By SJS Founder & CEO Scott Savage.
Remember the old EF Hutton commercial? There’s a planeload of people and two businessmen are talking across the aisle. One of them casually says, “Well my broker is EF Hutton…,” and at that moment, everyone inside and outside of earshot leans into the conversation. The famous line, of course, was: “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.”
Well, at SJS we have a saying, too. Ours is:
A little different than EF Hutton’s, but it has a power all its own. Our best client relationships form not when we do a lot of talking, but when we do a lot of listening.
You may be thinking, “But SJS is an investment advisory firm. Shouldn’t you be doing more advising?” Great question, but advising without understanding seldom drives positive outcomes. Decades of experience have led us to the belief that, “People will tolerate the conclusions of others but act on their own.” Operating based on that premise, it is our job to help you arrive at favorable conclusions, in good times and even in times of stress.
By listening to you, understanding your needs and concerns along with your feelings, we can arrive at conclusions with you, rather than lobbing general financial advice at you – advice that you may not want to take, and even if you do, you may not stick to. As we’ve said many times, long-term discipline in investing is fundamental to MarketPlus Investing®. But it is also not something we often find in the industry. Perhaps the reason is too much advising and too little listening.
Why don’t more advisors take the time to listen? Maybe it’s because many advisors believe that they aren’t doing their jobs, aren’t truly advising, unless they themselves are doing the talking. But in our experience we arrive at our best advising outcomes through listening. Recently, I had a client meeting that lasted a full hour and forty-five minutes. I talked for a maximum of five minutes during that time. The client is in the midst of a life transition and confused about his next steps. He left our office feeling a lot better than when he arrived because he reached conclusions that made sense to him, and I was able to affirm those conclusions through the industry knowledge and experience of our firm and its people.
Another reason why some advisors don’t listen more is because listening takes time. It takes energy, and it takes a level of caring that we believe isn’t common in this industry. I wish it was more common actually because then more people – even those who aren’t SJS clients – might feel more positively about their investment experiences.
But there’s another benefit that listening delivers, and I often call it the best part of my job. Listening to you allows me to learn about your life and your story. Over the last 20-plus years, I have been enlightened, inspired and emboldened by the courage and achievements of our seemingly ordinary clients. You are far from ordinary and listening has provided me a front-row seat to your stories. To me, that’s the most valuable benefit of all.
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.