Real quick. Youโ€™re interested in hiring a financial advisorโ€”one whoโ€™s held to a fiduciary standard by law, not some silly suitability one. You know you need help, but you just canโ€™t make it happen because thereโ€™s resistance: No time, no real interest in digging into it, or you donโ€™t know enough to explain to a loved one why you need it. โ€œWeโ€™re fine, arenโ€™t we?โ€ She might ask.

OK, here are summaries of two calls I had yesterday with prospective clients that will help you gain some perspective.

The first one was with a prospective client whom was referred to me by a client Iโ€™ve been working with for twenty years. The two of them have been friends for 60 years. That was a great conversation lasting 45-minutes and could have easily gone longer as it was a comfortable exchange of questions and answers and life stories. The best conversations are like that and can only happen because thereโ€™s a level of trust already built-in.

In contrast, the other call was from a prospective client who wasnโ€™t familiar with us. This call was moreโ€”bang, bang, bangโ€”questions and answers about his eight-figure portfolio. The trust hasnโ€™t been established yet. It can happen, though. It just will take more than three-quarters of an hour. But thatโ€™s my job.

Action Line: Finding an investment approach thatโ€™s right for you and your family is not intuitive. It takes work to find someone you feel you can trust. Then itโ€™s a leap of faith of sorts. Keep putting in the work, and you just might realize, โ€œThis is the Way.โ€

Originally posted on October 22, 2020.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.