The Wealth Consigliere

Alison Gopnik’s book on parenting is a good read and it definitely expanded my perspective on what it takes to be an effective parent .   It also opened my mind to how the concepts of a gardener and a carpenter could be applied to business and wealth management.   We will take a look at each area in our blog this week.   Before we dive in I feel the need to share some self-evaluation.   I’m a below average parent, I was an average wealth management advisor and an above average business manager.   Parent We all want to be better parents.   Unfortunately we can’t evaluate ourselves until our children have grown up and take their place in society with minimal time on the therapy couch.   Professor Gobnik has studied this subject with an academic and unemotional lens and provides us a road map that is superior to our Honor Role and Elite School acceptance.   My wife and Mr. Rogers walked this talk and I wish I had appreciated th...

The lion share of advisors remain at their brand name firms.   The financial press leads us to believe that most of them have broken away to work as an independent wealth manager.   Is this fake news?   This week we will examine why so many advisors have been retained by their current firms.   Is the independent positioning lacking or are the established firms smarter than we think? Inertia Inertia is a powerful force.   It is easier to stay put that to make a change.   Inertia keeps 95% + of employees at their current job.   History has shown that shocking events can overcome inertia.   If the news is shocking it is by definition impossible to predict.   Recruiters and Advisors can address this by researching a viable Plan B when things are calm.   Calm environments can make us complacent.   Use the calm to create a viable Plan B.   Creating a plan is not as risky as executing the plan.   That can wait until s...