Choosing the Right Financial Advisor | Part One: Work with Someone You Trust

Unfiltered Finance

As financial professionals, we’re often asked one simple question: “do you know what I should buy right now?” In truth, we don’t believe it’s possible to successfully predict market behaviors most of the time. But, we do believe that a qualified financial advisor can help you devise a plan for long-term success. In this episode of Unfiltered Finance, our own Tom Romano, Head of Strategic Relationships and Product Development, is joined by Symmetry’s Michael Storer, Senior Regional Director, and a financial advisor from our sister firm, Apella Wealth, Peter Leppones, CFP®, to answer a more important question: “what should you consider when choosing a financial advisor?”

If you have any questions or would like more information, reach out to us at https://symmetrypartners.com/contact-us/

You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As always, we remain invested in your goals.

Symmetry Partners, LLC, is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered, excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission. No one should assume that future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, product or non-investment related content made reference to directly or indirectly in this material will be profitable. As with any investment strategy, there is the possibility of profitability as well as loss. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may not be reflective of current opinions or positions. Please note the material is provided for educational and background use only. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this material serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice. Transcript:

00:00:01.900 --> 00:00:07.400 Hello and

1 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.700 welcome to unfiltered Finance. I'm your host Tom romano.

2 00:00:10.700 --> 00:00:13.300 And thank you for joining us this episode today. We

3 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:17.000 are talking about choosing the right financial advisor and

4 00:00:16.200 --> 00:00:19.400 I have the perfect guests for this topic

5 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:22.300 joining us here today first and foremost Mike

6 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.600 store who is a senior Regional director

7 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.100 at symmetry Partners. I asked Mike to be

8 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:31.700 on the podcast because he works with thousands of financial advisors across

9 00:00:31.700 --> 00:00:34.200 the country. He knows which ones

10 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:37.200 are doing the appropriate job and due diligence and

11 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.200 planning for their clients and the others who might be dare. I

12 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.500 say fake it Mike faking it and of

13 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:47.800 course a long time friend of mine Mr. Peter loponis

14 00:00:47.800 --> 00:00:50.900 who's a certified financial planner and financial advisor

15 00:00:50.900 --> 00:00:53.100 with Apollo wealth and happens to be

16 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:56.200 my personal financial planner. So gentlemen, thank you both for joining

17 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.600 us here today. You're welcome, Tom. Thanks Tom. Great to be here. I thought

18 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.600 this was appropriate topic for us to discuss.

19 00:01:01.900 --> 00:01:04.500 you know coming out of the pandemic I travel a

20 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:07.400 lot for business and I've been on many planes

21 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:10.400 over the last few months and you know, whether it's an

22 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:11.100 airport or

23 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.200 Are sitting next to someone on a plane and just bring

24 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.000 up some small talk and people understand

25 00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:21.300 that I'm working in the financial services a business.

26 00:01:21.300 --> 00:01:25.000 And the first question. I always get is got any

27 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.300 tips. What should I be buying? What

28 00:01:27.300 --> 00:01:31.000 should I be selling? Right? It's a very common question and for

29 00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:33.100 years, my response has always been and I'm

30 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:36.400 a firm believer of this is the best advice I can give anyone in

31 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:39.300 that moment is to work with

32 00:01:39.300 --> 00:01:42.300 someone you trust financial planner financial

33 00:01:42.300 --> 00:01:46.300 advisor that's working in a fiduciary capacity. I

34 00:01:45.300 --> 00:01:48.300 have a number of reasons why I say that but

35 00:01:48.300 --> 00:01:51.700 Mike I'd love to hear it from your perspective. Why should

36 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.300 investors people planning for

37 00:01:54.300 --> 00:01:57.300 retirement or for any other Financial need be working

38 00:01:57.300 --> 00:02:00.100 with a financial professional? That's a great question.

39 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:03.100 I think you hit on it at the in your opening

40 00:02:03.100 --> 00:02:04.100 remarks Tom is that

41 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:05.200 You know.

42 00:02:06.300 --> 00:02:09.300 Having traveled the country for many

43 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:14.300 years working with a number of different types of advisors and meeting

44 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:16.900 with clients at the same time, you know clients have

45 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:19.200 different desperate needs in terms of when it

46 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:22.100 comes to financial Financial advice so they can

47 00:02:22.100 --> 00:02:25.100 certainly learn about it on on a website if they

48 00:02:25.100 --> 00:02:28.500 want to but I found that especially the

49 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:31.900 best advisors are working working with

50 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.400 clients and from that

51 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.300 perspective. I know who these advisors are.

52 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.500 And I know they're doing a great job for their clients. And for me,

53 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.400 the one thing that comes to mind besides everything

54 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:46.100 else at a financial advisor does because I think about it in

55 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:49.600 my own world is comfort and peace of mind, right? There's lots

56 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:51.400 of different moving Parts when it comes to planning.

57 00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:55.500 And and what you're going to do with your money for the long term and even myself

58 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.200 being in this business, I worry about am I making

59 00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:01.900 the right decisions? So I think a lot of it comes down

60 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.400 to peace of mind and comfort. I think that that's high

61 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.300 level. There's a lot of you can drill down from there

62 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.900 but I think for most clients if you think about it, it's getting that

63 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:13.400 pressure off of you and bringing a

64 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.500 professional and to make sure that you're meeting your life goals, whatever those might

65 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:19.400 be sure. No, absolutely. I think what I'm hearing you say, I

66 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:23.100 hear things like planning and long-term and Peter

67 00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:25.700 I'll shift over to you. So

68 00:03:25.700 --> 00:03:28.400 what I'm hearing Mike say and I loved for you to plan

69 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.400 on this when someone asks me got any tips,

70 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:32.700 why is that the wrong question?

71 00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:35.200 well, I think

72 00:03:36.700 --> 00:03:39.500 the answer they're looking for everyone wants something

73 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:42.600 that's exciting and and sexy that

74 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:43.200 they can tell.

75 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.500 Their friends. I think you've used the term water cooler alpha or

76 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:50.900 Golf Course Alpha everyone thinks somehow because we're

77 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:53.600 sitting here on the inside. We're insiders. We've

78 00:03:53.600 --> 00:03:56.600 got more information than than they do

79 00:03:56.600 --> 00:03:59.300 as as retail investors, but

80 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.600 that's just not the case and and it's not about

81 00:04:02.600 --> 00:04:05.200 hitting that home run with the stock because

82 00:04:05.200 --> 00:04:08.500 if you're gonna be picking individual stocks, there's gonna

83 00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:11.300 be some home runs in there, but there's got to be some singles and

84 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:14.500 doubles there's gonna be some losers too. It just

85 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:18.000 it's gonna happen statistically, but when

86 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:20.600 we talk about a plan and what

87 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.700 it can do for you long term the sense of confidence

88 00:04:23.700 --> 00:04:26.300 that it's going to give you. That's what you really need. Hey, it's

89 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.300 great to be able to say Jesus I bought in at this stock when when it

90 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:32.500 was at 10 and it went to a hundred and in two years. It's a

91 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:33.700 great story, but

92 00:04:35.200 --> 00:04:38.500 Is better to have a sense of confidence and comfort with your

93 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:41.200 plan and with your financial outcomes, and that's why

94 00:04:41.200 --> 00:04:44.500 sitting down and taking the time to go through a plan with a

95 00:04:44.500 --> 00:04:47.100 cfp with someone who's a fiduciary is really in your

96 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.400 best interest versus getting that that hot stock tip.

97 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:53.100 Yeah, I would agree. The one thing that

98 00:04:53.100 --> 00:04:56.200 I always comes to mind when someone says got any tips the first

99 00:04:56.200 --> 00:04:59.700 thing I'm thinking well if I had some I wouldn't tell you I'd keep

100 00:04:59.700 --> 00:05:02.300 it all for myself, right? There's wildly more Capital

101 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:06.600 to be to be earned when you keep those secrets to yourself right quick

102 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.100 short story. Tom and

103 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:11.400 Peter. My son is out in gainfully employed

104 00:05:11.400 --> 00:05:14.600 in the Working World now and he has a little bit of money and he

105 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.700 asked me about a year ago a year and a half ago to Dad what

106 00:05:17.700 --> 00:05:20.700 stocks should I pick? And so I immediately opened

107 00:05:20.700 --> 00:05:24.300 up the Barron's journal and

108 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:27.200 I just looked at the stocks to pick now I said, hey, you

109 00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:30.100 know, if you want to buy some technology, here's a bunch of Technology names. I said,

110 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.400 you know, the market has been involved, but if you want to buy stocks, here's a

111 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:34.800 couple of names that you can just

112 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:39.500 Your portfolio. So of course he did that on my advice and

113 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:41.300 then about a year later. He

114 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:44.400 was blaming me because I'm the one that picked the stocks from in the

115 00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:45.000 stocks were Downs.

116 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.600 I just thought that was kind of interesting because it I did

117 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.400 exactly the opposite of what I should have said to him right in terms

118 00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:54.400 of how we should be approaching these but you know, this was play

119 00:05:54.400 --> 00:05:57.500 money for him. So I let him learn a little bit about what it

120 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.300 really means to invest in those types of questions of the wrong questions,

121 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:03.000 right as you just mentioned Peter and so I thought it was

122 00:06:03.200 --> 00:06:06.400 a really good it was a it was a learning moment for him to understand that

123 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:09.700 you don't just pick stocks and they go up. Oh, absolutely and like

124 00:06:09.700 --> 00:06:13.000 I I actually I do that with with clients. I'll

125 00:06:12.200 --> 00:06:13.600 say to them.

126 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.100 If you want to open up a small account and I

127 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.000 use the term your Casino money. Hey, you got to go to

128 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:23.300 the casino and sit there and maybe go out to dinner have a drink play the

129 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.500 slot sit at a table if you lose a hundred or 200

130 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:27.100 or $300.

131 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:30.300 It was a night of entertainment you had a good time.

132 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:34.600 I see take your Casino money and put it into an account and

133 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.300 buy a couple of stocks and just it's it's

134 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:40.400 good education for you. You might learn some valuable

135 00:06:40.400 --> 00:06:43.900 lessons, but you're gonna pay really close attention. Even

136 00:06:43.900 --> 00:06:46.200 if it's only five or 10 shares of a

137 00:06:46.200 --> 00:06:49.200 company and you'll you'll learn a lot for it. So I think there is certainly a

138 00:06:49.200 --> 00:06:52.900 value in that but with large sums of Money Retirement accounts

139 00:06:52.900 --> 00:06:55.400 brokerage accounts. Absolutely not none of

140 00:06:55.400 --> 00:06:58.700 this stock picking. It's got to be a low cost. Well Diversified portfolio.

141 00:06:58.700 --> 00:07:01.100 So I'm hearing you say it's okay to sit in a

142 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:01.300 little bit.

143 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:05.800 Any bit tiny bit? Absolutely. No, I didn't. You

144 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.300 know, I like to play the market myself, but I'm only doing

145 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.500 that with my my entertainment dollars not my

146 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:14.500 long-term assets that that my family

147 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.100 and I are going to need at some point in time. Right? So Peter

148 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:20.400 you've been talking a lot about planning right and and

149 00:07:20.400 --> 00:07:23.200 I've been in this business for a long time as with you

150 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:27.500 you and I've worked together for many many years. I've noticed

151 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:29.800 the value proposition of financial advisor

152 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:32.300 has changed right at one point. It was that

153 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:36.200 stock picker many many years ago. So this

154 00:07:35.200 --> 00:07:38.400 day and age what what do

155 00:07:38.400 --> 00:07:41.500 you see as the value proposition to a financial advisor?

156 00:07:42.200 --> 00:07:46.000 In my opinion, it has to be the plan because that's

157 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:48.500 where we've had success as a firm. I've

158 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.300 had success as an advisor clients have had success

159 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:54.700 following that advice and and really

160 00:07:54.700 --> 00:07:57.100 it's about the planning and that's the most

161 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.600 valuable advice. I give to my clients. Hey, we're with

162 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.200 a low cost. Well Diversified portfolio. We're going

163 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:06.300 to get a market return the market for us

164 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:09.300 taking risk. We will get a market return and my

165 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:12.700 return will be no different than my clients because we invest in very similar

166 00:08:12.700 --> 00:08:16.300 similarly constructed portfolios, but

167 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:16.700 really

168 00:08:17.900 --> 00:08:20.800 Whether we get an 8% return 9% 10%

169 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.300 return long-term. It's really

170 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:24.100 the plan.

171 00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:28.500 That is is going to drive all that and just because

172 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:31.400 their portfolio is up a certain year that that's

173 00:08:31.400 --> 00:08:32.800 great and they like to see that.

174 00:08:33.900 --> 00:08:36.100 But again, the plan is going to say well geez, I

175 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:39.700 know now I can retire at age 62. I'm

176 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:43.600 going to take Social Security at 67 when

177 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:44.700 I retire at 62.

178 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:48.500 I'm going to be able to pay for my own health insurance until

179 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:51.700 I hit MediCare at age 65. I mean, those are questions

180 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.300 that aren't even related to a rate

181 00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:57.300 of return or a stock pick or any of that. They're planning

182 00:08:57.300 --> 00:09:00.300 questions, but they're extremely important to people the very

183 00:09:00.300 --> 00:09:03.300 comprehensive list of questions versus should you be in a

184 00:09:03.300 --> 00:09:06.100 60% stock 40% bomb for far beyond that

185 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.400 correct? Correct, but it's it's about the the layers and

186 00:09:09.400 --> 00:09:13.200 the investment management risk reward asset

187 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:16.000 allocation being allocated appropriately.

188 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:20.100 According to your risk tolerance that's all part of it. But you

189 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:23.200 do when I sit down with clients we talk about the

190 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.200 performance we talk about what the markets have been doing and we really start

191 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.700 to get into those those items Healthcare Medicare long

192 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:33.900 term care gifting money to people grandchildren

193 00:09:32.900 --> 00:09:35.700 setting up a 529

194 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.200 accounts. All those types of things. These

195 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:41.200 are the goals and the things that are important to clients and they come

196 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.000 through the planning process. Yeah, that's extremely valuable right life

197 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:47.800 comes at you fast, and there's a number of instances in

198 00:09:47.800 --> 00:09:50.400 my personal life where I've leaned on you for things that

199 00:09:50.400 --> 00:09:53.100 are fun far beyond investable assets.

200 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:57.200 So that's that's good. So what so far listeners out there.

201 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:01.100 I mean you're looking for a financial professional that

202 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:02.300 is planning focused.

203 00:10:03.400 --> 00:10:06.700 But also from a very comprehensive standpoint Beyond

204 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:09.700 stocks bonds mutual funds Exchange Trade

205 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:10.300 funds Etc.

206 00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:14.500 So let's one of the things that's a

207 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:15.100 change gears a little bit.

208 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:19.500 You know, there's over 300,000 financial advisors in

209 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:22.400 the United States, right? The term

210 00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:25.700 fiduciary comes up quite a bit and I'm

211 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.800 always surprised maybe I'm not as surprised

212 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:31.600 as I once was that investors are don't

213 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.900 necessarily understand that sometimes advisors are

214 00:10:34.900 --> 00:10:38.200 acting any fiduciary capacity and sometimes

215 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:40.300 they are not before we

216 00:10:40.300 --> 00:10:41.500 jump into that.

217 00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:45.500 Explain to us Peter. What is a fiduciary? Well, it's

218 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:48.700 it's the highest standard of care in in

219 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:51.700 our industry. And I've sort of I've been on both

220 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:54.300 sides of it. So I have to act in my

221 00:10:54.300 --> 00:10:57.200 clients best interest not only being affiliated with with a

222 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.600 palette but also being a cfp and really

223 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:03.300 what that comes down to at the end of the day

224 00:11:03.300 --> 00:11:05.300 is the type of

225 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:09.200 Investment product. I'm going to refer to

226 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.900 everything as a product that we put our clients into and

227 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:18.800 I've got a really focus on the cost the level

228 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:20.600 of care below a fiduciary. It's

229 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:23.400 referred to as the suitability standard. Does that mean if I'm

230 00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:26.800 not a fiduciary? I'm doing something unethical absolutely not

231 00:11:26.800 --> 00:11:30.300 the last thing I want to do because I again I was there I've worked

232 00:11:30.300 --> 00:11:33.200 with clients where I was just doing by this suitability standard. I

233 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.200 was not a fiduciary at the end of the

234 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.200 day. I'm putting my clients into something that is putting more money back

235 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:43.100 into their pocket meaning the fees

236 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:46.200 and the costs associated with those products are

237 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:49.200 much lower. We have

238 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.500 no Front End Sales charges. We have no backend sales charges.

239 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.100 So I said to clients that are that are coming on board.

240 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:59.400 I will bend over backwards to make sure that you are happy but at some

241 00:11:59.400 --> 00:12:03.300 point if you don't realize the value

242 00:12:02.300 --> 00:12:05.500 of our services or you chose to go elsewhere, you

243 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:08.800 can do that. You're going to be able to take what you have here and

244 00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:11.400 move that elsewhere. You're not going to be tied up for three or

245 00:12:11.400 --> 00:12:14.300 five or ten years. No surrender charges or big

246 00:12:14.300 --> 00:12:17.000 fees to go acting in their best interest and that helps

247 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.100 to protect them. And I think it's extremely important that people

248 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:20.700 need to ask

249 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:25.700 Are you a fiduciary is your firm of fiduciary? And how

250 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:27.600 do you work? So when?

251 00:12:28.900 --> 00:12:32.200 Investors are looking for a financial

252 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.400 professional to work with right what I'm

253 00:12:34.400 --> 00:12:37.800 hearing someone the first things I should look for and they should ask about it potentially

254 00:12:37.800 --> 00:12:40.600 even get it in writing. Are you acting any fiduciary

255 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:45.100 capacity? Are you acting in my best interest? Correct? They

256 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:48.800 absolutely should and and interview multiple

257 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:52.600 people Tom has

258 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.200 been not only a great client. But I've worked

259 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.500 with many of Tom's family members. Why because they come to Tom. Jeez

260 00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:00.700 Tom. I've got some questions. Who should I work with? Well talk

261 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:03.400 to Peter. So if you have a friend or family member who you

262 00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:06.500 know works with an advisor ask for that that person's name.

263 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.400 And if they will if you have a friend or family member they'll

264 00:13:09.400 --> 00:13:12.300 refer them over if they enjoy working with them. So I think that's a

265 00:13:12.300 --> 00:13:15.800 good place to start but interview them there's many checklists

266 00:13:15.800 --> 00:13:18.800 online and I think one of the things you want to ask about are

267 00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:21.800 you a fiduciary understand what that means and it's

268 00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:24.900 it's something important because there's

269 00:13:24.900 --> 00:13:27.300 plenty of us out. There aren't as many as probably there should

270 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:28.900 be but there's plenty fiduc.

271 00:13:28.900 --> 00:13:30.000 He's out there for you to work with.

272 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:33.000 Absolutely. You made a really good point. I was doing a little research.

273 00:13:34.300 --> 00:13:35.600 Knowing that we were going to have this.

274 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:39.400 Talk today the three of us and you know,

275 00:13:39.400 --> 00:13:42.700 the number one way investors find their financial advisors through

276 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:45.500 through referrals. Right number two is through

277 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:49.500 you know online searches and things like that. So

278 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:51.200 I think that's that's really important

279 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:54.200 when you're looking for financial audience advisor talk to your family

280 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:57.800 your friends people who have or may have similar Financial

281 00:13:57.800 --> 00:14:00.200 situations as you do but I

282 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:03.600 think you know, the important thing. Is that the very good question. Are

283 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.900 you acting and a fiduciary capacity at all times, right?

284 00:14:11.300 --> 00:14:14.100 We talked about the planning process one of the things I want to

285 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:17.700 touch upon and Mike will turn to you is that sometimes giving

286 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:20.700 good advice means saying no not giving

287 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.900 the client what they're looking for. Right and

288 00:14:23.900 --> 00:14:27.400 I've seen advisors who act

289 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:29.700 as more of a facilitator

290 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:32.400 very high service level but whatever the client

291 00:14:32.400 --> 00:14:35.400 wants they they get what are some of the Perils of

292 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:35.500 that?

293 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:40.200 The Perils are that you become all

294 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.100 things to all people and as I think

295 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:46.400 Thomas you have famously said if everything's

296 00:14:45.400 --> 00:14:48.600 important nothing's important and

297 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:51.300 I think from the perspective of advice that we work with

298 00:14:51.300 --> 00:14:54.100 it's it's you know

299 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:57.800 when you when you think about that kind of cafeteria style

300 00:14:57.800 --> 00:14:59.000 service.

301 00:14:59.900 --> 00:15:01.400 It becomes very difficult to.

302 00:15:02.900 --> 00:15:05.500 Address clients needs concerns or

303 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:08.000 fears because you know

304 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:11.400 in terms of of investment investment advice,

305 00:15:11.400 --> 00:15:14.400 if you're if you've got clients that are in individual stocks

306 00:15:14.400 --> 00:15:17.800 and you have clients in Diversified portfolios, or they're in a more passive

307 00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:21.200 investment or they're in a tactical investment. You're constantly

308 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:23.400 pivoting to try to answer questions to

309 00:15:23.400 --> 00:15:26.300 all these different constituencies within your practice what we

310 00:15:26.300 --> 00:15:29.700 find in our in our work is that you know advisors that

311 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:32.400 have a philosophy advisors have a way that

312 00:15:32.400 --> 00:15:36.000 they approach the capital markets and how they construct portfolios I

313 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:39.000 tend to do the best because their clients are like-minded and

314 00:15:38.400 --> 00:15:41.300 it keeps them in their seats even when markets are

315 00:15:41.300 --> 00:15:42.900 difficult. So having a

316 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:46.200 Kind of a carte blanche or

317 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.900 I like to say cafeteria style investment or at

318 00:15:49.900 --> 00:15:52.300 least offering makes it more difficult for you to keep your

319 00:15:52.300 --> 00:15:56.200 clients in line. I think over time and I think what I

320 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.600 like like best about being at symmetries, we do have that investment philosophy. That's

321 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.700 straightforward. It doesn't deviate and most

322 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:05.000 of the advice that work with us tend to have

323 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:08.300 that same philosophy. The interesting thing about that too is you notice

324 00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:11.300 when markets are fairly volatile which where this is really important

325 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:14.700 is that you know investors that

326 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:18.000 kind of adhere to similar investment

327 00:16:17.400 --> 00:16:20.700 strategy like symmetries is that they tend

328 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.800 to have less gap between What markets are doing and what

329 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:26.300 their Investments are doing because they tend to stay in their seats. They're not

330 00:16:26.300 --> 00:16:29.800 moving around behaviorally moving in and out of the market or moving in and

331 00:16:29.800 --> 00:16:31.600 out of Investments. And I think that's sometimes can be the

332 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:35.700 the offshoot of having a strategy where

333 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:37.200 you're just trying to be everything to everybody.

334 00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:41.200 I'm going to unpack use it a lot of really yeah, I get

335 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.100 there. Sorry, but no. No, I just want to make sure our listeners get it to get

336 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:47.700 some really really good insight there Mike. So first

337 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:50.800 and foremost you talk about an investment philosophy

338 00:16:50.800 --> 00:16:53.700 and what I'm hearing you say is that we're talking

339 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:56.100 about advice, right and if someone wants to

340 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:58.200 give advice you have to have a stake in the ground.

341 00:16:59.400 --> 00:17:02.300 You have to have that place where your your view on

342 00:17:02.300 --> 00:17:04.200 how Capital markets work?

343 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:07.400 And if you don't have that view you might fall into that

344 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:08.700 facilitator capacity.

345 00:17:10.300 --> 00:17:13.300 The other thing that she said I'm glad you

346 00:17:13.300 --> 00:17:16.300 said it as you talked a lot about behavior and what I'm hearing you

347 00:17:16.300 --> 00:17:19.500 say is the study we've used many times the dial

348 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:22.500 bar study for our listeners. Could you talk a little bit about what that dial bar

349 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:26.000 research shows us sure is that it shows that the the investor

350 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.600 over, you know?

351 00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:30.100 Many time periods. I mean they updated every year but it goes

352 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:33.600 back a number of years and it looks at what investors

353 00:17:33.600 --> 00:17:36.200 do in terms of investing in

354 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:39.600 the let's say the S&P 500 as an index versus what the

355 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:43.300 index does and we find year in and year out that investors

356 00:17:42.300 --> 00:17:45.200 tend to underperform the

357 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.500 index and the question always is Peter and you know this why

358 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:51.500 and it's because they're holding period is

359 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.600 tends to be I think it's less it used to be in the old days three

360 00:17:54.600 --> 00:17:57.300 three plus years now. It's three minus here. It's less

361 00:17:57.300 --> 00:18:00.200 than three years of holding period of time, which means they're

362 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.500 Behaviorally trying to in some

363 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:06.400 ways time the market and so what we

364 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.000 try to do at least in as I talk

365 00:18:09.100 --> 00:18:12.300 to advisors is to try to educate them and educate clients as

366 00:18:12.300 --> 00:18:15.300 well that you know, we want to close that Gap we

367 00:18:15.300 --> 00:18:18.200 call that the the performance Gap right?

368 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:22.000 There's a gap between what investments do and what the investor

369 00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:24.300 does right? We know this plenty of Dad out

370 00:18:24.300 --> 00:18:27.100 there to show that so how do we do that? Peter had talked about a little

371 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:30.300 bit earlier is we look at things like, okay, what's important? How do

372 00:18:30.300 --> 00:18:33.600 we close that Gap? It comes from financial planning. It comes

373 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:37.000 from portfolio selection, not necessarily portfolio

374 00:18:36.300 --> 00:18:39.400 management, but portfolio selection in terms

375 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.600 of picking the right model of the right strategy for for clients

376 00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:45.000 education and communication with clients. I

377 00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:48.900 think those are great ways that we see that behavioral Gap

378 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:51.700 closing through time and that and

379 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.900 ends up being a an experience

380 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:57.000 that clients will be with their advisors for a long time

381 00:18:57.300 --> 00:19:00.400 because you focus on the things that matter not the investment

382 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:00.700 itself.

383 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:02.700 a great computer

384 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:06.800 You're the the man in the seat here. So talk

385 00:19:06.800 --> 00:19:09.200 to us a little about that. Right? I mean that dial bar study is

386 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.600 pretty telling every year investors are underperforming.

387 00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:15.900 You focus on planning. How does planning help with the

388 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:18.200 long-term thinking that is required for

389 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.500 successful experience. It comes into

390 00:19:21.800 --> 00:19:24.500 Not only the planning but educating clients and

391 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:27.600 communication and the example I'll use and we were

392 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:27.800 all.

393 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:32.200 working from back home during the the pandemic and

394 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:36.200 the markets dropped about a

395 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:36.800 third

396 00:19:37.800 --> 00:19:40.700 so about 33% in about a month's time thinking

397 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.600 the numbers are 33% over 34 days 1/3.

398 00:19:44.300 --> 00:19:47.300 And we're sitting here stuck at home. We think the world is going

399 00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:50.400 to end and my message to my clients because

400 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.000 it's the message of our firm message that I truly believe.

401 00:19:55.300 --> 00:19:55.700 And it wasn't easy.

402 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.600 No, we're not doing anything this too shall

403 00:19:59.600 --> 00:19:59.700 pass.

404 00:20:00.600 --> 00:20:03.600 You know, this is the.com bubble. This

405 00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:06.600 is 911. This is the

406 00:20:06.600 --> 00:20:09.900 great financial crisis of 2008.

407 00:20:10.600 --> 00:20:13.400 It doesn't necessarily matter what the event

408 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.500 is because everyone know Peter is a pandemic. It's different like you're

409 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:20.100 right, but you're not it's the uncertainty and what

410 00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:22.700 lo and behold what happens after the

411 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:23.900 market drops a third.

412 00:20:24.800 --> 00:20:27.800 In March February and to March it

413 00:20:27.800 --> 00:20:30.700 shoots back up. It comes roaring back why we

414 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:34.100 had no vaccine. We still were unemployment had

415 00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:36.200 still not hit its peak because of

416 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:39.900 all the you know, retail and entertainment losses

417 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.200 that that took place in in this country and around the

418 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:45.000 world. We still have this crazy election in front

419 00:20:45.100 --> 00:20:48.800 of us. There was still uncertainty but why why did it happen and I

420 00:20:48.800 --> 00:20:51.500 don't think there's necessarily an answer but the lesson learned

421 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.800 is we stay in our seats regardless of what's going on because

422 00:20:54.800 --> 00:20:57.500 the markets have they've always come back and I

423 00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:59.500 believe any time we hit something.

424 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:03.300 They'll come back again. We just don't know when so that

425 00:21:03.300 --> 00:21:06.100 experience because I I think

426 00:21:06.100 --> 00:21:09.200 you use the term staking in the stand or stake in the ground. That was my

427 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.200 stake in the ground. And now as we went through all of this in

428 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:15.500 2022 with all of the uncertainty and inflation and

429 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:18.700 gas prices and all of that impacting

430 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.700 the markets interest rates being increased.

431 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:25.200 People said yeah, I remember what you said back during the

432 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.200 pandemic. So yeah, okay that that makes sense. It's the

433 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:30.300 messaging my messages consistent.

434 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.000 And when people hear that, there's a sense of confidence like, you know what he was

435 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:36.400 right last time. He'll probably be right this time, too.

436 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:40.200 Fantastic, and I remember that Panda right that

437 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.500 first quarter of 2020 was one of the top 10 worst

438 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:48.100 quarters in the United States history going back to 1926. The

439 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:50.200 second quarter of 2020 was one of the top 10

440 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:53.400 best quarters the United States ever experienced going

441 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:56.200 back. And and the funny thing is if we had

442 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:59.200 been if we had moved our money out of we did

443 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:02.500 not stay calm and we moved money out

444 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:05.300 of the market in March. What would

445 00:22:05.300 --> 00:22:08.700 we have missed? When do we get back in? It's it's

446 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.200 difficult. It's difficult to sit there

447 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.100 when the market is dropping and say my gosh we have to do

448 00:22:14.100 --> 00:22:17.600 something but you're also playing the same game when you get out. It's like

449 00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:20.200 well if you get out, okay well, but then the market will eventually

450 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:21.700 come back. Well, when do you get back in?

451 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:25.300 And and and we just see long-term what the

452 00:22:25.300 --> 00:22:26.600 results are you're better off.

453 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:30.500 Staying going dealing with the rollercoaster ride

454 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.500 staying in your seat versus making rash decisions based

455 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:36.100 upon fear and emotion Peter Michael. Thank you so much

456 00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:39.400 for joining us here today that concludes part one of our discussion

457 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.200 on choosing the right financial advisor. I look

458 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.200 forward to continuing the conversation at part two, and if you want to

459 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.800 look at any of our previous unfiltered Finance podcasts, they're

460 00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:51.700 available wherever you might be getting your podcast today. So,

461 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:53.400 thank you till next time bye-bye.

462 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:56.500 Symmetry Partners LLC is an

463 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:59.500 investment advisor firm registered with the Securities and

464 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:02.200 Exchange Commission The Firm only transacts business

465 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:06.200 in states where it is properly registered or excluded

466 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:10.000 or Exempted from registration requirements registration

467 00:23:08.100 --> 00:23:11.700 of an investment advisor does

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481 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:53.800 is provided for educational and background use only moreover.

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484 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:03.300 receipt of or as a substitute for personalized

485 00:24:02.300 --> 00:24:04.500 investment advice.