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Showing posts from April, 2013

Finding the next Tom Brady

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Like others in financial services, I’m fond of using sports analogies to make a difficult point. While watching the 1st round of the 2013 NFL Draft, I thought it would be instructive to see what we could learn about selecting a financial advisor by watching how pro football General Managers select their next franchise player. In trying to identify future Hall-of-Famers, GMs typically use two methods. One approach relies on analytics like the Wonderlic Test , a measure of intelligence that assesses learning and problem-solving capabilities. The other defaults to the Scouting Combine , which evaluates the prospect’s physical assets – height, arm length, weight and hands. Both use a scoring system that helps football executives evaluate talent. Yet, for the all emphasis on objective analysis, neither approach is fail-safe. In fact, it may not be the best way to find a star like quarterback Tom Brady . Brady was picked in the sixth round and scored poorly on many of t