As financial professionals, we're often asked one simple question: "do you know what I should buy right now?" In truth, we don't believe it's possible to successfully predict market behaviors most of the time. But, we do believe that a qualified financial advisor can help you devise a plan for long-term success. In this episode of Unfiltered Finance, our own Tom Romano, Head of Strategic Relationships and Product Development, is joined by Symmetry's Michael Storer, Senior Regional Director, and a financial advisor from our sister firm, Apella Wealth, Peter Leppones, CFP®, to answer a more important question: "what should you consider when choosing a financial advisor?" If you have any questions or would like more information, reach out to us at https://symmetrypartners.com/contact-us/ You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As always, we remain invested in your goals. Symmetry Partners, LLC, is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered, excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission. No one should assume that future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, product or non-investment related content made reference to directly or indirectly in this material will be profitable. As with any investment strategy, there is the possibility of profitability as well as loss. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may not be reflective of current opinions or positions.   Please note the material is provided for educational and background use only. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this material serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice.   Transcript: 00:00:01.900 --> 00:00:07.400 Hello and 1 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.700  welcome to unfiltered Finance. I'm your host Tom romano. 2 00:00:10.700 --> 00:00:13.300  And thank you for joining us this episode today. We 3 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:17.000  are talking about choosing the right financial advisor and 4 00:00:16.200 --> 00:00:19.400  I have the perfect guests for this topic 5 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:22.300  joining us here today first and foremost Mike 6 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.600  store who is a senior Regional director 7 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.100  at symmetry Partners. I asked Mike to be 8 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:31.700  on the podcast because he works with thousands of financial advisors across 9 00:00:31.700 --> 00:00:34.200  the country. He knows which ones 10 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:37.200  are doing the appropriate job and due diligence and 11 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.200  planning for their clients and the others who might be dare. I 12 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.500  say fake it Mike faking it and of 13 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:47.800  course a long time friend of mine Mr. Peter loponis 14 00:00:47.800 --> 00:00:50.900  who's a certified financial planner and financial advisor 15 00:00:50.900 --> 00:00:53.100  with Apollo wealth and happens to be 16 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:56.200  my personal financial planner. So gentlemen, thank you both for joining 17 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.600  us here today. You're welcome, Tom. Thanks Tom. Great to be here. I thought 18 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.600  this was appropriate topic for us to discuss. 19 00:01:01.900 --> 00:01:04.500 you know coming out of the pandemic I travel a 20 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:07.400  lot for business and I've been on many planes 21 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:10.400  over the last few months and you know, whether it's an 22 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:11.100  airport or 23 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.200 Are sitting next to someone on a plane and just bring 24 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.000  up some small talk and people understand 25 00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:21.300  that I'm working in the financial services a business. 26 00:01:21.300 --> 00:01:25.000  And the first question. I always get is got any 27 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.300  tips. What should I be buying? What 28 00:01:27.300 --> 00:01:31.000  should I be selling? Right? It's a very common question and for 29 00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:33.100  years, my response has always been and I'm 30 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:36.400  a firm believer of this is the best advice I can give anyone in 31 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:39.300  that moment is to work with 32 00:01:39.300 --> 00:01:42.300  someone you trust financial planner financial 33 00:01:42.300 --> 00:01:46.300  advisor that's working in a fiduciary capacity. I 34 00:01:45.300 --> 00:01:48.300  have a number of reasons why I say that but 35 00:01:48.300 --> 00:01:51.700  Mike I'd love to hear it from your perspective. Why should 36 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.300  investors people planning for 37 00:01:54.300 --> 00:01:57.300  retirement or for any other Financial need be working 38 00:01:57.300 --> 00:02:00.100  with a financial professional? That's a great question. 39 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:03.100  I think you hit on it at the in your opening 40 00:02:03.100 --> 00:02:04.100  remarks Tom is that 41 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:05.200 You know. 42 00:02:06.300 --> 00:02:09.300 Having traveled the country for many 43 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:14.300  years working with a number of different types of advisors and meeting 44 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:16.900  with clients at the same time, you know clients have 45 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:19.200  different desperate needs in terms of when it 46 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:22.100  comes to financial Financial advice so they can 47 00:02:22.100 --> 00:02:25.100  certainly learn about it on on a website if they 48 00:02:25.100 --> 00:02:28.500  want to but I found that especially the 49 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:31.900  best advisors are working working with 50 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.400  clients and from that 51 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.300  perspective. I know who these advisors are. 52 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.500 And I know they're doing a great job for their clients. And for me, 53 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.400  the one thing that comes to mind besides everything 54 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:46.100  else at a financial advisor does because I think about it in 55 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:49.600  my own world is comfort and peace of mind, right? There's lots 56 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:51.400  of different moving Parts when it comes to planning. 57 00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:55.500 And and what you're going to do with your money for the long term and even myself 58 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.200  being in this business, I worry about am I making 59 00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:01.900  the right decisions? So I think a lot of it comes down 60 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.400  to peace of mind and comfort. I think that that's high 61 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.300  level. There's a lot of you can drill down from there 62 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.900  but I think for most clients if you think about it, it's getting that 63 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:13.400  pressure off of you and bringing a 64 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.500  professional and to make sure that you're meeting your life goals, whatever those might 65 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:19.400  be sure. No, absolutely. I think what I'm hearing you say, I 66 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:23.100  hear things like planning and long-term and Peter 67 00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:25.700  I'll shift over to you. So 68 00:03:25.700 --> 00:03:28.400  what I'm hearing Mike say and I loved for you to plan 69 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.400  on this when someone asks me got any tips, 70 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:32.700  why is that the wrong question? 71 00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:35.200 well, I think 72 00:03:36.700 --> 00:03:39.500 the answer they're looking for everyone wants something 73 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:42.600  that's exciting and and sexy that 74 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:43.200  they can tell. 75 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.500 Their friends. I think you've used the term water cooler alpha or 76 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:50.900  Golf Course Alpha everyone thinks somehow because we're 77 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:53.600  sitting here on the inside. We're insiders. We've 78 00:03:53.600 --> 00:03:56.600  got more information than than they do 79 00:03:56.600 --> 00:03:59.300  as as retail investors, but 80 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.600  that's just not the case and and it's not about 81 00:04:02.600 --> 00:04:05.200  hitting that home run with the stock because 82 00:04:05.200 --> 00:04:08.500  if you're gonna be picking individual stocks, there's gonna 83 00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:11.300  be some home runs in there, but there's got to be some singles and 84 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:14.500  doubles there's gonna be some losers too. It just 85 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:18.000  it's gonna happen statistically, but when 86 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:20.600  we talk about a plan and what 87 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.700  it can do for you long term the sense of confidence 88 00:04:23.700 --> 00:04:26.300  that it's going to give you. That's what you really need. Hey, it's 89 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.300  great to be able to say Jesus I bought in at this stock when when it 90 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:32.500  was at 10 and it went to a hundred and in two years. It's a 91 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:33.700  great story, but 92 00:04:35.200 --> 00:04:38.500 Is better to have a sense of confidence and comfort with your 93 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:41.200  plan and with your financial outcomes, and that's why 94 00:04:41.200 --> 00:04:44.500  sitting down and taking the time to go through a plan with a 95 00:04:44.500 --> 00:04:47.100  cfp with someone who's a fiduciary is really in your 96 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.400  best interest versus getting that that hot stock tip. 97 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:53.100  Yeah, I would agree. The one thing that 98 00:04:53.100 --> 00:04:56.200  I always comes to mind when someone says got any tips the first 99 00:04:56.200 --> 00:04:59.700  thing I'm thinking well if I had some I wouldn't tell you I'd keep 100 00:04:59.700 --> 00:05:02.300  it all for myself, right? There's wildly more Capital 101 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:06.600  to be to be earned when you keep those secrets to yourself right quick 102 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.100  short story. Tom and 103 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:11.400  Peter. My son is out in gainfully employed 104 00:05:11.400 --> 00:05:14.600  in the Working World now and he has a little bit of money and he 105 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.700  asked me about a year ago a year and a half ago to Dad what 106 00:05:17.700 --> 00:05:20.700  stocks should I pick? And so I immediately opened 107 00:05:20.700 --> 00:05:24.300  up the Barron's journal and 108 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:27.200  I just looked at the stocks to pick now I said, hey, you 109 00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:30.100  know, if you want to buy some technology, here's a bunch of Technology names. I said, 110 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.400  you know, the market has been involved, but if you want to buy stocks, here's a 111 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:34.800  couple of names that you can just 112 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:39.500 Your portfolio. So of course he did that on my advice and 113 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:41.300  then about a year later. He 114 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:44.400  was blaming me because I'm the one that picked the stocks from in the 115 00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:45.000  stocks were Downs. 116 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.600 I just thought that was kind of interesting because it I did 117 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.400  exactly the opposite of what I should have said to him right in terms 118 00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:54.400  of how we should be approaching these but you know, this was play 119 00:05:54.400 --> 00:05:57.500  money for him. So I let him learn a little bit about what it 120 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.300  really means to invest in those types of questions of the wrong questions, 121 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:03.000  right as you just mentioned Peter and so I thought it was 122 00:06:03.200 --> 00:06:06.400  a really good it was a it was a learning moment for him to understand that 123 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:09.700  you don't just pick stocks and they go up. Oh, absolutely and like 124 00:06:09.700 --> 00:06:13.000  I I actually I do that with with clients. I'll 125 00:06:12.200 --> 00:06:13.600  say to them. 126 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.100 If you want to open up a small account and I 127 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.000  use the term your Casino money. Hey, you got to go to 128 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:23.300  the casino and sit there and maybe go out to dinner have a drink play the 129 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.500  slot sit at a table if you lose a hundred or 200 130 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:27.100  or $300. 131 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:30.300 It was a night of entertainment you had a good time. 132 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:34.600 I see take your Casino money and put it into an account and 133 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.300  buy a couple of stocks and just it's it's 134 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:40.400  good education for you. You might learn some valuable 135 00:06:40.400 --> 00:06:43.900  lessons, but you're gonna pay really close attention. Even 136 00:06:43.900 --> 00:06:46.200  if it's only five or 10 shares of a 137 00:06:46.200 --> 00:06:49.200  company and you'll you'll learn a lot for it. So I think there is certainly a 138 00:06:49.200 --> 00:06:52.900  value in that but with large sums of Money Retirement accounts 139 00:06:52.900 --> 00:06:55.400  brokerage accounts. Absolutely not none of 140 00:06:55.400 --> 00:06:58.700  this stock picking. It's got to be a low cost. Well Diversified portfolio. 141 00:06:58.700 --> 00:07:01.100  So I'm hearing you say it's okay to sit in a 142 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:01.300  little bit. 143 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:05.800 Any bit tiny bit? Absolutely. No, I didn't. You 144 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.300  know, I like to play the market myself, but I'm only doing 145 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.500  that with my my entertainment dollars not my 146 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:14.500  long-term assets that that my family 147 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.100  and I are going to need at some point in time. Right? So Peter 148 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:20.400  you've been talking a lot about planning right and and 149 00:07:20.400 --> 00:07:23.200  I've been in this business for a long time as with you 150 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:27.500  you and I've worked together for many many years. I've noticed 151 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:29.800  the value proposition of financial advisor 152 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:32.300  has changed right at one point. It was that 153 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:36.200  stock picker many many years ago. So this 154 00:07:35.200 --> 00:07:38.400  day and age what what do 155 00:07:38.400 --> 00:07:41.500  you see as the value proposition to a financial advisor? 156 00:07:42.200 --> 00:07:46.000 In my opinion, it has to be the plan because that's 157 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:48.500  where we've had success as a firm. I've 158 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.300  had success as an advisor clients have had success 159 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:54.700  following that advice and and really 160 00:07:54.700 --> 00:07:57.100  it's about the planning and that's the most 161 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.600  valuable advice. I give to my clients. Hey, we're with 162 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.200  a low cost. Well Diversified portfolio. We're going 163 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:06.300  to get a market return the market for us 164 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:09.300  taking risk. We will get a market return and my 165 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:12.700  return will be no different than my clients because we invest in very similar 166 00:08:12.700 --> 00:08:16.300  similarly constructed portfolios, but 167 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:16.700  really 168 00:08:17.900 --> 00:08:20.800 Whether we get an 8% return 9% 10% 169 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.300  return long-term. It's really 170 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:24.100  the plan. 171 00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:28.500 That is is going to drive all that and just because 172 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:31.400  their portfolio is up a certain year that that's 173 00:08:31.400 --> 00:08:32.800  great and they like to see that. 174 00:08:33.900 --> 00:08:36.100 But again, the plan is going to say well geez, I 175 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:39.700  know now I can retire at age 62. I'm 176 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:43.600  going to take Social Security at 67 when 177 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:44.700  I retire at 62. 178 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:48.500 I'm going to be able to pay for my own health insurance until 179 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:51.700  I hit MediCare at age 65. I mean, those are questions 180 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.300  that aren't even related to a rate 181 00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:57.300  of return or a stock pick or any of that. They're planning 182 00:08:57.300 --> 00:09:00.300  questions, but they're extremely important to people the very 183 00:09:00.300 --> 00:09:03.300  comprehensive list of questions versus should you be in a 184 00:09:03.300 --> 00:09:06.100  60% stock 40% bomb for far beyond that 185 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.400  correct? Correct, but it's it's about the the layers and 186 00:09:09.400 --> 00:09:13.200  the investment management risk reward asset 187 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:16.000  allocation being allocated appropriately. 188 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:20.100 According to your risk tolerance that's all part of it. But you 189 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:23.200  do when I sit down with clients we talk about the 190 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.200  performance we talk about what the markets have been doing and we really start 191 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.700  to get into those those items Healthcare Medicare long 192 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:33.900  term care gifting money to people grandchildren 193 00:09:32.900 --> 00:09:35.700  setting up a 529 194 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.200  accounts. All those types of things. These 195 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:41.200  are the goals and the things that are important to clients and they come 196 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.000  through the planning process. Yeah, that's extremely valuable right life 197 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:47.800  comes at you fast, and there's a number of instances in 198 00:09:47.800 --> 00:09:50.400  my personal life where I've leaned on you for things that 199 00:09:50.400 --> 00:09:53.100  are fun far beyond investable assets. 200 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:57.200 So that's that's good. So what so far listeners out there. 201 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:01.100  I mean you're looking for a financial professional that 202 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:02.300  is planning focused. 203 00:10:03.400 --> 00:10:06.700 But also from a very comprehensive standpoint Beyond 204 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:09.700  stocks bonds mutual funds Exchange Trade 205 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:10.300  funds Etc. 206 00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:14.500 So let's one of the things that's a 207 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:15.100  change gears a little bit. 208 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:19.500 You know, there's over 300,000 financial advisors in 209 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:22.400  the United States, right? The term 210 00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:25.700  fiduciary comes up quite a bit and I'm 211 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.800  always surprised maybe I'm not as surprised 212 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:31.600  as I once was that investors are don't 213 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.900  necessarily understand that sometimes advisors are 214 00:10:34.900 --> 00:10:38.200  acting any fiduciary capacity and sometimes 215 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:40.300  they are not before we 216 00:10:40.300 --> 00:10:41.500  jump into that. 217 00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:45.500 Explain to us Peter. What is a fiduciary? Well, it's 218 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:48.700  it's the highest standard of care in in 219 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:51.700  our industry. And I've sort of I've been on both 220 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:54.300  sides of it. So I have to act in my 221 00:10:54.300 --> 00:10:57.200  clients best interest not only being affiliated with with a 222 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.600  palette but also being a cfp and really 223 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:03.300  what that comes down to at the end of the day 224 00:11:03.300 --> 00:11:05.300  is the type of 225 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:09.200 Investment product. I'm going to refer to 226 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.900  everything as a product that we put our clients into and 227 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:18.800 I've got a really focus on the cost the level 228 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:20.600  of care below a fiduciary. It's 229 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:23.400  referred to as the suitability standard. Does that mean if I'm 230 00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:26.800  not a fiduciary? I'm doing something unethical absolutely not 231 00:11:26.800 --> 00:11:30.300  the last thing I want to do because I again I was there I've worked 232 00:11:30.300 --> 00:11:33.200  with clients where I was just doing by this suitability standard. I 233 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.200  was not a fiduciary at the end of the 234 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.200  day. I'm putting my clients into something that is putting more money back 235 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:43.100  into their pocket meaning the fees 236 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:46.200  and the costs associated with those products are 237 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:49.200  much lower. We have 238 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.500  no Front End Sales charges. We have no backend sales charges. 239 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.100  So I said to clients that are that are coming on board. 240 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:59.400 I will bend over backwards to make sure that you are happy but at some 241 00:11:59.400 --> 00:12:03.300  point if you don't realize the value 242 00:12:02.300 --> 00:12:05.500  of our services or you chose to go elsewhere, you 243 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:08.800  can do that. You're going to be able to take what you have here and 244 00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:11.400  move that elsewhere. You're not going to be tied up for three or 245 00:12:11.400 --> 00:12:14.300  five or ten years. No surrender charges or big 246 00:12:14.300 --> 00:12:17.000  fees to go acting in their best interest and that helps 247 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.100  to protect them. And I think it's extremely important that people 248 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:20.700  need to ask 249 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:25.700 Are you a fiduciary is your firm of fiduciary? And how 250 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:27.600  do you work? So when? 251 00:12:28.900 --> 00:12:32.200 Investors are looking for a financial 252 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.400  professional to work with right what I'm 253 00:12:34.400 --> 00:12:37.800  hearing someone the first things I should look for and they should ask about it potentially 254 00:12:37.800 --> 00:12:40.600  even get it in writing. Are you acting any fiduciary 255 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:45.100  capacity? Are you acting in my best interest? Correct? They 256 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:48.800  absolutely should and and interview multiple 257 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:52.600  people Tom has 258 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.200  been not only a great client. But I've worked 259 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.500  with many of Tom's family members. Why because they come to Tom. Jeez 260 00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:00.700  Tom. I've got some questions. Who should I work with? Well talk 261 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:03.400  to Peter. So if you have a friend or family member who you 262 00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:06.500  know works with an advisor ask for that that person's name. 263 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.400  And if they will if you have a friend or family member they'll 264 00:13:09.400 --> 00:13:12.300  refer them over if they enjoy working with them. So I think that's a 265 00:13:12.300 --> 00:13:15.800  good place to start but interview them there's many checklists 266 00:13:15.800 --> 00:13:18.800  online and I think one of the things you want to ask about are 267 00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:21.800  you a fiduciary understand what that means and it's 268 00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:24.900  it's something important because there's 269 00:13:24.900 --> 00:13:27.300  plenty of us out. There aren't as many as probably there should 270 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:28.900  be but there's plenty fiduc. 271 00:13:28.900 --> 00:13:30.000 He's out there for you to work with. 272 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:33.000 Absolutely. You made a really good point. I was doing a little research. 273 00:13:34.300 --> 00:13:35.600 Knowing that we were going to have this. 274 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:39.400 Talk today the three of us and you know, 275 00:13:39.400 --> 00:13:42.700  the number one way investors find their financial advisors through 276 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:45.500  through referrals. Right number two is through 277 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:49.500  you know online searches and things like that. So 278 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:51.200  I think that's that's really important 279 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:54.200  when you're looking for financial audience advisor talk to your family 280 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:57.800  your friends people who have or may have similar Financial 281 00:13:57.800 --> 00:14:00.200  situations as you do but I 282 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:03.600  think you know, the important thing. Is that the very good question. Are 283 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.900  you acting and a fiduciary capacity at all times, right? 284 00:14:11.300 --> 00:14:14.100 We talked about the planning process one of the things I want to 285 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:17.700  touch upon and Mike will turn to you is that sometimes giving 286 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:20.700  good advice means saying no not giving 287 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.900  the client what they're looking for. Right and 288 00:14:23.900 --> 00:14:27.400  I've seen advisors who act 289 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:29.700  as more of a facilitator 290 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:32.400  very high service level but whatever the client 291 00:14:32.400 --> 00:14:35.400  wants they they get what are some of the Perils of 292 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:35.500  that? 293 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:40.200 The Perils are that you become all 294 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.100  things to all people and as I think 295 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:46.400  Thomas you have famously said if everything's 296 00:14:45.400 --> 00:14:48.600  important nothing's important and 297 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:51.300  I think from the perspective of advice that we work with 298 00:14:51.300 --> 00:14:54.100  it's it's you know 299 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:57.800  when you when you think about that kind of cafeteria style 300 00:14:57.800 --> 00:14:59.000  service. 301 00:14:59.900 --> 00:15:01.400 It becomes very difficult to. 302 00:15:02.900 --> 00:15:05.500 Address clients needs concerns or 303 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:08.000  fears because you know 304 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:11.400  in terms of of investment investment advice, 305 00:15:11.400 --> 00:15:14.400  if you're if you've got clients that are in individual stocks 306 00:15:14.400 --> 00:15:17.800  and you have clients in Diversified portfolios, or they're in a more passive 307 00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:21.200  investment or they're in a tactical investment. You're constantly 308 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:23.400  pivoting to try to answer questions to 309 00:15:23.400 --> 00:15:26.300  all these different constituencies within your practice what we 310 00:15:26.300 --> 00:15:29.700  find in our in our work is that you know advisors that 311 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:32.400  have a philosophy advisors have a way that 312 00:15:32.400 --> 00:15:36.000  they approach the capital markets and how they construct portfolios I 313 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:39.000  tend to do the best because their clients are like-minded and 314 00:15:38.400 --> 00:15:41.300  it keeps them in their seats even when markets are 315 00:15:41.300 --> 00:15:42.900  difficult. So having a 316 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:46.200 Kind of a carte blanche or 317 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.900  I like to say cafeteria style investment or at 318 00:15:49.900 --> 00:15:52.300  least offering makes it more difficult for you to keep your 319 00:15:52.300 --> 00:15:56.200  clients in line. I think over time and I think what I 320 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.600  like like best about being at symmetries, we do have that investment philosophy. That's 321 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.700  straightforward. It doesn't deviate and most 322 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:05.000  of the advice that work with us tend to have 323 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:08.300  that same philosophy. The interesting thing about that too is you notice 324 00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:11.300  when markets are fairly volatile which where this is really important 325 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:14.700  is that you know investors that 326 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:18.000  kind of adhere to similar investment 327 00:16:17.400 --> 00:16:20.700  strategy like symmetries is that they tend 328 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.800  to have less gap between What markets are doing and what 329 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:26.300  their Investments are doing because they tend to stay in their seats. They're not 330 00:16:26.300 --> 00:16:29.800  moving around behaviorally moving in and out of the market or moving in and 331 00:16:29.800 --> 00:16:31.600  out of Investments. And I think that's sometimes can be the 332 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:35.700 the offshoot of having a strategy where 333 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:37.200  you're just trying to be everything to everybody. 334 00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:41.200 I'm going to unpack use it a lot of really yeah, I get 335 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.100  there. Sorry, but no. No, I just want to make sure our listeners get it to get 336 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:47.700  some really really good insight there Mike. So first 337 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:50.800  and foremost you talk about an investment philosophy 338 00:16:50.800 --> 00:16:53.700  and what I'm hearing you say is that we're talking 339 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:56.100  about advice, right and if someone wants to 340 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:58.200  give advice you have to have a stake in the ground. 341 00:16:59.400 --> 00:17:02.300 You have to have that place where your your view on 342 00:17:02.300 --> 00:17:04.200  how Capital markets work? 343 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:07.400 And if you don't have that view you might fall into that 344 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:08.700  facilitator capacity. 345 00:17:10.300 --> 00:17:13.300 The other thing that she said I'm glad you 346 00:17:13.300 --> 00:17:16.300  said it as you talked a lot about behavior and what I'm hearing you 347 00:17:16.300 --> 00:17:19.500  say is the study we've used many times the dial 348 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:22.500  bar study for our listeners. Could you talk a little bit about what that dial bar 349 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:26.000  research shows us sure is that it shows that the the investor 350 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.600  over, you know? 351 00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:30.100 Many time periods. I mean they updated every year but it goes 352 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:33.600  back a number of years and it looks at what investors 353 00:17:33.600 --> 00:17:36.200  do in terms of investing in 354 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:39.600  the let's say the S&P 500 as an index versus what the 355 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:43.300  index does and we find year in and year out that investors 356 00:17:42.300 --> 00:17:45.200  tend to underperform the 357 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.500  index and the question always is Peter and you know this why 358 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:51.500  and it's because they're holding period is 359 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.600  tends to be I think it's less it used to be in the old days three 360 00:17:54.600 --> 00:17:57.300  three plus years now. It's three minus here. It's less 361 00:17:57.300 --> 00:18:00.200  than three years of holding period of time, which means they're 362 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.500 Behaviorally trying to in some 363 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:06.400  ways time the market and so what we 364 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.000  try to do at least in as I talk 365 00:18:09.100 --> 00:18:12.300  to advisors is to try to educate them and educate clients as 366 00:18:12.300 --> 00:18:15.300  well that you know, we want to close that Gap we 367 00:18:15.300 --> 00:18:18.200  call that the the performance Gap right? 368 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:22.000  There's a gap between what investments do and what the investor 369 00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:24.300  does right? We know this plenty of Dad out 370 00:18:24.300 --> 00:18:27.100  there to show that so how do we do that? Peter had talked about a little 371 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:30.300  bit earlier is we look at things like, okay, what's important? How do 372 00:18:30.300 --> 00:18:33.600  we close that Gap? It comes from financial planning. It comes 373 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:37.000  from portfolio selection, not necessarily portfolio 374 00:18:36.300 --> 00:18:39.400  management, but portfolio selection in terms 375 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.600  of picking the right model of the right strategy for for clients 376 00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:45.000  education and communication with clients. I 377 00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:48.900  think those are great ways that we see that behavioral Gap 378 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:51.700  closing through time and that and 379 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.900  ends up being a an experience 380 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:57.000  that clients will be with their advisors for a long time 381 00:18:57.300 --> 00:19:00.400  because you focus on the things that matter not the investment 382 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:00.700  itself. 383 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:02.700 a great computer 384 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:06.800 You're the the man in the seat here. So talk 385 00:19:06.800 --> 00:19:09.200  to us a little about that. Right? I mean that dial bar study is 386 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.600  pretty telling every year investors are underperforming. 387 00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:15.900 You focus on planning. How does planning help with the 388 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:18.200  long-term thinking that is required for 389 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.500  successful experience. It comes into 390 00:19:21.800 --> 00:19:24.500 Not only the planning but educating clients and 391 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:27.600  communication and the example I'll use and we were 392 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:27.800  all. 393 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:32.200 working from back home during the the pandemic and 394 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:36.200 the markets dropped about a 395 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:36.800  third 396 00:19:37.800 --> 00:19:40.700 so about 33% in about a month's time thinking 397 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.600  the numbers are 33% over 34 days 1/3. 398 00:19:44.300 --> 00:19:47.300 And we're sitting here stuck at home. We think the world is going 399 00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:50.400  to end and my message to my clients because 400 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.000  it's the message of our firm message that I truly believe. 401 00:19:55.300 --> 00:19:55.700 And it wasn't easy. 402 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.600 No, we're not doing anything this too shall 403 00:19:59.600 --> 00:19:59.700  pass. 404 00:20:00.600 --> 00:20:03.600 You know, this is the.com bubble. This 405 00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:06.600  is 911. This is the 406 00:20:06.600 --> 00:20:09.900  great financial crisis of 2008. 407 00:20:10.600 --> 00:20:13.400 It doesn't necessarily matter what the event 408 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.500  is because everyone know Peter is a pandemic. It's different like you're 409 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:20.100  right, but you're not it's the uncertainty and what 410 00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:22.700  lo and behold what happens after the 411 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:23.900  market drops a third. 412 00:20:24.800 --> 00:20:27.800 In March February and to March it 413 00:20:27.800 --> 00:20:30.700  shoots back up. It comes roaring back why we 414 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:34.100  had no vaccine. We still were unemployment had 415 00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:36.200  still not hit its peak because of 416 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:39.900  all the you know, retail and entertainment losses 417 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.200  that that took place in in this country and around the 418 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:45.000  world. We still have this crazy election in front 419 00:20:45.100 --> 00:20:48.800  of us. There was still uncertainty but why why did it happen and I 420 00:20:48.800 --> 00:20:51.500  don't think there's necessarily an answer but the lesson learned 421 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.800  is we stay in our seats regardless of what's going on because 422 00:20:54.800 --> 00:20:57.500  the markets have they've always come back and I 423 00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:59.500  believe any time we hit something. 424 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:03.300 They'll come back again. We just don't know when so that 425 00:21:03.300 --> 00:21:06.100  experience because I I think 426 00:21:06.100 --> 00:21:09.200  you use the term staking in the stand or stake in the ground. That was my 427 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.200  stake in the ground. And now as we went through all of this in 428 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:15.500  2022 with all of the uncertainty and inflation and 429 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:18.700  gas prices and all of that impacting 430 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.700  the markets interest rates being increased. 431 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:25.200 People said yeah, I remember what you said back during the 432 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.200  pandemic. So yeah, okay that that makes sense. It's the 433 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:30.300  messaging my messages consistent. 434 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.000 And when people hear that, there's a sense of confidence like, you know what he was 435 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:36.400  right last time. He'll probably be right this time, too. 436 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:40.200 Fantastic, and I remember that Panda right that 437 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.500  first quarter of 2020 was one of the top 10 worst 438 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:48.100  quarters in the United States history going back to 1926. The 439 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:50.200  second quarter of 2020 was one of the top 10 440 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:53.400  best quarters the United States ever experienced going 441 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:56.200  back. And and the funny thing is if we had 442 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:59.200  been if we had moved our money out of we did 443 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:02.500  not stay calm and we moved money out 444 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:05.300  of the market in March. What would 445 00:22:05.300 --> 00:22:08.700  we have missed? When do we get back in? It's it's 446 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.200  difficult. It's difficult to sit there 447 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.100  when the market is dropping and say my gosh we have to do 448 00:22:14.100 --> 00:22:17.600  something but you're also playing the same game when you get out. It's like 449 00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:20.200  well if you get out, okay well, but then the market will eventually 450 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:21.700  come back. Well, when do you get back in? 451 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:25.300 And and and we just see long-term what the 452 00:22:25.300 --> 00:22:26.600  results are you're better off. 453 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:30.500 Staying going dealing with the rollercoaster ride 454 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.500  staying in your seat versus making rash decisions based 455 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:36.100  upon fear and emotion Peter Michael. Thank you so much 456 00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:39.400  for joining us here today that concludes part one of our discussion 457 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.200  on choosing the right financial advisor. I look 458 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.200  forward to continuing the conversation at part two, and if you want to 459 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.800  look at any of our previous unfiltered Finance podcasts, they're 460 00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:51.700  available wherever you might be getting your podcast today. So, 461 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:53.400  thank you till next time bye-bye. 462 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:56.500 Symmetry Partners LLC is an 463 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:59.500  investment advisor firm registered with the Securities and 464 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:02.200  Exchange Commission The Firm only transacts business 465 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:06.200  in states where it is properly registered or excluded 466 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:10.000  or Exempted from registration requirements registration 467 00:23:08.100 --> 00:23:11.700  of an investment advisor does 468 00:23:11.700 --> 00:23:14.900  not imply any specific level of skill or training and 469 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:17.400  does not constitute an endorsement of the firm 470 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:20.500  by the commission. No one should assume that future performance 471 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:23.600  of any specific investment investment strategy 472 00:23:23.600 --> 00:23:26.900  product or non-investment related content 473 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:29.200  made reference to directly or indirectly in 474 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.400  this material will be profitable. 475 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:35.400 As with any investment strategy there is the possibility of 476 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:38.600  profitability as well as loss due to 477 00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:41.600  various factors including changing market conditions. 478 00:23:41.600 --> 00:23:44.800  And/or applicable laws the content 479 00:23:44.800 --> 00:23:47.800  may not be reflective of current opinions or 480 00:23:47.800 --> 00:23:50.500  positions. Please note the material 481 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:53.800  is provided for educational and background use only moreover. 482 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:57.000  You should not assume that any discussion or information 483 00:23:56.700 --> 00:23:59.700  contained in this material Services the 484 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:03.300  receipt of or as a substitute for personalized 485 00:24:02.300 --> 00:24:04.500  investment advice.

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