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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.