The Money Men, a personalized one-stop shop to help Kiwis be better with money, in 2021.
“You will see on our website we mention value quite a lot and that comes from my lessons in the old business where there was a high turnover because people weren’t treated properly,” Farry says. “So, really, we just evolved and made a more modern business that focused on education and people, which is where our slogan comes from ‘helping Kiwis be better with money.’”
While working at the traditional firm, the pair fell into a radio show on two of the most popular stations in New Zealand, The Rock FM and George FM. This got them in front of 600,000 people across the country every fortnight. After two years, The Money Men has won a few awards and grown the team from two to seven.
Now, they are working with Yachties of New Zealand (YONZ), a crew-created resource for Kiwis throughout their yachting career and after. The teams are helping Kiwis buy property and crew with their finances, including offering investment packages, KiwiSaver, and money management.
“Yachties really need to utilize their cash while working so they can do the easy transition for life after yachting, if that’s going to be next week or in 10 years,” Farry says. “It makes a huge difference to when you start.” No matter where people are in their yachting journey, the two teams are partnering to help crew in whatever way they can, even if it’s answering questions. He shares that there is a lot to know about acquiring property in NZ and “some great loopholes,” and, of course, crew want to know how it works when they’re not a tax resident. The Money Men and YONZ can help.
“I heard some shocking stories of yachties getting ripped off from investment companies targeting them. I definitely wish there was someone helping me put some money away when I was a yachtie,” Farry says. “We generally give people an investment strategy to follow, then help them implement it. Random stock picking isn’t an option, and you have about a 20 percent chance of outperforming the market anyway with a single stock.”
Farry started as a deckhand and his last position on board was first mate on M/Y Zoom Zoom Zoom. So he understands that crew life — so much freedom on yachts with no expenses and making good money. “It’s about having a plan. When you are on the boats, it’s in the back of your mind about what you will do when you exit,” he says. “You can set up the rest of your life if you do it properly and use some of that excess cash flow to invest in your future.”
For crew with no ties to New Zealand, The Money Men can still help strengthen your education on investing and finances with their Wealth Mapping software, which can model different scenarios, like investing in share market or buying investment property.
The Money Men hopes to become a trusted household name for financial advice and education in NZ. Farry shares, “We focus on always adding value, creating raving fans, and using the best technology to make it easy.”