I recently had my annual checkup (all is well!). As we reviewed my physical situation, heart rate, blood pressure, weight…. my doctor then checked on the “other things”. He asked if I was still married, still living in the same house, still working with Gainplan. He then asked what he probably thought was a polite question: “How’s business going?” I replied that we were finishing up a great year and helping a lot of people. At this point, it dawned on me the significant number of analogies between patient care and what we do at Gainplan. First and foremost, I was there for a physical checkup and we give our clients financial checkups. Secondly: I was there to find out from a professional what I could do to enhance my physical life and we help people enhance their financial lives. My doctor looked at my data going back a number of years to see if there was a positive or negative trend in my physical life. Data analytics are crucial to having a good plan in both worlds (and serve as an indicator of professional competence). One of the other indicators of a good doctor are his/her credentials. The same is true (although sometimes undervalued) in the financial services industry. 

The third analogy: he asked if I was seeing a specialist. I told him “No, why is that important?” – “Coordination of care,” was his answer. The same is true in the financial world. Are you working with one advisor who tries to specialize in everything or a cohesive team of diversified specialists focused on your unique situation? Analogy four: the future. How am I going to maintain or improve my physical state? After consulting his advice we determined that exercise and the right foods was the best plan. While intuitive enough, there are a lot of different exercise philosophies and strategies, and I wanted to know what was best for me. He indicated that he was a believer (because of the results he had seen) in high intensity interval training. Then, I asked him about his financial plan and his answer was similar to many we talk with – I’m planning the best I can. Most people know financial planning is important, but like my doctor helping people stay healthy, our job is to take someone’s financial plan and make it as effective as possible. The final analogy is action. On the physical side, everyone wants to be healthier, but many don’t take the necessary action to get the results they want. The same is true on the financial side. Everyone wants to be more successful financially, but many do not take the necessary actions to improve their situation. While it may be because they don’t know what to do or haven’t found the right partner to work with, we always recommend a checkup from Gainplan to get on track to financial health.

This commentary on this website reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the Gainplan LLC employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Gainplan LLC or performance returns of any Gainplan LLC Investments client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing on this website constitutes investment advice, performance data or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Gainplan LLC manages its clients’ accounts using a variety of investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.