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VUE ON | CARS I oen wish I would have taken notes over my 35 years as an Investment Advisor, regarding the mistakes and sometimes crazy investment ideas I have either witnessed or heard from clients. We used to joke, before the internet, that Mondays were cocktail party stock day. It seemed that every time a client went to a cocktail party, they would call me first thing on Monday morning to bring to my attention a fantastic investment opportunity they heard about. Sometimes, they would question why I did not bring it to them first. It was usually some braggard blowing smoke over cocktails at a happy hour or a wedding. Oen it was someone they know and trust, or sometimes a stranger spreading the idea to sound important, as if they had some inside line on the next Apple, or an IPO, or startup that just went public. ere was always a clear story or pitch that was a "dunk shot" and had no risk, but huge opportunity etc. etc. e idea was always some hot topic or game changer, such as a cure for cancer or some other newsworthy, professionally craed story they are duped into spreading for the purpose, unbeknownst to them, of pumping up the stock with a sexy and timely story. If only the client could see me rolling my eyes, as if it wasn't the 100th time I have heard the same type of story from similar clients with similar sales pitches they heard. e client usually had all the appropriate responses to my concerns, conveniently memorized for every objection or legitimate question I would ask. One market litmus test I have learned is that I can oen time the markets' "top", by the increase in these types of client calls. I have not had one of those ideas work out for a client by the way. When pushed to do so, I oen tell them to buy it elsewhere, lest it poison the portfolio I manage. Also, if it does well, they will be insufferable, gloating about how smart they were, and if it goes south, they will say, "you should not have let me buy it" (true story). It is usually the clients that tell me how risk averse they are and how conservative they want me to be, that, upon hearing a sexy stock story, immediately salivate B Y A N T H O N Y C R I S T I A N O, R B C W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T - U S Observations of a Financial Advisor Behavioral Finance VUE ON | FINANCE 92 VUENJ.COM

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