Nobody Knows Anything

Quick note: I’m purposely keeping these first posts general in nature. As time goes on, I’ll get more and more specific. For now, I have a lot of information I want to get posted, so you, clients and potential clients, know exactly where I’m coming from when I answer your questions.

A former client used to visit the office regularly, always asking, “So, Vince, what does your crystal ball tell you?” I’d usually roll my eyes, shake my head, and respond with something like, “I threw my crystal ball against the wall a long time ago because it was a useless piece of garbage.”

He’d then furrow his brow and ask, “Well, why are you my financial advisor?”

I share this story because, unfortunately, many people think that just because I work in finance, I can predict the future. I can’t. Nobody knows anything, and my job is to constantly remind people of that fact.

So, what exactly do we do? First and foremost, we make sure that your financial goals and priorities are achieved in the most effective way possible. It won’t always be perfect because life is full of trade-offs, and what’s important today might not be important tomorrow.

We can’t predict which investments will outperform in the short or long term, which is why we own as much as we can and invest according to your tolerance for risk. Sometimes we’ll look like geniuses; other times, not so much. But because markets go up more often than they go down, we stay the course.

The most important thing we do? We keep you on track. There will be times when fear makes you want to sell everything - think 2008 or the COVID crash - and times when greed tempts you to chase the latest fad - think tech stocks or cryptocurrency booms. Our job is to keep you grounded, reminding you that your crystal ball (like mine) is a piece of garbage.

No matter how compelling the pitch, there is no crystal ball you can buy. Nobody can consistently outsmart the market, and that’s why we focus on sticking to whatever your plan is, through hell or high water.