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Robin's Corner
“One of the secrets in life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." ~ Jack Penn ~
Is it Time to Change the Way We Invest?
Adversity has a way of revealing strengths and weaknesses, and this is certainly true among financial advisors. The recent meltdown was tough enough for even the most seasoned professionals, but for those who lacked a clear underlying investment philosophy, the devastating sequence of events that began in 2008 effectively deprogrammed them from whatever belief system they had and left them searching for a new "religion" to believe in--one they could report to unhappy clients was more likely to work in this "new world."
What is an investment philosophy, and what is its role in practical terms? It is a set of core beliefs that provide a foundation for making investment decisions. It provides clarity, because if those core beliefs are true, then other truths follow. Absent strong belief in a set of core principles, it is difficult to avoid being swayed by market turmoil, competitive forces, market fads, and client pressure. The cost of succumbing to those forces after the damage is done is often more damage in the form of whipsaw, which further erodes confidence. Total confidence in a set of core beliefs--an investment philosophy--is thus an important source of discipline, and is an important part of what advisors bring to the table for their clients.
We have always believed that making good investment decisions, even through very difficult periods, must start with a confident and intellectually well-founded commitment to a sensible, rational set of investment beliefs. A good approach:
- relies on analysis and not emotion to make decisions
- is grounded in hard work and fundamental research
- values intellectual honesty and recognizes that uncertainty will always be present, but that we must be able to make decisions in the face of uncertainty, and that accepts that we won't always be right
- is based on principles that remain valid no matter how difficult the period.
Our investment philosophy is based on those principles, and we know that they will stand the test of time.
Total Confidence in the Right Core Beliefs Creates an Essential Foundation.
Our investment philosophy and beliefs are the foundation of what we do and have been critical to our success since our firm began more than 20 years ago. Our belief in the inherent common sense of our investment philosophy drives our investment process, which in turn leads to our commitment to research, which gives us confidence to execute our process with discipline. We know our process will continue to evolve gradually as markets and technology evolve and long-term secular forces shift over many years. But we also know that certain things never change: underlying investment fundamentals will always matter in the long term, and when fear and greed disconnect valuations from those fundamentals in the short term, it creates opportunities for patient investors. These core beliefs help give us clarity even when making investment decisions in highly uncertain environments (when it is needed most) and we are confident they will continue to allow us to add value for our clients over the long run.
Thank you for your continued trust and confidence. We promise to work hard to maintain that confidence.
Please do not hesitate to call us to schedule a review or to update your plan—we are committed to you and to being your financial resource. And if you have friends or family who might value the financial planning process Certified Financial Planning™ professionals can provide, we welcome your referrals. We are thankful for your confidence in us and promise to provide the same level of service and advice to those you send our way.
** Source Materials: Certain material in this work is proprietary to and copyrighted by Litman/Gregory Analytics and is used by Tull Financial Group, Inc. with permission. Reproduction or distribution of this material is prohibited and all rights are reserved. **
July 2009
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