Be cautious where you seek advice. Expertise is not transferable. If you have cancer you don’t go to a cardiologist.
Seems like a simple concept but smart people frequently seek counsel from unworthy sources.
Consider JCPenney appointing Ron Johnson as CEO. Johnson is brilliant. Johnson is so cool. He was the VP of Merchandising for Target before pioneering the Apple Retail Stores concept. Johnson was hired to transform JCPenney. And he did, from a market capitalization of $6.84 billion to a paltry $3.49 billion…losing more than 50% of the company’s value. Johnson is a merchandising expert but he wasn’t a competent CEO. His expertise didn’t transfer to JCPenney’s situation.
Investors should likewise be cautious when seeking investment advice. Competent attorneys and accountants may not be knowledgeable about investments. Real estate investors may not be competent in securities. Bond strategists may not understand the dynamics of option trading.
As a young investor, I couldn’t afford competent advice. I didn’t have enough money to attract top talent. The financial planners and investment advisors that sought me out had less knowledge and a lower net worth than I did. They weren’t advisors, they were salesmen. They knew how to build client relationships but for the most part had no idea about building wealth.
I resisted the sale prodding and decided to learn how to invest my own money. As my net worth grew, so did the appeals from financial advisors. The pattern continued, I was always one step ahead of the talent that I could afford. I had more investment knowledge and a higher net worth than the salesmen that were courting me.
Seeing a void in the marketplace, I founded Investable Wealth, LLC as an alternative to “relationship” firms. Our business model is not based on personality, we actively manage investment portfolios to help our client’s build wealth.