Ok, so here I am getting on my soapbox:
I get so, so tired of people “knowing it all.” I get this from two places: people that really do know one side of the issue and aren’t willing to do any more with that issue. These people, in general, don’t both me.
The people that do bother me are the ones that I talk to that “know it all,” but really have very little knowledge of what they are talking about. That is, they heard from their mother’s cousin’s neighbor that “_____________ is always true.” Ugh. This totally drives me crazy.
But what really has me upset is that lately I have dealt with a lot of people that KNOW that you cannot get outsized returns in the stock market. They say that it is simply not possible. Now, the first kind of person isn’t bad. They simply quote Ben Graham’s a random walk down Wall Street and anything from Berkshire Hathaway or Vanguard. I don’t mind these arguments. They are rational and even if we don’t agree, we can still respect each other.
My clients lately have been different than this. They are simply SURE that there are not any ways to get alpha returns. And because it is not possible, they are unwilling to even listen to alternative ideas. They are willing to let their money sit at their local brokers’ office where they pay nearly 1% in fees while getting market average returns.
Then they call me when they get their statements and ask me for my ideas. But here’s the kicker: they don’t want to pay for them. I totally understand why people don’t want to pay fees up front and I have no problems with that. I am performance based. If I don’t do well for you, then you don’t have to pay. It really is that simple.
Instead, lately, I am getting lots of people who don’t want to pay, period. That is because they KNOW better. Ugh.