Real Financial Planning

A Manifesto for Real Financial Advisors

This thread is the intro and first 2 chapters of my book coming out next year.

Shared without editing etc...

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Use it as you wish.

When released it will be uncopyrighted (CC0). -Introduction

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re what I call a Real Financial Advisor.

For years, I’ve been traveling all over the world telling people about you, and the massive impact you make in the world and your clients’ lives.

Portfolio Design: A Thread.

If you have a hunch and then you buy a bunch, or you read the latest “10 hot investments the sizzle” articles in the financial pornography magazine...you are a not an investor. Turns out there’s a method to putting together a portfolio.

Step one: a Statement of Financial Purpose. Get clear about why you are investing. Mine says

“Time with my family mainly outside, and serving in my community.”

That’s my why.

Trigger Warning to all my financial Advisor friends!

Let me tell you a little story.

My daughter (16) has been super interested in investing for years. She asks over and over for me to get an account open for her to invest.

She wants to invest in broad asset class ETFs. I've avoided it because it such a pain to open an account.

Finally, I ask my amazing financial planner to open an account for my daughter and set up an automatic debit from her bank account.

I am told it's easy. Just:

If you really want to crush it, you need to rest.

But sometimes, that’s easier said than done.

Up at 5 in the morning? Tried it. Daily workouts? Yep. Paleo, bulletproof, gluten-free, cold showers? Check. Build a business, start a side hustle, dominate Twitter, Instagram and Facebook? Yeah, all that too.

It feels like we’ve been in the “Crush It Age” for I don’t even know how long. Every time you turn around, somebody is crushing something. And how are they achieving all that?

How To Have An Amazing First Meeting (thread).

Learning how to hold amazing first meetings with prospective clients is the single most important "sales" skill a real financial planner can learn.

Here's what I've noticed is important. Start with getting your head straight.

All the tips and tricks in the world are just hacks without the right mindset.

There are 3 shifts to make:

I gave a keynote last night to @AFCPE.

I tossed my prepared presentation 90 minutes before go-time and decided to tell stories from my own struggles with money.

It was raw.

Scary.

Here are the slides.

"How do you invest your money?"

I get asked this question all the time, so it was SO FUN to work on a book filled with smart, thoughtful, answers.

Below is a thread of each sketch in the book with a few thoughts. I LOVED @morganhousel simple, clear, focus on money being a tool for independence.

Money Does Not Equal Security
A Thread for Twitter

Repeat after me: Money. Does. Not. Equal. Security.

If you are insecure around money, turns out that more money won’t solve that problem. I know people with private jets that are constantly terrified the sky is falling.

I know because they’ve told me.

I also know people with very little live worry-free lives.

Again, I know because they’ve told me.

The best investment strategy for smart, ambitious, Youngs.

(This is about money. I assume you're doing the work to find happiness/peace/security elsewhere, because money won't provide those things.)

... 1- Focus on earning it. See the @navel thread for more on that:

https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936?s=20

...

Impostor Syndrome...

When we think if investments we think of stocks, real estate or even cash. While all those things are super important, you have something else that’s even more valuable.

It’s the investment called you. Finding ways to increase your value while doing the things you love may be the most important thing you do.

Maybe you pursue more training to qualify for a raise.

Maybe you find a way to sell the photography you did as a hobby.

General Resilience

(a thread)

1/4

Resilience is not a response to a crisis, it’s a prerequisite to surviving one.

Specific resilience would be great if you knew the specific crisis beforehand. But since we never do, general resilience becomes gold. 2/4

General resilience is not about responding to a specific event, but rather being prepared for whatever comes our way.

For example:

I am constantly asked out how we ended up in New Zealand and what are doing next.

Here is that story.

👇 My wife and I always wanted to experience living outside the States for a while. Nothing dramatic. Just wanted the experience.

For a while we focused on France simply because our youngest daughter was in a dual immersion program at he public school that was french.

👇

Let me tell you a little story about become a REAL financial advisor.

About a decade ago, I started to notice this crazy gap between what people thought I did as a financial advisor, and what I was actually doing.

👇 This was around the time of the global financial crisis and the news was full of stories about sleazy advisors who belonged on a used car lot, if not in jail.

It was killing me to be constantly associated with criminals.

👇

It's time for the Secret Society of Real Financial Advisors to be not so secret anymore.

This is my attempt to start that process.

No one is invited...but everyone is welcome.

I give you:

A Manifesto for Real Financial Advisors Declaration 1: We Believe Marketing Equals Impact

> People don’t know real financial advisors exist

> Having an impact is about solving problems

> The key solving problems is to start small

1/

Steps for using a budget as a tool to align your use of money with your values.

I call it Aligned Spending™️

(™️=kinda joke...)

... 2/

Step 1: spend money. This part is easy. Just spend as you normally would.