On August 18, 2025, a wave of financial insights swept across Vietnam, bringing with it a timely reminder for both everyday savers and seasoned investors: timing and strategy are everything when it comes to building wealth and securing retirement. This message, echoed by financial experts and market analysts alike, comes at a moment when both the global and Vietnamese markets are sending mixed signals—FOMO is on the rise, technical indicators are flashing warnings, and the age-old debate about the best time to start saving has never felt more urgent.
According to a recent Empower survey conducted on June 2, 2025, which polled 1,001 American adults, the consensus is that people should ideally start saving for retirement at age 27. Respondents in this survey also believed that 58 is a reasonable age to retire. But as CNBC points out, these numbers are more aspirational than practical. In reality, most Americans retire later—men at 64 and women at 62, based on data from Boston University’s Retirement Research Center in 2024. The gap between expectations and reality, it seems, is as wide as ever.
Why does this gap exist? One reason, experts say, is that many people simply start too late. Reports from the Transamerica Institute and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in 2024 revealed that Gen X and Baby Boomers began saving for retirement at ages 30 and 35, respectively. In contrast, Gen Z and Millennials are getting a head start, with average starting ages of 20 and 25. Even so, nearly 40% of Americans surveyed by CNBC in 2024 admitted they’re behind on their retirement savings. The reasons cited are familiar: starting too late, carrying too much debt, or just not earning enough to put money aside.
Regret is a common theme. In the Empower survey, about 45% of respondents confessed they wished they had started saving earlier. The sentiment is echoed in a 2024 report from Charles Schwab, which found that women typically begin investing at age 31—yet a whopping 85% of them wish they’d started sooner. The lesson? The earlier, the better. As Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida, put it, “Start saving as early as possible, because you’ll harness the tremendous power of compound interest.”
Compound interest, often dubbed the eighth wonder of the world, is the magic that makes early saving so powerful. Unlike simple interest, which accrues only on the initial deposit, compound interest earns returns on both the principal and the accumulated interest. “Time is the fuel that powers the potential of compound interest,” McClanahan explained. She illustrated this with a simple example: If a 22-year-old starts saving $100 a month with a 6% annual compound return, by age 65, that individual could amass more than $242,000. Wait until 27 to start, and the total drops to about $174,000. Those five years make a world of difference.
But what if you’re coming to the party late? Gloria Garcia Cisneros, a certified financial planner at LourdMurray, reassures late starters that all is not lost. “Three decades is an ideal period for your money to grow and earn compound interest,” she said. Still, she cautioned, if you start later, you’ll need to save more aggressively to catch up.
As individuals grapple with their personal savings journeys, the broader investment landscape in Vietnam is also at a pivotal moment. On the same day these insights were making headlines, Nguyen Viet Duc, Director of Digital Business at VPBank Securities, shared his perspective on the state of the Vietnamese stock market during the program “Vietnam and Market Indices.” According to Duc, the market may have started entering a peak phase, with investor sentiment increasingly driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) and technical indicators signaling overbought conditions.
Interestingly, Duc downplayed concerns about recent net selling by foreign investors. Their market share has shrunk from 16–20% to just 6–8% over the past couple of years, reducing their impact on overall market sentiment. “Domestic cash flow is now the key factor influencing the VN-Index trend,” he noted. This marks a significant shift from previous years when foreign moves could send shockwaves through the market.
So, is the market at its peak? Not quite, says Duc. At the start of 2025, VPBank Securities forecasted that the VN-Index could reach 1,800–1,900 points, suggesting there’s still room to grow. However, he cautioned that several signs point to a forming peak: rising FOMO as investors chase sector-specific surges, and technical indicators that have entered overbought territory. Typically, Duc explained, markets might continue climbing for another two to three weeks after such signals before a correction occurs. But a correction doesn’t always mean the end of the bull run—sometimes, markets rebound even after a sharp drop.
For those with cash on the sidelines, Duc recommends short-term targets of one to two weeks for buying opportunities, while keeping an eye on the next three to six months—especially in early September 2025, when attractive prices may emerge. He’s also clear about what it would take for the market to hit a true cyclical peak: either a “too hot” market with a P/E ratio above 20 (it’s currently at 15, leaving about 20% growth room), or a halt in corporate profit growth. With Dragon Capital forecasting 2025 corporate profits to rise by 20–21%, a 20–25% increase in the VN-Index this year seems entirely reasonable.
In the meantime, Duc advocates for a balanced approach. He suggests a 70:30 portfolio model—70% for long-term investments and 30% for short-term trades—to maximize both safety and effectiveness during the current uptrend. For those who don’t closely monitor the market, a 70% allocation to stocks and 30% to bonds may be more appropriate. For more active investors, using that 30% for short-term opportunities can add flexibility and potential upside.
When it comes to diversification, Duc warns against putting all your eggs in too few baskets. A portfolio with only six to eight stocks may miss out on “super stocks” and carries significant risk if those picks falter. Instead, he recommends holding 10 to 14 stocks, with a maximum of 20, and focusing on six core holdings. If a new pick performs well, increase its weight—but avoid selling out of everything at once.
All this advice—whether about starting early, harnessing compound interest, or balancing risk and reward—boils down to the same underlying principle: thoughtful planning pays off. While the market’s future is always uncertain, the power of discipline, diversification, and a long-term perspective remains constant. For both savers and investors, the message from experts is clear: take action now, and let time and strategy work in your favor.
