There is a rigorous scientific and academic based method of investing? Who knew?
For years, I thought investing was mostly an art, a gut feel based on predictions of how the economy, market and individual companies will perform in the future. With this view, no wonder I felt helpless to guide clients suffering from poor investment advice—or worse, unscrupulous advice. I love being a lawyer and helping my clients find peace of mind by planning ahead and creating a carefully tailored estate plan designed to meet their individual needs–but to coach my clients with a financial plan that is just as solid as their estate plan? I had no idea how to do that.
I am fortunate to have been introduced to the academics of investing by Mark Matson, founder of Matson Money, a national leader in applying scientific investing research. I learned that trying to beat the market by picking the next big performing company (think Amazon or Netflix) was foolish. Hoping to find a “guru” who could do it for me is no better (but costs a lot more). Just as risky is wishing I could guess the perfect time to get into or out of the market.
I was thrilled to learn about Matson Money’s Board of Academic Advisors—people like Dr. Harry Markowitz, the Father of Modern Portfolio Theory, Dr. Art Laffer, a member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, and Steve Zaffron, a nationally recognized expert in leadership and co-author of the best-selling book The Three Laws of Performance, all of whom guide the application of the most current scientific research to help investors.
Is it any wonder I have wholeheartedly embraced this method of investing? It fits perfectly with what I have been doing for almost three decades as a lawyer.
