Pelosi's Quote Haunts Investors Too

Pelosi's Quote Haunts Investors Too

                         by: Brendan Magee

As the media coverage of the Obamacare Rollout intensifies we hear time and time again the famous quotes the President and Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi used in trying to get the Affordable Care Act passed. Speaker Pelosi's famous quote, "We'll just have to pass it before we can find out what's in the bill," will be played for years to come. It's probably going to haunt her come election time.  Basically, the country was left pretty much in the dark about  one of the biggest pieces of legislation in its history. A lot of people were and still are scared and nervous by not knowing what impact the law would have on theirs and their family's lives. It doesn't get too much more serious than a person's health insurance.

I think you'd agree that a person's investments are a pretty important subject as well. Investors like to have as much certainty and confidence as possible. I think a big reason a lot of people are walking around on egg shells is because they have money invested in the stock market, but have no idea how the stock market really works. By that I mean, they don't know where the returns are coming from or where they are not coming from. From the moment their money is deposited into a brokerage account they have little to know control over their success or failure. How do they know they have gotten the whole truth before they've invested their money? Unfortunately, too many people can't say for sure they have the truth on their side. It's like they are at the mercy of the all knowing, all powerful, but never seen stock market god. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring.

There are thousands upon thousands of advertisements about where people should be investing their money. There are tons of statistics about the analysts having been right so many times in the past, and it is difficult to know who to believe. Ultimately, an investor is left to make a decision that they hope will be the right one, but also will do the least amount of damage to their portfolio and dreams for retirement. How exciting is that?

To remedy the nerves and anxieties an investor feels, amongst the first questions an investor has to ask and answer honestly is, "Do you know how the market really works? By that I mean, do you understand where the returns are coming from and where they are not coming from? Do you know for certain that you have invested your money in such a way that your are taking full advantage of where and how to capture additional rates of return that the market delivers and you will need to meet your investment goals?  If your answer is anything less than a 100% yes, stop everything and get the answer to that question. Answering it will tell you some very important things, Amongst which are:

-Is my money invested properly for my circumstances and goals?
-Am I with the right advisor?
-Did I fall for a story that sounded good in the moment, but really isn't sound at all?
-How much risk am I really taking?
-Am I in a portfolio that is designed to give me the long-term returns I need?

I know how much anxiety investing your money in the market without the answers to these questions can produce, but just for a second take a minute to think about how much peace of mind you'd have about your investments if you actually had the answers to these questions? You'd have complete control over your investments. No one could get a fast story past you and talk you into investing money in a way that you knew was inconsistent with your goals.

Compare that with state of mind for a good portion of the country. Run away premiums, losing coverage, no clear place to turn to replace the coverage they are losing, and very little faith in the words our leaders are using to try and calm your nerves and regain their credibility. Who knows if the country would be in such turmoil if its citizens had an idea ahead of time what the impact Obamacare could bring? Maybe it wouldn't have passed in the first place. Maybe it still might have passed.  It would still be hard to find out that your health insurance had been cancelled, but it might not come as a complete shock if the President had said that if this law gets passed, you could lose your coverage and be face with considerably higher premiums.  Again, it wouldn't be pleasant, but at least it wouldn't come as a complete surprise.

Your health insurance situation may be out of your hands, but when you ask the right questions, your investments and the peace of mind you experience from them are completely in your hands. Would you want it any other way?

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. With questions or comments call 610-446-4322 or email Brendan@coachgee.com.