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I am a fiduciary in my work that I do for my clients. I am also the largest investor in my own strategies, promising to keep a minimum of 80% of my liquid net worth in my strategies, and 50% of my total net worth in them (including my house, etc.).
I believe in eating my own cooking. I also believe in treating my clients well. I’ve treated part of this in an earlier post called It’s Their Money, where I describe how I try to give exiting clients a pleasant time on the way out. For existing clients, I will also help them with situations where others are managing the money at no charge, no payment from another party, and no request that I manage any of those assets. I do that because I want them to be treated well by me, and I know that getting good advice is hard. As I wrote in a prior article The Problem of Small Accounts:
We all want financial advice. Good advice. And we want it for free. That’s why we come to the Aleph Blog, where advice is regularly dispensed, and at no cost.
What extra things have I done for clients over time? I have:
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Analyzed asset allocations.
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Analyzed the performance of other managers.
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Advised on changing jobs, negotiating salary, etc.
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Explained the good and bad points of certain insurance companies and their policies, and suggested alternatives.
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Analyzed chunky assets that they own elsewhere, aiding them in whether they keep, sell, or sell part of the asset.
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Analyzed a variety of funky and normal investment strategies.
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Advised on buying a building, and future business plans.
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Told a client he was better off reinvesting the slack funds in his business that needed financing, rather than borrow and invest the funds with me.
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Told a client to stop sending me money, and pay down his mortgage. (He has since resumed sending money, but he is now debt-free.)