Dave Goetsch is a writer and executive producer of the Big Bang Theory – a show I happen to love and we watch as a family. I heard Dave Goetsch speak a couple of years ago, at a Dimensional Fund Advisors Advanced Canadian conference in Santa Monica (Fall 2016). He was both entertaining and sobering as he shared stories about his life and his relationship with money.

 

I came across a blog post he wrote recently for the Dimensional Fund Advisors website. It reminded me how much I enjoyed hearing him speak, and how similarly we think about wealth, investing and the unconscious beliefs we all carry around about money.

 

You can read his blog post here, about his approach to investing ‘Now and Then’.

 

It reminded me of the lively speech I heard him give, and I dug around to find the notes I’d taken at the conference.

 

Goetsch told us that early in his career, he believed all problems could be solved with ‘more money’. Until he met many brilliant people who had a poor relationship with it. He reflected on years spent worrying about “playing” the market, the anxiety that every dip and dive brought on, and the disservice that shows like CNBC’s Mad Money, hosted by Jim Cramer, do by passing entertainment off as real information or advice.

 

In his recent blog post he writes, “In order to be a long-term investor, you have to have a long-time horizon. This can be hard to remember when you’re being assaulted by noise, but if you can stay strong, the results are stunning. By results, I don’t mean the investment returns, which hopefully are good. The return I’m talking about is how I feel every day. I worry less—not just about the future, but also about the present.”

 

After years as Chief Worrier, Goetsch finally engaged a local advisory firm in Santa Monica, and feels the cost was a bargain. 

 

“There’s no way I could’ve done this without a financial advisor. I needed someone who could not just talk me through what my asset allocation should be, but also help me work through how I felt about investing and what exactly I could do to change my perspective.”

 

That’s how Dave Goetsch, writer of some of Sheldon’s best one-liners, became a self-proclaimed evangelist for ‘evidence-based investing’ – an approach that ignores the noise and lure of timing trades for maximum returns, and instead focuses on time-tested, fact-based decision-making with a long-term outlook to ensure the investor can fund their personal financial goals.

 

Which is what I’ve been helping my clients do all along. Figure out what they want their money to do for them, then devise a solid plan that accomplishes, not just accumulates. Apart from snappy one-liners, from that very first meet-up, I’ve felt that Dave Goestch and I think a lot alike.

 

Have you heard the term ‘Evidence-based Investing’ before? How would you define it? Leave a comment through our Contact Us page.  And if you’re interested in talking about a peace-of-mind approach to investing, let us know. Email us here and let’s start the conversation.