I have been an advisor for over 20 years. I have had many conversations with clients in the past who want to hold and own assets that are outside “typical” investments.
Most of the conversations came after the 2008 financial collapse. During that time, my clients thought the economy would re-crash and the value of the dollar would be destroyed. I had many conversations about tangible physical assets held by the clients, including gold and silver. To be clear, I have never recommended clients own any specific asset in their own house. I cannot imagine the scenario where we take our gold bars into Walmart to buy toilet paper.
I would also have other clients tell me they would store extra rounds of ammunition or bags of grain! No matter what it was, I would offer the same advice: Buy and hold as much of any item you need to feel as if you are protected from whatever you fear may come. Allow this to be an investment in your comfort. Thus, I referred to these as comfort assets.
These comfort assets allow you to then feel confident to invest in the normal and typical investment vehicles like stocks and bonds, or any other recommendation you receive from your financial advisor. It is these investments and following your advisor’s recommendation which truly increase your probability of financial success. They simply cannot be ignored.
All these conversations I had with clients did affect me to the point I wanted my own comfort assets. My go-to comfort food is peanut butter. I told my wife to always buy an extra couple of jars of peanut butter when doing the grocery order!
I continue to have this exact conversation in many meetings with my clients, for example, when the price of eggs increased. My advice hasn't changed much over the years:
Increase your personal comfort by identifying your “comfort asset.” This will allow you to continue to make smart decisions with your money even during volatile and uncomfortable times.
If you’re ready to take other precautions for volatile times, contact us today. Let us get you started on a financial plan that might help mitigate your risk.