Article by:
Anand Nair, MSFS
Over a twenty-year career in banking and investments I have heard the phrase, “Unfortunately, I don’t have any wealth to manage right now.” This is sometimes the response they give me when they ask me what I do for a living, and I reply, “I am in wealth management, I manage the money.” I always find the response interesting because ironically, before you have wealth is the best time to educate yourself on the tools the wealthy use. My grandparents came to this country and labored their way through life to provide for my parents. My parents did the same for myself, the first generation born in the United States.
Now is the time for our generation to really look at what made some of the wealthiest families in the United State and the world successful. Because many of those families (the Rockefellers, Carnegies, the Fords) did not create their “wealth” in one single generation. They started the process of generational wealth back in the early 1900s and set their families up for success down the road. The responsibility of wealth is to start the process early. That process begins by educating one’s self around the tools and strategies people use to accomplish financial success.
When we sit with clients, we initially talk about some of the traditional pitfalls in financial planning. One that stands out is the lack of organization for people and their finances. I do not mean that people do not necessarily know where their money is going, but there is a lack of coordination from some of the most important players in a person’s financial life.
We look at some of the most important advisors in most people’s lives are their CPA, their attorneys, and their financial advisor (the trifecta of financial success). If there is no coordination of these advisors, then there is often a disorganization on how to get clients to their objectives. As a financial advisor, if I have not communicated with your CPA around the tax planning they have done for you, then I could cause substantial issues to your overall success. Getting our clients financially organized is one of the first priorities as we start relationships.
Another traditional pitfall we see is one I am guilty of from my time with a large financial advising firm: the fallacy is around rate of return versus savings rates. Often advisors talk about rate of return like something that could be pulled off a shelf and handed to a client. The reality is the historic performance of the markets has shown that there is no way to truly control the rates of returns for portfolios. We can control and mitigate through proper investment structures, but rate of return is an ever-moving target.
What is controllable and extremely impactful to the success of clients long-term is the amount of money they save in different tools (401ks, saving, CD, Stocks, Bond, Life Insurance, Mutual Funds, etc.) Unfortunately, we see people walk through life saving five percent of their income, investing aggressively, and expecting that five percent to replace ninety percent of their income into retirement. The numbers just do not work out that way.
We must take the time to educate our community around the tools they need to create generational wealth. Being “Un-wealthy” currently, does not mean that we need to be uneducated about what we need to do in the future. My hope is that this becomes a forum for your questions and that, together, we can create an environment of growth and development.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anand Nair, MSFS, is the co-author of the book “Financial Malpractice: The financial secrets most medical professionals never hear about”. Anand has spent the last twenty years in banking and investment, working with large financial institutions and now leading one of the premier financial teams here in Las Vegas. Anand served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 with the United States Marine Corps and brings that high level of commitment, honor, and integrity to the clients he works with.
If you have question for Anand you may contact him directly at (702) 845-1308