It takes all kinds. Really, literally. A versatile team is made from a variety of strengths. Here’s a little glimpse at some of the players we like to see in a balanced portfolio.
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Did you know that the main ingredient to the magic pie is stock ownership? Common stock is more than just a transaction on the computer—it’s an investment, a share of an enterprise that’s out there in the world, trying to do something. Best part about a magic pie? There is plenty to go around.
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We can do it all… but not all at once. How do we prioritize the financial goals on the path ahead? Watch for this and more, in this week’s video.
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“Who knows what is good and what is bad?” What an ancient parable has to teach us about getting a “luck-proof” approach to investing: a message from Caitie this week.
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Caitie Leibman, CEO
The best-known wisdom of Wayne Gretsky is probably the hockey player’s line about missing 100% of the shots you don’t take. Sure, sure. But let’s say we’re already off the bench, we’re flying around.
Then how do we change our odds?
Gretsky had this to say about his scoring records: “I skate to where the puck is going, not where it’s been.”
“Luck” might sound like a flimsy or woo-woo idea. But what Gretsky is getting at is opportunity, putting himself in position just in case things line up. He makes himself ready to be lucky.
Janice Kaplan writes about Gretsky and other famous examples in her book How Luck Happens. Consider Mother Teresa’s efforts as a fundraiser for her charities. It might surprise people to find out that Mother Teresa often flew first class, given her work among the poor.
But where would Mother Teresa be likely to find her biggest potential donors? The first class cabin on an international flight isn’t a bad place to start. By putting herself in a position where the right opportunities became more likely, she was ready to be lucky.
Have there been times in your life when it felt like you found yourself in just the right place at the right time? (Or, maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time?) There will always be some elements of chance or serendipity in life—and goodness knows none of us has a crystal ball.
Even still, we believe we can make it more likely for the best things to happen in life. We don’t have to be right every time. We just have to be ready.
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Play the audio version of this post below:
Friends, a lot of things can happen in three decades. In December 2024, our President Mark Leibman celebrated 30 years of affiliation with LPL Financial. There is a lot of work a person can do in that amount of time, and Mark has chosen to spend a lot of it with you and on this enterprise we now share.
He still intends to work until age 92, and he is energized by the work. Mark’s the founder and he’s still in it for the long haul.
So what’s our story, we “next generation” advisors? All three of us may very well have more years in this industry left ahead of us than there are behind us. It behooves us to remember the importance of the long view.
Thirty years. Something about it just sounded so lovely, it got stuck in our brains.
Back in December, we also celebrated our system of longevity discounts. This is one of the ways that we at 228 Main try to walk the walk: we reward the commitment it takes to become an effective investor, so the program includes fee reductions at certain milestones.
Clients get a fee reduction after 5 continuous years with us and then again at 15 continuous years. Beneficiaries or descendants who come on board with us may also take advantage of their forebears’ start date. In this sense, the longevity discount becomes a “legacy” discount.
But this stuff is all contagious, so we couldn’t help ourselves. We told Mark that we needed to add another level: why not include a 30-year discount? Can you imagine the joy of getting to tell a client of 30 years that you would like them to start paying you less? We could. We’re hungry for it.
And we wanted to give Mark this chance. Another excuse to celebrate some of his oldest friends? Yes, please. Why not?
This is what it’s all about. Growing the buckets. For the long haul. As a team. We’re trying to put our money where our mouth is—which is to say, we’re trying to put our policies where our values are.
Want to talk about this or anything else? Write or call, any time.
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By Caitie Leibman, Director of Communications
It’s said that comparison is the thief of joy. The grass is always greener, the Joneses are doing better, and no one else seems to have blemishes in their highlight reel.
This might feel like a modern problem, with how easy it is to fall into a cycle of “compare and despair” in this age of social media. But comparing ourselves to others is a very human tendency. Any strong group may feature some healthy competitiveness, for example.
But comparison becomes a problem when we forget to add some context back in. On LinkedIn, for example, we aren’t just seeing what our peers are up to on an average Tuesday: we’re also being fed content from the champions of every industry, as they chalk up lifetime achievements in real time!
What’s the antidote to the cycle of compare and despair? I sometimes daydream about deleting all my accounts, finding a nice quiet cave to hide in for a few months. (It’s not gonna happen, and it wouldn’t help anyway.)
Instead, we can just keep at it. That is, our version of “it.” Our work, our mission, bringing our attention back to whatever is happening in our lane. And research backs this approach.
“Keep your eyes on your own work,” psychologist Susan David reminds us in her book Emotional Agility. Maybe we heard this line a time or two in our school days, when teachers were on the lookout for cheating. While life is not a test, and there are no grades, this mantra might still do us some good.
Keeping our eyes on our own work might mean keeping ourselves at the center of our choices. When people give advice, it’s often in the form of, “Well, if I were you…” But they’re not you! You don’t need to know what others would do. They’re not in your shoes. You’re trying to find a way to figure out what you might do.
Comparison can spread doubt and add unhelpful pressure. We’re not trying to become that shiny person we saw on LinkedIn or even to become the friend with advice who is just trying to be helpful. That approach would be miserable. Susan David says this would lead us to become a “striving, lesser version of someone else.”
Instead, we can lean in to becoming even more of ourselves. This journey is not a race you can lose—because it’s not a race. Just keep your eyes on your own work. We’ll try to do the same.
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Each season of life brings different challenges—and makes different demands of us. Still, we don’t fight change. What does this season of life have to offer?
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Our brains are so good at getting used to things that they will keep chasing new pleasures, new experiences, and the next thing to bring us a boost. But research shows there’s more bang for our buck by treating ourselves more frequently, in smaller doses—and our wallets might thank us.
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Did you know that the main ingredient to the magic pie is stock ownership? Common stock is more than just a transaction on the computer—it’s an investment, a share of an enterprise that’s out there in the world, trying to do something. Best part about a magic pie? There is plenty to go around.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
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