Most of us have experienced being in a boat believing we are traveling in a straight line towards our destination. If someone were standing on the land, however, they might see that we are veering off one way or the other. The perspective that we have from shore is much different than the one when we are actually on the water. The same is true when we consider broad financial issues such as saving and investing. The perspective we have when we are caught up in the day to day market noise is different than what we see standing back a few steps.

Investing, for all the hoopla, is really just a way to fund something that you desire at some point in the future. It should have a specific purpose- to provide income during retirement; to fund education expenses; to buy a new house, etc. The proper perspective is from the time the objective is achieved, not at the time the investments are being made. What we see, on a day to day basis (from the water) is not what we see with a broader, longer perspective. From there, all the market noise is largely irrelevant as long as we are doing what we need in terms of inputs (saving).

Our role with clients is to provide perspective and help clients remember why they are investing in the first place. The recent spikes (a colleague calls them wiggles) in day to day volatility in the stock market brought home an important lesson. For the main, our clients have been very patient and focused on the future as we would expect. We did have a few that expressed concern and we provided reassurance that this time was no different than previous periods in the market. What I noticed, however, was that some of those with anxiety were clients that have struggled with the philosophy or perhaps have never fully understood financial market science. This article by Keith Weber, "Are We Ever Satisfied?", discusses how people tend to worry that they do not have enough for retirement, even if they have been saving responsibly for years. That is one reason we use forums like this to help continuously educate clients and others since we know our approach is different than what the pundits on TV preach each day

Our reason for being in business is to challenge the short term, product oriented financial services system and provide our clients a superior alternative through unbiased advice. We are happy to meet with your friends and colleagues. Don't keep us a secret.

  - James E. Wilson, CFP®