In Memory of a Financial Maestro: Michael Pope’s Lasting Legacy

On your last flight, did you give a moment’s thought to the “aileron flaps” that the pilot uses to ensure the plane landed safely? If you’re like most people, you probably didn’t think about them at all!

The wings maybe, the window strength, perhaps. But not the aileron flaps… HOWEVER, despite how critical they are, we take them for granted, even though without them, the pilot wouldn’t be able to land the plane. They allow the pilot to make the necessary adjustments to tailor each landing to the unique conditions they face for every airstrip. Simply put, they are the part of the wing that allows the plane to operate at lower speeds during takeoff and landing, reducing risk at a critical time.

Michael “Popey” Pope operated just as crucially for Empower Wealth. He was one of the co-founders of Empower Wealth but sought no limelight, had no public profile, and preferred to be in the background. He was crucial for each client successfully landing their financial goals because he was the brains behind the simulator that our whole business orbits around. And at Empower Wealth, we have been deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved colleague Popey, who passed away after a long battle with cancer on New Year’s Eve 2023. For us, the significance of his passing is immense.

Without the aileron flaps, the pilot risks crashing the plane… without Popey, our clients couldn’t reduce their risk of crashing financially. He was that important!

Popey is a giant in our business; calling him a legend is not an exaggeration, and to say we will miss him would be grossly understating the obvious.

It will take some time for us to pivot from running something past Popey to simply pondering now… “What would Popey have done?”

Here’s a bio of our beloved Popey:

Michael was the Partner and Money and Wealth Planner at Empower Wealth. Michael possessed an MBA, a Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning), and a Bachelor of Engineering. He was an expert in the area of financial modeling software.

With an engineering background, Michael spent over 20 years at Telstra working in the engineering and information technology fields. During that time, he developed a number of analysis and forecasting tools on various software platforms, starting out using the first-ever PC spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, and progressing through MultiPlan and Smart Spreadsheet to every version of Excel for PCs. It was here that he first started to develop his knowledge and interest in modeling and forecasting software, creating a suite of tools to forecast demand for data services.

On leaving Telstra in 2002, Michael embarked on a career as a private Share Trader and spent five years as an educator in the field of buying and selling shares for profit. His experience working with people as an educator led him to believe that there was a widespread need for more comprehensive education on financial matters, including money management and wealth creation. He utilized his software knowledge in this area also, developing software for theoretical simulation of the performance of mechanical share trading systems.

In 2008, Michael started looking for ways to extend his role as an educator and began to investigate systems and tools that would clearly and simply show people where they were and how they were going financially, which could then assist people to understand and manage their money more effectively. The ultimate goal was to give people the strategies and tools to create more wealth and achieve financial independence. This led to a meeting with Ben Kingsley, where both realised the synergy of this work with their shared vision and goals of Empower Wealth helping more aspiring Australians.

Since joining Empower Wealth in 2009, Michael spent much of the past 14 years developing and refining the software tools that underpinned Empower Wealth’s Property Wealth Planning solutions, including our financial position & simulation and projections tools which helped our advisors & their clients, build their Property Portfolio Plans as they continue on their personal and financial journeys.

Michael’s role at Empower Wealth allowed him to use his passion for analysis and education to help clients understand their current financial position, take control of their money, and achieve better financial outcomes.

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Michael “Popey” Pope, in addition to his critical role at Empower Wealth, was also a tremendous fundraiser, an avid blood donor and had a deep passion for helping others. If you would like to contribute to his cause, you can learn more about Blood Donation via Lifeblood here or you can also donate to a “Tour de Cure” page here.

You’ve left a footprint on all of our hearts, and the heartbeat of our business still beats because of you… RIP, mate ❤️

Vale Michael Pope