Why It’s Important to Stop and Enjoy Success
By SJS Founder & CEO Scott Savage
Ask just about anyone how they’re doing and you often hear them say, “Fine. Good. Great.” And usually one other word: “Busy.” Tim Kreider, who wrote a piece called “The Busy Trap” for he New York Times in 2012, highlighted our national obsession with being busy.
Most of us feel this way and admittedly, for all of us at SJS, it’s hard to not be busy when you are taking care of people’s wealth. To us, that’s a big responsibility that demands a lot of attention. Short of throwing responsibility to the wind, there is something we, and everyone else, can do to escape the busy trap even for a short time. And it costs nothing. What’s the trick? Spend a little time every day looking back and celebrating your successes.
We know from our own experiences working with successful people that not only are we, as Americans, too busy to take time off, we are often too busy to relish our victories. Typically, we over-achieving types quickly move on to the next challenge. One afternoon recently, we decided to change that and took a 17-year look back at the performance of an institutional client’s portfolio. Our client is happy; the organization has been with SJS since the very beginning. But aside from the great relationship we enjoy with this client, and the peace of mind they say we have provided, what else have we accomplished for them? In our world – we’re numbers people – we turn to investment results.
Here are the wins we are happiest about:
We affirmed our Four Core Fundamentals of MarketPlus® Investing - That’s a win in terms of discipline:
Markets are Efficient and Priced Fairly
Speculating is Futile
Global Stocks and Bonds Have Rewarded Investors Over the Long Term
Portfolio Design Matters Most
We recognized that our belief in the fundamentals of our investment strategy has remained strong since our inception. That’s a win for consistency.
We have inspired the institution to maintain discipline over the last 17 years. To their credit, it hasn’t always been easy, with major economic events during that time including the tech bubble of the early 2000s, and the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009. That’s a win for communication and relationships.
Despite the volatility of the last 17 years, this client portfolio has outperformed its benchmark by roughly 1% annualized after fees. This adds additional purchasing power to an investment portfolio. That’s a win for furthering their cause.
As we were wrapping up our “slow down and celebrate” meeting, we reaffirmed to ourselves that MarketPlus Investing is purposeful, disciplined, intentional, and repeatable. The process helped us realize that we can slow down to relish some success for our clients and for ourselves. It also got us thinking that if we can do it in our business, anyone can. What successes have you had? Celebrate them!
Important Disclosure Information & Sources
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Suggested Reading
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in CNBC’s 2024 FA 100 list, an annual ranking of registered investment advisory (RIA) firms within the USA.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in the Forbes / SHOOK 2024 list of America’s Top RIA (Registered Investor Advisor) Firms.
Every four years, we get the same question (whether you have asked it, or you are thinking it) – how will the election affect my portfolio?
As we approach the end of the year, we want to highlight some important financial items to review before the new year.
This Outlook includes our discussion of election time, financial to-dos before the end of the year, new SJS Perrysburg office, SJS Team updates, and looking forward to Q4 2024.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2024 Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Ranking, an annual ranking of independent investment advisory firms within the United States.
As I approach my 40th anniversary as a financial advisor, I can't help but look back on the road I've traveled.
While people commonly hold their cash within checking and savings accounts, we want to highlight three short-term, interest-bearing investments that can be held within your investment account.
This Outlook includes Founder & CEO Scott J. Savage’s gratitude for your 40 years of trust, how you can earn more interest on your cash, welcoming new SJS Team members, and looking forward to Q3 2024.
For five graduating high school Seniors who shadowed us recently, we asked each student to write a summary of what they learned during the week.
One of The Ability Center’s services is the Assistance Dog training program, which helps individuals with disabilities achieve greater independence.
When working with investment managers, we want them to share that same client-first philosophy and sit on the same side of the table with us.
We want to emphasize some best practices that can help us work together to ensure your information and assets remain safe.
The Outlook includes our evolving MarketPlus® Investing philosophy by standing on the shoulders of giants, and ways to help protect your personal information and financial assets. We also highlight The Ability Center and look forward to Q2 2024.
SRDAX is a shining example of the value alternatives can bring to traditional stock and bond strategies.
As we begin the new year, we have some ideas for concrete actions to start your new year on the right foot, financially.
Isn’t this picture magical? It's Main Street in Sylvania, Ohio, the small town where I founded SJS over 28 years ago!
The SJS Q4 2023 Outlook includes our insights on small town values, MarketPlus® Investing, and planning financially for the new year. We also highlight new SJS Team members and look forward to Q1 2024.
To help you financially plan for 2024, we provide this resource with important numbers for the upcoming year.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in the Forbes / SHOOK 2023 list of America’s Top RIA (Registered Investor Advisor) Firms.
In addition to family gifting, many individuals support giving to organizations that aim to help their communities. We highlight some strategies to make the most of your giving dollars.
You can consider putting excess cash into a money market fund, short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, or a short-term bond mutual fund / ETF.
The future of the housing market is uncertain, and its resilience will be a crucial factor in the broader economic landscape.
The SJS Q3 2023 Outlook includes our insights on gifting and charitable contributions as well as U.S. real estate. We also look forward to Q4 2023.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in CNBC’s 2023 FA 100 list, an annual ranking of registered investment advisory (RIA) firms within the United States.
International Samaritan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to break the chains of poverty and improving lives, particularly within garbage dump communities worldwide.
SJS has been recognized in Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2023 Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Ranking, an annual ranking of independent investment advisory firms within the United States.
The SJS Mission is to empower you to build a better life. That extends to our teammates, clients, and community members.
The SJS Q2 2023 Outlook includes our insights on building up our local communities as well as market performance so far in 2023. We also share even more members of the SJS family and look forward to Q3 2023.
It’s important to recognize how difficult it is to predict what will happen in the short-term for investment markets, and how much margin for error there should be for any prediction.