For most of us, goals are an important part of our lives because that’s one of the ways we get things done. We have short-term goals, like losing 15 pounds before a beach vacation, and long-term goals like earning an MBA.
Some goals may not matter that much in the grand scheme of things while others may mean everything to us, and those are the ones that are hardest to achieve. In many cases, we count on others to help chart a path to our goals and stay with us along the way.
Olympic swimming icon Michael Phelps attributes much of his gold-medal success to his dogged coach Bob Bowman. And would Tom Brady have won all those Super Bowl rings without Bill Belichick?
Almost everyone has had a coach, a teacher, a mentor or someone in their lives to show them a point on the horizon and then help guide them to it. And those advisors are not just for the young or the athletic.
In the financial world, advisors are important no matter how old the client is. Advisors lend their expertise on markets and investing strategy while employing the tools necessary to analyze opportunities, assess risk and chart growth plans. While all of that is essential, the relationships advisors have with their clients are at the heart of what they do.
They help clients set goals and make financial plans, but that’s the easy part. The hard part comes when storms arise, obstacles pop up and distractions develop. Tom Brady would tell you the road to a Super Bowl championship is rarely a straight line. To get there takes discipline and accountability to the plan.
And just like Tom Brady needed his coach by his side, investors benefit from advisors who can help them stay on course. Everyone knows markets are not always predictable. Bull markets bloom while bear markets seem to drag out forever as investors ride waves of emotion ranging from jubilation and happiness to fear and frustration.
Greed and fear are natural elements within the investing world. In bull markets, it’s easy to make bold investment decisions, forgetting that a market downturn could be just around the corner. And who hasn’t felt the urge to sell assets amid the frustration of a bear market?
But emotional decisions will almost always lead to costly decisions and the value lost because of them is not easily recovered. Like any good coach, advisors hold their clients accountable, keeping them on course when they would rather jump overboard when waters get rough or from steering into the rocks when tailwinds get strong.
They see markets through a lens of opportunity – not emotion – sometimes advising clients to buy during down times and to sell when prices are high, capturing value that occurs from the ebb and flow inherent in financial markets.
In sports and investing, winning is never guaranteed, but athletes and investors with plans are more likely to succeed than those who are guided only by their emotions. Just ask Tom Brady.