The Year-end Letter Your Financial Advisor Should Write
The 2025 stock market outlook advisors should write (if they're brave enough).
It’s (apparently) not good for business to admit you don’t know something—yet it’s the ultimate expression of intelligence.
Many financial advisors feel they have no choice but to write and share their expectations for the stock market for the coming year. Never mind that what they wrote last year didn’t pan out. There’s no real accountability for these things.
The advisors think the clients want to be told what is going to happen. The clients assume the advisors can deliver. It’s the way it’s always been done.
Both are wrong and it has consequences (mostly negative) in terms of how decisions are made.
Since the advisors won’t do it, we thought we’d write the year-end letter/market outlook that they should write.
2025 Market Outlook
We don’t know what the market is going to do and neither does anyone else.
There is an inevitable amount of uncertainty about how the financial markets will play out that must be acknowledged.
It’s only then that we can begin to make smart decisions.
Our job at [insert financial company name] is to help you make the best financial decisions possible in an uncertain world.
We would go so far as to say that if a financial advisor tells you what is going to happen in 2025, they probably don’t have your best interests at heart.
We get it. Many advisors believe that their clients want to be told what is going to happen and as long as the “expert” can spin a compelling story, that is usually good enough. They don’t want to appear to not know.
The financial industry is also good at rationalizing why their previous predictions are off base (if they address them at all). Maybe they'll get it right next time.
Our lack of a crystal ball does not, however, imply that there aren’t things we can do to help you make smart decisions.
We’re simply starting by acknowledging reality.
What we can do is evaluate your unique financial situation and help you create a plan and process that gives you the best chance of succeeding.
We won’t be perfect—if we do get everything right, we’d chalk it up to luck rather than skill.
We’re really trying to get things right most of the time—to stack good decisions.
When we do this—and, crucially, when you understand what we’re doing and why we're doing it—your confidence in the process will go up, your chances of success will increase, and your tendency to worry about what’s going on in the markets will decrease.
So you can get on with life.
Best regards,
Your Financial Advisor
So, there you go. If you want to help your advisor do a better job for you, let them know that you don’t expect them to do the impossible. That you don’t expect them to be perfect. That you’d prefer they focus on the plan and process that will give you the best chance of succeeding.
All with the caveat that they need to be able to convince you—in a way you clearly understand—that they know what they’re talking about.
It’s your money. If they can’t explain things simply and clearly, if they are using indecipherable jargon, you might be with the wrong advisor.
Happy New Year
Stuart & Sharon