Be careful what you outsource.
American’s health and wealth is being hijacked on a massive scale.
Outsourcing is a wonderful tool if you entrust the right people.
We often don’t. Americans suck at outsourcing.
Most of our problems are of a fiduciary nature. The people we pick to look out for our best interests are failing miserably. Conflicts of interest are the rule, not the exception.
The evidence is damning. Here is a partial list of some of the more egregious examples concerning our attention, healthcare, food supply, relationship with nature, and kid’s sports.
We have immersed ourselves to a few mega social media platforms. Angertainment is all the rage. If you think doom scrolling, keeping up with Jones’, and entrusting your engrossment to algos designed to keep you in a constant state of anxiety is the path, have at it. Come for the social isolation and stay for the subsequent depression.
Is it wise to farm out your health to pharmaceutical companies who profit from not curing you? Treating the symptoms instead of attacking the source of an ailment is far more lucrative. It’s hard to make money on lifestyle change. Sick care has replaced health care.
Do you think having our food supply dominated by an oligopoly with a business model based on overconsumption of highly processed non-foods leads to positive health outcomes? What could possibly go wrong with outsourcing your physical well-being to food chemists whose intent is hijacking your taste buds with copious amounts of fats and sugars? If you believe this is a good idea, I have a nice Taylor Farms Salad to add to your dinner menu.
Most industrial landscaping companies practice forms of Eco-Terrorism. Their goal is convincing clients having a green lawn is the ONLY thing that matters. This means fertilizing dormant turf during heatwaves and using leaf blowers when Air Quality conditions are at dangerous levels Their business model is an assault on all living things including you. Pollinators don’t eat grass. Without them, we die. A minor point at such a moment.
Travel sports teams have some how convinced parents that journeying to Florida to play another team from 15 minutes away from your neighborhood is a great idea. College funds be damned. BTW World Cup darling Norway, doesn’t organize kids by ability until age 13, play local games, and are big proponents of unsupervised free play.
Our personal finances aren’t immune to this plague of misguided trust.
We all know about unscrupulous sleazy financial sales people posing as advisors with sole intent of separating clients from their hard-earned money.
Some people will read the above and think their money is safe from similar perverse incentives and say:
But what about Fiduciary Advisors? If I hired someone with this classification I’m good right?
Not exactly.
Congress has passed legislation with a warped definition of the term fiduciary. This label has migrated to both those that sell products and give advice in your best interests. Finally, True Democracy for all investors!
Rick Kahler sums up the watered down term in Advisor Perspectives.
For everyone outside a pension plan, the definition of “fiduciary” has become much less clear. Today the label covers most of the people giving financial advice. This includes those working under a registered investment adviser (RIA), whether they charge only fees or also collect commissions. Even many brokers who sell financial products on commission now operate under best-interest rules that look much like it, especially when the money in question is retirement savings. An advisor who takes no commission at all is a fiduciary, and the same term applies to one collecting a commission.
The good news is you have agency over the management of your retirement funds.
Kahler suggests having your advisor sign something that clearly outlines their fiduciary obligations. Require your advisor to sign a statement saying something to the effect of Do you or your company earn a commission on anything you recommend to me?
If they refuse, it’s time to find new advisors.
It’s not hopeless. Nobody cares more about your health or wealth than you.
Insource before you outsource.
