When we were kids, one million dollars sounded like a mind-boggling sum of money. To be a millionaire meant being rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Nowadays, with a firmer concept of numbers and several decades of inflation, a million dollars is more tangible and less impressive. But it still is a lot of money. People may work hard all their lives, build a comfortable safety net, and never have a million dollars.
The financial services industry has a name for those who do: “high net worth individuals.” This is such a common topic, it has its own acronym. Acquiring HNWI as clients seems to be the sole focus of some of my peers. Some act as if a potential client should have a million dollars, or five. Anything less, they imply, is not worth their time.
To us, this attitude is puzzling. People tend to accrue wealth over a lifetime of hard work. If someone is worth pursuing after they have amassed a tidy nest egg, surely they are also worth helping while they are building their wealth. This been the source of many mutually beneficial relationships for us. On a personal level it is gratifying to watch clients grow their wealth over the years.
Much of this success is due to the magic of your hard work and patient saving. We believe it would be insulting if we left you to tough it out on your own during the hard years only to swoop in to sell you our services after you had already succeeded in building a fortune.
This attitude puts us at odds with certain trends within the industry. But we are proud to have a different perspective than others. A “mere” six figure account may still represent a lifetime of hard work. We are happy to meet good people who share our principles about investing and life—whether or not they have a million dollars.
We have been working together with many of you for decades. We never once felt like you did not have enough money to be worth our time. Some of you have become millionaires, some won’t need to get there, others may hope to be on the way. Whatever the case, it is a pleasure to work with you. As always, call us for a longer conversation, or with questions, whenever you would like. We know that you are worth our time.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.