Fraud


A recent podcast with screenwriter Ed Solomon made me think if this guy is insecure I should stop beating myself up.  Ed wrote two blockbuster movies – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Men in Black and he still doesn’t feel confident when he writes a new screenplay.  This blog will examine why I feel his pain when I write this blog and why advisors have insecurities when they make client recommendations. 

Expectations
This is where the rubber meets the road.  Our expectations are often too optimistic.  Unfortunately the 100 year flood occurs every 7 – 9 years.   An essential characteristic of successful advisors is their optimism, many advisors hope to double their revenues every three years.  Clients add to the challenge by making the mistake to expect the returns that their “friends” boast about at cocktail parties.  The current environment where the return of FANG stocks dominates the financial press doesn’t help.  My optimism has caused me to make a lot of mistakes with my family’s portfolio.  Do as I say NOT as I do.


Blame
When things go differently than planned in our financial and personal life we seek out someone to blame.  In our personal life we blame our parents and in our investment life we blame our advisors.  Both might share some of the blame but we have to take some of the responsibility too.  We can’t appreciate the difficulty of being a parent until we become one too.  We also need to educate ourselves on the investment recommendations our advisors are making rather than blindly taking their advice.  Scott Peck had it nailed – “Life is difficult”.  The Wealth Consigliere drafted off of Dr. Peck with the statement that investing is difficult.  I wish all investment advisors would add the TV disclaimer of “don’t try this at home” to their brochures.

Mr. Rogers
I’m still scared and uncertain.  Recently I've been finding finding solace in an old TV friend, Mr. Rogers who loves me just the way I am.  If you don’t remember Mr. Rogers I recommend you watch two powerful documentaries to remind you. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and Mr. Rogers and Me . It is a beautiful day in our neighborhood if we step back and appreciate all we have.

Our lack of confidence is a universal scourge.  We need to loop Mr. Roger’s welcoming message in our head.  I love ME just the way I am!

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