The Business Of Advice
Dwyer Financial is squarely and decidedly in the business of advice. Mainly financial advice, but sometimes that definition is rather wide. If it involves money and anything connected to money (which, it often seems, is darned near everything), we stand ready to try to help, to offer useful advice. So, this advice business can be a bit tricky sometimes. But, as my father used to say:
“If I don’t tell you what I’m thinking,
how are you gonna know?”
-Col. T. Edward Dwyer
Of course, the trick for us is to be thinking of stuff that is worth knowing and worth doing or not doing. Part of the trickiness is that some folks, even though they say and/or believe that they are open to good, solid advice, perhaps really don’t want honest advice that might involve re-thinking and fundamental changes. They want confirmation. They want affirmation. They want delegation.
“The best time to give advice
is when you are alone.”
-E. T. Dwyer
Luckily for us, most of our clients are willing and able to accept and act upon most of our good, solid advice. And, luckily for our clients, most of our advice has, so far, been pretty good and pretty solid.
Another problem with advice is that a fair amount of conventional, generally-accepted advice is arguably not necessarily that useful. Maybe my favorite example is the old saw: “Buy low, sell high.” Hey, who can disagree with that? Even though the market, and its many fearful and greedy players, disregard that advice regularly.
But, wait a minute … Who really knows what is “low” and what is “high”? Maybe the much more useful advice is: Don’t get scared and sell out when things go down temporarily. Don’t get overly elated and buy more when things are flying high. Stay properly invested, focus on the long-term, be neither fearful nor greedy, but calm and grateful.
Finally, remember that the best advice is very personal, very tailored to the individual client. That is why I am ending this little essay so abruptly. And that is why you, whoever you are, would be much better served by financial advice from your very own financial advisor who has taken the time and effort to get to know you and your unique situation and to tailor the advice to just you.