Listen to mission statement.
Become a valued, trusted friend who understands you, and your perspective, while managing your wealth to the highest professional standards and insight.
Let’s break that down into pieces.
“Valued trusted friend”
Over the years, many of my clients have become my friends. It just happens, and I hope it happens with you as well. A friend is someone you can count on, and trust to mean what they say, and do what they say. A friend cares about your triumphs and challenges. I worked for many years in enormous corporations and institutions, and fully understand the point of view of the detached, polite professional. I can be that. I’d rather work with friends, and I hope you and I can attain that mutual level of relation.
“Who understands you, and your perspective”
My perspective is important to me, and I believe yours is important to you as well. People show up here from all different backgrounds and experiences which may help or hinder their understanding of the markets and risk. It’s more important for me to understand where the client is coming from, and how they perceive risk, than it is to pretend it isn’t going to matter later.
“Managing your wealth”
Most of my clients are conservative investors who prefer some version of an “advance and protect” strategy. The theory being you don’t have to make as much in the good times, if you don’t lose so much in the bad times. The experience with the numbers should be relatively boring. Drama is fun for other aspects of your life. Not your life savings.
“Highest professional standards”
“Highest professional standards” isn’t saying much these days. Investment clients are, too often, just numbers who are handed an impossibly oversimplified risk questionnaire, and treated politely before their hour is up. Junior brokers handle the accounts, and assistants handle the paperwork.
Lance does the interview, the personal interpretation of how the client thinks and what they can handle. Every client is in a different mind, and their investment strategies will reflect that. Lance does the plan and the investments.
“Insight”
An MBA with an emphasis in finance and 30 years experience only gets a person so far. I’ve learned I have to continually study economics, politics, left and right, and the nature of right and wrong.