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By Burt Peake, Jr.
Wealth Advisor

 

I sat with a gentleman not long ago, who came into the office with some money to invest.

I asked him some preliminary questions, and he almost immediately said to me “I just know I don’t want to put my money into (______ investment).” I replied, “That’s interesting, tell me why.” He went on to tell me that he had a smart friend who told him that he read that you shouldn’t use that investment vehicle.

One of the next questions I asked him was meant to learn his objective for the money.

“What do you want this money to do for you?”, I asked. He paused, thought for a minute and then said “I don’t know, I just want to invest it”. Seeing a teaching moment emerging before me, I asked the gentleman if he was handy with tools. He said he ought to be as he has a garage full of them. I told him that I do too. I told him he should never use the screwdriver though. Now the conversation gets real.

“Why shouldn’t I use the screwdriver?” the gentleman asked.

I said “Have you ever tried to drive a nail with one of those rascals? And, just try loosening a tight nut from a bolt with one. Nope, lose the screwdriver”. Now he is starting to tee it up to come at me with the obvious. “Well, what if I have a screw to drive?” says he. Hmmm.

I smiled at him and said, “Remember those questions I was asking you about what you want your money to do for you? I was learning from you what tool or tools I need to use for the job”.

Once I know what the job is, I can go to my toolbox and pull out the appropriate tools to get the job done. It can be a hindrance when a client wants to take one or more tools out of my financial toolbox.

Your relationship with your advisor needs to be one of trust and confidence.

Let him use his experience and training to select the right tools to help you get where you are trying to go. Isn’t that what we do with our doctors, mechanic, electrician, and the air conditioner guy?

We understand that confidence comes with clarity.

Do you need to become confident about your financial future? Call us when you have a chance, and we would be happy to talk to you about your unique situation. 865.226.9982 or send an email to [email protected]

 

This article was originally published on Oct. 11, 2017