My journey into this industry helped me formulate some very important principals and also created in me some key biases that anyone considering working with me should know. I've outlined them and my story below, but please don't hesitate to call and ask me questions about any of it if you'd like to know more.
I started to become interested in how money works way back in 1985 shortly after getting married. Up until then I'd have to say I was blissfully ignorant about how money works, but I was also poor. After attending every seminar I could, I quickly realized that I would need both formal education and some real life experience to really know what I was doing. At the time I had no interest in entering the industry. I loved my work, but wanted to get ahead financially and didn't feel anyone in the industry who I spoke to really wanted to get to know me or my situation – they just wanted to sell me stuff.
I started to buy and sell my own stocks, bonds and mutual funds. I traded commodities such as pork bellies and currency futures. I ended up with some rental properties and even did a real estate development (subdivision) on Vancouver Island. I discovered I was very good at making money, managing money and making wise decisions when it came to taxation, planning, etc.
Throughout that entire time I continued to work for a distribution firm providing convenience store goods to gas stations, pharmacies and convenience stores. I loved my work, but twice planned to leave to enter the financial industry. Both times my efforts were thwarted by offers of a promotion, which both times I accepted.
In 1995 I found myself reading a book called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". One particular exercise in that book changed the direction of my career and my life. The author, Steven Covey, advised thinking about your own eulogy and what you would want the important people in your life to say about you. The phrase that kept on coming back, that I was hoping people would say about me, was that I had "effected positive change in their life". Pretty simple, but to me overwhelmingly powerful.
I didn't feel I was living up to what I wanted. I didn't think I was effecting a lot of positive change in people's lives, but I knew an area which I was very good at and could use my skills to do just that. I was great at making wise financial decisions. I loved doing it and I loved encouraging others to do it. Shortly after doing that exercise, as the sole income earner in the family and with a wife and 3 young children to feed at home, I left a very lucrative and successful career as a Sales Manager (one that I very much enjoyed and with a lot of security) with 15 inside and outside sales staff reporting to me, for the uncertainty of the securities industry with only myself to do all the work. That was 1995. I won't say that every year has been easy, but I can say I've never regretted my decision. Every day I help people effect positive change in their lives and every day I just can't wait to help others. Today with over 200 clients, 3 staff and multiple outside resources, Visionvest Financial Planning & Services is among the pre-eminent financial planning firms in the lower mainland.
As an investor, not an advisor, I came to realize certain things. I developed some core beliefs that affected how I later established and decided to run my business. I think it's important to recognize that these are not the result of a business model; rather my business model was created with these core beliefs in mind. They are outlined below.
1. Just about anyone in Canada can become extremely wealthy (it starts with spending less than you earn).
2. Great wealth comes by owning great companies over long periods of time.
3. Managed Money (portfolios of great companies) are the only sane way to invest in securities.
4. Automating the process makes it much more likely we'll succeed. By buying a fixed amount each and every month without having to even think about it we set ourselves up for success.
5. Investment performance is determined more by your choice of actions than your choice of investments, so take advantage of sales. When we see big declines in the sale price of the great companies that we own, it's time to stock up. We see a temporary decline on average every 5 years. Stocking up then can have a HUGE effect on your portfolio, but I have to admit: this core belief is by far the most difficult one to act on.
The above core beliefs may or may not resonate with you, but these are the founding principals on which I base the advice I give. They have stood the test of time and have been responsible for the creation and the maintenance of great wealth. I hope they will help you achieve your hopes and dreams.