Thin(k) About Your 401(k) Plan: Reflections on 10 Years as An Advisor – Part 1

I just celebrated 10 years as an advisor at ThirtyNorth Investments. The cliché holds that time flies when you are having fun.  I remember the day when my partner, Suzanne, and I met, and I learned about the Registered Investment Advisor structure and the fiduciary nature of our client relationships.  It was like a light bulb lit up as I learned that when it comes to investment advice, my client’s interest would always come before the firm’s or mine.  ThirtyNorth is legally bound to a fiduciary standard of care, which is a cornerstone on which our firm is built.

The concept of an investment advisor delivering objective advice is so foreign to most people that I sometimes struggle to explain it to prospects.  At first, they might not believe it, but once I have succeeded, I see the same light bulb lighting up in their eyes. I’m not selling a product for a commission.  There are no trailers. There are no fees coming from fund companies.  I am helping clients invest their money in a diversified portfolio while striving to take only the appropriate amount of risk for their personal situation.  Often the goal is saving for retirement and sometimes it is leaving a legacy.  Whatever the case, at ThirtyNorth Investments, we help clients bring together money and meaning.

We do this because we believe that the more a client understands and trusts the investment strategy, the more comfortable they will be with market fluctuations.  When clients are confident, they tend to remain invested through ups and downs. Many times, sticking by a plan leads to clients reaching their long-term goals, demonstrating one of ThirtyNorth’s core principles.

Time Matters – Investors are rewarded for taking risk in the market over extended periods of time. We can be confident there will be another market downturn, but it is impossible to know the timing of a downturn in advance. The ability to take a truly long-term view to investing is paramount to a successful investment approach, where “long-term” is not measured in days, months, or years, but in multi-year intervals.

Follow this link to see our other Investment Principles.

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