Sometimes, few (very few) clients ask me why I don't give them transaction access to their investments with me. They feel, it's their investment (money) and they have birthright to have transaction access to their investments. They feel, like their bank gives them internet & mobile banking, debit card, cheque etc and enables them to freely operate their account as they wish, I should also give full transaction access to their invesments.
Few (very few) other clients feel, I should "co-create" their investment portfolio taking into account their understanding & assessment of geo politics & its impact on economy & market, their views on the 'trends' in the market, their view on how the pandemic is going to play out and impacts the economy & different sectors and so on. They feel this 'obviously' because of their vast experience of 2+ years in stock market, they have made great returns and found a knack of investing in the market.
Few (again, very few) other clients, (who made some 'decent' returns, but missed making a killing during a bust & boom phase in last 1+ year) who otherwise were not interested to be copilot with me, feel they 'missed out' on the great rally in the stock market because of lack of 'action' from my side. They wonder (and they express to me) why I was so unusually more muted & silent in these days of action than any other period earlier. They expected I will also be equally 'dynamic' when markets were dynamic. I should have been more observant and based on my 'expertise' would have anticipated market movement with "fair" amount of accuracy, though, as they 'acknowledge' (as an act of generous empathy towards me), it's impossible to pinpoint market levels. So, now they feel rather they should be more "proactive & participative" in the investment process.
First time in short span of my 9 years career, I am going through this high level of client volitility (rather 'hostility'). Rather, let me put in more humble way: this is the first time I feel so overwhelmed in understanding, and explaining to make understand my clients, about what's going on in the market and what I did & doing is perhaps appropriate and is in their best interest even at an expense to my income. (Allocating more & more to equity gives me higher income).
A car, can have only one steering wheel. Even a training car (driving school car), will have only one steering, though it has 2nd set of (dual) controls of clutch and break for the trainer! Steering will be in the hands of learner / trainee /student and the objective of the training is that one day student will be driving on his / her own. Hire a teacher / trainer if you want to learn how to drive. If you hire a chauffeur, sit back and relax. Having dual controls for chauffeur driven car is a joke. If you feel your chauffeur / driver drives too slow or too rash, you better change the driver than you trying to control / instruct the driver while he / she is driving.
Investments are not the money in the bank account. Everyone should have free access to their money and all transaction facilities for managing money.
Even for investments one can have unrestricted access, if one is managing investments oneself.
To self manage investments one should have expertise. Some amount of basic knowledge should not be confused for expertise. At the same time expertise isn't a rocket science. Even rocket science isn't something impossible to master. So, one can become an expert in anything, including rocket science, provided one passionately dedicates to learning continuously. It requires hard work, serious time and dedication.
In our world there are few things, which obviously look complex. Rocket science is one such. In general, any advanced scientific or high-tech engineering looks / seems hard nut. And then there are some other things like cricket (sports in general) singing, acting, painting, crafting, cooking (broadly fine arts, creative works, skilled jobs) each of which every common man can perform to some basic level. Then there are things like accounting, investing etc. (knowledge based works), basics of which can also be performed by laymen.
A guy won't find place in professional cricket team just because he is a champion of "gully" (street) cricket. Not every bathroom singer will become a playback singer. A make shift cook hardly becomes a substitute for a chef in a fine restaurant. Nonetheless, everyone of them indeed can become a 'pro', if they put their heart and soul in to mastering those things.
When a professional is hired, you extract the best value for the price paid, when you let him / her do his / her job. No professional, worth his / her salt (no matter whether s/he is a highly qualified investment advisor etc. or a less formally educated one like driver etc.), will ever enjoy taking advice from a novice. Don't consider it as that person's ego. Every professional who indeed is being "professional" will be humble. Every professional who wants to learn continuously and keep him / herself at his / her best, will be open for feedback & criticism and will be willing to learn from anyone, everywhere and from anything. Quest for knowledge and taking advice are two contrary things. Knowledge can come from everywhere and anyone while advice must come from right people.
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