Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Who needs another blog?

I guess that is a question that every blogger asks when they begin the process of cluttering the Internet with their thoughts. As a grey beard I never really felt this Internet thing would catch on....but apparently I was wrong. I now find myself searching the net regularly for information or advice on everything from cooking to gardening to my pathetic golf game.
So why the "UnbiasedPortfolio"?
Working in the wealth management field I have found myself on many sites about investing and financial planning. What is interesting is how often I disagree with the information I read, even though it is presented as an incontrovertible fact! In fact, it quickly became apparent that I must have a weird perspective on things because I disagree with a whole lot of what is said by "experts"! What I soon noticed was that my level of disagreement was often directly connected to whether I was reading information from the "sales" side of the business. Years spent with a large financial company has perhaps jaundiced my view of "free advice" and commission sales people who "put the client first"! Suffice to say the first lesson I learned was when somebody is putting me first, the first thing I need to do is grab my wallet and hang on tight!

So a couple of things for the world to consider:
- no your not wealthier than you think you are!
- no banking is not this comfortable and there is no green arm chair to sit in!
- changes made last week won't put your child through university!
- when a bank "puts you first" they charge a hefty monthly fee to the millions of other people they are also putting first!
- if your partner is holding up a sign to the banker there is a good chance half your assets just left your account!
- news flash....you are unlikely to pay 2.5% MER on Mutual Funds and still retire to France or Italy!
Sorry if many are disappointed by these crushing realities!....but thats my Unbiased opinion!

2 comments:

MG (moneygardener) said...

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the blogosphere and good luck with new blog!

..Keith (MG)

Mike Macdonald said...

Thanks MG. Any tips from the experienced blogger are welcomed!
sois