Last Saturday, I wore a duck suit around Historic Pearl—a situation I never expected to find myself in. Then again, many moments from the past five years weren’t on my life’s bingo card. This July 23rd marks five years of Greenwing Wealth Management, a milestone I’ve been reflecting on, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts and point out how I ended up in a duck costume.
Back to Saturday, it was probably a suboptimal day to be wearing a mascot suit. It had rained early before the sun cleared away the clouds, so it was hot and humid. By my third undershirt change, I had some internal dialogue around “What are you doing, Austin?” I’d say that sentiment was echoed by most people in my circle who were not directly involved in this event. Many people know that I play the role of Buddy the Elf during Christmas; fewer people know the other Will Ferrell characters or the Bigfoot costume that has made an appearance or two. I think in the minds of at least a few, a question has been posed: “What exactly are you going for?” It’s sort of feeling like I'm going to arrive home one night to my living room rearranged with metal folding chairs all occupied by my friends and family, except for one chair in the middle. “Come on in, Austin… we are all here because we care about you. This is an intervention.”
The first year of business as Greenwing WM, I worked from home. Working from a spare bedroom as a thirty-three-year-old father of four with a stay-at-home wife has a way of compelling boldness in the pursuit of success. I created a ton of video content to build my firm's social media presence. What I found is that there is often very little engagement with what you post. You spend time creating and editing for three people to watch a couple of seconds of a reel. That feedback loop is constantly telling you to be bolder, take more chances. I love both Christmas and Will Ferrell, so I had this crazy idea that started with ordering an elf suit off Amazon and ended with publishing a ridiculous five-minute video parodying the movie Elf as a financial planning elf.
Overall, I think people tolerated the movie. It didn't get nominated for an Oscar or a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, which is disappointing. However, it took all day to film the few public scenes in the video because every single car and person who passed by stopped to honk or ask for a photo with me. That was the start of something that sort of got out of hand. You can confirm this with my wife, but we now cap the number of elf events I will do in December. The demand for me to wear tights seems to be much stronger than the demand for me to manage money. In the past five years, I have seen time and again how much joy putting on a silly costume brings to others.
The other side of the coin is that at this point, I seem to be messaging people that I have a deep passion for dressing up as anything. It's creating a bit of a quandary because while it is all fun and games, I worry that a client or prospect who has chosen to trust me with their future accidentally stumbles upon a picture on Instagram and thinks, “Is that very large yellow duck the guy we are trusting with our money?” Putting on crazy costumes and expecting a sophisticated money manager seems like a contradiction.
Most money managers or financial advisors want to portray a very clear image of sophistication. Almost as if you’d be so lucky to be taken on as a client. I loathe that. For a million reasons that I can't possibly fit into an article, the image is the result of many things that have happened over the last one hundred years in this business. This culture, the one that conditions people to ask what our minimum is, because they think that I won't help them if it's not worth my time, is ultimately corrosive and harmful to people and their purpose.
Money is a wildly simple concept with unlimited complexity in its application. The reason is that it is ultimately just a tool for people to interact with their surroundings, and people are a simple concept with unlimited complexity. I’ll tell you what I think, but let me ask you first: Do you deserve someone to invest in you with a little education and guidance with no expectation in return? I hope you said yes. The amount of money in your 401 (k) does not correlate to your worth as a human being. As people who call ourselves “fiduciaries " and say “ we are compelled to act in your best interest,” shouldn’t we start
our relationship with people by agreeing on what is in their best interest?
It is my deeply held view that your best interests are served by being empowered through financial education. It's possible that many from my industry would read that line and say they agree. If they agree, why don't they educate? After doing this for a decade and a half, it sure seems to me that the general public views financial advisors as among the least approachable people on the planet, and sadly, I think that is largely by design.
The reason I seem borderline insane, wear costumes, and make silly content is that I am trying my hardest to make someone in this industry approachable. For most, talking about money is an uncomfortable topic that makes them feel vulnerable. The result is that no one is being empowered because no education is taking place. People see investing and money management as a chore that will highlight all their insecurities. Many advisors know that, so they don't look to engage more than they have to because if you won't ask, they don't have to tell. Your ownership and outcomes benefit from asking hard questions, like 'why are you investing this way?' Why should I do this over that? What are the implications of this path vs that path? Why should I pay you for this or that? What are your fees?
My hope and goal with my craziness is to let you know you can be vulnerable around me. I'm a grown man wearing tights for goodness ' sake. There is very little you can say that will be more ridiculous than me dressing up as Ron Burgundy. I think you'll find that the insecurity or concerns you have about investments and financial planning are valid. Talking about that and turning those insecurities into confidence in planning and strategy will truly be in your best interest.
I can’t be everyone's financial advisor, but I want to see this industry change. I welcome the opportunity to meet with you and help you achieve your financial goals, but more than anything, I want to see a generation of empowered investors. Investors who make decisions based on confidence, not insecurity. For that to happen, there needs to be hard conversations with current financial advisors, and a willingness to move your money if need be. But that takes me back to where we started: Do you deserve a financial advisor to be invested in you?