As we approach Super Bowl Weekend, I’ve been thinking about the characteristics of the teams, players, and leaders who make it to the peak of their sport. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” Greatness as a function of where we focus attention got me thinking about what defines the peak of my own profession.
The best advisors have a belief system. Principles that are informed by knowledge and experience that are readily applied to the people they serve. These principles are a bulwark against the fear, fads, and short-term thinking that can be a dangerous distraction on the path to financial confidence. I would phrase it as such:
“Great advisors discuss principles, average advisors discuss financial conditions, small advisors discuss short-term performance.”
Philadelphia or Kansas City?
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has answered questions all week about the strategies and tactics that could lead to victory over the Chiefs. But when he was initially introduced as coach, he didn’t talk about offensive schemes. He talked about principles.
In this interview shortly before his introductory press conference two years ago, Sirianni outlined his coaching principles that he believed would take a 4-win team in the previous year to the Super Bowl. Principles are hard to discern and difficult to communicate. But in sports, they are a unifying force that helps teams understand who they are and why they do what they do. This cohesive Eagles team is an example of principles put into action.
I hope you find the following thought-provoking while you ponder your own principles and how they lead to a life of greatness.
Three things on finances
1. No Diving. Bloomberg takes a look at the conundrum that anyone who jumped out of the market is now facing: When to dive back in? Maybe now. Or after the next Fed meeting. Or maybe when the S&P closes above its 200-day moving average. Truthfully, who knows? Market timing is an invitation for stress for investors because the ins and outs can create decision fatigue. If you are in cash, there are ways to wade into the market and we often help clients think through lump sum investing versus dollar cost averaging.
2. Understanding your personal money story. This is an interesting take on how past experiences can shape our thoughts about finances and money. Whether we allow that past to define our future or direct it on a new course is up to us.
3. It’s consistency, not perfection. Back in 2019, I commented on this point by famed investor Howard Marks: A baseball player with a .300 lifetime average, still failed to get a base hit 7/10 times at the plate. In his book Mastering the Market Cycle, Marks highlights the outside factors that affect a hitter’s consistency. Investors, like baseball players, will never get everything right. As a financial advisor, we design diversified portfolios to weather multiple events and developments with the flexibility to adapt as life changes. I believe it is our job as investors to not become so consumed with one story that we lose our appreciation for the complexity of the world.
Two things to add to your read/playlist
The best ideas win. Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Capital has written and spoken eloquently about the principles he learned in decades of successful investing. ▶️ Here is his TED talk on how those principles define his business.
Timing is everything. As I emerge from the depths of winter, I am on an eight-week workout plan. My exercise slots into my morning routine. But before I break a sweat, I sit with my wife for 20 minutes and have a cup of coffee. As it turns out, coffee might be “the ultimate performance-enhancing drug.”
I don’t think there is a playbook for it. It’s a people business…it’s just caring about people and building that relationship with people.
Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach
Aggressive Balance is a biweekly e-newsletter authored by Dennis Morton, Co-Founder and Principal of Morton Brown Family Wealth.
A gifted storyteller and financial advisor by trade, Dennis explores topics of leadership, finance, and the human condition in his writing as they relate to curating a life worth living.
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