Things You Should Do Instead of Spending Time With a Financial Advisor
Last Summer I received an email from a client that I always enjoy hearing from. He was on vacation relaxing and visiting family back home.
In his email, he explained to me, “Somehow I got roped into a review of my investments,” and he ended up meeting with an advisory firm. Of course, they had a pitch on why he should let them manage his assets, etc… He commented that he was not interested but thought he would run it by me. So he sent me their brochure to review.
I got a kick out of his email. I pictured him on his vacation stuck in a conference room with these FA types, wondering how got there and how he could get out. He probably asked himself, “Can I just get up and leave? How can I make sure this never happens again?” Maybe it wasn’t bad, but he must have realized at some point that this was a total waste of his time.
In virtually all of these meetings, advisory firms will tell you some variation of the following:
- “You are doing some things correct.” (They don’t want to insult you.)
- “We like passive investments too.” (Sometimes they will spin this and say a combination of passive and active investments will enhance your portfolio.)
- “You are overweighted in XXXXXXXX asset class.”
- “We can enhance your diversification.”
- “Our expertise will take advantage of market opportunities, etc…”
And there will be some other comments too about how you can gain from working with them. However, meeting with a financial advisor is often unneeded, and usually you will be better off doing one of these activities instead:
- Binge watching something on Netflix (I recommend both seasons of Ozark, but I like everything Jason Bateman is in – likely a man crush);
- Going to a restaurant for a nice dinner—or just Subway or McDonald’s;
- Exercising: walking, running, conquering an obstacle course, swimming;
- Scuba diving (or your favorite hobby);
- Sitting in a chair and staring at the wall (this is likely more productive);
- Cleaning something you have never cleaned before, like the vents (you will be proud of this when you are done);
- Telling them that you charge $200 per hour for your time with no guarantee that you will invest with them.
I am an advisor, but I would only meet with a financial advisor if I had to!
BTW, my client sent me this after reading my response.
