Should Investing Be Fun?

Should investing be fun? Yes, in the sense that seeing your money grow is fun. But no, investing should not be pitched as a fun thing because it cannot deliver on that promise. Nobody has control over the markets and as a result, if your fun is conditional upon positive outcomes, then you are setting up for disappointment.  

The industry is prone to overpromising and underdelivering. It cannot deliver on any promise of performance (just look at the disclaimer on every investment product sold). And yet, investors are sold on outperformance and the hope they have the right manager. This is an easy sale. Much easier than educating investors what are realistic expectations and how things actually work.

The State of Financial Consultant Direct Calls

Just received a call from a TD Ameritrade Consultant who had taken over my account (I didn't know I was part of someones book) from a guy who has moved on from TD...It was not particularly compelling.

She had recently come over from Schwab having been at Schwab for six years prior. Doesn't inspire confidence when you see the revolving door of financial consultants.

Several things she said left me incredulous:

• In the first instance she mentioned they were doing a sales promotion - ding! ding! ding! I don't like being sold to - that would reward me with $100 for every $25,000 I moved over (0.40% - you've got to be kidding me). 
• In the second instance she tried selling me on some management program (forget the name I have seen it advertised before) explaining how it uses independent research house Morningstar to construct portfolios from the best 37,000 mutual funds (emphasizing twice that 37,000 number to highlight how difficult it is to navigate the financial marketplace). I asked whether that included Schwab and Fidelity funds which she had dished previously as implying their programs were biased by including them, and she was not sure. And when I asked if any Fidelity and Schwab funds might rate well, she unbelievably said she didn't think so (remember, this is someone who has been selling Schwab funds for six years).
• She indicated the fees for the managed program ranged from 0.3%-1.25% with an average of 1%. Ouch. 1% for a little bit of automatic tax harvesting. That can't end well. 
• She spoke about Tony Robbins new book that raved about TD Ameritrade as though he were an authority upon the subject.

If that is the state of Fidelity, Schwab, TD Ameritrade direct sales then they really need to sharpen their pencils. They are in pole position with their existing clients and it really shouldn't take much to upsell additional services.