November 2022 Letter

Are you optimistic for the future?

I tend not to become emotional during client meetings, but last week I couldn’t help myself.

A retired client I have worked with for several years was feeling the strain of inflation and lower portfolio values. She wanted to withdraw more money, and I had to empathetically but truthfully tell her that there was no room for more withdrawals until the market recovered.

We continued to discuss her frustrations. I elicited. She told me her feelings. This alone was productive.

And then I said this:

We must honor another person with us today, and that’s the ‘you’ twenty years in the future. I want you to know that I care as deeply about her as I care about you sitting in front of me. I hold both realities, present and future, tightly, and I want what is best for each of you.

The energy shifted immediately. She needed me to know that she was frustrated, and then she needed me to say that I cared. She also needed to know that I wasn’t saying ‘no’ to her right now, so much as I was saying ‘yes’ to the woman I hope is still my client in 20 years. There were tears in both of our eyes.

As planners, we must honor both realities: present and future.

The white-labeled November client letter for Value of Advice subscribers is attached below. This month, I wanted to focus our clients, my own and yours, on the reality of the future self.

There is no financial planning, and there certainly isn’t any investing without optimism for the future. Why invest if you believe the future looks worse than the past?

The cornerstone of what we offer is hope and the belief in a bigger and better future.

Your cause is righteous.

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

Your white-labeled monthly client newsletter is linked below. Just click on the Dropbox link and download it from there. A whole bunch of disclosures is included at the bottom of this email, but I urge you to follow these simple guardrails:

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3. Should you decide to use any or all verbiage from the newsletter in communication with your clients you are liable for its usage with your clients and responsible to verify its suitability and accuracy.

4. The newsletter is for emailing or mailing to your clients and prospects only. It is not to be posted on your blog as a blog post, nor should it be posted anywhere that can be googled.

Feel free to email me with any questions!