Do You See What I See?

Settling into middle age means adjusting to gray temples, a shuttered metabolism and the urge to refer to youngsters as “son” or “young lady.” On the bright side I still have a few years before hitting the canasta circuit or eating breakfast before I go to bed. The final step, I suppose, was the bifocal contact lenses I picked up about 18 months ago.

Getting used to bifocal lenses is not easy. After a few initial weeks of headaches, I struggle at times to focus. Look down for close up, middle for short distances, top of lens for longer distances.

Or is it top of lens for middle distances? Adjusting to bifocals is a regular reminder to focus; to get clients to “see it the way I see it.”

I am reminded of Muhammad Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee. During one of Ali’s fights he returned to his corner dazed and said to Dundee, “I'm seeing everything in threes” to which Dundee replied, “Then hit the guy in the middle!”

Angelo Dundee wanted Ali to “see it the way he sees it.” 
My role as an advisor is to provide a steady, objective hand in educating clients and managing expectations. In other words, help clients “see it the way I see it.”

For example, I have lead many meetings through the years where I am figuratively “jumping on the table” about investment performance; make that relative performance as I attempt to get clients to “see it the way I see it.” When the market is down 14%, for example, and a client portfolio is down 8%, I’m excited about our relative performance because I know the power of compounding incremental gains over many years.

Clients, however, often see it differently and loss aversion, the idea that investors prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains, is a powerful force. Things are not always as they seem and people view the world through their own prism.

I still struggle with bifocals, but I do see better. Clients may not share my perspective at first; my job is to bring things into focus.

How do you keep the focus on the "big picture"  as an investor? I would enjoy hearing from you in the comments section. You can also reach me directly at 630-545-3653 or wlg@trustcoil.com.