WHY WE REFUSE TO SERVE PEOPLE WITHOUT MONEY

By : Mr. Trevor H. Hordensen, M.B.A., Chief Investment Advisor and Public Relations Expert, Gro-Yo-Green® Wealth Management Associates, LLC

Investment advisors absorb unfair criticism. In these troubling economic times, newspapers, magazines and even news anchormen blame us for squandering fortunes, ruining pension funds and forcing widows into bankruptcy. Some writers even call us thieves. We believe these critics overlook our vital importance to the American economy. Without prudent investment managers, Americans would be hesitant to save their money. America became the greatest Nation in the world because Americans save their money and grow it. Investment advisors helped them achieve their goals.

We find it unfortunate that critics only target investment advisors in poor market times. When the market boomed in the late 1990s, everyone sang our praises. After all, everyone made money with us when the Dow and NASDAQ reached dizzying new heights. Everyone wants to make ten dollars from two. That is exactly what we gave them. But as soon as people started going from two dollars to $1.25, they started screaming bloody murder. “My advisor swindled me!” They yelled. We tried to explain that there was nothing we could have done to avoid natural market downturns. But people who lose money also lose their reasoning capacity. They only think about their losses; they become senseless to everything else. For better or worse, people look to us as professionals. And they feel betrayed when we can’t grow their money as quickly as they expect.

When Americans come to investment advisors, they generally have achieved some success in life. Through work, inheritance or skill, they have come into money. They know that it takes money to make money; and they know that the wage-earner’s path is a losing game. Real money comes from investing. Americans know that the really successful people do not show up to work every morning. The really successful people stay at home and receive massive checks from profitable investments. Really successful people finger through their portfolios, make phone calls, adjust a few million here and there, then sit back and let the cash pour in. But no one gets there without starting out with a major chunk of money. With their chunk in hand, investors consult advisors to determine the quickest way to turn $1,000,000 into $30,000,000. Through our expert knowledge, we help them find success. We take a fee for our services, but who would mind paying a meager $50,000 fee to a company that quadruples your net worth?

We make dreams possible. We enable successful Americans to stay at home and watch their accounts grow. Through diversified investment strategies, we turn pennies into dimes, and nickels into quarters. Although times may be hard today, we know that our economy will rebound. It always does. That’s just how it goes: Good times, bad times; good times, bad times. It is cyclical. We have a private enterprise system. Times can’t be always be good. But they will be good again. And when they are, we will be here to help you rise from mere “salary-success” to nouveau riche.

Americans celebrate investment advisors because we get real results. Who can argue with results? Still, when times are bad, naysayers complain that we “have no principles.” They complain that we are “unethical.” They say that we make improvident investments, take unjustifiable risks and waste their hard-earned money. They say we “churn” accounts to rake in fees. And they also say we exploit our relationships with impressionable people to maximize our own commissions. Yet no one says these things when we make hefty profits for them. We only hear these complaints when our customers lose money. To our critics, we say this: “If we made you a lot of money, who cares how we did it?”

We generally believe that practical results are more important than abstract principles. If a particular investment strategy does not work, we will employ another one. It makes no sense to adhere to aspirations such as “honesty every time, all the time” when an occasional untruth could generate far greater returns. Good financial advisors understand that the markets change. An opportunity on Monday may no longer be there on Wednesday. Principles restrict our flexibility to spot opportunities, and if we cannot be flexible, we cannot get results. In short, we believe our company motto perfectly encapsulates the industry standard: “Our principle is results—because results matter™.”

Good investment advisors believe in good customers. Good customers understand that investment advisors cannot operate without investments. Investments cost money. To that extent, good customers have money. It is our principle only to serve customers who can afford to make investments. In that light, we refuse to serve people without money. That is our principle.

Many businesses do not admit that they refuse to serve people without money. But we strongly believe in our principles. Other businesses refuse to serve people without money because they say they do not “have the resources” or because it would “pose an unnecessary administrative burden on essential company processes.” By contrast, we candidly affirm that we do not serve people without money because they have nothing to offer us. Our principle is results, and in the investment community, you cannot generate results without money. To that extent, how can a debt-ridden student help us if he has no capital to contribute? How can a beggar help us with 55 cents in his pocket? These people have no money. We refuse to serve them because they do not have the capacity to enable us to create results. And when we cannot create results, we violate our own principle.

People without money provide absolutely no value to the investment community. They are worthless; and we are not afraid to say it. Critics say that we hem, haw and vacillate. On this point, however, we are decisive: We refuse to serve people without money. True, there are impecunious people in the world who are very kind, gentle, warm-hearted, generous, caring, sweet, tender and magnanimous. But they are of no use to us, and we refuse to serve them. We frankly do not have time to serve people who do not have sufficient capital reserves to make substantial investments. We cannot make fees without a capital contribution, and we do not work for free. For that reason, we also refuse to serve people without money because we are not a charitable institution. When we work, we expect to be paid—and so do you. If we worked for people without money, we would essentially waste both their time and our time. In business, time is money, and we cannot afford to waste either one.

Investment advisors facilitate the American dream. Yet only a few can dream that dream, because there is a substantial entrance fee. People without money cannot pay the fee. They have no time to dream; they must stay awake and work to pay their bills. Without capital, we cannot generate the results our clients expect. And because our principle is results, we cannot in good conscience serve people without money. In our profession, all things begin with ready money. Without it, there is nothing. Without money, there can be no profit and no results. We are not afraid to say this. While other businesses may politely refuse to serve people without money, we refuse to serve them because we believe in our principles.

We do not need to be polite because principles fortify the spirit. We say unequivocally: “If you do not have money, don’t even walk through the door because you won’t get service here.” We are proud to declare our beliefs.

We urge those without money not to be discouraged. If we refuse you today, that does not mean we will refuse you in the future. Simply bring us a bank statement disclosing at least $500,000 in cash or assets. When you show us your money, you enable us to get results. And when you enable us to get results, you allow us to fulfill our principles.

Show us your money. It is like a seed and we can grow it for you. But if you have no money, you have no seed. Without a seed, there can be no tree. Come back with a seed. Until then, good luck.