Good Medicine
Having recently experienced first-hand the wonders of modern medicine, I am compelled to offer parallels between medicine and investments. Are you saying any of the following: What? Are you nuts? How hard did you hit your head? But stay with me please and see if these observations are useful to you. You may be surprised.
Medical care in the United States is leading edge. Thankfully, the trauma unit at our local hospital has a system for evaluating and quickly addressing medical needs. Triage followed by appropriate (and fast) treatment improves outcomes. My situation is a great example.
Competent financial advisors are able to perform their own version of triage with new clients, or help existing clients who are presented with changed circumstances. Is the allocation appropriate for the client? Are any positions overly large or risky? Does the bond portfolio have undue industry concentration? What is the interest rate risk? I believe it is safe to say that these basic portfolio questions would be met with appropriate treatment by most financial advisors.
Specialty care brings on a whole new spectrum of considerations. My orthopedic care, noted for being exceptional, was indeed very precise. But the office was a lesson in poor communications and inefficiency. If time is money, they waste a lot. The ENT specialist, on the other hand, ran a smooth practice, provided comprehensive analysis, and communicated well with me.
I hope you never have to go to an ocular specialist. The scheduling alone gave us headaches. When we showed up for our appointment a few minutes early, they informed me “you are going to have to wait at least an hour”. We waited 90 minutes beyond our scheduled appointment. I suspect that if I made you wait more than an hour to see me, you would give me quite the earful. My family doctor delivered fine care. I suspect this is a result of their caring and concern. Overall, these various providers reminded me of how portfolios are put together, piece by piece. And sometimes different investments don’t work as well as one hopes, or you meet unexpected speedbumps to the desired outcome. In portfolio management, the ability to adapt to unexpected events can be a key difference between good results and mediocrity.
Physical therapy proved to be quite the bright spot. Timely, efficient, knowledgeable and innovative would be how I would describe this provider. They offered a newer treatment to my recovery, laser therapy, and it really improved my results. Being open-minded to this suggestion reminded me of times when clients (and even wholesalers) have introduced me to new and useful investments approaches. Being open-minded helps when it comes to investments, that’s for sure, and in my case when it came to my physical therapy.
Surprisingly, my treatment also included acupuncture and herbal remedies. So far this seems to have been beneficial. These are not “new” medicine, rather they are ancient health care practices from another part of the world. Maybe the investment parallel is emerging markets, which I was slow to add to client portfolios. Perhaps you share my quasi-skepticism about acupuncture or the need for emerging markets in your portfolio. But we all learn as we go through life, and our journey is improved if we accept things that create value, improve our health, and increase our happiness.
My last and best medicine was a visit from my grandchildren, who came to visit for a few days last week. In my opinion, this type of medicine provides the greatest results. And from an investment perspective, don’t we build portfolios so that our children and grandchildren can have better opportunities? Ultimately, we build it for them.
Enjoy your Fourth of July. Celebrate America!
Ralph McDevitt
Any opinions are those of Ralph McDevitt and not necessarily those of Raymond James.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC
