Don’t do what we do

With so much financial news readily available and so many enticing or obvious investment choices it’s tempting to just “do it yourself.” As a DIY investor you can make investments with a few mouse clicks for just a few dollars per trade. It’s an appealingly simple idea, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Take a look at our day and see why.

The Big Five
Markets don’t sleep. Prices, politics and economics are in constant motion. With two of us we can tag-team appropriately and monitor much of it, with special emphasis on what we call the “five most important prices in the world”(article on that coming soon). If you don’t know those five prices cold and what they mean, it’s like playing ball with a blindfold on. We don’t predict what those prices will be but the awareness allows us to see when and how markets are changing, and when they get out of line.

We get surprised like anyone – the plunge in oil prices and the Swiss franc cap removal are among the latest – but surprises have little effect in a portfolio when countered with a solid offense: diversification from top to bottom, from security selection to asset class, style, factor, currency, cash flow, geography, capitalization and tax effect. If the last sentence doesn’t mean much to you then maybe portfolio management is not your slice of cake.

Infoblast
If you do decide to immerse yourself in the markets, how do you know what to pay attention to? What sources can you trust? Is it true? Is curated content better? Is it fact-based, or opinion? Official, for-profit, or independent? How much is already in the price? If you would like to compare sources please call me. I’d be happy to talk about ours and would love to hear yours. If you make your own investment decisions be prepared to spend a LOT of time finding, absorbing and verifying information. I enjoy it. Do you? Are you willing to bet all your money on it?

Keep your life
We’ve built Osbon Capital to manage money for people so they don’t have to do it themselves. Working with us frees you to enjoy the rest of life – family, fun, friends, and whatever else is on your list. Our clients tell us what money means to them, how they imagine an ideal advisor relationship, and what they want their money to do. That’s when we get to work.

Dealing with the complex interplay of markets is our passion. It’s also our full-time job. Do you have time for another full-time job? If not, let’s talk.

John Osbon – josbon@osboncapital.com