People become financial advisors for many reasons, but it's probably safe to say that few enter the profession because of the Rolling Stones. Yet in a roundabout way, the aging British rockers eventually led Doug Potash to a mid-life career change from movies to mutual funds.
Potash, 54, spent most of his adult life distributing films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and several other companies. From his Chicago-based office for MGM, he oversaw the placement of movies in theaters in a handful of Midwestern cities. He eventually relocated to Annapolis, Md., to be closer to his son. But whenever the Stones launched one of their massive world concert tours every few years or so, he darted off around the United States and overseas to catch as many shows as time and money allowed.
To say that the Stones' music gives Potash satisfaction is both a very bad pun and an understatement. He wears his passion on his sleeve--literally.
"Nobody can match the Stones as a live band," says Potash, wearing a black leather jacket with the left sleeve sporting a patch of the familiar Stones logo that's a caricature of Mick Jagger's lips and tongue. Potash is an advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Annapolis, and on this day he drove to New York to meet up with friends to watch a Stones cover band. Beneath the jacket was a lime green ''Shidoobee Crew 2005-06'' T-shirt.
Shidoobee refers to the refrain from the Stones hit “Shattered.” It also refers to hardcore Stones fanatics known as Shidoobees, a group of people brought together through a popular Internet message board started by Potash in 2000 called Shidoobee With Stonesdoug (Stonesdoug is Potash's screen name on the Web). And these are happy times for Shidoobees: The Stones are in the midst of a year-long world tour that began in August; the mainly North American first half concludes in March.
Shidoobees share their seemingly boundless enthusiasm for the Stones on the chat board, meet up for concerts when the band tours, and get together annually in Wildwood, N.J., during years when the Stones aren't touring. Potash is the group's leader, a man with graying sandy hair, a sun-reddened face and a friendly demeanor who seems well-suited as someone to hang out with over a beer and rock-n-roll.
Somewhere along the line, some of the Shidoobees came up with the idea to buy a vacation retreat where they could all get together in their later years. It seemed like a good idea to Potash, although he wondered how they could afford it. He personally thought he was in good shape for retirement, but when he put pencil to paper he found out he wasn't. "I realized that if I didn't have enough for retirement, then none of my friends did, either," he says. "I wanted to get into something that could help me and my friends."
Potash graduated with an accounting degree from Villanova, so he has a head for numbers. He also followed the markets, so switching careers to the financial world seemed a viable option. He got licensed as a financial advisor and began work with American Express Financial (now Ameriprise) in 2002. "I liked the notion of helping people reach their financial goals."
Living the life of a practicing Shidoobee isn't cheap, not with Stones tickets selling for as much as $450. Even sticking with nosebleed seats adds up over the course of 10, 20 or even 30 concerts per tour, particularly after tacking on airfare, hotels and meals. Potash himself plans to attend "only" 13 shows this tour, down from 34 shows during the last go-round. "Spending $20,000 on a tour," he says with a slight pause, "it's just crazy."
Roughly half of Potash's 65 clients are Shidoobees. "A lot of Shidoobees would rather be poor with great memories than retired with nothing to remember," he says. "I'm trying to get them to save more and grow their assets. I tell them they can still see some shows, but they can't go as wild as they did in the past."
A lot of these Shidoobee clients aren't in the best financial shape when they come to Potash. The first thing he does with most of them is restructure their debt and start building cash reserves. He also looks at their insurance needs. After these basics are done, he rolls over their 401(k) plans and sets up mutual-fund-based retirement accounts that he rebalances annually using classic asset allocation strategies.
It's likely one of the more unusual client niches in the industry, although Shidoobees generally come to the table with low asset levels. "I don't think it's enough to sustain his practice, but it can be a big part of his 2006 marketing plan," says Felicia McCoy, the field vice president at Ameriprise's Annapolis office who, along with other co-workers, often calls Potash by the nickname Shidoobee. "People like to work with people they know and trust, and Doug has a strong bond with these people. If he can get enough clients from them he can build his referral tree."
Shari Bruschi, a Shidoobee from Hamilton Square, N.J., who manages a physical rehabilitation facility, transferred her retirement account to Potash after the doctor she previously worked for relocated to the Mayo Clinic. "I got to know what kind of person he is, so I didn't hesitate to put my money with him," she says. "Based on the result so far I'm not disappointed." She said she recommended Potash to a former colleague from her prior employer.
For Potash, the fascination with the Stones began when he heard "Time Is On My Side" for the first time. "The song's organ opening was something I never heard before," he says. "It just hit me. In grammar school you were either a Beatles or a Stones fan. We didn't hang out or talk with each other. I still haven't bought a Beatles record to this day."
One wonders how often a person can hear, say, “Brown Sugar,” for the umpteenth time without getting sick of it. "Every Stones song reminds me of a certain time in my life," he explains. "They bring back good or bad memories."
"Shattered" is his favorite song; Beggars Banquet his favorite album. Potash has met all of the Stones, but guitarist Ron Wood is his favorite band member. "Ronnie's been so good to us. He's a really friendly guy."
Potash has about 500 Stones albums, including bootlegs and live performances. After 40 years, roughly 115 concerts and countless listens to every Stones song ever performed, Potash's enthusiasm for the band is just as strong as it was in 1966, when he saw them in concert for the first time in Atlantic City and tried to rip the buttons off the jacket of the group's founding member, the late Brian Jones.
No longer a threat to band members' clothing, Potash now channels his passion for the Stones into his Shidoobee Web site and into gatherings with his kindred souls. He says there are close to 4,000 registered Shidoobees around the world. He adds his site gets about 50,000 hits daily and has had a total of 24 million hits since it started. It's a labor of love that requires a couple of hours a day to update and maintain.
His college-aged son, Trevor, doesn't share his pop's passion for the Stones. But he's come to appreciate them more over time, Potash says, and they've gone to a handful of shows together.
Potash is in his own world when he goes to Stones' concerts, and likes to share that experience with others. During the prior tour a group of 150 Shidoobees attended a show in London, and Potash planned the entire week for them. "I could see from the look in their eyes that they were having a blast," says Potash. "That's what's important to me."