One of the founding questions of Brilliant Advice is this: “If our roles were reversed, and you were our advisor, how would we wish to be treated by you? Then that is exactly how we will treat our clients.” In other words, we wanted to design a firm that we ourselves would want to engage as our advisor. We have done just that, as our families, friends and we are clients of Brilliant Advice.
We are certain that 2017 will bring about some interesting times in the global financial markets. A new administration here in the U.S., elections in France and Germany, and leadership changes in China this year all amount to some noteworthy political changes coming. Add to that changes to U.S. tax policy, regulations, government spending and foreign policy. Also, mix in some rate increases by the Federal Reserve, potential changes to trade agreements and new tariffs, and some retaliatory action by the affected countries – all this only adds to the stew of uncertainty. And finally, add the impact of foreign currency changes, as well as a few other economic ingredients, and 2017 looks like a bit of a witch’s brew!
As it is always our goal to be intellectually honest with our clients, we do not know, and for that matter no one knows, how 2017 will play out. The opinions of experts may be given great weight, but they are still just opinions! Of course, your long-term financial success does not hinge upon the results of any single year. And, the 2017 “witch’s brew” could certainly produce some quite positive outcomes in many areas.
We design portfolios to benefit from any dislocations and volatility that the financial markets experience. We are not implying that our portfolios will not decline, as they surely will in the event of any significant market downturn, but rather that they are structurally designed to benefit from choppy waters in several ways. The financial markets may surge and careen, appearing to temporally derail your client plan, but success should be measured by your ability to meet your own financial goals. Your ability to stick with your well-crafted plan may be the ultimate determinant of your financial success.
It is also worth noting that the pace of innovation continues. Advancements in areas like information technology, healthcare, material sciences, energy generation, and education will all create investment opportunities that we can scarcely imagine.
These are times of great change, are you confident that your portfolio is well positioned to weather any storm?
Would you like a second opinion?
Given all the uncertainty, we are happy to offer a no-cost second opinion review that we call “Brilliant Advice Insights.” Our review will help you understand the risks you are taking, the expected returns you are likely to see, and the costs you are paying. These are all important things to understand, since a false sense of confidence can be costly. Often, even those who say they have confidence in their portfolio do not fully know these elements or the impact they can have.
Besides building our business, why do we do this?
Because if the roles were reversed, we would want someone to provide this service to us.