Who would ever put their money with an ETF, mutual fund or stockbroker?

Recently, a JPEG (digital image) of a pet rock sells for $1.3 Million dollars. Lumber prices surge 300%. Michael Jordan rookie cards are selling for $50,000. Single-family homes prices are up 17% YOY. These price surges would be noteworthy under “normal” conditions, but it’s still up for debate when exactly those times were or when they’ll return.

Traditional investment markets have been their own circus lately. “Boring” stock indices are on track to post nearly 20% returns in back-to-back years. This isn’t historically unusual, except the Coronavirus has killed more Americans than World War I, II, Vietnam, and Korea combined (Coronavirus 661,000 deaths as of 8/31/2021 vs 616,000 from WWI – Korea War). Times might be tough, but that certainly hasn’t slowed the markets.

We’re in the midst of an everything rally- owners of assets and collectibles are making seriously easy money. A well-followed analyst recently commented:

Today’s investors seem to know more about exploiting market plumbing than any generation before. I certainly can’t remember any senior brokers I worked with, discussing payment for order flow or using short interest as a key investment thesis when I joined the business a decade ago.

Access to markets and information has never been easier to attain. Short-term traders appear to be well informed these days, and a financial advisor probably won’t get clients in and out of the meme stocks faster than a couple of taps on a trading app.

If money truly is fast and easy,

do people really need a financial advisor?

What’s highly debatable is whether access to information is helping long-term human behavior.

One of the most striking examples of this disconnect is health trends over the past 20 years.

Thanks to the internet, there’s more information available than ever before; diets, supplements, exercise programs, fasting regimens, and online support communities have gone from niche to mainstream. Yet from 1999 to 2018, US obesity rates have grown from 30% to 42%. If knowledge was enough, we’d all have 6 packs (abs not beer).

Our culture is obsessed with short-term fixes to long-term problems. Diet fads are never-ending, but never lasting. What works well over the short run is often unsustainable over the long run. You can run faster by sprinting, but you can run further by pacing yourself. Fasting for a day or two will cut water weight, but the body can’t survive months without food. I’d argue that short-term trading is rarely sustainable over several decades and market environments.

Financial planning is about the long run-

and that’s where people need help.

Long-term financial planning (where people usually benefit from an advisor) is the consistent diet and exercise that matters most. It’s helping people spend less than they make and making wise decisions about reducing debt and increasing assets. It’s helping people save as much as possible by limiting the drag of taxes and fees. Making sure we own the lowest cost passive funds and/or the most appropriate active ones. Rebalancing to keep portfolio risks in check. And constantly looking for financial blind spots as life changes.

Anyone can buy a Peloton and download the app. But how many of us are liable to get up and jump on the Peloton each morning without the help or encouragement of a personal trainer.

Working with someone who helps hold you accountable to your goals is where any advisor or trainer brings true value to your relationship.