Oct 10, 2022

Welcome to the Happy Hour Money Podcast!

There will be a crossover between personal finance, sports, food, and health, as well as other topics. We're enthusiastic about the opportunity to create content, discuss issues, and bring on smart, outstanding guests who may not be receiving enough attention in other areas of personal finance. We'll bring on members of the Vincere team, who, in our opinion, perform excellent work and would be ideal for an interview.

Welcome to the Happy Hour Money Podcast!

Welcome to the Happy Hour Money Podcast! Isaiah and I are thrilled to finally share our latest project with you. 

The whole idea behind this podcast was that we wanted a forum where we could discuss important ideas around making money, keeping money, and becoming work-optional. A format that was more of a hybrid between audio-video where you connect with us, regardless of where you are. And really, get down to the nitty-gritty of some topics that many advisors may find too sensitive to touch or may be less than conventional.

“Happy Hour” 

When you think of 'Happy Hour,' you imagine sitting at a bar with a friend, coworker, or someone you know and having an open conversation. We wanted it to be a place where we could provide honest opinions, which is very important in today's climate. Not the: “This is the approved version of the message." We plan to discuss what is important so that people will no longer have to work if they do not want to. We often advise clients on how to get to a point where they are working on things they are passionate about, enjoy, and want to accomplish, rather than just somewhere they are well compensated. We will conduct interviews with a wide range of independent experts. There will be questions about the present state of the markets, the world, or whatever else is trending at the time.

Meet Your Hosts

Josh Bennett, CFP®, EA

In Josh’s Words:

Let me introduce myself to newcomers! For as long as I can remember, I've worked in the financial services industry as a financial advisor. However, that wasn’t my initial plan. In college, I was a film major, and since I love movies so much, I decided to follow the art gold road and become an entertainment attorney. So, I began working as a shadow for an agency, and I believe it was then that I knew this was a bad decision. I had no desire to do this.  I was essentially lost for a time, but fortunately I had a teacher who gave me a swift kick in the pants. He enlightened me about stocks and investing and pushed me to consider entering this industry. Consequently, I worked at Swab for a long time, but I didn't like how corporate finance and the big guys handled money, how they treated clients, or how they conducted financial planning (if you can even call it that). As the saying goes: "If the machine lacks the necessary functionality, you must create your own."

The start of Vincere Wealth Management

As a result, I started Vincere Wealth and attempted to plan how I believed it should be done. And I never looked back! Now I want to share what I've learned with other people!

Isaiah Douglass, MBA, CFP®, CEPA

Isaiah Douglass, MBA, CFP®, CEPA

In Isaiah’s Words: 

“My background is somewhat similar to Josh's, when it comes to school." When I was younger, I always saw that, from my parents' point of view, money was always something we had trouble with. I wanted to find a solution. Consequently, I have always had a desire to understand what money is and how to save it. Initially, the focus was always on investment! So I was determined to return to school to earn a master's degree. During that time, a few people commented, "Hey, you constantly talk about money, finances, and investment." You should consider making that your profession.' So, I consulted with a professor, who advised me to become a financial advisor. I grew up in rural Indiana, so I relocated to the big city and began working at Merrill Lynch. I was extremely blessed and fortunate to work with a guy I regarded as a decent human being. I learned a great deal. I believe that part of what I learnt was how things function. However, there are also a large number of individuals in control of large sums of money who have no idea what they're doing. It is embarrassing how little understanding and knowledge they have. Thus, this experience helped me in obtaining my CFP”.

Isaiah + Vincere Wealth Management

Then, Josh and I met at the beginning of 2020, right before the world shut down for coffee, and many things clicked. We share a similar perspective on the world; there are some distinctions, but we're ultimately aiming for the same goal. And from there, we integrated and built the new 2.0 version of the Vincere brand."

Aim of the Podcast: 

There will be a crossover between personal finance, sports, food, and health, as well as other topics.  We're enthusiastic about the opportunity to create content, discuss issues, and bring on smart, outstanding guests who may not be receiving enough attention in other areas of personal finance.  We'll bring on members of the Vincere team, who, in our opinion, perform excellent work and would be ideal for an interview.

Episode #1: 

First things first: What is money?  What is wealth? What is money?

Morgan Housel offers a fantastic perspective on the subject. And for anyone unfamiliar with Morgan Housel, he is an exceptionally gifted author. Everyone should read his book, "The Psychology of Money," He had developed a definition that was truly outstanding. And it goes: "The definitions are my own. But here's the distinction. Rich means you have cash to buy stuff. Wealth means you have unspent savings and investments that provide some level of intangible and lasting pleasure, independence, autonomy, controlling your time, and doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, with whom you want to do it for as long as you want to do it."  That, in our opinion, is a beautiful understanding of what work-optional abundance means to us.

So, how do you get to Work-Optional? 

In the first episode of the “Happy Hour Money Podcast,” Josh and Isaiah share their values, beliefs, and financial take on achieving a work-optional lifestyle. Click the link here to listen in. 

Getting to Work-Optional

In today's work culture, you’re expected to be reachable at all times and to work hard around the clock. But what if you could get off the traditional path and onto one that didn't require you to work full-time until you were 65? What if you didn't need an alarm clock to wake up every day and could do the things you love most instead of punching the clock for someone else?

The Ultimate Goal: 

The goal of work-optional isn't just to drink bottomless mimosas and take as many naps as you want, so you don't have to work until you're 65 and can retire. Its goal is to give investors the freedom to choose how to spend their time and money. Freedom could mean taking a pay cut to do the work you love, working part time, or not working at all. And it's a popular goal: A recent survey found that 22% of millennials want to retire before they turn 60. It comes down to having the financial freedom to live the best life you can. Once your savings can cover your post-retirement needs, adjusting for inflation, you have reached the finish line for work-optional status.

First, let’s start off with an interesting question: "What's the non-consensus view that you hold that most financial advisors don't hold?" 

Josh’s answer:

“I actually have two." And, I'd say they're both deeply rooted in finance. There are trillions and trillions of dollars at play with these two concepts. One is for millennials - most millennials:

401(k)s

A 401k may make absolutely no sense. It is a useful instrument with tax benefits. But, in my opinion, it's just the way our budget imbalances with the government and other things are going. There is a lot of untaxed money in 401Ks that will become the targets of political gain in the future. Millennials will most certainly dominate Social Security, and such things will most likely cease to exist. Why does a 65-year-old retirement age make sense if you can't withdraw funds from your 401k before that age? So, if you're 45 and ready to retire, you've done your due diligence and are prepared, but you can't access your money for another 20 years? That's a bummer, isn't it? And I believe that many millennials will be in the same position if they don't do things correctly. The statistics are interesting because there is a big difference. When you consider the age of Millennials and the amount of wealth they possess. Each generation of Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials has less wealth, but that wealth must pass at some point. 

The next 20 years will see a $65 trillion wealth transfer…

I also think that number is a bit misleading because a lot of the boomers' wealth is based on the value of their homes. Which, to be honest, I don't think is an investment. Rarely does a retiree sell their home on the day they retire to get back the money they put into it.

Modern Portfolio Theory

Modern Portfolio Theory is another financial idea I somewhat disagree with. This way of investing is used by 401Ks, Merrill Lynch, and Schwab. In the long run, a Robo advisor, a portfolio from Merrill Lynch, or a portfolio from Charles Schwab are all the same. They're identical. 

According to studies, if you drag various portfolios over seventy years, they all end up in the relatively same place, give or take a percent. Insane. It also evaluates only volatility, or fluctuations. A portfolio that varies within a 10% zone carries the same level of risk as one that plummets by 90% all at once. That's a flawed system. Why? All of these firms embraced this 1950s mentality because it is marketable. People understand, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Let’s look at 2008 instead. It's occurring right now. Protection and risk management aren't always available. As the world becomes more international, this is less and less applicable to these portfolios. For example: Overseas sales account for half of McDonald's total revenue. International and US equities are not particularly diverse. Thus, I believe this is a terrible and risky investment strategy for the average Joe, who will suffer market collapses, grow emotional, and be discouraged from investing for the next ten years.

Isaiah’s Answer: 

I believe McDonald's approach will become the norm in the near future. This decade marks the pinnacle of the breach caused by globalization. There are multinational businesses that reap the benefits of diversity since McDonald's sells a considerable proportion of things in nations other than the U.S. But if you take into account some of the worries that people have and the fact that the United States is pulling back and saying, "Hey, we're not doing this anymore," investing will change in response to developments such as more autonomy in Europe, as well as in China, Russia, and other countries.

Since its inception in the early 1980s, the 60/40 portfolio has been the industry standard for gauging success in wealth management. Many inquire, "Is this your best work?" Both of us would argue against it. I believe that fees should matter if that is all you can give.

It's better than paying a financial advisor 1.5% to do something you can do yourself for free. In an era of instantaneous returns, this strategy requires fee reductions.

Passive Income

I'd also contest the idea that many people are obsessed with passive income. Like rental real estate. Since the 1980s, interest rates have plummeted. Sure - part of what makes it appealing is that you can buy an asset that goes up in value and then refinance it at lower rates, which is great. But what if things change in the next 40 years? Where rates go up or don't go down? Changing the store's value? So, real estate? We'll see.

Many people only think about investment returns, which are very important. However, there are other things that are just as important if you want to get to a place where you don't have to work and everything is set up.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is another one that, in my opinion, falls outside of the realm of the consensus view. There are a lot of incredibly brilliant individuals who have completely different opinions from mine and who would say something along the lines of "that is ludicrous to think that anyone is going to do anything." As a result, I believe that to be the one thing that most people don't believe, and I think that's the thing that sets my beliefs apart from others.

Robinhood

Josh: Another one! Robinhood is one of the worst things to happen to our industry recently, but not for the reason you think. The elimination of trading fees was the single most negative development for our sector. It resulted in addiction to gambling. Because we have been in a bull market for the past 13 years, everyone who has done well believes that their success was due to their own abilities rather than to luck. Perhaps. The next 18 months will demonstrate if I am right or wrong!

Friction prevents day traders from wasting their life savings. I worry that an entire generation will be turned off to investing because of the coming crisis and the fact that they blew themselves up, which appears fantastic on paper but is a terrible idea when humans are involved. Robin Hood conflates saving, investing, and gambling. Find a stock, inflate it, dump it, and move on. When it doesn't, you're like, "It's just gambling, right?" It's next to DraftKings or another app. You'll think, "Can I make money this week?" You shouldn't see it this way. It leads to people not understanding how things work structurally.

ETFs

In a similar way, I think the same thing is true of the rise of ETFs. They've given customers false reassurance by presenting the Ark ETFs as safe investments. Don’t get me wrong - I'm a great fan of Kathy Woods. I think she's a great investor. However, I don't agree with her premises. Ark funds are problematic since many people think they're diversified if they own them. 

For example: "I'm diversified with 30 tech stocks." No, tech-specific risk is distributed from one company to another. You have 30 undiversified IT enterprises. One firm protects you. That's like betting everything on Twitter.

Wrapping It Up

We'll go deeper into several of these topics as we talk about our passions. Different things we observe and try to bring light to in the industry and the world, where you've been fed horrible marketing by trillion dollar companies. And it becomes very convincing. We'll try to unravel some of that through statistics, science, anecdotes, and real-world experience. and hopefully, keeping you from making financial mistakes. Also, get you successful, affluent, and future-ready.

Have any questions? You can reach out to us here. Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite social platforms! 

For Educational Purposes Only. No portion of this content should be construed as financial or  investment advice. No portion of this content should be construed as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. References to specific securities, investment programs, or funds are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities. Past performance is not a predictor of future results.

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