Ask the Adviser: Creating a Sustainable Portfolio

In this latest installment of Ask the Advisor, Chris and Bob Fitzwilson focus on how to approach creating an investment portfolio with the tenets of the Crash Course in mind.

Bob explains how he believes a prudent process starts with securing the essentials for resiliency; in other words, investing in the resources that will sustain yourself and your family regardless of how the financial markets perform. These are things like your local food supply, your homestead, your health, etc. Only after you've created a plan for procuring those should you then focus on what do with any funds left over.

Then the focus should be on your desired lifestyle. Ask yourself: How much do I need to meet my base-case needs and wishes for my family? Expectations for quality of life, travel, education, and retirement all come into play here. A financial portfolio should then be constructed to maximize the odds of providing the capital appreciation and/or income inclusive of estimates for higher taxes and inflation in the future to meet these goals.

The last step should be looking for returns in excess of these base-case goals. There's nothing wrong with pursuing greater wealth, but such pursuit comes with greater risk and therefore should be done separately from securing the returns you need. In Bob's experience, many of today's investors are too speculation-focused, looking for windfall returns on their funds instead of building wealth sustainably.

In this podcast, Bob also shares his personal story in overcoming a rare and deadly form of cancer. The experience informs his approach to investing, as it taught him the importance on focusing on the essentials for happiness in life and avoiding getting distracted by other temptations and fears. It's a perspective worth listening to in full.

If, after listening to this podcast, you find yourself interested in connecting with Bob and his team to learn more about their advisory services, please use the form here to do so.

Transparency note:  As a result of our public endorsement of Bob's firm, Peak Prosperity has a commercial relationship with them. The details of this relationship are clearly presented in writing during the referral process but the punchline is, our relationship does NOT result in any increased fees to those who become clients.

cheers,
Adam

It should go without saying: this discussion should not be construed as individual financial advice by those listening to it. The content should be taken as informational and educational in nature only. Investment advice must be tailored to your specific personal situation (which Chris and Bob are obviously unaware of) and should be obtained directly from a financial advisor you trust. Before acting on any of the statements made in this podcast, we advise you do just that.

 

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with Bob Fitzwilson (36m:06s):

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/ask-the-adviser-creating-a-sustainable-portfolio/

Well, that was a pleasant suprise. I was anticipating a browbeating about stocks and bonds, instead Bob spoke my language. There is no way I am going anywhere near the High Frequency Traders.
Does Bob know about my disruptive technology?

It really disrupts ones view of reality, as any really disruptive technology will. 

And then we have stem cell therapy, which might add disruption on disruption.

Or how about Carbon Nano-tubes to build me an elevator? (Sorry about the lightweight video)

Wiki

Did I mention artificial intelligence? 

All a bit too disruptive? That is called Future Shock.

Yeah, finally a financial planner fhat’s perfect for Mr. And Mrs John Q Public. I like that Mr. Fitzwilson starts with talking about the essentials for resiliency then talks about planning for the future. He also seems to understand family demands and the unexpected. I will be keeping his contact info for the future.
My plan is to work until I die as I quit my corporate job 10 years ago and became a caregiver for my father, mother and older brother who have all passed away. I also regularly help with my grand-children. My home based business us doing very well but dosen’t match my old 401K. When my parents retired their healthcare was covered by the time they died their perscription medication cost was $600 a month, they were lucky as they could afford that. If the question is “how much do we save for the future” my answer would be it won’t be enough because more often than not the path we end up taking isn’t the one we planned to take. Investing in my family, home, skills, and health is so much more important than a portfolio. That said the flip side is shooting at a target with my eyes open and sights on the target is more successful than trying to hit something with a blind fold on. Success in retirement will be achieved easier with knowledge and a plan rather than with just hope. I think Mr. Fitzwilson could probably help provide insight for many of us. Thanks as always, I learn something from every Podcast.
AK GrannyWGrit