How are investors like the Olympic athletes in Brazil? They both need focus and discipline, says one planner.
Catherine M. Seeber, a partner and senior financial advisor at Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC in Philadelphia, says that both star athletes and successful investors should share traits—including the ability to establish effective habits and visualize their goals.
“Saving should be treated no differently,” she says. “As investors, you have to make your efforts the norm and have the discipline to make your goals happen.”
Like athletes, investors must not only set goals, but work to achieve them one step at a time. A runner or a swimmer is not going to become a gold medalist overnight, and investors are not going to reach their retirement goals that way either.
Likewise, athletes have to tune out the outside world and the criticism that is inevitable in some circumstances.
“You see the athletes with their headphones on in total concentration,” Seeber says. “Investors have to do the same thing: focus on the goal and stick with it. The advisor is the coach who helps shave every second off the race or, if you are a saver, pushes you to save just a little more.”
Gymnasts need to know when to do a single layout or try for the double in a split second. They need to know how to pivot, just as an investor may need to know how to make an immediate change.
“One minute your husband is there, and the next he may be gone. As the widow, you need to know how to alter your plans so you land on your feet,” Seeber says. “You need a good plan that may be uncomfortable or painful to implement, but it will be rewarding in the end.”
Savers need positive re-enforcement that an advisor can provide, similar to the encouragement a coach provides.
“There was a story on television about the women’s volleyball team having a team psychologist to help them achieve a certain mind-set to reach for their goals. That’s exactly what investors need also: They need a positive mind-set to reach their goals.”