Why You Need a Financial Advisor

“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces.”
– Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

“Wouldn’t it be better to stay peacefully in your house and not wander around the world searching for bread made from something better than wheat, never stopping to think that many people go looking for wool and come back shorn?”
– Miguel De Cervantes, Don Quixote

Investing Alone? Don’t Worry, Regret Will Keep You Company

We all know someone who had the brilliant idea to watch a few YouTube videos before tackling an ambitious DIY renovation. How'd that work out for them? Nothing cures enthusiasm like cost overruns, delays, and general unpleasantness. Today we examine the even more expensive lesson in humility known as DIY investing. 

Shear Madness: Why DIY Investors Get Clipped

Thanks to commission-free trading apps and a tsunami of financial "influencers," everyone thinks they're the next Warren Buffett. But if 95.51% of professional Canadian Equity fund managers underperformed the S&P/TSX Composite over the past 10 years —with all their “knowledge” and tools —then how likely are you to succeed in your spare time?¹ We’re all good at spending money; few can say the same about investing. 

¹SPIVA data is for industry context only and not a direct comparison to WPM’s strategy or results.

Can You Read the Financial Tea Leaves?

Are you familiar with EBITDA and forward P/E? Great! Can you analyze a company’s income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow—then interpret them over time? Now explain how changes in the Fed rate affect the yield curve and what that means for stock valuations. If your eyes have glossed over, then you shouldn’t be doing your own investments. If they haven’t, congratulations: you have no life.  

Your New Summer Reading List: Just Kidding, It's Year Round

Do you easily find time each week to read multiple books? If you struggle to turn pages for PLEASURE, then how much will you look forward to bedtime stories in the form of SEC Filings? Financial reports are excellent soporifics: exciting they are not. 

Want to invest in Tesla? You’d better understand:

• Electric vehicle market dynamics
• EV battery technology trends
• Self-driving prospects and competitors
• The likelihood of turning humanoid robots into a profitable business in the short to medium term
• Chinese manufacturing capabilities
• Regulatory environments in 50+ countries
• Elon's latest tweets

And that's just ONE company. Multiply that by every stock in your portfolio. I hope you didn't have plans to enjoy your weekend!

Can DIY Investors Really Compete With the Pros?

Feeling confident with your free version of Yahoo Finance? That's like climbing Everest in flip-flops. Serious money pays for serious tools:

• Bloomberg Terminal: $24,000 per year
• Factset: $12,000 per year
• Koyfin (the "budget" option): $500 per year

And that's getting the data. How about understanding what it all means—and what to do about it?

Investing Without a Portfolio Manager: Expensive Lessons Guaranteed

Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. But while a wannabe trombonist only annoys the neighbours, your investment mistakes will be measured in dollars with multiple zeros. The market doesn’t offer student discounts, and the learning curve is steep and painful. 

How Compounding Turns Incremental Gains Into Massive Wealth

Let's talk math (the fun kind, with money)

• Start with $100,000
• Over 30 years
• DIY returns: 5% annually (if you don’t blow yourself up)
• Traditional & mediocre management: 8% annually (that's just 3% better)
• The difference? $574,071
• The problem is you’re now 65 years old, and while $574,071 is a nice chunk of change, is it really going to change your life?

Wealth Preservation Management says that’s not enough; we aim to do significantly better—our Growth Model Portfolio has achieved a CAGR of 18.15% from June 30, 2017, to December 31, 2025.¹

¹CAGR independently recalculated by DeVisser Gray LLP. Click here for their report. Return is shown in Canadian dollars, gross of WPM's 2% fee. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including the possibility of losing money. WPM was registered with the BCSC in March 2023, though the same portfolio manager, James McKnight, has managed the Growth Model Portfolio continuously since inception. Details on benchmark selection here. Details on performance calculations here.

Pick A Less Expensive Hobby… Like Boat Ownership

Here's the brutal truth: a financial ocean separates investing as a hobby from being good at it.  Unless you genuinely love—and are brilliant at—studying market trends, reading earnings reports, and analyzing economic data, you're going to: 

a) Hate every minute of it 

b) Cut corners 

c) Make emotional decisions 

d) Lose money

e) All of the above

Spoiler alert: The answer is e.

The Do-It-Yourself Delusion

Can you learn to service your vehicle? Sure. Can you figure out how to replace your transmission? Maybe. Should you? Hell no.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Your time has value, and some of life’s mistakes have incredibly expensive consequences. 

Professional Investment Management: More Than a Pretty CAGR 

Professional investment management isn't just about better returns—it's about:

• Peace of mind
• Expert knowledge
• Time-tested systems
• Risk management
• Consistency

DIY Investing: The Fast Track to a Dog Food Retirement

Life's too short to do things you don't enjoy, especially when mistakes mean you’re eating dog food in your golden years. While the DIY crowd is watching YouTube tutorials and TikTok finfluencers, our clients are:

• Playing with their grandkids
• Traveling the world
• Pursuing their passions: gardening, golfing, fishing, puppy wrestling
• Sleeping soundly at night

At Wealth Preservation Management, we long ago made all the expensive mistakes to get this investing thing right—so you don't have to. If you mean business about your money, contact us today.

Ka-ching, the check is in the mail.