THE MISSED RETIREMENT OPPORTUNITY

I do what I do because tens of millions of Americans are missing out on the biggest wealth building opportunity of their lives. Seventy five percent of Americans do not end up with enough money to retire at age 65. And the twenty five percent that do retire with enough money could have had millions more if they had managed their 401K investments properly. We are talking about a missed opportunity of tens of trillions of dollars in total. Do you see why I get so worked up about this issue?

THE CAUSES

There are many reasons why people are missing out. Most of them are attitudinal in nature.

We have already talked about the love/hate relationship that people have with their 401K accounts. This mainly stems from the frustration they have with their investment performance and the massive fear that people have about losing lots of money in bear market collapses. All of this is completely understandable. We provide real solutions to these issues in our program.

IT IS THE MESSAGE NOT THE MEDIUM

Today I want to talk about another big factor that is behind the poor results of 401k investors – the fact that people are totally unaware of the massive wealth building opportunity that they have with their 401k. This mainly stems from the messages that have been communicated about 401K investing.

Just about all financial advisors are cautious about the expectations they set for their clients.

THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT

Most of this is driven by the regulatory framework in the investment business. Financial professionals can get in big trouble if they lose lots of money in their clients’ accounts. The industry and the government have had to put in lots of regulations to try to prevent fraud and bad behavior. As usual, there have been some unintended consequences from the rules and regulations.

Did you know that financial advisors cannot advertise their investment performance results? Interesting, right? Competitive forces in most industries lead to the best performing companies gaining market share by advertising their better products and services. This is not allowed in the investment business mainly to avoid people fabricating their results.

So, financial advisors get penalized for losing people money and they can’t talk about making people lots of money. They are left to compete on safety and reputation. The advertising messages are, therefore, all about safety and reliability – not about results. It is not their fault. It is the way the industry is regulated.

A CAUTIOUS BREED

Financial professionals are also very cautious by nature. Most advisors use projected annual investment returns of around 6% per year for their clients’ retirement planning. A trained monkey can earn 6% per year with their investments. Just putting all your money in an S&P 500 index fund will earn 9% per year in the long-term. The caution is understandable, but it keeps people from seeing the real possibilities. Setting the bar very low allows the advisor’s performance to look better but it is bad for results when you manage to that low bar.

The messages they send to their clients are all about caution and the protection of their assets. Strangely, they are not very good at this. They don’t have any effective solutions to stock market crashes. Their “Buy & Hold & Suffer” strategy never feels very safe during bear market collapses, does it?

These cautious messages only add to the fear that most investors have. Everyone is starting from a place of fear. They are never told to think about the multi-million-dollar opportunity.

THE FREEDOM TO PUBLISH

This is why I am not a registered financial advisor. I am classified as a publisher. The regulations allow publishers to talk about the opportunity. I still am required to post all the industry standard disclosures on my website and in my marketing materials. But I have more freedom to talk about the massive opportunity available to all investors.

My Beyond Buy & Hold solution is all about taking on less risk because I have a real solution to those dreaded bear market collapses. My solution allows people to capture the high long-term gains of the stock market while avoiding the pain that comes with investing in the stock market. I like to think of it as having an insurance policy attached to your stock market investments. It is insurance against bear market collapses.

The industry says that people need to take on higher levels of risk to achieve higher rates of return. I disagree vehemently with that myth.

My point today is that people would do much better in their 401k accounts if they were excited about the opportunity compared to the current state of being fearful about their investments. People would engage differently with their 401k with a more positive attitude. Most people don’t even want to think about their 401k because it scares them. Attitude matters in everything in life, and it is incredibly important in investing.

I am on a mission to spread this word and to ensure that people achieve the kind of wealth that they deserve.

Seize the day with your 401k!

Happy Investing,

Phil

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Disclaimers The Beyond Buy & Hold newsletter is published and provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not advising, and will not advise you personally, concerning the nature, potential, value, or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. Beyond Buy & Hold recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision.

Investing in the financial products discussed in the Newsletter involves risk. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Actual results will vary widely given a variety of factors such as experience, skill, risk mitigation practices, and market dynamics.