I agree that sometimes we need people to protect us from ourselves. The problem is often they continue to protect us and never teach us! Once someone decides to learn something for themselves they do become their best advisor even without the full extent of knowledge or experience from a professional. It’s nearly impossible to have two people’s interest purely aligned.

-Bill

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I was hoping you would drop by this week. To be honest, I struggled with the title a bit. Glad to see it is making people read the article. You know, I certainly agree with everything you said. It’s hard to argue with it. I have read a lot about how we just aren’t “wired” to make intelligent investment decisions. And finding a trustworthy financial advisor is a smart move for someone that wants to invest their money wisely. All great points! I really appreciate you dropping by and sharing your wisdom in a lengthy comment.

Cheers,
Jeremy

P.S. Oftentimes we do need other people to protect us from ourselves, not just in finances, but in everything…

The best way to frame the question, “Should I be my own advisor?” is with a question that is outside of ourselves…

Instead, we should ask, “If someone came to me asking where to find an investment advisor or financial planner, would I recommend ME as that investment advisor or financial planner?”

In other words, would you recommend YOU as an advisor?

I must admit, I have a bias in this area because I am an investment advisor and financial planner. I can say with experience that my number one job in that role is to protect my clients from themselves.

Left to our own emotional tendencies, we are often tempted to act in an almost opposite way that is in our best interests. The “average” investor will buy stocks when they are high and sell stocks when they are low; they will follow one step behind “the investor herd” when it is more prudent to be one step ahead; and they will perceive risk as low when real risk is high and perceive risk as high when real risk is low.

Put simply, our brains are not “wired” to be good investors. Money is an object that evokes emotion and emotion does not always lead us in a rational direction…

“The emotions aren’t always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action.” ~ William James

“All know the way. Few actually walk it.” ~ Bodhidharma

Great post, by the way…

I agree. Delegation is so important. You can’t be totally clueless or you will have the wool pulled over your eyes. But when you know enough to pick a good planner, that is all you need. Trust is a huge factor too. I think it would be hard to trust her if you didn’t have a certain foundational understanding of investing.
Id be interested in talking to you more about this topic. Maybe have you guest post about this if you are interested?

Cheers,
Jeremy

We check in with each other about every six months and everyone’s happy.

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Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

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Don’t forget to figure out who is wiser and smarter than you in investments and listen to their advice as well. The key is knowing who they are.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Another great financial post. A while back when I took the initiative to learn about investing on my own, I quickly learned that the mainstream “wisdom” was actually a bunch of bs. I remember hearing my father and his friends discuss investment advice at family parties, and thinking to myself “Wow, these guys don’t know anything.”

As with anything else in life, it’s important that people actively seek the truth in their area of interest in order to get the best results possible. Investing is no exception this this rule.

Thanks for the great article! I know that when I do start investing again, I’ll be taking my own advice.

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