This year has been full of internal churn. On the one hand, Greenwing WM has far exceeded every goal I could have imagined four years ago, and on the other, I wrestle with the concept of more. More is often dangerous because it can manifest in unhealthy and unintended ways. More money, more influence, more for what? To what end? I had crystal clarity when I left JPMorgan and started GWM four years ago. That clarity was not centered on money but on principles.
Churn is a good thing in my experience. The churn is an unresolved clash of ideas. The churn is a necessary component of weighing motives and intentions before change is undertaken. I have come to love the churn, as uncomfortable as it may be. The churn before I founded Greenwing WM centered on unaligned priorities and values with my previous firm. Values I tried to challenge politely. What I found is that in most places, both corporately and individually, people don't want the churn, nor do they want the change.
Without churn, there is no purpose. If you don't churn, you don't know why you do what you do. If you don't understand why you are doing what you are doing, it means you're probably doing it for the wrong and possibly selfish reasons. Greenwing does many counter-industry things, whether it be having no minimums, standing on active investment strategies, focusing on education rather than profits, or making insane costume-based marketing videos. These are the results of not accepting standard industry practices but instead holding those practices against my values, letting those two ideas clash against each other, and pursuing what comes out the other side.
This year, I've been asked, "What's next?" Create scale, bring on another advisor, and grow, to what end? For more clients and more money? Recreate the exact model I see of advisors before me? I don't like that model. I've said it before, and I repeat it now, part of the reason I started this firm is because I felt like if I died and my wife had to pick up the pieces and find a financial advisor, I don't know who I would send her to. The model of advisors is growing and growing, so you can work 10 hours a week, hang on until you're 80, and then leave your clients to your kids. Who is served in that business model?
We are different on purpose. We want to be different so you can be different. Everyone thinks they are unique, but the vast majority of ice cream sold every year is vanilla. What makes you different is your willingness to embrace the churn. I thank the people who taught me and encouraged me to lean into the churn. People who looked at me and encouraged me to be more for the right reasons. My purpose and your purpose are to be more for the right principles. Most of you are invested incorrectly, at the wrong firm, with the wrong advisors for the wrong reasons, heaven forbid you're trying to invest on your own. I don't want you to agree with me, but I beg of you to engage with me.