To Whom It May Concern:
I am taking the liberty to send this, it has been on my mind for some time. You see, the fundamental financial risk we both face is not losing one’s money but outliving it, which means equities are even more critical to financial survival than I thought 25 years ago. I have led many investors to water but I can’t make them think, because fear, not ignorance, is the primary cause of the failure of most investment plans (most investors do NOT have a written investment plan, I will see we construct one just for you, not me).
You see, your losses are not a function of what you bought, they are a function of timing. The thing that matters most is what people do, or don’t do, with the proper advice when those investments are down. Never forget, stocks solve long term investment problems and should be owned for the long haul.
As an arbitrator for both the NYSE and NASD, I can tell you there is significant potential for conflict-of-interest in commissions and in dealing with stockbrokers who have an objective of selling you something. I believe the only safety lies in the accretion of purchasing power and that the greatest long term risk of stocks is NOT owning them. I know the downs are temporary and the ups are permanent. I know that the words BEAR MARKET mean BIG SALE. And most importantly, I believe that, prior to retirement, people should own as close to 100% of stocks as they can emotionally stand. Then, after retirement, I believe they should own as close to 100% of stocks as they can emotionally stand. You see, I know the most mediocre stock funds are much better than the best BOND funds, over time. And I know that a mediocre stock fund that you hold on to through a 40% market decline is infinitely better than a world-class stock fund that you were scared out of and sold at the bottom.
If you decide to hire me as your investment manager, I can promise you that, throughout the years we work together, you will never find another investment advisor who will care more about you and your financial assets. I promise to invest your capital as carefully as I do my own. I commit to tell you the plain unvarnished truth all the time. You will encounter advisors “smarter” than I am. Some cheaper than I am. But you will never in your life find an advisor who you can trust more implicitly than you can trust me. I insist my clients plan and stick to their goals. Their goals, not mine. Understand clearly you are being asked to entrust your financial future to Dean Parisian, not to a generic financial plan spit out from a brokerage firm computer. Not to the latest investment fad de jour. To me.
And I’m offering to accept that responsibility.
Wish best wishes,
Dean T. Parisian
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