If you're looking for a great doctor, tutor, ad agency or
actor, you'll find they're always busy. You have to wait in
line. The very best at what they do always attract a
following. Word of mouth works exponentially when you do a
superlative job or get more profitable results.
It's just a fact of life, some say. Actually, it's basic
economics: when demand is specifically stimulated in one
area, it highlights the dearth of supply for similar
quality. There are only so many great experts to go around.
Why would it be any different with investment advisers?
Like architects, accountants, or actors, they come in all
shapes and sizes. The problem of finding and keeping a good
one seems to be magnified by how much money one has to
invest. It just makes common sense that if an advisor is
paid solely by commissions, the more money he or she
manages, the more he will earn.
What would you do? 'Follow the money' is the ancient adage.
This is not to say that there aren't investment advisers
who won't work with you because you don't have millions to
invest. Investment advisers come with different sets of
motivation. There are IA's who would rather work only with
women, others who like to specialize with those under 40,
those who focus only on professionals, or independent
business owners; while others hone in on mature adults,
those older than 55.
Each of these respective target groups has its own dynamics
and challenges. There are IA's to fit every single market
segment's needs. However the single driving force in the
vast majority of cases is just how much one has to invest;
or how much time it might take to service that client's
account.
After all, the only two things any IA has to offer are her
'time' and 'expertise'...or access to it. Time is the one
constant. Every expert or investment adviser has only so
much available 'time' to spend on his profession. That
means only so much time can be dedicated to servicing and
managing a client's money.
Some are very efficient and make the best use of this
scarce resource. Others are not so fortunate. Which one you
get depends on how you shop around, how diligent you are in
your choice; what questions you ask during your search.
Research has shown that one of the ways IA's greatly
improve their efficiency and the accuracy of their work is
to use as many digital, automated tools as they can.
These tools help them speed up and improve the accuracy of
their research and calculations of various equity
opportunities, given the prevailing conditions in the
market. This is where the advantages of the Internet come
into play.
It's no secret today that the majority of investors use the
Internet to research, educate themselves and calculate
potential returns on their market moves. I personally know
of one investor who decided to see if he could put
together a multiplicity of information sources - in a much
different format than usual - so that folks like him could
work either by themselves or more closely with their own
IA, in the management of their portfolio.
As part of his overall research, in late January of this
year, he did market research and learned some things that
readers may find very interesting. Because he is
particularly interested in independence and objectivity,
he asked the question: "...How concerned are you that your
Investment Adviser might not be totally objective - i.e.
that he/she might be influenced by other incentives
vis-à-vis the investment advice he/she gives you?"
Some might say that the answers he got were to be expected.
It was also surprising to learn that 80% of investors with
more than $100K in the market spend up to 10 hours per
month online -- some much more -- researching their stocks.
To me, this begs a new question: why are they spending this
much time online if they have an IA?
----------------------------------------------------
To learn what the research mentioned in the story above
revealed, go to: : http://www.stockresearchddblog.com
Roy MacNaughton is a business writer and coach. He's a
seasoned marketer, with more than 25 years of international
experience, including eight years online. Contact him at:
roymacnaughton 'at' gmail.com or his blog at:
http://www.UmarketingU.com
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