I ran into a good friend of mine yesterday and after a brief catch up, he mentioned that he had to run and meet his personal trainer.
Wait. You hired a personal trainer?! You?
You see, this friend of mine happens to be a professional tri-athlete. The type of guy who will run a half-marathon next weekend - for fun. Of all people, he was the last person I’d expect to be hiring a personal trainer.
As I was walking back to my office, I came to the realization that a professional athlete hiring a personal trainer is just like a professional do-it-yourself investor (someone who feels like they have a good working knowledge of the market) hiring a professional trainer for their money (a money manager like me).
Even though the DIY’er could build a pretty sound portfolio, they may not have the time, patience or emotional stability to maintain a strategic long term plan. Click here for a neat chart on the benefits of staying invested over time.
Just like my professional athlete pal, he needs someone to put together a plan for him to reach new levels of success and to keep him on track. I would imagine that this trainer is also monitoring his diet, stretching and related training to ensure a comprehensive strategy is in place for his sweet victory. Much like when you are working with a professional money manager, the advice should go beyond the investments to include all of the variables required to ensure that you are keeping more of what you’re earning – like tax strategies, cash flow, risk management, estate planning, etc.
Regardless of if you feel like you could do-it-yourself or not, we are all ‘busy’ human beings who can value from professional advice – no matter what field it happens to be in. I am personally ‘too busy’ to plan my own wedding, so I’ve hired an awesome wedding planner! Sure, I have an organic knack for being creative and I’m sure I could put together a splendid event, but the time (and stress) I save in having a professional do it is worth much more to me.
The key to hiring a professional is to make sure that you are getting a consistent return on the advice (ROA) you are paying for – something that I believe in firmly, personally and professionally.