Not Too Big For The Small Table

It is often said a small business is like a family. Likewise the break-room table is much akin to the family dining room. The typical family, stretching their collective imagination to its limit, could never imagine their favorite rock star, movie star, athlete or politician stopping by for dinner and a few laughs. Much the same, the typical small financial services company would not expect a portfolio manager from the largest mutual fund in the world to spend an hour and a half at the break-room table discussing investments with an audience of nine people.  Yet today we had the pleasure of having a portfolio manager, accompanied by an investment analyst, and a wholesaler, do just that. It’s probably reasonable to assume a large and lavish conference room filled with plush chairs, power suits and power ties is a more typical environment for such an impressive trio. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm for the discussion in our everyday break room was top shelf and they seemed right at home in our familial digs. A visit like this is solid evidence in the confirmation of two things: we are doing things the right way and so are they.
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A Pie For All Seasons

I’ve never met an American who doesn’t like at least one kind of pie. So many delicious crusts, cream fillings and meringues to choose from; but for me a pie is all about the fruit filling. Apples, peaches, cherries, blueberries, blackberries and any other delicious fruit that can be stuffed into a pie all have their seasons and climates in which they thrive and produce the best results for pie. Unfortunately, I have not discovered a year round, all season, and all climate fruit that makes a delicious pie. I’ve often thought about creating a “Frankenpie” with a different fruit in each slice but I imagine the results wouldn’t match the dream. I’m sure they don’t call it “Frankenpie” but the primary mutual fund company we work with applies this approach to portfolio management. During a recent meeting with the portfolio manager, he described how the company slices up management of their funds between 3 to 12 different managers per fund. These managers are responsible for their own slices and manage them based on their own style, experiences, convictions, strengths and weaknesses. The result is portfolios that are as naturally diversified as any group of individuals would be and structured to be complementary so that one manager’s weakness in a given investment climate is countered to some extent by another manager’s strength in that same climate. Over time, this approach provides a fund the ability to generate more stable returns in an ever-changing market place. This portfolio management theory is in essence management for all seasons.
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Plan Your Attack!

Plan your attack then attack your plan! The key word in this age-old saying is plan. Today is a great day to set some goals, get a plan going and then get going on the plan. The average investor has underperformed the S&P 500 by almost 4% for the last 20 years due to getting in and out of the market at the wrong times*. We feel that this is largely because of a lack of measurable goals. There are many ways to estimate what your required spending will be in retirement planning. Please ask us if you need help with this. These numbers will help you set a savings goal for today. Just remember, if you know where you are going it’s a lot easier to get there. We can help you set your goals, plan your attack and decide if you have financial independence for today and tomorrow. * DALBAR study Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior (QAIB) 3/2013
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Exceptional Service

Why do we often cringe at the thought of having to call a customer service center and ask for help? Haven’t we all been through the call center experience where we’ve received less than stellar service?  What makes Selah different?

I believe good service starts with a servant’s heart.  Those individuals possess character traits of respect, kindness and willingness to be of service to others.  They are also leaders who take ownership of tasks and are able to create successful outcomes.  We seek to hire exceptional, unique and special people who embody this kind of character.  To make great service happen we also surround ourselves with exceptional, high quality industry professionals.  Everyone at Selah will know about you, your circumstances and your accounts.  As you move through the process of setting up your investments you will begin to establish relationships with us, not just with our advisors, but with the entire service team.   We look forward to delivering a positive service experience for you.  Give us a call any time.
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TV: My Love Hate Relationship

I readily admit to being a TV junky. I first truly admitted my problem when I chose to skip Physics class for an episode of The People’s Court with Judge Wapner. At one point, I took all of the TVs out of the house for a year. It was liberating but I did bring them back in. Thankfully, I resisted the temptation to put a TV in my kids’ rooms. However, I am a slave to my own bedroom TV. Yesterday I watched an HBO documentary on childhood obesity. It said that studies now show the link to obesity and television viewing is not so much because we are couch potatoes but mostly from the commercials we view telling us to eat more crappy food (my paraphrase). What do you watch on TV? If you tell me the programs you choose to watch, I can tell you a lot about what you truly believe and your priorities. Does your viewing list reflect how you really want to be now? Someone I know says, “garbage in, garbage out” is really “garbage in, stays in.” TV gives us many of our opinions about the world around us although we don’t like to admit this is true. We can change our perspective by changing the information we allow into our minds. I stopped watching so much one-sided inflammatory TV and I think I am better informed as a result. Interesting.
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Student of History

I hated History class in school. (I know, we’re not supposed to say hate but that’s honestly how I felt.) I was the kid in class that taunted the teacher with unrelenting comments about the uselessness of memorizing a bunch of facts about dead people. It took decades for me to realize the foolishness of ignoring history. There is nothing new under the sun. Are you a student of history? Do you understand human nature, why we behave the way we do, how our government works, how civilizations actually collapse, why men start wars, and how money works in our families and society? Being a student of history will make you a better investor. History gives us perspective and allows us to learn some lessons the easy way. Worried about a stock market crash? Read about how it occurred in 1929. Worried about the Affordable Care Act? Read about the beginning of social security.  It may not be as stimulating as a Jack Reacher novel but certainly more profitable.
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History Really Does Repeat Itself

I readily admit that I hated social studies and history when I was in school. Why they wanted me to learn about the meaningless past and memorize a bunch of stupid dates was beyond my comprehension. I have the grades in social studies to prove my point! My boyfriend went to college to study history and political science and then became an Air Force officer, further proving the point that history was rather a waste of time, or so I thought. Since becoming a financial advisor, I have grown into quite the accidental student of history. I think it really started when I read The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. I wanted to understand more about what occurred behind the scenes in the financial industry during 2007 and 2008. I found it fascinating so I went on to read about the stock market around the depression and learned more about bucket shops. I was hooked. I have continued to learn about Congresses, Presidents, significant events in our country’s development, etc. My apologies to all of my very patient friends who teach history to ingrates like me.  If you really think this time is different, my humble advice is that you learn more about our collective history.
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