My Philosophy and Approach
Jesse with one of the many live Christmas trees that he and Meghan have planted around the island after each Christmas. This one is really taking off now!
“The money is not made in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.”
Of course, you don’t need to agree with my philosophy and approach to work with me - and I don’t presume to say my approach is the only “right” approach. There are plenty of financial advisors who are almost exclusively focused on the tactical and pragmatic details of investing. And some of them are very good on tactical priorities or on their narrow focus, with sophisticated algorithms and extensive back-tests for each model they propose, buttressed by elaborate explanations on (i) how the tax savings make their proposed approach a compelling option, or (ii) how the risk-adjusted return on their unique model would have been the best for your specific risk tolerance for every rolling 50 year period going back to the 1870s. But my perspective is that too much tactical focus can cause an advisor to miss the opportunity to provide the right advice (which is rather different than developing the right portfolio model). Unfortunately, sometimes not getting advice at the right times (while evaluating big tradeoffs) will lead to mistakes that outweigh otherwise optimized tactics. I want you to succeed and avoid mistakes, and yet still have it feel easy at the end of the day. After all, what is important in life is not the amount of money you die with, but whether the money you have earned allows you to do the things you want to to do in your life.
The foundation of my philosophy and approach is my belief that the highest value that any financial advisor can provide is not in recommending specific tactical approaches (such as the tax optimization of a portfolio or the fine-tuning of a withdrawal strategy) but in earning the trust of their clients so they can assist their clients in making the most important financial decisions. The best way to earn the trust of the client, I believe, is to work to understand each client (and client’s family) as an individual (or family) and not simply a series of income flows, college costs, and asset allocation models (or worse, an opportunity for fees for the advisor!). This understanding and appreciation of the client’s perspective is the departure point for holistic financial advice. I decided to start my own independent Registered Investment Advisor so I could focus on each client’s unique big picture.
Now, of course, all financial advisors (me included) should help clients with tactical approaches (although AI will soon do that better than humans). But not all financial advisory firms prioritize understanding their clients, their histories, their experiences and their biases (in the Psychology 101 sense) and emotions. The Warren Buffet quote that “investing is simple, but not easy” is about this disconnect. The tactics are (relatively) simple; but it is still not easy to overcome and/or control the fear, greed, unrealistic hope and other entirely normal emotions which can lead any of us to make a “big” financial mistake.
I want to help my clients:
(i) identify the things that are biggest impediment to their overall financial goals,
(ii) efficiently manage those challenges in an personalized way,
(iii) avoid the “big” mistakes, and ultimately,
(iv) get to “enough” with a journey that was both simple and easy.
My goal is to be approachable, empathetic and supportive of you, no matter where you are on your investing journey. The investing world can often be experienced by people as either 1) insanely boring and pointless or 2) intimidatingly complex and filled with unseen risks and dangers. I think it is important to demystify it and make it less threatening for clients, while at the same time, ensuring that clients enjoy the positive effect that the boring consistency of compound growth can have on their finances. Don’t hesitate to reach out, wherever you are in your journey, because Fangorn Wealth Management will always be a judgment-free zone. We all make mistakes. Luckily, we can learn from them and, quite frequently, we can overcome them, remedy them and then, most importantly, not make them again.
“The player who wins the game is the one who is focused on the field, not staring at the scoreboard all the time.”
If I can’t gain your trust because my approach is distracting or conflicting with your philosophy, well…I might not be able to provide the key advice you need at the right time (or in the right manner). For example, swinging for the fences isn’t “wrong” if getting the home run record is important to you. And if your financial advisor keeps telling you that you need to simply kick the field goal and make it a two score game, you may be frustrated and/or disappointed that your financial advisor isn’t giving you the batting tips or inside information on the pitcher’s tendencies that you need. Frustration and disappointment don’t typically lead to good trusting relationships! If you can’t trust them to not mix metaphors, can you really trust them for financial advice?
But all jokes aside, I am happy to discuss my philosophy with you (and help you however I can) even if we start with different philosophies and approaches. And an initial consultation is provided at no cost to you. Part of my philosophy is also that clients are unique (even if their portfolios are similar) and it is important for me to meet clients where they are, so I can help them get to where they are trying to go. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.