London Wall Partners
Partners Mar 22, 2022
Upswings and Downswings in the Stock Market
How to avoid the stress and achieve a classic finish…
by Nick Fletcher, Senior Partner, London Wall Partners LLP
One of the most common mistakes people make when investing their hard-earned after-tax savings capital may surprise you – they make ‘investing’ their starting point! However, we believe this is wrong and has two negative outcomes – it generally results not only in under-investment in quality assets for the long term, but also in people worrying and getting stressed about short-term stock market movements, most of which are irrelevant to achieving a positive outcome or ‘classic finish’.
Ben Hogan’s classic finish, depicted in the famous picture when he hit his one-iron to the heart of the 18th green at Merion before winning the US Open in 1950, came at the end of his classic swing. First, we saw Ben take his posture, stance and aim, then make his backswing and downswing in that order. Similarly, if you were building a new home on a plot of land, your first port of call would be to an architect to draw up a set of plans based on your aims and objectives. You would not go straight to a builder and ask him to start building the house.
Why then do people take a different view when it comes to investing? One answer is a lack of totally impartial and independent financial advice. Who can you rely on to provide advice that is purely in your best interests? Who will show the same care and attention as, perhaps, a heart surgeon, where one careless move may have serious, possibly fatal, consequences for the patient? The financial services industry is renowned for selling products and gathering assets, often without putting their clients’ interests first.
So how do you avoid the stress and achieve a ‘classic finish’ with your money. There are several starting rules or etiquette, just like in golf, to follow before you get on course, as follows:
- You must appoint an independent financial adviser that you pay and is on your side of the table;
- You must want to be a good steward of your capital and forgive yourself for past errors;
- You must think of today as being the first day of the rest of your financial life;
- You must want exceptional value for money and service standards;
- The adviser must be highly experienced and have a long track record of client retention;
- The adviser must be supported by a team and not a jack of all trades, master of none;
- The firm you appoint must obtain most of its business through word of mouth;
- The adviser firm must have an impeccable regulatory track record;
- The adviser firm must have a robust investment track record in good times and in bad;
- The principals of the firm must invest their own money where they recommend you invest yours.
London Wall Partners LLP meet all of these ten rules and many more – we are dedicated to assisting our clients achieve classic results over the long term. It is very rare indeed to come across professionals, who can pass these rules and plan, allocate and invest to the quality level that will surpass the expectations of top class professional clients to the extent we do – we would love to meet you for a confidential discussion about your requirements; do contact us on 0203 696 6801.
Investments fluctuate in value and may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the value of their original investment.
London Wall Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under number 583354 and is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales with Partnership Number OC375373. The registered office for London Wall Partners LLP is Salisbury House, London Wall, London, EC2M 5QQ.