What Did Chip Kelly and Investors Say Yes To?

It's All About The Yes

by: Brendan Magee


Yesterday was about as painful as it gets for Philadelphia Eagles fans. Visions of making the playoffs and maybe even a Super Bowl run came pretty much crashing down to the ground in a ball of flames as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Eagle in a putrid display of football.

One of the prime target of Eagle's fans anger is their newly acquired, $60 million cornerback, Byron Maxwell. He couldn't stop anybody the past couple of weeks and he is making ordinary wide receivers look like superstars.However, yesterday's terrible loss, the poor performances turned in by the players, or the fan's upsets could not have happened without someone first say yes to something that is completely at odds with playing good football.

Someone had to say yes to paying $60 million dollars to a cornerback who at this point isn't worth $200. Someone had to say yes to an offensive line that can't block. Someone had to yes to letting Chip Kelly take full control of player personnel decisions. In essence someone had to saying yes to a lot of things that were in complete conflict with what the Eagles and their fans were out to produce. It's going to be a wast of time if the Eagles don't start working on the right side of the problem.

Same thing holds true for investors. I hear complaints from investors all the time about the stock market, their advisers, their company's 401k plan, the low returns they are experiencing, etc. Now, how do they typically go about fixing these problems? They change their adviser, get out of the market, stop contributing to their 401k plan, or change their investments. The one thing they don't do is, stop to do is find out what it is they are saying yes to that is in complete conflict with their peace of mind and investment success.

Think about it for a second. Bernie Madoff could not have ripped off dime one unless people said yes and given him their money. Your adviser could not have misled you without you saying yes to whatever they were suggesting. The market couldn't deliver terrible returns unless you said yes to a poorly diversified mix of assets. Investments that took a dive and then missed the rebound couldn't have done that unless you said yes to taking your money out of the market at the worst possible time. You couldn't stay confused to what your 401k plan was doing unless you said yes to not making a phone call and had your vendor sit down and help you better understand the plan and how to best take advantage of it.

So here is the crux of the matter for the Eagles and investors, It is so much easier to point the finger in someone else's direction and blame them for your troubles. It is easier and completely disempowering. Nothing but nothing happens without a football team or investor first giving their permission. Byron Maxwell doesn't collect a cent or step on to the Eagles football field without someone in the Eagle's front office saying yes. Investors don't feel disappointed, angry, and frustrated with their money and investments before having said yes to something that is in complete conflict with achieving peace of mind.

Now here is why you cannot fix this problem on your own, what ever the Eagles or an investor said yes to had to look reasonable and sound at the time. No one hands a football player millions of dollars without doing tons of research on that player. No one hands their hard earned money over to a mutual fund or investment manager without doing a fair amount of research on the fund or adviser. If you did, shame on you, no one else. So it is fairly predictable that,  given the same set of circumstances, you will make the same choices all over again. You will be making choices and engaged in behaviors that by all appearances are the right ones to be followed. but you will be in conflict with yourself. We are the product of our habits.

Both the Eagles and investor, before trying to fix their problems, would do well to first find out what it is that they are saying yes to. They also need to realize that they are hard wired to make those same kinds of decisions going forward. They need to have someone they can turn to who will step in and let them know when they start to go down those same paths again. That's a coach and they are invaluable.

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

Former Weatherman Bill Ayers & Your Investments

Dynamite And Investments Easy To Access

           by: Brendan Magee

In March of 1970 a group known as the Weatherman was planning on bombing a dance that was to be held at Fort Dix, N.J. If you are a student of late 1960's and early 1970's history, the names Bill Ayers, Cathy Wilkerson, Jean Boudin, Terry Robbins, Teddy Gold, Diana Oughton, and Sam Melville would be familiar to you. This was a group that had determined that the best way to fight what they saw as an oppressive U.S. Government was to start attacking its military and financial institutions as well as the police through bombings, bank robberies, and kidnappings.

This group led by Robbins was meeting in,planning the bombing, and building bombs in the Fifth Avenue townhouse of Cathy Wilkerson's parents who were away on vacation. Robbins like just about every member of the group was college age, not an expert by any stretch in building bombs or handling dynamite. After a late night conversation between Wilkerson and Robbins, Robbins admitted how intimidated he was by the technical difficulties of building a bomb. In college he was an English major and studied poetry, not science or any thing to do with handling bombs made of dynamite. Most of his knowledge came from books he found an the local library.

Now one of the things that surprised and made the idea of carrying out the bombings much more feasible was the easy access to an ample supply of dynamite. With just a fake i.d. card and for less than $60 two fifty pound cases of dynamite was easily purchased from the New England Explosives Company.

So, driven by the desire to create a revolution the group persevered. The days leading up to the attack date, Friday, March 6th, Robbins busied himself in basement of the townhouse putting together the bombs that were to be used in the attack. The morning of the day scheduled for the attack later that night, the group is busying itself trying to put the finishing touches on the bombs. They are also getting ready to clean and leave the house without leaving any clues that they had been living there while Wilkerson's parents had been away. They are about to commit a crime and do not want to leave any clues behind. This when the unthinkable happens.

The bombs are still in the basement and as some are cleaning up the house, bathing, etc. the bombs go off. Remember,they have got two fifty pound boxes of dynamite in the house. A solid brick house goes from home to flying splinters and plaster in a matter of minutes. There are two immediate blasts that destroy the first floor of the house, the top floors of the house are dangling balconies at this point, and the house is engulfed in flames. Wilkerson who was doing ironing on the first floor and Oughton was showering in a second floor bathroom at the time of the blast were buried under the rubble of the explosion.
They managed to get out of the house before its inevitable collapse.

Others who were in the house at the time were not so lucky Robbins and Gold perished in the explosion. As described in the book "Days of Rage" I would remind you of the scenes reported of the bodies found in the courtyard of the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001 to describe the gruesome state the police found the bodies of Gold and Robbins.

Not only the Wilkerson's house was damaged in the blast, as well, all the homes on the block suffered damage. Windows were blown out of all the homes on the block and the adjoining homes were destroyed as well. The scene was one of needless death and utter destruction to the property of innocent people.

My point here is not to make a political statement. It is to point out how easily disaster strikes when people engage in things they have no expertise in. Easier than accessing dynamite, people can access an unlimited supply of investment products. If you have the money there is always someone willing to sell you anything.

The question every investor needs to be asking themselves is this, "When it comes to building your investment portfolio, do you know exactly what you are doing and why?" If you cannot answer this question 100% with a yes, stop, put down the dynamite, back away quietly, and go and call an expert to coach you.
If not, eventually it's all going to blow up. Peoples lives will be affected permanently.


Brendan Magee is the founder of Inevitable Wealth Coaching.With questions or comments e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.

Investors, What Is The Price Of Peace of Mind?

The Price of Peace of Mind

        by: Brendan Magee


Consumers are used to paying money for services, and we have been conditioned to think that once I have paid my money, it is completely up to the store or vendor to deliver the value I am expecting. Perhaps with a car, restaurant, a stereo, clothes, a home repair, etc. that is an appropriate way to think. Unfortunately, that thinking doesn't serve people well when it comes to investing and achieving peace of mind.

It would be great if all it took was money, by itself, to achieve investment success. All a person would need is a certain amount of money to get access to the stocks, mutual funds, or adviser and from that point on all your money worries would be taken care of, forever. The reality is that we know that this is pure fantasy. We all know someone or have heard the stories of wealthy people losing fortunes from making bad investment decisions. Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford bilked the affluent, not the Joe six pack investor.

So if money isn't the answer, what is the answer? They are time, mind, body, soul, ego, and when they are not given in the necessary proportion, the investor will inevitably pay a far greater price than money.

I recently met with a woman, Donna. As it turned out, she was suffering from the same problems for the better part of 15 years and she realized she was in danger of running out of money in retirement. So we agreed to meet and prior to that meeting I asked her to complete a couple of homework assignments which would take a total of two hours over the next 10 days. The homework's purpose is to create the context for us to make sure all the problems she is experiencing are brought to the surface and we have a meeting that provides maximum value for the time we would be spending together.


She said she had no intention of completing the homework because she was way too busy with work and everything and she needed her weekends to relax (Time + Effort). So against my better judgement, I eventually met with Donna and ask her a list of questions that are fundamental to a person experiencing peace of mind with their money. It's no big deal, but she could only answer a few of the questions, and I can sense in her tone she is getting agitated. She doesn't know why she is being asked these questions. She says that she has been investing for the better part of 25 years and never even heard of the questions I was asking.

Honestly, I don't believe it was the questions, I believe Donna's upset was coming from the fact that she was being asked questions that she knew in her heart she should know the answers to, but didn't (Ego). She told me what she really wanted was not to be asked a lot of questions, rather she wanted me to tell her what investments she should be in. Where was it that she could make the most money was what she wanted to know. She wanted to see the track records of the top performing funds she could be investing in. She didn't want to spend the next couple of weeks answering questions she didn't know the answers to (Time + Body + Ego).

As I explained to her that if all we did was focus solely on products, we would be ignoring behaviors, decisions, strategies, and philosophies that were really at the root of the problems she was experiencing, she said that those were the responsibility of the adviser,not her. Once she invested the money, the results were the advisers responsibility, not hers (Ego). She said that she already knew how the stock market worked. She didn't need any lessons there, just the answers as to where to invest (Mind + Ego)

So what I am pointing out here with the parenthesis is the parts of the conversation where Donna was not willing to give what was really needed to fix her investment problems. At times she, like a lot people, needed to set aside her ego and acknowledge she didn't have the answers or knowledge that would fix her problems. There were other parts where she would need to devote more time, be present, and give the mental effort to get the answers to questions she couldn't answer. That would enable her to see what she couldn't. Unfortunately,she saw her problems as solely money problems.  In her opinion, all she had to do was move her money to the right investment and her problems would go away forever.

She didn't even want to begin to find out that perhaps she was using a faulty decision making process, nor find out what a good decision making process looks like. She didn't want to consider that the amount of time she was devoting to maintaining a good understanding of her investments was insufficient. Again, some how she has been conditioned to believe that investing is purely a money decision. She like a a lot of investors is sorely mistaken.

It takes time to put your listening in the right place to begin to absorb a conversation for prudent investing. It takes time to go through the questions and it takes humility to admit that you can't answer those questions. It takes humility for an investor follow a process you don't, initially, understand or create. It takes faith (not blind faith) to allow an investor to let a coach lead them to answers that on their own they won't see.
It takes committing to a process of follow up and continuing education. Investing is not a once and done process.

Money can't do any of that. Only the investor can. Only the investor can determine if they are willing to pay the price peace of mind requires.


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

NFL Week One & Investing Lessons

NFL Week One & Investing

by: Brendan Magee

As far as I can tell, the only thing that gets more attention than investing is the National Football League. People can't wait for the season to begin. I believe in large part it's because, like investing, so many people are participating in the each week's games to one degree or another. Most people do not have the athletic ability to get on the field, but they can put their heart, soul and money in to the games by gambling on the games or, the latest rage, fantasy football, which I do not fully understand or par take of. The key word in that sentence is gambling and in many ways people approach gambling on football games the way they approach investing.

I think if people could step back and recognize the similarities in how they approach and participate in football games and investing, they would do a better job of separating the two activities and the one that should be for entrainment only, gambling on football games, would not be dealt with in the same manner, as investing for your retirement.

Let's start with a game that turned out completely different than most people would have predicted. The Buffalo Bills could have conceivably been predicted to beat the Indianapolis Colts at home yesterday, but how many people would have believed/predicted and bet their hard earned money that Buffalo would pretty much blow out the Colts by a score of 27 to 14? To have profited from betting on the game you would have had to been able to predict that Buffalo would have beaten Indianapolis by such a wide margin. Most fans can tell you they may have a gut feeling or a favored outcome for a game, but they have no idea how the game will actually play out. This, with all the info that is made readily available to the betting public before the game is played.

Relate that to the stock market. How many people are making predictions about which direction the market is going to go, up, down, sideways, etc. Given all the news and information that is readily available about the economy, the publicly traded companies, political scandals, etc., any investor who is making a decision about how to invest and feels good because of all the information that is behind that decision is standing on the same ground as the football handicapper. Neither knows how the game is going to be played out in advance. Investing for retirement involves way more serious money than money bet on football games, hopefully.

Gamblers don't know who will get hurt in the game and how those injuries impact the game. They don't know which of the players was up all week with sick child, or whose marriage is on the rocks and how those events will impact the players performances. Investors are speculating on news and information that has already occurred and has already had their impact on the market. It's only unknowable and unpredictable news and events and how people around the world react that are going to move the stock market. Honestly, doesn't the investor's and handicapper's dilemma sound exactly the same?

The other similarity between the NFL and investing is the impulse of taking short term results and making long-term conclusions out of them. Yes the Colts lost, but how would you like to take your hard earned retirement money and invest it based on a hunch that the Buffalo Bills will outperform the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, or Philadelphia Eagles over a sixteen game season? How comfortable would you be if hundreds of thousands of your dollars were riding on whether or not you guessed right? Yet, every day some investment show or web site is telling people where the market will wind up based on the day's news and events. Think back to just a few weeks ago. How many were predicting doom and gloom based on what was happening with China's stock market. How many investors made decisions based on those recommendations? Right now I bet you would have a hard time finding 10 people who could tell you what happened in China's stock market.

Here's the deal. The NFL for the majority of people, should be used purely for entertainment purposes. If you want to bet on the games or engage in fantasy leagues, do it to your hearts content. Treat it as no more than that. Investing, especially for retirement, is serious business. Any activity with investing for retirement that remotely resembles gambling on football games should be eliminated immediately. Your wallet will thank you.

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. with comments or questions e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.

An Investor's Ultimate Slap In The Face

The Investor's Slap In Face 

by: Brendan Magee

There isn't anyone who likes it when their time and money are disrespected. Doctors and investment companies seem to give new meaning to the phrase "We don't mind, cause you don't matter."
Here's two examples of that.

After having received notice that it was time to have my eyes checked, I go to the optometrist. I am there and they know that I am there for my annual check up which I have taken the time to make sure would be covered by my health insurance. The receptionist also informs me that every so often it is a good idea to have your peripheral vision checked by a test that is not covered by my insurance and for $20 I agree to have that test done and am expecting to pay a total of $45 at the end of my visit.

After my visit the receptionist informs me the bill would be $135 because I had a contact lens evaluation which I had no notice would be done. Again, their notice to me was for an eye exam. Worst of all, I have several months of contacts at home so I am not even thinking about replacing my lenses. Yes, the evaluation was done, but I never asked for it, nor was informed prior to my visit that it would be done. I ask why I wasn't informed that the contact lens evaluation would take place in addition to the eye exam and the receptionist just looks at me with a blank face.

 I realize I am going to get no where with any protestation and, quite pissed off, pay the bill questioning whether I will ever set foot in an office I have been going to for 15 years. I can't believe they feel justified in having me pay a bill for services that I never would have agreed to pay at that time. I was not given the right to make an informed decision. Thinking about it now I am getting angry all over again.

This same scenario is happening to many investors. In particular to sponsors and participants in 401k plans. The other day I sit down to discuss a company's 401k plan and the sponsor believes his company is getting a pretty good deal on the costs of the plan. The problem is, though, we can't account for all the costs the plan is paying. They are buried within the investment contract itself. They can't be accounted for.

I go to Morningstar, a data collection company for the universe of investment products. I find a listing of all the costs associated with this contract. The list details over 20 expense items but doesn't list include the costs associated with those expenses. I call Morningstar and ask the representative where or how I could find that information. He informs me that if the investment company doesn't release the information they cannot publish it. (Are you smelling a rat too?) So how much is this gentleman and his participants paying for just the investment portion of their 401k plan? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.

Two big problems here: The plan sponsor is responsible for being able to account for all plan expenses or he can be found to be in breach of his fiduciary responsibilities to the plan. That is a personal liability. The participants are absorbing the costs of the plan. Their retirement is being directly impacted by these costs. They have no way of knowing what those costs are and whether or not they are receiving value in return for what they are paying. The plan and its participants are in the dark. They are at a terrible disadvantage and the investment company seems to prefer it that way.

At least with me and my optometrist I found out what I paid. I am smarter for the experience and will not make that mistake again. I will ask more questions the next time and will walk out of the office (If  I go back at all!) if my time and money are disrespected. The 401k plan sponsor, nor participants, are given the opportunity ( To feel the sting of getting burnt!) to learn from their mistakes. Neither their time or money is given the respect that it deserves.

Lesson here:  If you can't account for it, the damage being done is almost always way more than you think and way more than the investment company wants you to know about. No one cares more about your money than you. Do not assume because you can't see it that the investment company has put your agenda ahead of theirs. Trust is good, but trust with the ability to verify is way better.

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