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How to Choose Your Sherpa- A Retirement Guide Can Be Helpful
As a reminder from our previous blog, climbing Mount Everest successfully has been a goal of many people. Few have attempted it, and fewer still have done so successfully. Mt. Everest was first conquered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzig Norgay in 1953. Even though Nepal issued a record 381 permits in 2019, last year’s climbing season had a limited number of good weather days, leading many people to set out at once when the skies cleared and the winds seemed calm. Unfortunately, this caused crowding, and at least 11 people died last May, even though most were experienced trekkers.
After last year’s record deaths on Everest, people seem more aware of the importance of Norgay these days and that is entirely appropriate. Sherpa people are one of the ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal and the Himalayas. Many Sherpa are highly regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in their local area. They were immeasurably valuable to early explorers of the Himalayan region, serving as guides at the extreme altitudes of the peaks and passes in the region, particularly for expeditions to climb Mount Everest. Sherpas are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. It has been proven that part of the Sherpas’ climbing ability is the result of a genetic adaptation to living in high altitudes.
We believe the best Sherpas in the financial world are 100% fee-only fiduciary firms. Unlike brokers who make money based on commissions, fee-only fiduciary firms must act in clients’ best interest at all times and are paid only by their clients. Fee-only means they don’t sell products and are paid based on the assets that they manage. We believe this removes potential conflicts of interest and places them on the same side of the table as their clients. The Sherpas’ job is the explorer’s safety and well-being on the trek, not to sell you trekking gear.
For decades, Sherpas have guided explorers to the top of Mount Everest successfully, and they are responsible for safety, equipment, packing, and the camp. They not only have expertise but also circulatory systems which allow them to physically endure high altitude much easier than normal humans. Having a guide who can provide advice and recommendations can be the difference between life and death. Since climbers burn up to 15,000 calories and lose as much as 20% of their body weight, if a climber suffers unexpected equipment failure, then it is even more important to be extremely prepared. A combination of inexperienced climber and inexperienced guides is a formula for disaster. Bodies are seldom recovered….
There are those who would rather not have a guide as they climb Mount Everest. As of the date of this blog, four people have attempted to summit Mount Everest solo. Two were successful. Two died on Everest. With 50/50 odds, we think it best to have an experienced guide on the journey. We also think that do-it-yourself retirement is similarly foolish. Having an expert that prevents you from slipping and making a costly mistake that affects your entire retirement is worth having.
Just as successfully climbing Everest takes a lot of preparation, the same is true for retirement. Choosing the right guide and the right firm is key. The cheapest guide could end up as the most costly. Our ascent was building our careers, accumulating wealth, and perhaps raising a family. A slip can destroy all of this. Our descent is equally important and potentially equally treacherous. We need to safely finish this round trip adventure so we can start another ascent of our own choosing…
So we need a good plan, to choose the right route and the right guide. Preparedness is key, but the right sherpa is one who has helped others make that round trip successfully, so we have both a successful ascent AND descent.
For many years now, the DALBAR survey has proven that good advisors can add great value for investors. As your guide, or sherpa, we add value in a lot of different ways:
- Portfolio Excellence. We locally manage all our portfolios with portfolio management expertise by an in-house Chartered Financial Analyst.
- Planning Excellence. We custom design your financial plan along side you. We listen to your personal goals, risk tolerances, and time horizon(s).
- Maximizing Time. We use real-time integration of your financial plan, your portfolio, and your risk tolerances.
- Minimizing Fees. As an independent advisor, we strive to minimize all fees, including taxes.
- Tax and Estate Planning. We have CPA backgrounds and CFP® experience that help us coordinate with your attorney or CPA.
- Behavioral Coaching. We guide you through major life decisions and the inevitable emotional periods of bull and bear markets.
At this point in our lives, we can choose the peaks we want to climb. Let’s be sure and make a safe round trip so we can decide what to do in retirement, and not be required to do things we don’t want to do. Here are some of the topics we help our clients solve:
- Social Security, retirement plans, pension options and choices;
- Income planning and nest-egg distribution (how to not run out of money, income replacement, and budgeting);
- Life and long-term care insurance;
- Health and wellness;
- Tax management and required minimum distributions (RMDs);
- Managing debt (if you have it);
- Lifestyle decisions;
- Aging parents and other dependents;
- Estate planning (How much is enough? How much should we leave our heirs? How do we decide who should get what?);
- Housing decisions (Should we downsize?).
Intelligent Investing is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser (RIA) with a fiduciary responsibility to act in your best interest at all times. We are paid only one way–by our clients. Fee-only means we don’t sell any products and are paid based on the assets that we steward. This removes potential conflicts of interest in our advice and places us on the same side of the table as you. We put ourselves in your shoes for every decision we make.
We hope you have enjoyed our mini-blog series on the parallels between climbing Mount Everest and transitioning into Retirement.
To read our other blogs, click below: (NEED TO ADD HYPERLINKS)
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The Slippery Slope of COVID-19 (Navigating the Bear Market)- Part 1 of 4
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The Slippery Slope of COVID-19 (Beware: Avalanches Lie Ahead)- Part 2 of 4
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The Slippery Slope of COVID-19 (The Incredible Cost to Climb Mount Everest)- Part 3 of 4
