In my more than 25 years working as a fiduciary in the investment business, I’ve observed quite a few areas that separate the rich man from the poor man. One relates directly to the advisory business in what I’ll refer to as Your Survival Guy’s: Rich Advisor, Poor Advisor. I hope you know which one you work with or are planning to work with.
You see, the Poor Advisor needs you. He needs you to meet his numbers, not yours. He needs you so he can make his monthly car lease payments, the mortgage payments on his McMansion, the golf and yacht club memberships, and the vacations he’s always on when you call him. The Poor Advisor is not a fiduciary. He doesn’t have time to pass the tests. He is more interested in selling, wheeling, and dealing. He’s happy to collect the surrender fees that were hidden in the annuity contract he sold you, but you don’t remember hearing about it. “Buyer beware” is his go-to phrase.
The good news is, you have choices. You can choose to work with a Rich Advisor, but you may have to work a little harder because he doesn’t advertise and won’t be banging down your door for business.
Because, you see, the Rich Advisor doesn’t need you. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. I’m sure you’re nice, it’s just that you can’t be everything to everybody and he knows that. The Rich Advisor enjoys what he does. He enjoys the communication he has with clients and readers. He doesn’t need to work. He likes his work. He owns his homes and cars, goes on vacations, and pays off his credit card bill in full every month. He is a fiduciary who, by law, must always act in your best interests. The Rich Man is a Prudent Man.
Action Line: When you’re ready to talk, let’s talk.
Read more in: Revisiting Rich Man, Poor Man
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
