Picking the Right Team is a Necessary First Step
by Jerry Clark
A wise friend once advised me, “The gap between expectations and reality equals your frustrations.”
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t repeat those words and find ways to apply them to almost every aspect of my life. In the financial-services profession, we walk with our clients in good times and bad.
How frustrating is it for an investor to execute a well-thought-out financial plan, just to open up their statement and see a major economic downturn unfolding before their eyes? The same is true for the financial-service professional who lays awake at night worrying if the client really has the stomach and the time for the economic recovery to take place. In my 25 years in the financial-services profession, I have learned that no one has a true read on the reality of tomorrow, all we can do is let our indicators guide us in the direction one should go.
What are your expectations and understanding of money? I offer my idea of money hoping you think about how you spend yours. Simply put, money is an instrument of trade. We trade our time for work and in return get money (a paycheck). In turn, we trade for goods and services for which someone else traded their time for money. So, if you trade your time for work and, in turn, buy an asset that depreciates, ask yourself how much of your life did you trade? Or worse, many people finance such purchases and find themselves having to work their tomorrows for their pleasures of today just to cover the interest carry cost.
I encourage you to teach the current generations to pay down debt, especially consumer debt. Most people I work with will tell you they only borrow if the amount has a reasonable chance of making them more money than the interest carry cost.
Financial-service professionals are obligated to know their customers, to spend time unearthing that which keeps them awake at night, to have a comprehensive understanding of their visions, values and goals, to accurately understand their time horizon and when demands will be made on their investments.
I have spent a large amount of my time working with The Greatest Generation, as Tom Brokaw’s book has so fittingly labeled them. I have learned more from this generation than I have been able to teach them as a financial-services professional. I have found a shocking difference between their resolve and commitment to never depend on others financially in contrast to the generations of today that seem to believe they are owed. Their generation came from nothing, survived the Depression, and learned to FIRST save and invest and did so at a rate unmatched by current generations.
This generation also had a healthy understanding of wants vs. needs, and whenever they got ahead, they saved the increase for the reality of a rainy day. They could quite literally have low or even no return on their money and still retire, simply because they lived on what they called a modest income. They paid off all their debt and shoveled most of their wealth into savings and investments.
In contrast, current generations not only see fit to overspend today, they mortgage their tomorrows. Today, we have too many people chasing returns, hoping it will supply for their retirement, while at the same time spending as much as they make to keep up with the Joneses, a phrase often used by the greatest generation to describe the younger generation.
I suggest we learn from our elders and increase the rate at which we save and invest. Since the tax law change gave us a reduction in Social Security withholdings by 2 percentage points starting Jan. 1, why not increase your investment savings rate by that same 2 percent? Considering the fact that most 401(k) plans have a company match, you now have a built-in, immediate return represented in that matching contribution.
The key to your financial future and investment success lies in your ability to accurately communicate your risk tolerance and your expectations of investment returns. Assemble your financial team with those willing to get to know you and place your financial future ahead of theirs. The reality is, those types of planners do exist even
in today’s world. 
Jerry Clark offers securities through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.
P | 816.225.5586
E | gerald.clark1@woodburyfinancial.com