This post was originally written on March 16, 2011, a little over a year ago. As the title indicates, perspective is important. I hope you find this helpful to consider.
As I sit at my desk, with spring beginning to arrive in Farmington Hills, MI, it is hard not to think about world events and their impact on the financial markets.
The horrific events in Japan, both nature and nuclear, are profoundly sad and scary. The events in the Middle East over the past months may be very positive, resulting in increased democracy and freedom for many, but could result in oil disruptions.
Neither of these series of major events could have been predicted on January 1, as 2011 began. As no one could have predicted these events, no one could have made investment decisions based on these events occurring.
Which leads to one of our basic investment tenets: we focus and plan for our clients, for the long term. While we recognize that there are many issues and problems in our country, and throughout the world, we try to assist our clients by keeping a long term perspective. While the events of today are important, they should not control or even impact your financial goals, which may be decades into the future.
As we plan, we are realistic, but optimistic about the future. Our country, and the world for that matter, has proven to be very resilient, if viewed by years or decades, and not day to day. For any time period you select, challenges were faced. Thus, we structure your portfolio with safe, fixed investments for the short term or to provide a foundation of current cash flow, and with stocks to provide growth for the longer term.
We plan for our clients when we begin to work with them. We develop an Investment Policy with them. Then, at times like this, or during 2008-09, we are here to talk to them, if they desire. That is key. By talking about the financial markets and what is going on in the world, we help our clients to keep a long-term perspective, which really means they are able to keep their long term strategy in place (and not panic). That is key to helping their investment experience to be positive, so they will have the comfort and security to know that we are helping them move toward reaching their financial goals.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
From Lottery Tickets to Real FInancial Planning
Except for three lucky lottery ticket holders this weekend, for the rest of us, real financial planning and wealth management is still a very important priority.
Our goal for our clients is to help them achieve a sense of financial comfort and security. For each client, this may mean something very unique and different. Our objective is to assist them in making good financial decisions, allocating their investments properly and working with them over time, so that they will be able to handle the volatility (the ups and downs) of the stock market.
While winning hundreds of millions of dollars Friday night sounded great, the reality is that your financial success will be the result of a few key decisions that you make over the course of your lifetime. Note that I did not state many decisions, but a few key decisions.
These key decisions may include:
Some of the benefits that our clients receive, or they have told us they have received, are:
Are there any key decisions you could make today, other than buying a lottery ticket, that will have a significant impact on your financial life, 10, 20 or 30 years from now?
Our goal for our clients is to help them achieve a sense of financial comfort and security. For each client, this may mean something very unique and different. Our objective is to assist them in making good financial decisions, allocating their investments properly and working with them over time, so that they will be able to handle the volatility (the ups and downs) of the stock market.
While winning hundreds of millions of dollars Friday night sounded great, the reality is that your financial success will be the result of a few key decisions that you make over the course of your lifetime. Note that I did not state many decisions, but a few key decisions.
These key decisions may include:
- Having a proper team of advisers, including a financial advisor and an estate planning attorney.
- The spending decisions you make, particularly on how much to spend on your house, cars and vacations. Are you living within your means and saving money on a regular basis?
- Deciding to stick with an investment plan, or jumping in and out of the stock market, because you are scared or can't handle the ups and downs in the short term. For example, if you got out of the stock market during 2008 or 2009, or during the summer of 2011, those may have seemed liked good decisions at the time. However, they were probably not decisions that in the long run were in your best financial interest.
Some of the benefits that our clients receive, or they have told us they have received, are:
- Less financially related stress, as they know that they have a good long-term investment plan in place and a team of advisers they can talk to.
- An investment plan that includes minimizing your taxes in a very effective manner.
- A real understanding of the high costs of their investments. When we begin to work with clients, many are very surprised about the true cost of their previous investments, which they were not fully aware of. We can almost always reduce this cost.
- A lot less mail, and thus, less time that they have to spend dealing with their investments.
- Knowing that they have a wealth management firm that has the client's interest as a priority, which comes ahead of the firm's financial interest (we actually have a legal obligation to put the client's interest first, which not all financial advisory firms can say or do).
Are there any key decisions you could make today, other than buying a lottery ticket, that will have a significant impact on your financial life, 10, 20 or 30 years from now?
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A Tribute to Jeff Zaslow
He is a father. A husband. A terrific writer and storyteller. A mentor to many. A kind and witty person.
That was yesterday. Today, Jeff Zaslow is gone. The result of a tragic auto accident.
It makes no sense. The one who so beautifully told the world so many lessons of how to live, by capturing the thoughts of Randy Pausch, himself has died at far too young an age.
I met Jeff a number of times. I heard him speak and would see him at the grocery store. He thanked me for being a loyal and paying Wall Street Journal print customer, years before the digital world. And he truly meant it. He said without people paying for journalists, they would not be able to tell the stories that should be told.
Jeff became famous for telling the story of Randy Pausch, first by writing in the Journal about Pausch's "Last Lecture," then writing the book of the same title. But a key part to this story is that it was Jeff's own initiative and instincts that enabled that story to be told. The Journal did not pay for him to fly to attend Pausch's speech. Jeff was determined, and had the journalist's sense, that this was a story that would be too important to miss. So he drove many hours, attended the lecture, and wrote an article, which resulted in the book which has affected and touched so many lives.
For me, the "Last Lecture" became even more meaningful when I re-read it over two summers with my then 11-12 year old daughter. We would sit on our favorite place on the reading couch, and read a few pages or a chapter at a time. We would have great and meaningful discussions about life, overcoming challenges and obstacles, and her goals and dreams. Through Randy's lessons, and Jeff's writing, my daughter and I grew so much closer.
I had just returned to Detroit after spending a week out of town, visiting with clients and prospective clients, when I heard the tragic news about Jeff. I had a great week, talking with these families and listening to them. We discussed their dreams, concerns, family backgrounds and shared many great meals. We talked mostly about the future. How we would help them to live and enjoy the future. And then the future became so immediate and crushingly quick to an end.
We all have to plan for the future....and hope that we are lucky to be able to live and enjoy it. It seems to be such a fragile balance at times.
So today I feel so much sadness for Jeff's family, for his wife and his three daughters. Like Randy Pausch, Jeff will have left them a great legacy, but one that is inexplicably too short.
That was yesterday. Today, Jeff Zaslow is gone. The result of a tragic auto accident.
It makes no sense. The one who so beautifully told the world so many lessons of how to live, by capturing the thoughts of Randy Pausch, himself has died at far too young an age.
I met Jeff a number of times. I heard him speak and would see him at the grocery store. He thanked me for being a loyal and paying Wall Street Journal print customer, years before the digital world. And he truly meant it. He said without people paying for journalists, they would not be able to tell the stories that should be told.
Jeff became famous for telling the story of Randy Pausch, first by writing in the Journal about Pausch's "Last Lecture," then writing the book of the same title. But a key part to this story is that it was Jeff's own initiative and instincts that enabled that story to be told. The Journal did not pay for him to fly to attend Pausch's speech. Jeff was determined, and had the journalist's sense, that this was a story that would be too important to miss. So he drove many hours, attended the lecture, and wrote an article, which resulted in the book which has affected and touched so many lives.
For me, the "Last Lecture" became even more meaningful when I re-read it over two summers with my then 11-12 year old daughter. We would sit on our favorite place on the reading couch, and read a few pages or a chapter at a time. We would have great and meaningful discussions about life, overcoming challenges and obstacles, and her goals and dreams. Through Randy's lessons, and Jeff's writing, my daughter and I grew so much closer.
I had just returned to Detroit after spending a week out of town, visiting with clients and prospective clients, when I heard the tragic news about Jeff. I had a great week, talking with these families and listening to them. We discussed their dreams, concerns, family backgrounds and shared many great meals. We talked mostly about the future. How we would help them to live and enjoy the future. And then the future became so immediate and crushingly quick to an end.
We all have to plan for the future....and hope that we are lucky to be able to live and enjoy it. It seems to be such a fragile balance at times.
So today I feel so much sadness for Jeff's family, for his wife and his three daughters. Like Randy Pausch, Jeff will have left them a great legacy, but one that is inexplicably too short.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What We Learned in January 2012
• Markets continue to surprise analysts, which is why we do not think that Wall Street forecasters add value. The major US markets were up in January, 2012, with their best January in 15 years. Few people would have predicted these gains. As we focus on the long term, the stock allocations of our clients benefited.
• Foreign markets did better than US markets in January 2012. This is the opposite of what occurred during 2011. This further shows that stock markets cannot be accurately forecasted on a consistent basis.
• During numerous meetings with prospective clients, we saw examples of portfolios that were not even close to being properly diversified. We also saw many illiquid holdings, where these people could not readily access their funds. Other brokers had placed them into investments which may take months or years to get their money. We have never recommended such investments. Liquidity and flexibility are important.
• Almost 60% of the US large companies that have reported earnings in 2012 have exceeded their forecasts. The economy and companies continue to be resilient, despite ongoing world economic problems and political uncertainty.
• We continue to learn in many ways, both live and through technology. Keith attended a national conference in Arizona. Via Twitter, Brad closely followed many of the sessions that were held during the AICPA Personal Financial Planning conference.
• Watching the movie "Moneyball" reminded me of when I read the book, when it was first published. The theme of both the book and movie, as well as our investment philosophy, is that it is hard or impossible to predict which baseball players (or stocks) will be successful in the future. Acquiring baseball players that few want (they are like out of favor stocks) can be cheaper and can provide a greater return on your investment. Moneyball is the baseball equivalent of "value investing," which is a key component of our investment philosophy.
• Foreign markets did better than US markets in January 2012. This is the opposite of what occurred during 2011. This further shows that stock markets cannot be accurately forecasted on a consistent basis.
• During numerous meetings with prospective clients, we saw examples of portfolios that were not even close to being properly diversified. We also saw many illiquid holdings, where these people could not readily access their funds. Other brokers had placed them into investments which may take months or years to get their money. We have never recommended such investments. Liquidity and flexibility are important.
• Almost 60% of the US large companies that have reported earnings in 2012 have exceeded their forecasts. The economy and companies continue to be resilient, despite ongoing world economic problems and political uncertainty.
• We continue to learn in many ways, both live and through technology. Keith attended a national conference in Arizona. Via Twitter, Brad closely followed many of the sessions that were held during the AICPA Personal Financial Planning conference.
• Watching the movie "Moneyball" reminded me of when I read the book, when it was first published. The theme of both the book and movie, as well as our investment philosophy, is that it is hard or impossible to predict which baseball players (or stocks) will be successful in the future. Acquiring baseball players that few want (they are like out of favor stocks) can be cheaper and can provide a greater return on your investment. Moneyball is the baseball equivalent of "value investing," which is a key component of our investment philosophy.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Book Review: The Behavior Gap
The Behavior Gap, by Carl Richards
If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then the sketches drawn by Carl Richards are certainly valuable. Richards' newly published book, “The Behavior Gap,” is even more valuable and highly worthwhile reading.
Richards has created a very unique and elegantly simple way of conveying financial thoughts by drawing sketches, using a Sharpie pen. These sketches are featured in weekly blog posts in The New York Times. Richards is a financial planner based in Utah.
In The Behavior Gap, Richards has done an excellent job of combining numerous sketches with a very forthright narrative of financial topics and life lessons. The book is well written and full of excellent advice, a lot of which is much deeper and more meaningful than they initially appear.
Richards clearly writes about topics ranging from the importance of the process of financial planning, as opposed to getting a thick financial plan, to happiness, money, and great conversations, and how all of these are so interrelated.
Richards writes: “Simplicity is both beautiful and functional. And yet, people are often disappointed when I propose a simple solution to their investment or financial planning problems. Such solutions can often be reduced to a simple calculation on the back of a napkin… Our attraction to complexity distorts the way we approach our financial goals. The simple options that have the largest impact and your financial success require discipline, patience, and hard work.”
We have a number of Carl's framed prints in our office already. This book will be a valuable addition to accompany those sketches.
If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then the sketches drawn by Carl Richards are certainly valuable. Richards' newly published book, “The Behavior Gap,” is even more valuable and highly worthwhile reading.
Richards has created a very unique and elegantly simple way of conveying financial thoughts by drawing sketches, using a Sharpie pen. These sketches are featured in weekly blog posts in The New York Times. Richards is a financial planner based in Utah.
In The Behavior Gap, Richards has done an excellent job of combining numerous sketches with a very forthright narrative of financial topics and life lessons. The book is well written and full of excellent advice, a lot of which is much deeper and more meaningful than they initially appear.
Richards clearly writes about topics ranging from the importance of the process of financial planning, as opposed to getting a thick financial plan, to happiness, money, and great conversations, and how all of these are so interrelated.
Richards writes: “Simplicity is both beautiful and functional. And yet, people are often disappointed when I propose a simple solution to their investment or financial planning problems. Such solutions can often be reduced to a simple calculation on the back of a napkin… Our attraction to complexity distorts the way we approach our financial goals. The simple options that have the largest impact and your financial success require discipline, patience, and hard work.”
We have a number of Carl's framed prints in our office already. This book will be a valuable addition to accompany those sketches.
Friday, December 23, 2011
How a Financial Advisor Can Add Value
These are some of the ways that we provided value for our clients during 2011:
• Listened. We have listened and talked with them, to help them handle the volatility of the stock markets. As a result, they have been able to maintain their investment plans, which will benefit them in the long run.
• Listened. We have listened and talked with them, to help them handle the volatility of the stock markets. As a result, they have been able to maintain their investment plans, which will benefit them in the long run.
• We have adhered to our cornerstone investment fundamentals: recommending globally diversified stock portfolios, holding very high quality fixed income investments, focusing on asset allocation, and the use of Investment Policy Statements.
• We have rebalanced our client portfolios throughout the year, focusing on the discipline of buying asset classes when they are low and selling them when they are higher. Similarly, we have done tax loss selling throughout the year, as applicable, not just at year end.
As we have strong CPA backgrounds, we have provided financial advice about many topics to our clients, such as:
• We have advised numerous clients on various aspects of their mortgage refinancing decisions, so they could take advantage of historical low interest rates.
• Made recommendations for our clients’ 401(k) plan investments, as we consider those retirement assets part of their overall investment portfolio.
• Assisted clients with college tuition planning, which ranged from evaluating section 529 plan decisions and investment options, to advising grandparents who wanted to make major prepaid contributions.
• Advised a number of clients on significant Roth conversions, which will have huge long-term benefits for these individuals, as well as future generations of their families.
• Helped a number of clients with charitable planning, including the planning, establishment and investing for charitable family foundations. These will benefit both the families now, as well as numerous charities in the future.
• Required minimum distribution planning, for clients who are older than 70 ½, who are required to take distributions from their various retirement accounts.
Other things we have done, which benefit our clients:
• We have attended numerous national conferences, as well as participate in biweekly peer group phone conversations with fellow advisors, to learn, share ideas and become better advisors.
• Read. We are voracious readers, of everything from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, both in paper and digital forms, as well as trade publications, books, blogs, Twitter and podcasts. We are continuously reading and learning.
• Blogging and Twitter: this will be the 28th blog post that I have written during 2011. Writing blog posts is a great way for us to communicate our thoughts and views on a timely basis, which we hope is valuable to our clients and prospects. Brad is also very active on Twitter, which is a terrific way for us to communicate with others, both in terms of sharing information that we find valuable, as well as connecting with numerous people throughout the country that we learn from every day.
Part of our core investment philosophy is recognizing that we do not have a “crystal ball” and cannot predict the future. We focus on what we can control, to the best of our ability, on behalf of our clients.
• As financial advisors, our guiding principle is to provide our clients with a greater sense of comfort and security, so they can enjoy and focus on the other aspects of their life.
We are truly appreciative for our clients and the many referrals that we have received in 2011, as our firm has continued to grow. We hope that you and your family have a very enjoyable holiday season and that 2012 brings you good health and happiness!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Investing: Can an Advisor Add Value?
Do you want this person/fund to manage your money? Is this the right fund for you?
Resume:
After his great track record and much publicity, his fund was in the 98th or 99th percentile in 4 out of the last 5 calendar years, through 2010. Through October, 2011, his fund is in the 82nd percentile. (per Morningstar data).
How can someone who is so "good," then become so unsuccessful?
This is a key question, which every investor must consider, in determining their advisor and investment philosophy. Was Miller lucky? Did he lose his touch? How do you know if your advisor or mutual fund manager will do the same?
Understanding what occurred with this fund, and how common this inconsistency in mutual fund performance is, is the basis for one of the fundamental investment philosophies that we adhere to. We recommend this strategy for your investment success, over a long period of time.
To describe the different philosphies, Bill Miller picked stocks for his fund that he thought were "value" stocks. He believes in active investing; that he could identify the best stocks to own that were undervalued. We believe that no one has the ability to consistently identify fund or money managers that can outperform a respective benchmark, over a very long period of time. Thus, we adhere to a "passive" strategy, which means that we recommend a very globally diversified set of stock mutual funds that hold a set of stocks in each "asset class," without making predictions or claiming to have a crystal ball.
It would have been very reasonable in 2000 or 2005 to put money into Bill Miller's fund, based on his past track record. Let's see how his fund did, and compare it to one of the funds that we use, in a similar asset class. Bill's fund is a large company value fund, so we will compare it to Dimensional Fund Advisor's (DFA)US Large Cap Value III fund (DFUVX).
For the 10 years ended 11/29/11, $10,000 invested would have grown as follows (per Morningstar.com):
Other Conclusions:
The Lost Decade: There has been much written about how the past 10 years ended in 2010 were considered the "lost decade," where investors made no money. This was true for many investors. While the figures above are for the 10 years ended in November 2011, the DFA US Large Value fund was very profitable over this period. This shows the importance of diversification and owning more than just the S&P 500 as the basis of your portfolio.
Costs and expenses:
We believe to be most successful, you should focus on the things that you can control. Thus, evaluating mutual fund expense fees should be an important part of your investment approach.
Bill Miller's fund charged various up-front fees, depending on which "class" of the fund that an investor used. None of the funds that we recommend charge such fees.
The annual expense ratio of Miller's fund is 1.75%. This means that each year, the fund subtracts 1.75% in fees, from whatever the actual performance is. The comparable DFA fund that we utilize, DFUVX charges .14%, one of the lowest expense ratios in the industry, for this fund category.
There are many other lessons to be gained from reviewing the experience of this fund and this fund manager, as well as carefully evaluating most mutual funds, or your own investment portfolio.
Important notes: The above examples are illustrative only. No one fund should constitute an investment portfolio. The above figures do not include an investment advisory fee, which our firm charges, separate from mutual fund fees. Legg Mason's fund would have charged a load, which is not included in this information.
Sources: Morningstar website, 11/30/11; article by Weston Wellington, Dimensional Fund Advisors, dated 11/29/11
Resume:
- Beat the S & P 500 every calendar year from 1991-2005
- Named "Portfolio Manager of the Decade" in 1999 by Morningstar
- Barron's included him on its "All-Century Team" in 1999
- Fortune Magazine desribed him as "one of the greatest investors of our time" in 2006 profile
- And then there is this fact: For the five year period ending December 31, 2010, this fund was LAST among 1,187 US large cap stock funds, as tracked by Morningstar.
After his great track record and much publicity, his fund was in the 98th or 99th percentile in 4 out of the last 5 calendar years, through 2010. Through October, 2011, his fund is in the 82nd percentile. (per Morningstar data).
How can someone who is so "good," then become so unsuccessful?
This is a key question, which every investor must consider, in determining their advisor and investment philosophy. Was Miller lucky? Did he lose his touch? How do you know if your advisor or mutual fund manager will do the same?
Understanding what occurred with this fund, and how common this inconsistency in mutual fund performance is, is the basis for one of the fundamental investment philosophies that we adhere to. We recommend this strategy for your investment success, over a long period of time.
To describe the different philosphies, Bill Miller picked stocks for his fund that he thought were "value" stocks. He believes in active investing; that he could identify the best stocks to own that were undervalued. We believe that no one has the ability to consistently identify fund or money managers that can outperform a respective benchmark, over a very long period of time. Thus, we adhere to a "passive" strategy, which means that we recommend a very globally diversified set of stock mutual funds that hold a set of stocks in each "asset class," without making predictions or claiming to have a crystal ball.
It would have been very reasonable in 2000 or 2005 to put money into Bill Miller's fund, based on his past track record. Let's see how his fund did, and compare it to one of the funds that we use, in a similar asset class. Bill's fund is a large company value fund, so we will compare it to Dimensional Fund Advisor's (DFA)US Large Cap Value III fund (DFUVX).
For the 10 years ended 11/29/11, $10,000 invested would have grown as follows (per Morningstar.com):
- Legg Mason Fund: $8,363 (a loss of $1,637)
- DFA US Large Value $15,388 (a gain of $5,388)
- Vanguard S&P 500 $12,627 (a gain of $2,627)
Other Conclusions:
The Lost Decade: There has been much written about how the past 10 years ended in 2010 were considered the "lost decade," where investors made no money. This was true for many investors. While the figures above are for the 10 years ended in November 2011, the DFA US Large Value fund was very profitable over this period. This shows the importance of diversification and owning more than just the S&P 500 as the basis of your portfolio.
Costs and expenses:
We believe to be most successful, you should focus on the things that you can control. Thus, evaluating mutual fund expense fees should be an important part of your investment approach.
Bill Miller's fund charged various up-front fees, depending on which "class" of the fund that an investor used. None of the funds that we recommend charge such fees.
The annual expense ratio of Miller's fund is 1.75%. This means that each year, the fund subtracts 1.75% in fees, from whatever the actual performance is. The comparable DFA fund that we utilize, DFUVX charges .14%, one of the lowest expense ratios in the industry, for this fund category.
There are many other lessons to be gained from reviewing the experience of this fund and this fund manager, as well as carefully evaluating most mutual funds, or your own investment portfolio.
Important notes: The above examples are illustrative only. No one fund should constitute an investment portfolio. The above figures do not include an investment advisory fee, which our firm charges, separate from mutual fund fees. Legg Mason's fund would have charged a load, which is not included in this information.
Sources: Morningstar website, 11/30/11; article by Weston Wellington, Dimensional Fund Advisors, dated 11/29/11
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