January 2025: Who Do You Want To Be A Hero To?
The start of a New Year, one fresh with possibilities, seems like the perfect time to turn over a new leaf. We all know there are things we should start doing, things we could do better, and things we probably need to stop.
However, we know our resolutions are likely to be forgotten by the start of February (or sooner). Before we know it, the usual concerns and pressures of daily life return, and our carefully created list gets put aside.
New insight often comes from asking new and better questions. So, if starting another year with a list of habits you'd like to develop isn't inspiring you, we suggest that you ask yourself this question: Who do you want to be a hero to?
Being Useful
We've all had personal heroes or people who’ve had a significant impact on our lives. These are people who have shaped and guided us to become who we are today. Some are still present, adding tremendous value to our lives in various ways. These are people whom we would do anything for.
Asking yourself whose lives you would like to have a similar impact on cuts away a lot of distraction and noise. You immediately know what to focus on and how you can contribute uniquely to the progress being made in that person's life. It gives you a true north.
Rather than a list of habits that may impress others before you eventually stop doing them, can you narrow down and define your purpose in life by identifying the people you genuinely care about and how you can create value for them?
Every time you act in this way, being useful to others, who you are becomes clearer to you. In the process, your own capabilities grow, allowing you to become even more valuable to the people that matter.
You Can Be A Hero In All Areas Of Life
Being a hero is a way of looking at your relationships in everyday situations. It's about being fascinated and motivated to help someone else get to where they're trying to go.
This framework can be helpful in all areas of our lives, helping us to become better people at home, at work, and in our communities.
You may want to be a hero to a spouse, child, other family members, or close friends. Turning your focus to how you can be useful to them forces you to consider what they need rather than what you want. With this mindset, it's almost impossible to live selfishly.
At work, it will set the foundations for being a better colleague or leader and help you to serve your clients better. Thinking about how you can be a hero to your clients helps to focus your intentions. In your community, you may identify marginalised people or causes you can be a hero to in a small or big way.
Serving Others
We hope that as you start the year with clarity about how you can become more and more valuable to those you care about, you become free from the self-centredness that seems to trap so many others in today's world.
We want you to know that we want to be a hero to you and we are always available for any needs you may have.
Client Survey
Last month, we asked for your feedback to help us better understand how we can continue to deliver an
outstanding client experience. We want to extend our thanks to those who took the time to complete our survey. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us.
We are pleased to share some key takeaways from the survey:
Our clients primarily measure the value received from their adviser as a “Sense of security / peace of mind”
When asked what this means, the responses were “able to maintain my lifestyle” and “not running out of money”
When asked about the “primary reason you invest”, the overwhelming responses were to “Prepare for retirement” & “Maintain my lifestyle (despite inflation)”
When asked about the most impactful thing their adviser has done, “Reassurance” was the word that came up most often
The topics that clients want us to write about in our communications were:
Inheritance, taxes and retirement strategies followed closely by
Current market/investment trends and general investment education
Based on your feedback, we have identified the following action items to enhance your experience of working with us:
Ensure clients that have online meetings are happy with that
Include a regular section on investment in this newsletter (see below)
If you have questions about the above feedback or want to offer additional comments, please feel free to contact me. Your input is essential in helping us provide the best possible service.
After two excellent years for global markets, it’s precisely at this time that we should remind ourselves that good times do not last forever. Stock market history shows that, on average, one out of every four years produces negative returns.
I don’t plan to write about how the FTSE 100 continues to break records, driven by positive earnings updates and expectations of further rate cuts, which are offsetting concerns about President Trump’s tariff policies.
Or about how the good mood for US stocks has continued, with 2% returns in dollar terms this week – the largest gain in the first week of a new Presidency since 1985. Did you know the S&P 500 hit a new high after seven gains in eight days?
It turns out there’s lots of reasons why:
It’s clear that what our clients value most is financial planning and for us to provide the reassurance that they can maintain their lifestyle
We’re focused on long-term investing and the short-term issues are just that
We can’t take information about bond yield curves and the recent Brent crude slump and say with any certainty about whether markets are going to go up or down as a result. I’d argue that no-one is able to persistently and reliably predict the future of the stock market
For the few that are really interested, there are other publications or newsletters that we could recommend – please let me know
So this is a reminder, as stated in the graphic above, that monthly figures are simply a distraction from your long-term goals and it’s OK not to be that interested in issues like whether the Fed will end their quantitative tightening programme.
Making An Impact
Sometimes we don’t know what impact our conversations and meetings with clients have. Which is why we occasionally ask for feedback. I loved reading all the open-ended responses from our recent survey. When asked about the most impactful thing their adviser had done, one client said “Show me that we have adequate resources to look at retirement one day and to travel to see our family who live overseas as long as health allows.”
“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”
Confucius
We hope you enjoyed this month’s newsletter. Please let us know what you liked or write back with any of your own news. Please forward to a friend, relative, or colleague. As always, we’re here to help you.
Wishing you a prosperous and enjoyable 2025.