Investment Industry Product Driven, Unfortunately Your Returns Are Behavior Driven

Investment Industry Product Driven, Unfortunately Returns Are Behavior Driven

by: Brendan Magee

I had two encounters this past week that demonstrated to me just how at odds with one another the investment industry and investors are with one another.

The first was at a Christmas party I attended with a networking group I belong to,and the second was with a gentleman and his wife who are trying to figure out the best way to invest their money. At the Christmas party a nice woman asks me what I do for a living. As I am experiencing the conversation, we are just making pleasant conversation, and I am giving her my best explanation as to what an investor coach does. I am telling her that as a coach I help investors focus on the questions they need to be asking. I tell her that coaching helps a person understand that an investor's results are mainly derived from what they do or don't do with their investments/ what they allow or don't allow to be done with their money. I am telling her that as a coach we are trying to help investors stay focused on their behavior.

After listening with some patience she says with some annoyance,  "This isn't a sales call. Just give me the bottom line. What do you put your clients in." Then she tells me that before a career change she had spent a lot of time in the investment industry.

The second instance was the second phone call with a gentleman and his wife who are trying to figure out how they should be investing their money. They met with two very well known companies for consultations. The first suggested an annuity. The second recommended a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash. At no point did the representatives of the companies, nor the woman I met at the Christmas party show any interest or seem to put any value on finding out whether or not investors understand the rules for successful long-term investing and could apply them with discipline.

For the couple they are trying to come to long-term conclusions about their investments using quarterly returns data. They have no idea as to whether or not the 100 to 50 stocks that are in the recommendations of one of the firms they have met with are diversified or not. They don't even know to ask the questions to make that determination. Their life savings and the futures they want to pass along to their children and grand children are at risk as they are playing a game of blind archery with their portfolio.  They have no real idea about what they may be allowing to be done with their life savings.

This where the investor's financial future and the investment industry's agenda are at odds with one another. The investment industry's bottom line profits depend on the investor continuing to buy and put money into an endless parade of investment products, products that not event their representatives fully understand. The investor's financial security depends upon following and applying three rules: Own stocks, diversify, buy low/sell high.

The questions are, does an investor understand how to properly apply these rules? Over the past 20 years, as noted by the Dalbar Corporation's Quantitative Analysis Report for 2015, and investors under performing the market by $286 billion, you would have to conclude that investors do not know how to follow these rules, nor does the investment industry show any interest in making sure they do.

When is the last time you saw an investment advertisement or a cable to television show talking about an investors behavior? Without any attention given to it, what do you think the odds are that an investor would be able to recognize and eliminate bad behavior? Finally, if the investment industry isn't promoting good or prudent behavior, what kind of behavior do you think is being promoted? Is it behavior that's more beneficial to your bottom line or theirs?

Now it might not be the easiest thing to do, but unless you stop and take an honest look at whether or not your behavior is leading you in the right direction or causing you to shoot yourself in the foot, how can you ever overcome it? ( By the way, if you want to get a completely unvarnished perspective, do not do this exercise on your own. It's too easy to not be as thorough as you need to be) Going through an exercise like this can be painful. Your pride and your ego most likely will get bruised a bit, but if the exercise doesn't kill you, the result will be an investor who has taken complete ownership of their financial future.

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

The Day After The Day That Lives In Infamy And Investing

The Day After The Day That Lives In Infamy And Investing

         by: Brendan Magee

Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the the attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. I was wondering what the day after the attack was like in the neighborhoods of America. That was the day the country was beginning to come to grips with what had just happened.  I remember how utterly stunned I was on September 12th, 2001.

For sure there was grieving for all the sailors and service men who lost their lives, anger at the Japanese for their surprise attack, fear because now the country was thrust into World War II and all that that would bring. At that point the country had to start picking up the pieces for not being able to see what was going to happen on December 7th.

This is one commonality between investing and our military, the biggest most dangerous problems each faces are the problems they cannot see. Imagine how life/history would have changed had the Navy been alerted to the pending attack of the Japanese? Imagine if the people who lost $65 billion to Bernie Madoff knew in advance that the man was a thief? Imagine how different the investing landscape would look today? I think this is one of the reasons terrorism and investing occupy so much of our attention. With each, there is always an element of the unknown and it can be terrifying to think what could happen

So given that there is always an element of the unknown with investing, how do we protect ourselves? We have to realize that like America's freedom, there are those who would like to take your money from you. They are good. They are smart, and they will never give up.

We have to accept that we cannot see everything. We need to have a second set of eyes to help us see our blind spots. That would be a coach. We need to engage in a conversation that enables us to stay vigilant. As a coach,  I hold monthly coaching sessions for my clients. This is so they can maintain an understanding of what it is they are doing with their money, but also fully understand why they are doing what they are doing. Hopefully, this does two things. One give them added peace of mind that they are doing the right things with their money. Two, as they are approached by people who mean to do them and their financial security harm, they can in some way recognize the danger and keep the wolves away.

We need to remember that unless we are held up at gun point nothing bad can happen to our money until we have said yes to something we shouldn't have said yes to, and unless we are asking the right questions, the wrong answer can be almost impossible to see. This is when the life altering events occur. History shows this clearly whether it's investing or wars.

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.

 

Del Frisco's Steak House, Ocean Prime & Mutual Fund Managers

What Del Frisco's, Ocean Prime And Mutual Fund Managers Won't Let Each Other Do

by: Brendan Magee

Two years ago, my wife helped me cross off my bucket list eating at Del Frisco's Steak House. I had read all the reviews and knew that it was a great place to eat and it didn't disappoint one bit. Walking out I told Jennifer,if I were a convicted man with only one meal coming to me before I was executed, please get it from Del Frisco's.

Driving away from the restaurant, another restaurant's sign caught my attention, Oceans Prime. Given it was located right around the corner from Del Frisco's, I figured it was Del Frisco's prime competition and anything that could stand up to Del Frisco's had to be experienced at least once. This past Saturday for my birthday,  I got to see for myself if Ocean Prime was as good as Del Frisco's.I can honestly tell you both are phenomenal dining experiences. Both serve outstanding food and deliver an awesome experience that some how has you forgetting that you are forking over a mortgage payment to cover the tab.

Leaving the restaurant this time I had a couple different thoughts. One was, there are a lot of people willing to pay top dollar for a great meal. Both restaurants, when we were there, were packed with customers. The second was, neither restaurant is going to let the other restaurant win the competition. They are both going to push each other to be better and more profitable. If Del Frisco's sat back and said, "O.k. Ocean Prime, we are going to step back and let you be number one." That would mean Ocean Prime would get all the perks that go with being number one. Those looking for a great steak and willing to pay $50 for a steak are all going to go to Ocean Prime. Ocean Prime would become more profitable and open additional locations. They might be able to lower their prices a little bit and lure more of Del Frisco's customers away. Del Frisco's could lose their business if they failed to keep pace.

So Del Frisco's can't let Ocean Prime have a permanent competitive edge. They will create new dishes, higher better chefs, redecorate their dining room, etc. They can't afford to be number two for very long.

The same competition takes place among mutual fund managers. There is a race for being number one every year, and if say Fidelity sits back and says to Vanguard, American, T. Rowe Price, etc. we are going to be content to eternally stay in second or fourth place all the money is going to flow away from Fidelity to who ever is the perennial winning mutual fund company. When that happens, the fund managers at Fidelity will have their incomes cut or jobs eliminated. They won't get the bonuses they were counting on or the book deals the other top performing fund mangers are going to get.

So if one fund manager has a competitive edge in one year, the other fund managers are not going to let that edge stand unchallenged for very long. If Vanguard struck it rich with tech stocks, the other fund managers are soon to be loading up on tech stocks and there goes Vanguard's competitive edge. The fund managers have effectively cancelled out the others' competitive edge.

This is one of the main reasons why the top performing fund managers do not repeat the following year as the top performing fund manager. If the other guy is winning all the time, that means I am losing all the time, and who wants that?

This is true with restaurants as well as mutual fund managers.

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

Investing: What It Takes To Win!!

Investing, Defeating Jihad

What It Takes To Win!!

By: Brendan Magee




In his book, "Defeating Jihad", Dr. Sebastiona Gorka makes no bones about it. We are at war with Radical Islamic Terrorism. In America we value freedom, and Dr. Gorka states that freedom is not the natural state of affairs. "There will always be those who believe they have the right to take your freedom to serve their greater ideological cause." History, he says, backs this up with the rise of Nazi Germany as well as communist Soviet Union which he and his family had to endure in Post World War II Hungary.

Gorka states that our new enemy, Radical Islam, is using Islam and Allah as the justification for mass murder. No peaceful coexistence is possible in their view. The infidel must be killed or submit. The Nazis invoked the Fuhrer. The jihadists invoke the name of Allah to enslave/destroy the nonbeliever.

9/11 occurred more than 15 years ago and we are still at war with Radical Islam. Dr. Gorka points out that the United States defeated Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan in five years, but today we face an enemy we have been fighting for over a decade with no end in sight.

Gorka quotes the book The Art of War, which states "know your enemy if you wish to win." Unfortunately there is another quote from the book that isn't as well read. Sun Tsu's recipe for ultimate victory is to first know yourself. What do I represent? What am I prepared to risk blood and treasure for? If you have not answered these questions, you should not be going to war at all, Gorka states. As Americans living in a post-9/11 world, we have yet to adequately answer these questions and as a result the war on terror seems to drag on without any end in sight.


So what does this have to do with investing? For God's sake all you might want to do is save enough to live your golden years in comfort right? You're not going to be spilling any blood or treasure. You're just planning on working as hard as you can to provide for your family and your financial security. No one is going to be firing an AK-47 at you and you certainly aren't going to be fighting ISIS any time soon, right?

Consider for a moment that like the war on terror, unless you know yourself and answer certain questions sooner than later, investing is going to drag on with no end in sight. You won't truly know if you are winning or losing. You won't know anything other than you have to keep on keeping on because, "For sure this isn't what victory looks or feels like."

You might not be spending blood and treasure, but you will certainly be spending time, effort, money, and passion in an attempt to build financial security for yourself and your family. None of those things comes in unlimited supply. You will also have enemies to deal with. Like Americans with freedom, you have something people would like to take from you, your money. Some you won't even be able to recognize as your enemy because they are so good at deception.

Unless you know yourself, you won't be able to protect yourself from your weaknesses. You won't know the weaknesses you can handle vs the ones you can't handle. You won't know where you need help and where you don't.

So what is the question you need to ask and answer? The question is, "What is your true purpose for money, that which is more important than money itself? I do not recommend that you answer this question on your own, but if you are going to go down that path, if the answer you come up with is anything that can be accomplished with money, you haven't answered the question properly.

In 1950 as America began to face the growing threat of communism and the Soviet Union, Paul Nitze of the State Department laid out for President Truman a reexamination of the country's strategic plans to win the Cold War. First and foremost, Nitze concisely laid out the true purpose of The United States of America, "To assure the integrity and vitality of our free society, which is founded on the dignity and worth of the individual." Money alone could never buy that and if that weren't important enough the United States would not have truly understood why the country was going to the lengths it was going in order to defeat the Soviet Union.

So your task is to answer the question, "What is your true purpose for money, that which is more important than money itself?' In answering that question you will answer, "What is it that you represent?" What are the values you cherish the most? What are the ones that you would never give up on? What are your weaknesses and how are you going to manage them?  Why are you spending so much time, energy, and money? Are you willing to pay the price? If you have not answered these questions, do not invest one more penny until you have.

Speaking from experience, once you do, you will never be the same again!

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

Investor Boot Camp Preview

Wentz Coached, Trump Not Coached

Wentz Coached, Trump Not Coached

                                           by: Brendan Magee

Eagles Quarterback, Carson Wentz, and Republican Party Presidential candidate, have a few things in common and a few that aren't. Both have recently stepped on to huge stages. It doesn't get much bigger than starting in the National Football League, unless its being your party's candidate to become President of the United States.

Trump and Wentz have a lot of God-given talent. You might not like what he says, but, you don't turn $1 million (or $14 million as Hillary puts the figure at) loaned to you by your father and turn it into billions without talent. You also don't go from North Dakota State to the Philadelphia Eagles without the tools to do so.

Another thing they have in common is they are both extremely new to their current positions. Wentz has started just five games in the NFL. Trump has about a year under his belt as a politician. Their contemporaries have many more years of experience as either quarterback or politician. Hence, they will and have made mistakes.

Wentz, by many accounts, in the Redskins game held the ball too long and took sacks when he shouldn't. Trump during the debates and on the campaign has put his foot in his mouth too many times. If they had do overs, I would assume both would do several things differntly.

What they don't have in common is the look of someone who is being coached and is putting the coaching to practice. Wentz, by all accounts, is showing up at the Eagle's practice facility in the early morning hours to absorb the playbook and look at game film in preparation for next week's games. The coaching staff, made up of former NFL quarterbacks, as well as analysts have commented on how much progress Wentz is making. It's evident when you see Wentz play that he has a good grasp of what he is doing when he is on the field.

Trump in the three debates did o.k., but there were times he had openings to stick it too Hillary, or not needlessly spar with the debate moderator, but couldn't get out of his own way. He has good, experienced people around him like Kelly Ann Conway and Rudi Giuliani to offer advice and counseling. Unfortunately, he has come up short in clearly articulating a solid case to defeat Hillary Clinton, a very beatable opponent. From the first debate to the third you can't see a drastic difference in his performances. Analysts, more than anything, seem to be talking more about the opportunities in the debates he was unable to take advantage of rather than how well he did.

When it comes to investing, the difference between a successful investor and a disappointed investor is often a coach. Coaches, from their vantage point can point out blind spots the investor can't see and help the investor see the impact they are having on their results.

Coaching, unfortuantely, doesn't have any benefit unless two things happen. First, the investor has to have eaten a little humble pie. (Does Trump in any way appear as humble as Wentz?) By this I mean the investor has to accept that on their own they will not achieve the results they are after on their own, more likely they will fail.

Secondly, the investor has to have an enormous capacity to trust. Often times, the things to do to achieve success are way out of an investor's comfort zone. It feels awkward and we are fearful when trying something different. How many investors have ever heard of Modern Portfolio Theory and know how to apply it to their investments in a disciplined fashion? Probably less than one percent.

So the investor has to trust the coach the in order to take actions they cannot see the validity in, but that is where and when the breakthroughs occur. The same old/same old doesn't produce breakthroughs.

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.

As An Investor, When Have You Taken Advantage Of?

As An Investor, When Have You Felt Taken Advantage Of?

                     By: Brendan Magee


I recently met with a client who is within 10 to 15 years of retirement who  had a number of investing problems they were dealing with. The problems were bothering them so much they told me they were grinding their teeth at night. The problems were as follows:

1. They had no idea what the brokerage house was doing with their money or if it was in any way helping.

2. Rarely heard from their adviser except when he was calling up to place a trade in her account.

3. Wanted to move their money away from their current broker but was terrified to do so because they had very little investment knowledge and was afraid they would make things worse if the money was moved.

Worst of all though they felt taken for granted. Having been a client for almost 12 years they noticed other advisers inviting people out to dinners or for coffee to say thank you and help their clients have more confidence about their investments. They wondered why their loyalty didn't even warrant a thank you. So they felt taken for granted.

My question is, has there been times in the past when you have felt as an investor your financial adviser was taking you fro granted? Please write back describing the situation and what you did to resolve the situation.

The best story wins a fabulous prize!!

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. To respond to the question, submit a question or comment e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322

Are You An Investing Role Model?

Are You An Investing Role Model?

by: Brendan Magee

Charles Barkley is known as a great basketball player and as an NBA television analyst. He's been quoted numerous times, but one of his most famous quotes is "I am not a role model." He was responding to questions about how he was behaving on the court and the impact his behavior could have on kids who look up to him. 

I ref basketball games, and have been doing it for the past 14 years. I have done high school, some college, as well as grade school level games. The other night I am officiating a game of seventh and eigth graders and early on in the game I called a foul against a kid who tried to block another players shot. There wasn't any doubt that he fouled him, plus it's just one foul and we were not at a critical point in the game.  So let's just play on.

The player reacted by turning around to me and screaming in my face for which he was assessed a technical foul. In behavior he very much resembled a lot of the pro athletes we see on television being paid millions of dollars  acting like a jack ass.

Kids don't know any better. They repeat behavior they see adults engage in, and this kid I am sure saw nothing wrong with how he reacted. Just about everyone, including his coach, disagreed with him. 

So pro athletes may not consider themselves role models, but their behavior absolutely has an impact on the behaviors and decisions kids make. 

I got to thinking people need good role models in all walks of life, investing especially. Whether you are the parent, uncle, etc. we want to pass down to our children a foundation for making good and prudent decisions with money.

So my question is this and I can't wait to read some of your responses. What are you doing to be a good investing role model for your children? 

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. To answer the question, submit a question or comment e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.

The Tragic Loss of Jose Fernandez & Investing

The Tragic Loss of Jose Fernandez & Investing

    by: Brendan Magee

As the weekend approaches and the reality that this is the last time we will get to see Ryan Howard in a Phillies uniform, those who love Phillies baseball can't help but feel a little sad. In comparison, our sadness cannot compare with the grieving that is taking place in the Miami Marlins organization.

Just 24 years old, with a child on the way, and on the verge of a hall of fame career, Jose Fernandez died Sunday, September 25th along with two friends in a late night boating accident.

Reports are that, after an argument with his girlfriend he decided to blow off some steam by taking a ride on his 32 foot fishing boat. In trying to get fellow teammates to join him they declined the invite and  cautioned him not to go out under such dangerous conditions.

Another report is that his neighbor, former pitcher Pedro Martinez, had tried to counsel him in the past on driving his boat. He told Fernandez he was riding too close to the jetty. He told him he needed to be at least 200 feet away from the jetty in order to be sure he stayed clear of it.

Obviously at night, it is practically impossible to see a jetty and man doesn't do well when he collides with one. The consequences of which in this case proved to be fatal for Mr. Fernandez.

So what does this tell investors?  The lesson here is that it is not the problems or dangers that you can see that will cause the most damage. It is the ones you cannot see that cause the most danger, and some times the consequences are fatal.

So what is your best bet in terms of avoiding fatal problems with investing? The answer is to have your focus on the right questions.

How many people have you heard of losing 30, 40, even 50% of their portfolio who had no idea they were in such volatile investments? What if that person would have known to ask, "How can I get a measurement of just how diversified I am? What if they knew to ask, How can I get a measurement of how much risk/volatility is in my portfolio? Perhaps, in advance, they would have known their investments were not right for them. Perhaps they would have known that you can't have control of anything until you get a mathematical measurement of it.

The other key is to have a coach who you trust enough to not only point out your blind spots, but that you agree you will also follow their coaching even if you can't see the value of their coaching. Perhaps if Fernandez had listened he would still be here and all we would have to be sad about is that this is the last time Ryan Howard will play for the Phillies.

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.

Trump, Wentz, & Investors-Becoming Seasoned Is Painful

Trump, Wentz, And Investing,

Becoming Seasoned Is Painful

                   by: Brendan Magee


Between the last three Eagles games and the amazing performance turned in by their rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and the hype that surrounded the first debate, my head is spinning. I could only imagine what things are like for Trump and Wentz.

This time last year,Wentz was playing for North Dakota State, not a exactly the biggest of college football programs. Trump was in the midst of a heated primary debate with 15 other candidates. He was not a politician going up against seasoned politicians out for blood. Now they are on the biggest of stages with millions of eye balls focused on their every move.

Now one of the things that Wentz has going for himself is, apparently, his work ethic.
Every morning at 5:45 am Wentz is going over game film of next weeks opponent. His veteran teammates have spoken admiringly of his work ethic. All that being said, there is nothing that can give a quarterback the feel for the speed and high speed contact that goes on between the lines like actually getting on the field and taking the hits.

One thing Wentz had to learn the hard way was knowing when to get out of bounds or get rid of the football before a linebacker could put a big hit on him. Hence, his very first game he took a hit and suffered a fractured rib. Ouch! Fast forward to last Sunday's game and you see Wentz getting rid of the ball and getting out of bounds  before he takes unnecessary punishment.

Trump in his first one on one debate with Hillary Clinton did o.k., but the winner was pretty much agreed to be Clinton. Her victory wasn't a landslide, but by the eye test I think just about every one would give the nod to Clinton. Let's face it, Trump was going into the debate against an individual who has been around politics for 30 years. She has been before Congressional hearings,  participated in presidential and senatorial debates many times over. She has the benefit of years of experience on her side. There just isn't a substitute for that.

I imagine that Trump last night went to bed and replayed several opportunities during the debate that he let slip by. Today, he is going to have to answer some questions about things he should have done or said a little better in the debate. He is, most likely, walking around with a little bit of frustration. Fortunately, he will have a couple of more chances to improve on his performance and most likely he will be better. There is no substitute for actually getting out there and taking your lumps. Prep time is not game time.

It woks the same for investors. There is no substitute for experience. You can't imagine what it really feels like to go through a bear market. You have to actually see a statement or two where your money has gone down by twenty to thirty percent. You have to live with the pain, fear, and doubts. You have to live with the uncertainty as to when your portfolio will rebound. You have to come out on the other end realizing that yes you may have been a little bruised for the experience, but you are better off for having gone through it.


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.

Learn From Arnie-Keep It Simple And It Will All Workout

Investor's, Learn From Arnie,
Keep It Simple And It Will All Workout
by: Brendan Magee

Like a lot of people I was sad to hear of the passing of golfing legend Arnold Palmer. I worked as a fore caddie in the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club. and by that time he was pretty well past his golfing prime, but that could not affect the love that his fans, Arnie's Army, poured out to him. When he was coming to the hole I was working on each day all of a sudden the crowds got a little bigger and people hung on his every shot. There was just something about him.

Although his accomplishments on the golf course are impressive, it is his accomplishments off the course that made a lasting impression on millions of people. It was how he treated people that made the difference. It didn't matter if you were the President of the United States of America or a regular hard working individual. He took the time to shake peoples hands and actually take an interest in what they had to say. 

I can remember countless times in interviews Arnie being asked where the motivation came from to treat people as well as he did, and I always remember him saying that his father told him to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Shake peoples hands, look them in the eye, listen to them and help people when you can. He said he always remembered those rules his father taught him throughout his life. Low and behold, not a bad word have I ever heard spoken about Arnold Palmer. 

Investors can learn a lot about investing from the example set by Arnold. Keep it simple, follow a few basic rules and in the long run you will be better than fine. The rules for successful long-term investing- Own equities, diversify, buy low/sell high. Do those things and in the long run you will be successful as an investor. Arnold has almost 75 years as a professional golfer and celebrity to back up his rules and investors can rely on 88 years worth of academic research to back up the rules mentioned above. 

Of course this doesn't mean every day will come up like roses. Arnie lost golf tournaments, some he had in the bag. Investors will also experience years where their investments are taking a beating. Unfortunately, as Arnie's fans sadly learned things do not last forever, good days and bad. Just follow the rules and the good days will far outweigh the bad.

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.

The Pusuit of Happiness, Really?

The Pursuit of Happiness, First You Have To Figure Out What That Is?

     by: Brendan Magee

With all the protesting going on in the country these days, I started to look back to the founding of our country to see is there something I am missing. The Declaration of Independence says that one of our God-given rights is our pursuit of happiness. It doesn't say that we are entitled to be happy, just that we have the right to pursue what ever it is that is going to make us happy. No matter what it is, within the law, we have the right to go after it. We even have the right that if we find what we are pursuing doesn't make us happy to change our minds and pursue something else. Our founding fathers put the responsibility for our happiness in our hands.

So, Are you happy? If the answer is no, not at all, or not as happy as you'd like to be, I am gong to make a suggestion. Perhaps, you need to figure out exactly what it is that will make you happy. I believe you have a much better chance of accomplishing something after you have clearly defined it.

As it relates to investing, this clear definition is a step that most investors unknowingly step over. We call this defining your true purpose for money.  Now, when first asked this question, most respond with the things they want: A million dollars, to retire by age 50, to own the house at the shore, etc. No doubt these are great things, but I have never seen true happiness come from a new car or any amount of money.

When we are asking this question, What is your true purpose for money? We are really asking what is the true purpose for your life? What is it in life that means the most to you? Again, only you would know what that is, and I do not think you could figure that out over a cup of coffee. It would take quite a bit of intentional effort. Hell, I don't think you could figure it out completely on your own.

Without the answer to this question clearly defined, we start spending money, time, energy, passion, and effort in the hope that our efforts will produce happiness. What a great big pain in the you know what to spend so much effort on something in the hope you will achieve something you will like. What are the odds that your efforts will produce something that truly lights you up? What are the odds that after all that effort, money and time not producing something you love that you are not going to be one angry, frustrated and ticked off individual looking for someone, anyone else but your self, to blame?

Imagine going to a job, putting in a full week worth of work in the hope that you will be paid fairly? Could you imagine your state of mind as you went through the week? You could  be imagining the scene at the end of the week where you don't get paid at all. You could be thinking about what you would be telling your family when you couldn't afford to pay the bills. You could be imagining the feeling of powerlessness about not having had a say about how much you'd be paid for all your hard work.  What's fair is worked out in advance of any work being done. Happiness works the same way whether it's life or investing.

There's one more crazy thing about having defined in advance what it is that makes you happy. Pursuing what makes you happy actually makes you a happier person, now. You don't have to wait to be happy. Just start pursuing what makes you happy. Think about. When you are traveling to a  vacation, isn't that among the happiest commutes of the year? Packing and loading up the car aren't great big pains in the neck. It's work that makes you happy. You are excited to go to the beach or the mountains and have some fun with family and friends.One great thing about happiness is that you do not have to have dime one to experience it. Once you have defined it, merely spending time on it produces happiness. Here is one sad note about happiness. Money can't buy it, either.

So here's your opportunity to win a great prize for the first 5 people who respond with an answer to the question, What is it that makes you happy? Just send us an e-mail detailing what is that makes you happy and what it is about that that makes you happy. Keep is to say 100 words or less and you have won your prize.

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. To respond to the question, make a comment, or suggestion e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.

Colin Kaepernick & Investing Where Opinions Don't Matter At All

Colin Kaepernick & Investing: 
Where Opinions Don't Matter At All 

     by: Brendan Magee

You couldn't go two minutes over the past couple of weeks without hearing about Colin Kaepernick and his protest in not standing as the National Anthem was played before the start of NFL games. Both, his supporters and detractors have had their say on the issue.

Thankfully, week one of the N.F.L. season has practically come and gone. Refreshingly, the focus was on the field and not on the sidelines and who was standing, kneeling, protesting, or doing what ever else they may choose to do. The focus was all on the players and which teams had the most points at the end of the game. What a refreshing change.

One of the better analogies on the pre-game shows was given by former Dallas Cowboys coach, Jim Johnson. He said, as coaches we get paid to win football games, period. My focus as a coach was in getting my players ready to play the game, because at the end of the day that is all that matters. He said he did not give too much attention to things happening outside of the teams confines.

Now, who wins the game is totally driven by who blocks, tackles, runs the ball, catches the ball, and who commits the fewest turnovers. Anyone watching the Eagles game yesterday could clearly see that that was the Eagles.

Investing is pretty much like a football game. Everyone has opinions about what should or shouldn't be happening, where the market's going or not going, etc. All those opinions might fill up the television air waves or fill out the pages of magazines, but they do not make one bit of difference when it comes to the success or failure an investor experiences. The results are, purely, behavior driven. An investor's behavior has to be consistent with following the rules on a day- in-day-out basis.

The question is, like blocking and tackling, what are the rules for successful investing? Not your rules, but the academically proven and empirically backed up rules for long-term successful investing?

The first to respond with the correct answer wins a great prize!

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. To respond to the question, make a comment, or ask a question e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-299-3969.

Mr./Mrs. Investor, How Would You Like That Cooked? Just Kidding

Mr./Mrs. Investor, How Would You Like That Cooked? Just Kidding

          by: Brendan Magee

Last week I was in Chicago with a lot of other business owners who were learning how to do a better job of marketing their businesses. As such, I ate my meals in a couple of restaurants. At lunch, I am with a fellow attendee and he orders a hamburger for lunch. The waitress kindly asked him how he would like the burger cooked. At dinner I ordered a steak and the waiter again asked how I wanted the steak cooked.

If you sit down with a financial planner or you invest on your own, you talk about or go over your goals, what you have experienced in the past and liked or didn't like. If you like what you hear from the adviser you perhaps give him or her some money to move your money into new investment products. If you don't like what you have heard you keep your money in your existing investments.

Never though is the investor asked how they would like their investments to be managed. They are never asked what approach they believe would be the best for them. Instead, the investment company takes the money and manages it as they see fit, never even bothering to ask the investor how they want their money to be manged, or even letting them know their is a choice available to them. So why would an investment company keep the investor completely in the dark about how their money is going to be managed?

 First one to respond wins a prize.

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. With a response to the question, e-mail brendan@coachgee.com. If you have a question or comment you can e-mail or call 610-446-4322

T.V.'s or Investing Trust Your Gut

Investors, Trust Your Gut!

by: Brendan Magee

You do not have to be an expert in something to know when something doesn't look or feel right. Under those circumstances, you need to stop and do not proceed any further until your concerns have been properly addressed.

I am not a master carpenter, but I can tell when screws are a lot looser than they should be. Case in point, I purchased a new flat screen television set for my conference room. The salesmen told me the store could send someone out to set up the television for an additional $100 where all they would be doing is securing eight screws into the base of the set. Having just spent a few hundred dollars, being able to read and follow the directions, and knowing righty tighty, I felt up to the task of setting up my new television set.

I followed the directions, had the stand screwed into the base of the set, and proceeded to put the set on the stand. Something wasn't right though. The set was a lot looser than what felt appropriate or safe. I had visions of my new set falling to the floor and shattering into pieces. I would be worrying all the time if I left the set as is.

I took the screws to the hardware store and within 10 minutes the guy told me the screws that came with the set were too short. I would have never known. He gave me a bag of shorter nails and in 20 minutes the set was secure, up on the stand and has been in good use since. As far as my set was concerned, I now had peace of mind.

My experience, I bet, was similar to what a lot of investors go through. They sit down with an adviser or do some research on the inter net and put together a portfolio that will help them achieve their life dreams. Only something doesn't feel right.

There are thoughts like, I don't understand how this investment works exactly. How much am I paying for this product? How will I know it's working or not working? How do I know that the funds and products I see on television aren't better than the ones I own? You just can't seem to get comfortable with these questions going unanswered.

This is the time to stop and get your questions answered. Do not stop until you have got the answers to your questions. All too often, rather than a television laying shattered on the ground, it's investors portfolios that are dashed in a million pieces and you can't put back together what you have spent a life time building. A couple of minutes acknowledging your doubts (not ignoring them) and taking the time to seek out someone who can get you the answers to your questions can be the difference between peace of mind and a disaster.

If you are dealing with a planner or adviser who is merely interested in selling you another product, your questions will not get answered. You will be told how your life will be that much better if you put your money in this product or that product.

If you are dealing with a coach, not only will they want to know what all questions are at that point, they will most likely add to the list. They will add a couple of questions you had not thought to ask. Getting the questions you hadn't thought to ask answered will be the key to eliminating any nagging doubts and having peace of mind.

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

Fear: Be It Zip Lining or Investing, It Destroys

 Fear: Whether Zip Lining or Investing,

It Drains Us Of Strength, Clouds Our Judgement

by: Brendan Magee

Fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by a real or imagined threat. Fear disrupts our lives, drains us of our spiritual strength, and clouds our judgement. At least that is what the pamphlet that I read just before embarking on a zip line adventure. 

To be truthful, as my guide, Emily, was helping me into my harness, I was thinking of some of the threats to my well being that comes when you are going to be anywhere between 25 to 65 feet in the air hanging by a wire. Forget about the fact that I was safely going to be hooked up to safety lines and the likelihood of falling was minimal. I was quite distressed. 

With a little time to ponder before hitting the zip line course, I thought about the role fear plays in the lives of investors.  There is plenty to be fearful of. What if the stock market crashes? What if my financial adviser turns out to be a crook and I lose all my money? What if I lose my job? What if I get sick? What if I don't save enough? How will I survive? 

Is there an investment decision we make that isn't some where rooted in fear?

We might not see it this way, but fear steals from us. It destroys our hope in the future and it robs us of the joy of living. 

If we walk around with a fear of the stock market crashing, by all costs we want to avoid that. We don't put a penny of our money in stocks. We play it safe and only go with guaranteed investments. Sure the three or four percent return won't keep pace with inflation and most likely I will out live my savings in retirement, but I don't have to live with the never ending fear of when will the stock market crash. Meantime, I have missed out on the annualized 11% the S&P 500 has done over the past thirty years as well as any chance of living a secure and comfortable retirement. 

If we walk around fearing being taken by a self serving financial adviser, there's no way in hell I am going to risk having my money stolen. I will just invest my money on my own. Who cares if I don't know how the stock market works or where returns really come from. If the market goes down, I will just get out until the market goes back up then I will reinvest in the market. I know I can't buy high/ sell low and be successful, but I just can't stand the thought of falling victim to an unscrupulous investment adviser.

Might not seem as if any of these scenarios could befall you. They are too simplistic, but every day, more people then you can shake a stick at are making decisions with their money which are totally based on fear. As we said earlier, fear clouds our judgement. We can't possibly know where the runway is if it is clouded over with fog. 

The only way for investors to begin to overcome their fears is by, first, admitting they have them. Until our fears are acknowledged poor decisions and behaviors will continue. Next, we have to admit that we can not overcome our fears on our own. We need a coach. Not only did I need my coach's knowledge in safely getting around the zip line course, I needed her encouragement and a gentle push every now and again. 

I don't think it is any different for investors. When we acknowledge our fears and surrender to the fact that we cannot control them on our own, we get back the strength, joy, passion, money, security and freedom that our fears stole from us.

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.

I Didn't "Intend" To Market Time

I Didn't "Intend" To Market Time

                      by: Brendan Magee

I can't think of a word that has gotten more attention then the word "INTENT." F.B.I. Director James Comey brought a lot attention and shook the heads of a lot of people when he decided that charges should not be brought against Hillary Clinton because she didn't INTEND to harm the country with the use of her personal e-mail server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

Most of us have to live in a world where we do not get to split hairs. We have to live with what we did, not what we intended to do. Run a red light and telling the police you didn't intend to run the red light won't get you out of the ticket. Cheat on your wife and telling her you didn't intend to hurt her probably won't get you out of a big fat divorce settlement.

Investing is an area where intent can often overshadow the good or bad that results from our decisions. Market timing is defined as any attempt to alter or change the mix of a portfolio based on a prediction about the future. The definition seems pretty clear. Doing anything based on a prediction is market timing. The problem with market timing is that no one can consistently predict the future. Hence, if you engage in, or allow your adviser to engage in, market timing you are going to more often then not guess wrong and cost yourself money.

The Prudent Investor Rule circa 1990 spells this dilemma out pretty clearly, "Bargain shopping in an attempt to separate the winners from the losers based on a forecast about the future is deemed wasteful. 

What can cloud the issue and get us to engage in wasteful behavior? Instincts and emotions. I recently had a discussion with a colleague who was a proponent of  guaranteed annuities to protect against the drops in the stock market. Now this is not a dishonorable person. He genuinely has the best interests of his clients at heart.

We need to step back and look at what is driving his decision here. He doesn't want to see his client's money suffer a major loss such as 2008. Now all the losses he is fearing have happened in the past, 2008, 2002, etc. The crash he is trying to help  his clients avoid is some point in the future. He doesn't nor does anyone else know when it will occur or how severe it will be. Hence, he is investing money based upon a prediction or forecast about the future. He has unintentionally engaged in market timing.

Now what is wrong with that? There are rules for successful long-term investing that have to be followed at all times, Own stocks or equities, diversify, and buy low/sell high. These are no different then eat right and exercise as far as health is concerned. Following the rules isn't always easy or comforting, but we all know the penalties if we break them.

From January 1, 1996 through December 31st, 2015 there were 5, 040 trading days. If at the beginning of our time period you had invested $10,000 in U.S. Large Company Stocks and stayed invested all the way through, enjoying all the good days and enduring all the bad days, your investment would have grown to about $50,000. If you at some point decided to get out of the market and avoid what you felt are going to be some bad days for just say 20 days and those days were among the best 20 days (only 20 out of 5,040 days) your $50,000 account would only have grown to $20,000. (Investing involves risk and returns are not guaranteed)

The problem is no matter how noble the intention of helping someone avoid losses in the market is, no one  knows with any certainty when the good days will occur or when the bad days will occur. What we are also forgetting here is that avoiding the bad days doesn't even matter in the long run. All that mattered was  maintaining the discipline necessary to follow the rules for successful investing.

So know when you engage in or allow someone else to engage in market timing with your money you are not breaking the law and you will not face a federal investigation. History shows that you will most likely be costing yourself a whole lot of money and all the possibilities that go along with it.

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.

Prayers Asked & A Lesson To Learn

Prayers Asked 

& 

A Lesson The Lesson Of A Lifetime

by: Brendan Magee

You or a loved one is doubled over and can't breath. Your arms and legs are going numb and you have a history of high cholesterol. What do you do? Take your loved one or get someone to drive you to the hospital and get checked out. You don't wait. It's not a hard situation to figure out.

It's a situation that a friend of mine was personally dealing with recently. As he was asked several times if he was alright and did he want to go to the hospital, he always responded that he was fine. He was so fine that he just recently suffered cardiac arrest and is not in the best of circumstances right now. I ask you to keep him and his family in your prayers.

We all know the right thing to do under just about any circumstance so long as it is happening to some body else.Your chest is tight and heavy. "I don't want to go to the doctors and be hooked up to all those tubes. I don't want to die! It will probably go away in a few minutes."

Theory is so much different than reality. We can be way too quick to believe that under any and all circumstances we will be able to act rationally. This is true whether it be dating, our health, or our investments, but the reality is that we, are not. All you have to do is look at the presidential election. Do you really think rational thought has led us to the candidates we are most likely going to be choosing from?

When it comes to investing we already know what to do in order to be successful. Own equities, diversify, buy low/sell high. We have all heard these rules, especially buy low sell/high. They are not difficult to understand, but following them day-in-day out is not as easy as it sounds.

The British decide to leave the European Union and the stock market goes a bit hay wire. All the experts are on t.v. telling us the world will never be the same again. Everyone is in a panic and asking, " What should I do now?" You already have the answer, own equities, diversify, buy low/sell high. Why is their any confusion?

The answer is instincts and emotions. It's painful to think for one second your life savings is in jeopardy. You get scared that tomorrow you will be living on the street. You have to do something. Who cares about those damn rules. "We got to get out of the market! Sell every thing and put it in cash or a guaranteed annuity. Any body else and you give a calm "You got to keep the long-term in mind. The market always comes back. Don't panic response."

The lesson of a life time is that investing success or failure is a direct result of what the investor does or doesn't do/ What they allow and don't allow to be done with their money. This more than anything will determine an investors fate. Their decisions come from their brains which is where knowledge, instincts and emotions reside. If we can get that when it comes to investing our instincts and emotions cannot be separated from our thoughts or behaviors.

They will be leading the way in our decisions, and history shows that, repeatedly, those decisions will be wasteful.To guard ourselves from our instincts and emotions, starts with acknowledging that we, on our own, cannot protect ourselves from our instincts and emotions. We need to put that job in the hands of someone we trust and never deceive ourselves into believing we can do that job by ourselves.

Our coaches job and ours along with it will be managing a never ending flow of thoughts and ideas that  occur in a flash and on a 24 hour-7days a week -365 days of the year basis. We can only interrupt this pattern if we stop for a second and ask someone if our decisions and behaviors are consistent with our ultimate objectives. Once you do, you will hear and hopefully respond to answers like "No get yourself to the doctor now, not in two weeks. No we are not selling just because Jim Cramer told you the market was in a free fall"

Strength and wisdom are the result of acknowledging our lack of strength and wisdom. Your pride may sting a bit when you swallow it at first, but you and your family love the long-term results.

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.  

How On-Line Investing Addictions Take Root

How On-Line Investing Addictions Take Root

    by: Brendan Magee

I log on to the internet and one of the first headlines I read is, "The Death of Blue Chips." I click on the the link and the next headline reads. "Are Penny Stocks Better Than Blue Chips?" I read on and the article lists and gives detail as to why penny stocks could be better for investors than blue chip stocks. Among the reasons are:

-Penny Stocks are cheaper than blue chip stocks. As opposed to buying expensive stocks like Apple, an investor could by a penny stock for less than a dollar and  with all the shares you could buy for example a stock priced at $.30 if that rose to just a dollar a share. You could just imagine the profit potential.

-Massive return potential in hours if not days. "If you are subscribed to the right newsletter you gain the potential of penny stocks on the verge of exploding." Do research and you will see that it is not uncommon for a stock to double and even triple in just 24 hours. 

Don't these reasons remind you a lot about the buses that would come  get the senior citizens and take them to the casinos to play the slot machines or the advertisements to play the lottery? They are both cheap and imply the same level of cheap fun along with massive return potential?

Reading the article a little further and the right newsletter as mentioned above is the BioScience Report and you can subscribe for free. All you have to give when you register is your e-mail address. When you subscribe you will even be given their latest stock pick which their subscribers have already made thousands of dollars in profits on. Click on the link to get started it states.

Cheap stocks with massive potential along with a free source of stocks that are expected to make you thousands of dollars in returns. How can you afford not to register? How could it hurt?

The answer is plenty. No doubt the idea of doubling or tripling your money in 24 hours is appealing. The idea of getting hot stock picks for free is also a winner. It's enough to make a person lose their senses which is what the newsletter is hoping enough people do. Once they do, the hook has been set and sane people will begin to see destructive behavior as prudent.

No one knows in advance which stocks will be the winners or the losers, absolutely no one. If they did, they sure aren't telling you for free. Forecasting winners or losers is pure speculation/gambling, not investing.

Massive return potential also means massive loss potential. That is not something the publishers of this newsletter want you to get a whiff of. What they want you to start doing is plying the investment game according to their rules. Just start playing.

If you hit a winner you are most likely going to keep playing. If you lose a little money you will most likely want to keep playing until you have at least gotten your money back. None the less you keep playing, putting more and more of your money on the table hoping the dice come up your way. Feel  the excitement, the rush of adrenaline and after a while your brain starts to crave the rush. Bang! You are addicted! No different than the guy who drinks too much, eats too much, snorts too much, or gambles too much.

So how do you not get addicted? Do not start at all. See these behaviors for exactly what they are, destructive. Stay engaged in a conversation for prudent investing. Know that all available information is already factored in the price of stocks. Only unknowable and unpredictable information will move the price of stocks. Get also, that the attempts to get you to engage in destructive behavior will not stop. They will keep coming 24, 7, 365. They will be appealing and seem harmless. Your victory is not engaging at all.

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. 

Gold, Silver, or Wisdom? You Choose

Gold, Silver, or Wisdom? You Choose

        by: Brendan Magee

As the election heats up and the yelling at and the blaming of goes on and on, it is nice stop and hear someone you feel is actually talking to you and sharing themselves. To me, Dr. Ben Carson is such a man, and over these past couple of weeks I have enjoyed reading his book, " A More Perfect Union."

Oddly enough in learning a little more about our U.S. Constitution, I also read the phrase that encapsulates what just about everyone is after with their investment plans, but hardly anyone ever achieves. As Dr. Carson expanded on different parts of the Constitution, he started each chapter with a verse from Proverbs, and the one that had the biggest impact on me was,  

"Joyful is the person that finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver and her wages are better than gold." Proverbs 31: 13-14

Joyful isn't how I would describe the candidates running for office, the voters, or investors for that matter.  It might be because we have the process brass backwards. Candidates tell us our problems will be solved if we vote them in and the other guy out. Investment companies tell us we will find joy, happiness, and security once we own their products. It is not an outside in process, rather it is an inside out process.

I know as a financial planner I was miserable, scared, and confused. It wasn't until somebody helped me to start asking the right questions and better understood how the world of investing works and could share that with others that I found joy in my profession. Money without wisdom can be one big tragedy waiting to happen. Look up the name Lenny Dykstra and you will see what I mean.

It not the money or the things they buy that will ever give you joy. It is the purpose it is used for plus the understanding that your money is being invested exactly as you know it should be that will be at the root of you experiencing joy, love, happiness, security, and freedom.

If you don't know the questions to ask, call me I will gladly help you.

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

Matson/DFA Portfolios vs. Vanguard

Without Your True Purpose Behind It, Investing Is One Great Big P.IT.A.

Without Your True Purpose Behind It, 

Investing Is One Great Big P.I.T.A.

           by: Brendan Magee

When I first got into the investing business some 20 years ago, it was a very exciting time. I felt like wealth and affluence were within reach. All the senior advisers I worked with drove luxury cars, played lots of golf, and lived in beautiful homes. Their clients all seemed to be in the same boat. They were people who knew something and were given a ton of respect, and what they appeared to have I wanted and was willing to work for.


After about five years of working 60 hour weeks, making 400 cold calls a week, and even built up a few loyal clients, I noticed something both funny and sad, I wasn't happy. The more I worked, the more I earned, the more assets I placed on my client's balance sheets the excitement and happiness seemed harder and harder to find. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. The hard work I was putting in became more like work, work that didn't seem worth it.

Similiarly, I met with a very nice man yesterday to talk about his investments. From the size of his portfolio, you would have every reason to think that he is happy and successful. However, when we looked at his investments there were some very big red flags. There wasn't any real diversification in his portfolio. Almost 50% of his entire portfolio sat in U.S. Large Company Stocks. In his early 60's and with retirement in sight, half of what he owns sits in an investment that in the past decade went down some 40 percent twice. In addition to his lack of diversification, he was paying his mutual fund company about 35 to 40 percent more in fees than he was aware of.

The biggest red flag was when I asked him if when it came to building his portfolio whether or not he knew exactly what he or his broker was doing with his money he said "No." So the choice he had at this point was to either, engage in a process to better educate himself about how to do a better job of investing his money or leave things as they are. He chose to leave things as they are. It's his choice and I respect it.

As we were winding down our meeting, he told me that he clearly saw the flaws in how he was investing his money. He saw the unnecessary risks and expenses. He also acknowledge the danger in not being able to better validate whether or not his money was being managed properly. What held him back he said was the thought of pouring over the charts, spreadsheets, and information that that would take. He would rather not spend his time that way. As I had found out as a financial planner, investing without a purpose is a very boring and unrewarding task, and it stays that way until you have established your true purpose for your money.

So what do I mean by purpose? A lot of people if I asked them their true purpose for money would answer and give me a list of their goals. Retire by age 60. Move to the beach house. Accumulate $5,000,000, etc. When those things are realized then they expect to be happy and fulfilled. Imagine that? With this criteria, a person is putting off experiencing happiness and fulfillment until they attain these goals which in some cases will take 30 to 40 years to achieve. For the better part of 30 to 40 years they will be in chase mode. Can you say boring?

 A purpose is not a goal. It is an emotion that gets expressed or experienced from the way in which a person uses their resources. Your resources include time, effort, energy, money, passion. Among the most powerful emotions are love, generosity, freedom, accomplishment, happiness, joy. Think about it. Do you want the money or the emotion that you feel in even trying to accomplish your goals? When you go on vacation, are you thinking about the money or the joy at being with your family on that wonderful beach? When you participate in your 401k plan, do you want the money or do you want the freedom that comes with one day knowing you will be able to walk out the door to your office never having to worry about running out of money and can do basically what ever it is you want to do?

Here is the great thing, your true purpose is what ever you want it to be. You get to say what it is. We all value different things, but we know when we have discovered it. We are filled with passion and we can never get enough of it. Can you ever have enough love in your life or too much joy?

The problem is that we have things a little backwards. Most people believe the love and joy will come once we have accomplished our goals. It's the exact opposite. First, the purpose has to be established. Why am I doing this again? This question has to be answered first and if it is not big enough, if it does not light you up with passion you haven't got it. The power of your passion will not go into full effect until it has been established by you, and without a purpose the pursuit of a goal will soon become a job, and jobs are work not pursuit of a passion. This is true whether it be a chosen profession or investing.

Now there is one other amazing thing about discovering your true passion. Once you have defined what it is you want to experience most in life, your brain will automatically seek out activities where you will experience your true purpose on a daily basis. You won't be able to stop yourself. You won't have to wait to experience love, joy, generosity, etc. until some point in the future. You will begin to experience these wonderful values and emotions now. I speak from experience on this.

Once I discovered my true purpose for money, love and generosity, I inherintley set up my life to experience these values. Because I knew financial planning didn't give me a feeling of love and generosity, I changed my practice to Investor Coaching. The breakthroughs I had experienced with investing as a result of coaching, I wanted to share with others. Funny how, once my profession became a lot more enjoyable, I became a lot more profitable. 

I volunteered more. I started going to mass on a daily basis. I became a Eucharistic Minister. I was a reader at church. I got married and had children. I volunteer on a monthly basis at a local hospital. All of these things are areas of my life where I experience love and generosity. Not only do I give it, I receive it in return. Why would I want to deprive myself or anyone else of these wonderful emotions?

Without having first established my true purpose, all the activities mentioned above are simply eating into the time I have to spend on me. I would simply put them off on someone else, make excuses as to why I didn't show up and put in the effort, or just put them into an "I'll get to them some day," category." I can't, nor, would I choose to do that given they are an expression of what I value most in my life.

So the lesson here is, before you expect to get any of what you are looking to get out of your life, investments, occupation, family life, marriage, social life, etc., you must first define the true purpose for your life, which includes your money. You will be amazed at how quickly your brain figures out how to experience what is most important and pleasing to you. You won't have to wait. You will experience it now and every day for the rest of your life. The work around acquiring love, generosity, joy, freedom, etc. will no longer be work. It will be a passion you can't get enough of.

Without it, be it work, investing, life, what ever, it will become work, and eventually become one great big pain in the _ _ _.

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.

Perception: For Politicians and Investors It Can Be Lethal

Perceptions: For Politicians And Investors, They Can Be Lethal!

by: Brendan Magee

Especially in America, we feel entitled to our opinions and interpretations.Once we have made up our minds about something that becomes the truth we go by. Unfortunately, before we base our decisions about how we will invest our money or who we will vote we never stop to see if  our brains have misinterpreted what our eyes, ears, sense of smell, and touch actually encountered. In the case of world events and investors account balances it would have been so much better if we could have gotten a perception double check.

"1924, The Year That Made Hitler" documents the trial for treason held when in November of 1923 Hitler and a group of National Socialists failed in an attempt to overthrow the government in Munich, Germany and use that action as a springboard to stage a march on Berlin and overthrow what they saw as the illegitimate government running all of Germany.

Hitler's trial was an international media event. As of 1920 through political rallies, he had become a fast rising political figure. Newspapers across Germany and the world added to the drama. Hitler was now going to   voice his political views and vent his frustrations about the problems facing Germany to the world.

In the German town of Rheydt some 400 miles from the court proceedings and having never met Hitler, a young university-educated  nationalist was eagerly reading the newspaper stories of the trial. In personal diary entries about the trial the young man wrote " "Communism, the Jewish question, Christianity, the Germany of the future. Hitler touches on many questions, but he makes the solution very simple.What is liberating about Hitler is the involvement of a really upright and truthful personality."This young man's name, Joseph Goebbels.

As I read this passage from the book, A. I am finding myself desperately wanting someone to shoot Hitler to stop the horrors he was to bring the world over the next 20 years, and B,  I was remembering a conversation that I had with a client almost eight years ago. Barack Obama was just about to become President of the United States.

I had a client call me up in a high state of upset. She wanted all her money out of the stock market. She said Obama was going to be a disaster for the the stock market and she wanted her money which is what we did, and in so doing terminated our professional relationship. Well,  we are coming to the end of Obama's term in office and here is what $100,000 invested in the various markets of stock grew to from Jan. 2009 through Dec. 2015:

U.S. Large Co. Stock $263,000

U.S. Small Co Stock $297,000

U.S. Large Value Stocks $222,000

As it did for the world with Hitler and my former client's perceptions, relying on them didn't prove to be beneficial for either.  This is why one of the biggest attributes an investor needs to be successful is humility which is defined as thinking less of yourself while at the same time not thinking less of yourself.

Our perceptions are prone to biases, misinterpretations, distractions, half truths, etc. Before coming to any conclusions about anyone or anything people might fare a whole lot better if they asked, "Am I seeing this right?' A five second double check could save a lot of uneccessary heart ache.

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

Sam Bradford & Investors, You Said, Yes!

Bradford and Investors,

Nothing Happens Until You Say, Yes!!

by: Brendan Magee

All in all, Sam Bradford was having a nice offseason. He had signed a new two year $36 million dollar contract to come back and play quarterback for the Eagles with $22 million guaranteed. Chip Kelly had been fired and the Eagles hired a new coach which would give Bradford a little more freedom to run the offense as he saw fit, plus the Eagles had signed a quite a few of their veteran players which should give the team even more of a chance to compete for a playoff spot in the upcoming season.

So all was looking good for Bradford until last week when the Eagles drafted what they hope to be their future franchise quarterback with the number two pick in the draft, Carson Wentz. From there Bradford went from the best available option to help the Eagles win to the guy the fans want out of town as quick as possible.

Bradford let it be known that he was angry the Eagles drafted another quarterback who was next in line to take his place. His agent, Tom Condon, told the press that Bradford wanted to be traded. Bradford would not return the phone calls of his new coach, Doug Pederson, and has been absent from the team's offseason workouts. Basically, every wrong message that could have been sent to the fans and the team, Bradford sent.

Some may blame the Eagles for creating an uncomfortable situation with their quarterbacks and that may be true, but the reaction to the draft, the demand to be traded, the not returning the coaches call, and not showing up for team workouts, that is all on Bradford. He said "Yes" to his comments and behavior and none of the fans ire would be directed at him at this point unless he said "Yes." He, and he alone, is responsible for the treatment he is getting at this point.

It reminds me of a meeting I had earlier this week with a couple. The wife, Jane, was considerably upset with the way their investments were being handled. Their adviser hadn't been in touch with them and she was worried that they were too far in the dark about where they stood with their investments. The husband, Tom,
when we sat down said he felt good about their investments. Even though the adviser hadn't been around too much, he was still fond of him. Even as he admitted that he was somewhat in the dark about their investments, he felt that they had made good decisions with their investments.

An analysis revealed their expenses were way higher than they realized. They were paying $3,500 above what they believed the were paying and that expense was going to go higher the longer they stayed with their investments. They were severely under diversified. 50% of all their investments were all in U.S. Large Company Stocks, the same asset class that went down almost 40% in 2008. They were taking more risk than they needed for the return they were getting.

Bottom line, there was no reason to have the confidence Tom had originally expressed. Jane at this point went from being upset to being frustrated, scared, and confused. She was sure that changes needed to be made.

Tom was little more analytical. He wanted to know why things had gotten to where they were. He wanted to go back and talk to their existing adviser. Even if the market crashed again, he felt he would not get hurt too bad. Whether it was protecting a bruised ego or something else, Tom was not of the mind to make any changes. He wanted to find out how things could have gotten as bad as they appeared.

Like Bradford, Tom is not going to find the answers that will make a dramatic difference by asking questions of his current adviser. He won't find them by researching his current portfolio. None of those will shine the light where it needs to be for him and every other investor out there. The light needs to be focused on who said "Yes" to how he is investing his and his wife's money.

When it comes to investing, an investor's success or failures comes form one source, themselves. Everything depends on what they do or don't do, what they allow or don't allow to happen to their money.

Tom couldn't be in a product that was under diversified, charged him thousands of dollars more, exposed him to more risk and less return until he said "yes" to the investment. Now why would he say "Yes" to an investment that put him at such a terrible disadvantage? It's because he couldn't see that that was what he was doing?

The changes Tom and Jane (or any other investor) want to see with their investments won't take place until they ask some hard questions of  themselves. Do they know exactly what they are doing when it comes to building their portfolio would be a good one to ask. Can they measure diversification? Can they account for all the expenses they are paying? These are amongst a few of the questions that need to be directed to the investor.

These questions will help place the responsibility where it belongs, in the lap of the investor. Once the responsibility is where it belongs,the power goes exactly where it needs to be, in the hands of the investor. Transformation, which is what most investors are looking for, but never get, is an inside out approach. It begins and ends with the investor.

Good luck Sam!

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.

Stocks or NFL Quarterbacks No One Really Knows How It Will Turn Out

by: Brendan Magee

Since the Eagles traded up to the second spot in tonight's NFL draft, it's been none stop talk about who will the Eagles choose. North Dakota State's Q.B. Carson Wentz or University of California Q.B. Jared Goff.
Both players have been analyzed to death. How far can they throw the ball. How fast can they run. Are they mature enough. How big are their hands, etc.

If you are an NFL team about to risk millions of dollars, as well as the general manger's and head coach's job on a player you want to know as much about them as possible, right?

But for all the hours and money spent researching a player, no one really knows who is going on to a hall of fame career or who will be a flat out bust. Players that looked like can't miss players have wound up on the heap with tons of other can't miss players. Can you say Ryan Leaf? Players who no one ever heard have gone on to achieve legendary status. Can you say Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana? Granted these were players who were evaluated by people who have spent a life time in football and are damn good at it.

The same can be said of investors and so called professionals when it comes to their predictions about stocks or the stock market. They are well educated and highly intelligent people. However, there is one thing no one's education or training can help them with, consistently predicting the future. No one has and as far as I can tell no one has figured out how to do that on a reliable basis.

For all the research on Goff and Wentz, no one knows how they will fare against NFL competition until they get on the field and do it on a consistent basis. For all the research you or your favorite analyst might do on AT&T, Apple, gold, options, etc. they do not know how they will do in the next six months, two years, ten or twenty years.

No matter how much research is done, all the knowable and predictable info has already been absorbed into its current price. It is only unknowable and unpredictable info and how people around the world react to it that will move the stock or the market. How confident are you in predicting world events and how people around the globe will react to them? How confident would you be in someone Else's ability to do it.

Yet this is the system driving the fortunes, or misfortunes, of investors around the globe. It might be ok for some fun if you should tune into the NFL draft this evening, but not for your life savings.

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