Cash out of the market now?

Timing the market seems like a good idea but is difficult to execute. I have a close friend who was one of the few people in my network to successfully predict 2008–2009.

However, even during March 2009, the lows for markets at 7.300, he wanted to wait until `further falls`.

Then markets hit 10,000 in 2010. He thought it was a dead cat bounce.

By 2013 or so, he was even more worried. Markets were at 14,000. Record highs! Higher than during 2007–2008.

Surely this was a bubble! Then 16,000, then 18,000. But now Trump was running for election.

Then Trump won!

Surely, now markets would fall incredibly? Then markets hit new highs.

When markets fell 20% or so in December, he finally bought in, but suddenly the reality downed on him.

He got in at 21,000–22,000, a discount of 20%+ compared to where prices were a few months previously, and yes he has made 20%+ in the space of 6 months or so.

Yet he realized something. `I should just have invested from day 1`. He missed out on all those gains, and dividends.

People forget that point as well. Even stagnant markets, give dividends.

Many Seniors Fail This Retirement Income Quiz — Would You?

Senior women are planning their retirement better - Alainnah Robertson

Basic finance is a tough topic that many people fail to learn.  I had a recent conversation with an entrepreneur who sold his trucking company last year for over $20 million.  Despite having spent decades negotiating contracts and also selling his company to a publically traded company, he did not know how to manage his new found wealth.  When he was running his trucking business, it was all about re-investing his money to his business, which was a ravenous fire for cash.

Every day, I meet with entrepreneurs who were terrific at inventory and counting their costs and cash flow needs for the business, but do not have apply this thinking to retirement.

Another former business owner, Alainnah Robertson, says that she ran a business yet did not have the first idea about retirement and managing wealth.  Since she has learnt the concept of not touching her capital, and living off the interest and dividends, her views of retirement have changed to the positive.

Here is a fun quiz to check up on your financial literacy and how to retire at the top of the class!

Link - click here


Join the conversation with Jacoline Loewen on Twitte: @jacolineloewen
Instagram @jacolineloewen

Amazon Author's Page for Jacoline Loewen and her books

What job do you want your money to do?

Business Transition Forum and speaker, Jacoline Loewen

When an owner of a business sells, it is a challenging time as they go from being the smartest guy in the room in their business, to being a money manager.

These owners find it tough to trust a wealth management expert, even if they are asking the most important question:

What job you want your money to do?

To have that fancy car, that new home with the best furniture, that golf club membership, that cottage in Muskoka,, that home in Costa Rica?
Or is to educate your kids, support a charity, gift to your alma mater or for scholarships? Or to invest into the VC community?

One question I do not hear being discussed with enthusiasm is how can the wealth take you to retirement and beyond?  The latter question is rarely examined early in the sale of business process. It can be more appealing to have to go to the dentist, it seems.

Sudden wealth does happen for business owners, people inheriting wealth and the notorious lottery winners. There are popular strategies used by those gaining this sudden wealth.

Fire Hose Strategy

One of my top prospects sold his trucking company a few years ago and has been all over the place with managing his cash outflows. Probably managing his wife and grown up offspring was the hardest. as they were spending money using the fire hose strategy. He just called me all excited because he had just figured out that he only needs dividend strategy.

"So I don't touch the capital, live off the dividend and if you get 5% interest, you are fine.  The market is going up 90% of the time, and I get a check every month."

I was frustrated that my conversations with him had not unearthed that central and very core point about managing wealth.  Needless to say, he has not become my client.

We are actually doing a highly complex business of wealth management and along the way, this entrepreneur had got the message from his own networking because that is what he trusts.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey Strategy 

What seems blindingly obvious to you, often is not the full answer or even close to the possibilities. If you are relying on your golf buddies or YPO Forum to figure out your wealth management, you will not be getting a full picture of what your could really achieve for you. Your strategy is to go forward blindly and put the tail where you hear your friends telling you to press that pin.  When you take off the blindfold, you discover your buddies did not do a good job of guiding your guesses and also, they don't need to care.  You need to care.

What job do you want your money to do?   What is your money for? It can be difficult to get going and it is helpful to think about these questions to prod, push and poke your thoughts. there is no correct answer.

1. What gets you out of bed in the morning,  What would get you out of bed?
2. Do you think globally or locally?
3. Are you concerned with making a difference? Where? With your family?  Or with the community or with a large internet audience?
4. Are you impulsive or considered?
5. How much control do you have over your time?
6. How much money do you need monthly?

Use my coupon to get a discount to the Business Transition Forum. 20% discount  you can share with your network using the code jloewen20

   

The Business Transitions Forum<https://businesstransitionsforum.com/> (BTF) is a multi-city conference for business owners seeking expert insights for how to approach the most monumental decision in their company’s journey. Whether their objective is to grow, sell or buy, BTF will give them the tools to enhance the value of their business. Our 2019 Spring line-up includes BTF Atlantic (April 2-3), BTF Edmonton (April 15-16) and BTF Toronto (May 28-29).

   

The #1 threat to a client by their financial adviser

In managing a client's wealth, the threat of a client outliving their wealth is a far more serious failure than failing to grow the client's wealth at a maximum pace.

However, clients bring their many personal biases to the portfolio asset allocation recommended by the investment adviser. In fact, there are approximately 20 types of biases and even the genders tend to favour the same sets of biases. Each of these biases can seriously compromise a portfolio.

Going back to the question, what is the number one threat to a client by their advisor? The answer is if you are likely to run out of cash and have a hit on your life style.

For your Client Adviser, their challenge is to understand the client's biases and to be able to make sure they are not compromising the performancae of the portfolio.  For example, men tend to be over confident and load up on a stock that is sure to hit it out of the ball park - such as a crypto-currency or marijuana company. An excellent Client Adviser is paid to help you understand your biases and how your behavioural biases impact on the pace of growth of your wealth.  Your biases, if unchecked, could also seriously compromise your retirement money.

 It is how the allocation across your portfolio impacts the day-to-day living if there is a market crash.  Since the market volatility is increasing, this is an important question for anyone working with a Client Adviser to manage their wealth.

Do you really know and understand your own biases?

Your Client Advisor knows the 20 biases and have seen them in many combinations over the years of their career. This natural human behaviour - to follow your own bias - is exactly why you pay your Client Adviser. They are there to save you from your own human imperfections.

If an asset allocation performs poorly due to a client's bias, what will be the impact on their lifestyle? For the investors with $2M and under, the consequences could be dire.  For those with higher levels of wealth, the bias will not have the same consequences.

Every client brings their set of behavioral biases to the investment relationship with their Client Adviser (CA). Pompian and Longo recommend to CAs that they first determine how much they need to adapt to client bias which can be" irrational". As a suggestion, they advise weighing the rewards of sustaining a calculated, profit-maximizing allocation of assets against the possibility of upsetting the client if they try to educate the client about their biases and end up upsetting them instead. If the client is very wealthy, and insists on irrational decision making, there is far less risk for serious damage to lifestyle and retirement plans.

Clients are human and have their natural biases and may be wanting a completely different portfolio. When does the CA try to educate and to modify the client bias and when to let it go?

The key is to look at the worst case scenarios of the investments. If the worst markets happened, would the client run out of money? Would they outlive their cash supply?

If the answer is yes, the client would suffer, then the CA needs to do their job which is to protect the client from their behavioral biases. The CA needs to moderate the client's views on the asset allocation. It takes courage, but the CA needs to step up and explain the potential outcome to the client. Equally, a client needs to realize they are not seeing the whole picture and their Client Adviser may be making sense. Then, together, they can moderate their expectations for the portfolio.

If the client has substantial wealth and their day-to-day living would not be impacted by a market crash, then their biases could be accommodated. Overcoming sub-optimal impact of behavioral bias on portfolio returns becomes a lessor consideration. Adapting to, rather than moderating, the client's behavioural bias is then possible.

Why the wealthy are not satisfied with their money

Jacoline Loewen

A business owner and her husband recently sold her family business for $50 million. When we met a few months after the sale, we talked about how her life was unfolding. Keep in mind that she and her husband had worked together for thirty years in their business.  Their favourite saying was, "When the client says JUMP, we say, how high?" You can gather that this couple were A type personalities and the level of adrenaline they created in their business had been enjoyable to them as a couple.  Now that pressure was completely removed. They could also now afford anything they wanted. All those trips they had postponed to keep their business humming were now available and they had the time.

The family went on a high-end cruise which sounds wonderful, but there was not a business for them with its pressures and its processes and people to great them after a relaxation period.  They had not replaced their busy and high pressured lives yet. Hopefully, they will find a new journey to challenge them.

This dissatisfaction with the new wealth and the freedom it brings can also amplify boredom and lack of purpose in people's lives. It is common with people who make sudden wealth. Money magnifies who they are.  If they were workoholics, it will be a while to find new ventures and challenges.

At a certain point, another million dollars doesn’t make anything newly affordable. That’s when other motivations take over.

This article in The Atlantic sums up this man's issue perfectly.

Excerpt:

As the number of millionaires and billionaires in the world climbs ever higher, there are a growing number of people who possess more money than they could ever reasonably spend on even the lushest goods.

But at a certain level of wealth, the next million isn’t going to suddenly revolutionize their lifestyle. What drives people, once they’ve reached that point, to keep pursuing more?

There are some good explanations, I found, after talking to a few people who’ve spent significant amounts of time in the presence of and/or researching the really, really rich. Michael Norton, a Harvard Business School professor who has studied the connections between happiness and wealth, had a particularly elegant model for understanding this pattern of behavior.


This article in The Atlantic

These 29 Retirement Tips May Surprise You

Tip #12: Beware of Annuities

My clients do not to have annuities in their portfolios, and with good reason. These complicated, lengthy contracts favour the companies that write them, not you. Annuity sales people get high commissions that come straight off the top of your investment savings. You can manage your retirement-income security needs in ways that'll cost you less. Said simply, if someone's going to guarantee you an income in an uncertain world, they're going to charge you enough to ensure the odds are in their favor - not yours.

Jacoline Loewen and Team

Annuities are for those who do not have a clue about how to manage their wealth and do not have a client advisor to assist them.  

If you would like a copy of the 29 Retirement Tips book, send me an email and I will forward you a copy.

 

Gain unique insight on a range of retirement topics, from investing and financial planning to travel and lifestyle, based on decades of experience working with successful retirees. This entertaining 31-page guide is chock-full of information to help you get the most out of your retirement, including:

•Tips to help you maximize your nest egg and avoid running out of money in retirement

•Ideas for making the most of time with your family and friends

•Methods to generate income in retirement

•Activities to keep your mind sharp and your body active

•Estate-planning steps so you can relax and enjoy life

Created for investors with $2,000,000+ in investible assets 29 Retirement Tips from Jacoline Loewen are for retirees and those planning for retirement. In addition to the tip above, other tips include:

•Tip #11: Living abroad can be great

•Tip #16: How to discuss your asset allocation and plans with your family

•Tip #20: Consider new fields other than the career you retired from

•Tip #24: Be diversified, but not too diversified

 

How many of these tips do you already know? Don’t miss this informative and frequently requested guide!

Jacoline Loewen Can Help You Plan for a Successful Retirement

Join her on Twitter @jacolineloewen
Instagram @Jacolineloewen

Loyd Chalmers Prize for Excellence in Journalism 2018



Megan Honan and Jacoline Loewen, Loyd Chalmers Prize for Business Journalism

I was delighted to award the Loyd Chalmers Prize for Excellence in Business Journalism 2018 at Ryerson to Megan Honan, a recent graduate. Megan Honan chose the flower industry of Ontario and how it has developed into a leader in the world. The article, “Growing an industry, one seed at a time.”

The Ticker Club dedicates The Goldring and Chalmers annual award to the memory of one of its founding members in 1929, Floyd Chalmers, former publisher and editor-in-chief of the Financial Post. The prize is available to students in clear academic standing who are enrolled in the bachelor of journalism program in the School of Journalism.

This award celebrates the life and career of Floyd Chalmers and is presented by the Ticker Club. Chalmers became a reporter at the Toronto News when he was only 17. By the time he was 27, he was editor-in-chief of the Financial Post. He became president of Maclean Hunter, which published the Post and Maclean’s,  in 1952, and chairman in 1969. He and his wife Jean helped set up the Canadian Opera Company and the Stratford Festival, commissioned Harry Somers’ opera Louis Riel and set up the Floyd S. Chalmers Foundation in support of the arts.

@jacolineloewen

Visit the Jacoline Loewen, Amazon Author Page

How to put purpose in your portfolio with Michael Baldinger

Michael Baldinger, Sustainable Investing with Jacoline Loewen

We were fortunate enough to have Michael Baldinger, expert on Sustainable and Impact Investing, visit Toronto and speak in front of a wide variation of interest groups - ranging from MaRS Capital, the family offices and pension funds wanting to make an impact, ultra-high net worth investors during a private dinner, and finally, The Ticker Club whose members are the leaders of asset management in Canada.

"How to put purpose in your portfolio" was the theme Michael Baldinger tackled at MaRS, The Social Finance Forum, Canada’s leading event for people who believe profits should be paired with purpose.

Every day, billions of dollars are invested with the sole intention of making more dollars, while life-changing social programs and vital environmental initiatives struggle for funding. Impact investing is the fast-growing movement that’s closing that gap by promoting profitable investments in programs and ventures that power progress.

Now in its 11th year, the Social Finance Forum, organized and convened by the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, attracted more than 600 investors, entrepreneurs, finance professionals, charity leaders and public service visionaries who are reshaping markets and ensuring that every dollar makes a difference.

Later, at a private dinner at The National Club, Michael addressed 40 investors. He made the case that by using new eyes, we can invest to make the world a better place. But what is sustainable? This word lacks a common definition which can make it less attractive for investors who think their charity should be donating to anything sustainable, not as a serious investment case.

Talking about the confusion around the word sustainable, Michael chose to not use green on the cover photos of the sustainable investing white papers.

" It is not just about 50 Shades of Green," quips Michael. "It is about going beyond the public numbers to non-material data. that shows which companies are operating with the best interests of society, but also making the returns our investors seek."

At the Ticker Club, Michael spoke about how to invest, but with the sustainable filter.

Michael Baldinger is a former Wall Street trader intent on making UBS' $800 billion in asset management money greener and more socially responsible.

Since 2016, Michael Baldinger has served as Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at UBS Asset Management (UBS). There, Michael leads a team of investment professionals focused on research and stewardship, client solutions and business strategy. And he is responsible for establishing world-class social and environmental impact investing across asset classes.
With 30 years in the financial services industry and a decade as an investor in sustainability, Michael brings a wealth of experience to all projects. Before joining UBS, Michael served as Chairman and CEO of RobecoSAM’s executive committee. 

What are the fees for sale of your business?

For all of you entrepreneurs and business owners who are thinking about an exit, I am excited to tell you that the new M&A Fee Guide 2018-19 report by Firmex and Divestopedia is a must-read. After checking out this report, Founders and Owners will benefit from having a realistic and up-to-date overview of the fees for a proper advisor (not your accountant). Facts make you confident in selecting an expert. 

Over the years, I have observed how the fear of fees can be a block to exploring the wide range of ways to grow the business or exit. I have seen many owners think that fees will be too much.  Then they try and do by themselves - this most emotional job of all.  Don't be cheap on this part and don't think your accountant alone is the right expert. Get the facts. I think most owners will be surprised.  

Also, I have certainly seen that by using an advisor, you attract a better quality of buyer and end up with a sale price that fits expectations. Do check out this report and don't let fear of fees cost you lost profits.

Success fees, work fees, break fees…. M&A advisory fees can be structured in various ways and can differ greatly from region to region and city to city. I highly recommend checking out this free report to get a true assessment of fees for your sale of your business. Based on a survey of 480 M&A advisors – AKA the experts who will go out and find qualified buyers for your company and help negotiate the sale – this guide provides valuable data on what advisors charge their clients and why.

An exit can put owners in an uncomfortable position. While you know how to run your business better than anyone, this doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to sell it. When owners seek the expertise of advisors to help with a sale, they aren’t always familiar with how the process works or the fees that are being proposed. This report will provide the inside scoop you need to negotiate fees and terms for the sale of your business with confidence that you’ve done your homework.

I have personally partnered with my company with BDO and appreciate their ability to work with Canadian companies and their unique circumstances. Adam Mallon, the Managing Director of Transaction Advisory Services, for the mid-market, is someone who can read the situation and give clear and fair feedback to the founder as if it were his own business. Adam is one of the sponsors of the report which is an indicator of the accuracy.  

What I enjoy about Adam is that he does not waste time and gets to the real issues quickly. Adam says, 

“Sale mandates are complicated and, as this research shows, the associated fees can be calculated in many different ways. While price is an important element, is not the most important one. When selling a business, engagements can be long, intense, and often emotional. Business owners should make sure that their advisor is experienced, qualified, and a good fit personally.” 

Great advice for anyone who’s gearing up for a sale!

Get the Full Report
To download your free copy of the M&A Fee Guide 2018-19, click here.

Sustainable, Impact Investing Assets Surge - Study reports

This week, I am running three Sustainable Investing events with our experts from New York and Switzerland. This article on Sustainable investing and the rapid uptake of funds came across my desk today. It is written by one of my favourite editors, Tom Burroughes, Group Editor, Family Wealth Report.  The full article was posting on November 5, 2018:

The trend of ESG and impact investing continues to build momentum, according to figures from the US.

Investments that are deemed sustainable or that achieve certain impact beyond purely monetary results are now worth $12 trillion in the US, new figures show, a quarter of all the total assets managed professionally in the country, and a 38 per cent jump from just two years ago.

The data comes from the US SIF Foundation’s 2018 biennial report on such trends. Since the report was first issued in 1995, when sustainable/impact investing accounted for about $639 billion of AuM, the market has surged 18-fold.

Such ways of using investment muscle are gaining ground because, advocates say, they appeal to people who want to not just accumulate savings for the long term but to address issues such as pollution, crime, educational failure and mistreatment of women, among other concerns.

The latest report identified $11.6 trillion in ESG incorporation assets under management at the outset of 2018 held by 496 institutional investors, 365 money managers and 1,145 community investing financial institutions. The largest percentage of money managers cited client demand as their top motivation for pursuing ESG incorporation, while the largest number of institutional investors cited fulfilling mission and pursuing social benefit as their top motivations.

“Money managers and institutions are utilizing ESG criteria and shareholder engagement to address a plethora of issues including climate change, diversity, human rights, weapons and political spending,” Lisa Woll, US SIF Foundation CEO, said.

Retail and high net worth individuals are increasingly utilizing this investment approach with $3 trillion in sustainable assets, the US SIF Foundation reported.

2 Changes to Estate and Tax Law in Ontario

The recent changes to Ontario estate law and U.S. tax law might impact families with wealth. These 2 new changes are worth reviewing:

1. For those of you with multiple wills (used commonly to avoid Probate) should review their Wills. A recent decision, Re Milne, rendered a Primary Will void because it contained a commonly used provision that gave the Trustee discretion to determine what assets to include in the Primary Estate. As a result, multiple wills are only valid if the assets that comprise each of the Primary and Secondary Estate are defined with sufficient certainty. This decision is currently applicable in Ontario, but it is possible that it could be applied in other provinces.
2.  U.S. citizens in Canada may be impacted by the changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, specifically the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) tax. U.S. GILTI tax is relevant for any U.S. Shareholder owning 10% or more of a controlled foreign corporation (i.e. a Canadian Corporation with US shareholder). U.S. Shareholders in that situation may have a one-time 15.5% tax, plus they must include in income such profits in excess of a 10% return annually on depreciable tangible assets owned by the corporation whether or not a distribution is made to the U.S. Shareholder.

 

Clients with wealth need to know you see their needs first

We are striving to talk to clients the way they think about their money, not the way we do. Many advisors jump into talking about themselves, how they have been doing their role for 20 years and so forth.  This does not give the client ease of mind.  The client wants to know that you see them and you understand their special circumstances, not that you are shoehorning them into a standard "solution".

Clients feel their money “has a job to do” – to help them develop and educate their children, care for their parents, fund their businesses and homes, spin out a monthly cash flow, etc. In our client relationships, we are focused on helping our clients achieve their desired outcomes – offering the right capabilities, removing complexity and truly listening.

Our clients have their best practices in managing their wealth. This mutual sharing of knowledge has developed the wealth management practices over the past 150 years and this is a responsibility we take very seriously.

Family Wealth: 5 Essential Questions

Having listened to many families of wealth and seeing their family situations, for better or for worse, it does appear that money can impact also for better or for worse. After creating their wealth, entrepreneurs then are concerned about investing, but their overriding concern is the impact on their children. How will the new money affect them? 
Actually, it worries them deeply and we have all heard stories of families who had wayward next generation due to the wealth. What should a wealthy family do?

Listening to entrepreneurs who have sold their business and received an eye watering amount of money, I notice that the great families tend to ask themselves these six questions. 

1.       What is really important to our family?

2.       What are our family’s true assets?

3.       What should I do to guide and support the life journey of each of my family members over time?

4.       How wealthy do I want my children to be?

5.       Do I feel any responsibility to society?

You might also ask what sort of family do you want to be? What do you want - both with family legacy or family stories? Even the answer from your children might be – "meh" – and that says a great deal.

What legacy do you want to leave your children? What about a legacy left for society? Deciding where you want to go with your financial success and why you want to meet those goals will get your strategy going. Determining how to get there and which legal arrangements to use are secondary tactical decisions.

Your financial wealth a is wonderful vehicle to help your family do a shared goal.  In my experience, families who go through this process achieve better results – financially and emotionally.

By the way, my definition of a successful family is one that knows who it is, what it stands for and where it is going. Successful families manage themselves deliberately.  There is a lot at stake for families and each family member. If you and your family can define what is significant, before doing, then your next generation have an excellent chance of thriving.

A staggering amount of wealth has been created in the USA and inheritances given, foundations endowed and legacies created.  The wealthy family is trying to find this other dimension more and more.

The other question, after answering "what is important", is what will be the impact on my children and heirs? I often think that the second question is more important. It is also far more unpredictable. It is why you want to know the life lessons of the best entrepreneurs and how they have managed their family wealth.

 

Christiane Amanpour honoured for her media stories dedicated to Peace

Christiane Amanpour was honoured by Daughters for Life at a gala dinner held at The Carlu in Toronto. She took the opportunity to give the message of peace and to see others as human and not "the Other".

Christiane knows first hand about politics and the power it holds over behavior. She is Iranian and was educated in Britain, during her youth.  This early experience of different cultures, and not quite fitting into the community, gives her a deep insight into belonging and how politicians can warp their people's minds.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, and Jacoline Loewen, UBS Bank (Canada)

Christiane has an admirable career and here are a few reminders of her assignments around the world to the hot spots of the world:

During her early years as a correspondent, Amanpour was given her first major assignment covering the Iran–Iraq War, which led to her being transferred in 1986 to Eastern Europe to report on the fall of European communism.

1990:

Following Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990, Amanpour's reports of the Persian Gulf War brought her wide notice while also taking CNN to a new level of news coverage.

1992:

On 22 December 1992, during the Bosnian War, Amanpour was reporting from Kiseljak, not far from Sarajevo.e Amanpour, CNN Global Head of Media,

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacolineloewen/
Twitter: @jacolineloewen
Amazon Author's page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacolineloewen/