By Olivier Le Moal @ Adobe Stock
If you ask one question to the person(s) handling your money it should be this: Are you a fiduciary? Because when you work with a fiduciary, you’re working with someone who, by law, must make financial decisions in your best interest.
Isn’t that obvious, you may wonder? I wish it were. But when you look at the lay of the land and the position investors are put in—pressured to buy—especially in their retirement years, you have to wonder how it got this way.
Too often, investors make decisions based on what they’re told. They don’t read the prospectuses, and they don’t spend time understanding the industry. OK, yes, I know it’s a confusing industry, and it’s that way on purpose. But there are independent minded advisors out there who will tell you right from wrong.
Looking at past performance tells you nothing about tomorrow—driving through your rearview camera doesn’t tell you what’s ahead—what’s over the horizon.
What draws me most to Fidelity Investments is it’s still a family business. It is not publicly traded. It isn’t under pressure by Wall Street to “improve” or increase earnings every quarter. Yes, they want growth, but at what cost?
What this allows is for Fidelity to be long-term minded. It’s a more prudent way to run a company. A way to make decisions with the future in mind, not the next quarter. It’s how decisions should be made. Isn’t that a partnership you want instead of being sold new products through email like you’re their next meal?
There’s plenty of old money up here in my neck of the woods. It comes with an attitude, old money, of protecting every penny you have. Old Yankee money is tied to Fidelity Investments, an old Boston-based firm. There’s a lot of history behind how money should be handled.
Seek out independent counsel and demand a fiduciary. But if you need to decide which one comes first, always, always seek out a fiduciary.
Action Line: When you’re ready to speak with a fiduciary, I’m here. But only if you’re serious.
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
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