Donna and Sam Opie worked as school teachers until they retired, a satisfying and rewarding career, but one not known for high salaries.

“You’re never going to line your pockets with gold, being school teachers,” laughs Sam.

“So, we knew very early on that we needed to work at creating wealth ourselves with passive investments. The idea was that we’d have passive investments equal to our salaries when we retire.

“We’ve achieved that, but we’ve had to do it through buying old investment properties.

“Now they’re getting older – more work. And I’m getting older – less work, so we’ve cashed in those older residential properties, and we’ve put that money into PMG.”

Property funds

The pair say they like that PMG is one of New Zealand’s most established property funds managers.

In property funds, multiple investors buy units or shares in a fund that is diversified across a number of properties throughout New Zealand, with many tenants, in a variety of sectors.

They’ve long been fans of PMG’s founder, Denis McMahon, after meeting him at an event when they were members of the Tauranga Property Investors Association.

“It was going back in the early days when he was syndicating,” recalls Sam.

“Syndication didn’t appeal to us at the time. It’s just one building with a whole lot of owners, but I was intrigued by his integrity, so from that point we sort of followed him and watched how he’s proved himself over the years.”

When McMahon and the PMG team started selling shares in property funds, the pair decided to invest. They like the regular and reliable income, says Donna.

“It allows us to plan ahead, financially and within our life, and know that money’s going to be there.

“We’ve had rentals for a very long time, so that income can be up and down, whereas we know the money from PMG will be coming in each quarter.”

No work involved

Sam agrees. “I like the fact that there’s no work involved and that the returns are reliable.

“When Covid came around, I thought, ‘This’ll be interesting!’ But there was no change.”

The PMG team explained to clients what they were doing about it, and what they hoped to achieve, says Sam, so the pair stayed put.

Donna says she likes that PMG is transparent. “What they present is what you get. They’re very good at having regular meetings and explaining everything so that people can understand.

“I feel that at any time I can phone or email and nothing’s too much trouble.”

Start early

The pair say they’re pleased they took steps early on to build wealth, and Donna urges young people to start investing early.

“The great thing about the PMG Generation Fund is that you can invest a small amount. I’d say to young people, it’s actually never too soon to invest a small amount, if it’s $1000, or $5000. It has a way of growing.

“I’d like to see more young people think about that. In life you can spend some money – but you also need to save some money.”

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