A Bull, A Bear and A Bank

I'd like to take a minute and talk a little bit about my week so far:

Crappy.

Mostly crappy.

I'd say crappy to fairly crappy.

No, it's not the merger that has me down. The merger is a good thing. Actually, it's a great thing. It's the best case scenario. At least right now. What? What's that you say? You haven't heard? Well, unless you get your news from Radio Disney, you are probably aware that the firm for whom I work has been purchased by Bank of America. The same Bank of America that does business with half of the population here in the US. To make a long story short, it needed to happen. And I think it makes all the sense in the world. I couldn't be more excited for what it will mean for my business. Merrill will keep it's name, basically will be an autonomous entity inside of B of A. So, to paraphrase a convict, "It's a good thing."

This market is just crappy. That's not been the fun part of the week. You see, part of my job as a financial advisor is helping clients in the difficult times to not make the wrong decisions. Sure, when the market is going up, it's a great thing. People are happy, the refer their friends. They make you cakes. They name their children's middle name after you. It's so wonderful.

Then the market goes down. It always does. And the people who were singing your praises, curse your name. The make you death threats. They lock their children with your middle name outside. And there is so much emotion tied to it all. It is as it should be, people are tied to their money with their emotions. So when the market goes down, I spend a lot of time talking clients through the current conditions. Helping them to understand what is going on, helping them focus on their objectives and goals. Basically, in some cases, talk them down from the ledge. I love that part of it. I love being part financial advisor, part psychologist. I have spent countless hours on the phone the last few days with clients, listening to their concerns. Hearing them out, bad or good, and then rendering my thoughts. You become very close, it's an emotional time. Hopefully, if I am doing a good job, they don't sell out at the bottom. They hold on, keep a long term perspective. That's when the rewards come. Seeing them stick it out and reach their goal.

Maybe it's like being Michael Phelps' coach. You coach him through all the bad and difficult times, the countless hours in the pool, with breaking all the records at the Olympics as the final goal in mind. Then, to see him actually do it, I can't imagine the satisfaction his coach must feel. It's a lot like what I do. See them through the bad times of the market so that they hold on, stay invested, ride it out, and reach their goal: be it retirement, kids education, weddings, second homes, etc.

The Michael Phelps Approach to Investing. Sounds like something I could take on the road. I already have the 12,000 calorie/day diet.