3. My Way/Our Way Life Retirement
Plan
―Relaxing & Enjoying Life‖
A financial plan’s job is to
support and add efficiency to
your life plan.
4. ―Money, which represents the
prose of life, and which is hardly
spoken of in parlors without an
apology, is, in effects and laws, as
beautiful as roses.‖
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. Fame or integrity: which is more
important?
Money or happiness: which is more
valuable?
Success or failure: which is more
destructive?
If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the ways things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
6. ―I’m a great believer in luck, and I
find the harder I work the more I
have of it.‖
– Thomas Jefferson
7. ―Courage means being well aware of
the worst that can happen, being
scared to death, and the doing the
right thing anyhow.‖
– William Sloane Coffin
8. I grew up among the Sages.
All my life I listened to their words.
Yet I have found nothing better than silence.
Study is not the goal, doing is.
Do not mistake ―talk‖ for ―action.‖
Pity fills no stomach.
Compassion builds no house.
Understanding is not yet justice.
Whoever multiplies words causes confusion.
The truth that can be spoken
Is not the Ultimate Truth.
Ultimate Truth is wordless,
the silence within the silence.
More than the absence of speech,
More than the absence of words,
Ultimate Truth is the seamless being-in-place
that comes with attending to Reality.
– Shimon benGamliel
9. The Zen of Abundance
If we are to grow in our awareness of the global economic reality, it is necessary for all
compassionate Zen students to expand their financial understanding beyond a personal
level.
Look at healthy communities. They are either a democracy or ruled by an enlightened
leadership who encourages creativity and communication. People are productive and
happiest when involved in work and relationships that benefit the community. Economics
is the fundamental reality of their relationships.
Envy, greed and laziness are the three archenemies of both community and individuals.
They are abundance restrictors, hampering individuals from pursuing beneficial
relationships. Societies work if people are responsible. The wise leader says to the lazy:
please work. To the greedy: please share. To the envious: go away if you are unwilling to
cooperate.
A Zen Master in his late nineties fell ill and bedridden. He refused to eat, citing the
explanation, ―In our community, to eat today, you must work today.‖ His students pleaded
with him, ―Master, we will share. Please eat.‖ To which the Master replied, ―To eat today,
work today.‖
The students were unable to persuade him until they finally lifted the Master’s bed and
placed it in the garden, tossing out the scarecrow. Productive again, the Master spent
his last days throwing rocks at crows and munching on juicy tomatoes fresh off the vine.
The bountiful river of life demands work and balance. Our personal success in living in
the real economic world is no matter of luck and happenstance. Right effort, engaging
skills and the production of something useful leads to happiness, financial success and a
healthy community.
10. Of 515 senior executives analyzed by the search firm
EgonZehnder International, those who were primarily
strong in emotional intelligence were more likely to
succeed than those who were strongest in either
relevant previous experience or IQ. In other words,
emotional intelligence was a better predictor of success
than either relevant previous experience or high IQ.
More specifically, the executive was high in emotional
intelligence in 74 percent of the successes and only in
24 percent of the failures. The study included
executives in Latin American, Germany, and Japan, and
the results were almost identical in all three cultures.
Emotional Intelligence
11. Research by the Center for Creative Leadership
has found that the primary causes of derailment in
executives involve deficits in emotional
competence. The three primary ones are difficulty
in handling change (Flexibility), not being able
to work well in a team (Social Responsibility),
poor interpersonal relations (Interpersonal
Relationships).
Emotional Intelligence
12. Optimism is another emotional
competence that leads to increased
productivity. New salesmen at Met Life
who scored high on a test of ―learned
optimism‖ sold 37 percent more life
insurance in their first two years then
pessimists. (Seligman, 1990)
Emotional Intelligence
13. At L’Oreal, sales agents selected on the basis of
certain emotional competencies significantly outsold
salespeople selected using the company’s old
selection procedure.
On an annual basis, salespeople selected on the
basis of emotional competence sold $91,370 more
than other salespeople did, for a net revenue
increase of $2,558,360.
Salespeople selected on the basis of emotional
competence also had 63% less turnover during the
first year than those selected in the typical way.
(Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, &Kelner, 1997)
Emotional Intelligence
14. Slaski and Cartwright (2003) found that
training in emotional intelligence resulted in
increased EQ-i scores and improved health
and well-being.
Emotional Intelligence
17. Concept:
Our career’s job is to supply us
with the life we want and is
(can be) part of our mission .
18. Financial dysfunction is when we
forget that:
Our work/income/wealth’s job
is
to supply us with the life we
want.
19. Kissing the Ugly
1. Do I pay my bills late?
2. Is my credit card debt increasing each month?
3. Am I losing sleep worrying about money
issues?
4. Am I arguing with my spouse / partner a lot
about money?
5. Do I feel envious of what others have?
6. Am I hanging out with people I like or people
who support behaviors that really are not ―me‖?
20. Kissing the Ugly
1. Am I working more hours than I really want to?
2. Am I lazy? $10.00 hour is better than 0.
3. Am I living in reality? What do my friends say?
4. Am I justifying spending on the basis of societal
expectations?
5. Do I feel ungrateful when people help me?
6. Do I say ―thank you‖ less than I should?
7. Am I grateful to those around me and for the help
they give me?
21. Financial inefficiency is when we do
not have a financial plan and good
objective advisors to guide us ―most
high functioning people will be fine-
financial planning just adds
efficiency towards achieving
financial goals‖ ..intention..
25. Reputation = Value
We judge people based on how
they treat themselves / their
bodies, their minds, their
emotions their spirit!
26. Risk Management
Privacy
• Use your business address or post office box for newsletters,
magazines and subscriptions
• Use your initials and your last name with credit cards, if they will
allow this.
• Have credit card statements, even the personal ones, sent to your
post office box or office address.
• Conduct your business only with companies that have a reputation
for high degree of honesty, sustainability and that have an
impeccable reputation
• Be honest in all of your business dealings and in all aspects of
your life
• Ask yourself ―If My Mom, Dad, Rabi, Shaikh / Priest, or a person I
respect most saw this on U-tube or a face book account would I be
ashamed or embarrassed?‖
28. Risk Management
Debt Management
• Think liquidity.
• Have a budget with a margin of safety of 10% to 40%.
• Your total debt payments should not exceed one third of your
income.
• Think balance.
• Take advantage of tax-deductible debt.
• Never pay down your interest rate by paying points.
• Set a goal of being your own banker so that you can pay cash for
the items you want. Being debt free is nice & allows flexibility.
• Maintain control over your credit cards.
• Do what you say you are going to do.
•Do not wait for a crisis to get your debt liquidity life in order; do it
now.
31. Who is dependent on your wealth
or income to survive?
If you died, would your assets be
sufficient to provide for them-if
not you might need life insurance.
32. ―Never stand begging for what
you have the power to earn.‖
– Miguel De Cervantes
33. Legacy Planning
Your friends, parents, siblings kids or
grandkids will not remember that you paid
for their college, bought them something,
with amore’.
They will remember that you took them on
a walk, to dinner, a picnic, camping and
river raft trip in the Rockies … or to Europe,
a cruise, Ethiopia to build schools...
35. Life Planning
Describe your ideal My Way/Our Way
lifestyle…
• in years 2 to 5
• in years 5 to 10
• in years 10 to 20
• in years 20 to 30
• in years 30 and beyond
36. Investing
The best return on investment tends to
be:
Education
Skill development
Personal development
37. Investing TIME & MONEY
We trade time for money
and money for time
38. Investing Time
For most of us; balancing
education, skill development,
work, family
and personal time is where the
natural tension often is.
42. Investing: a Picture is Worth a 1000
Words
Dividend Yields: S&P Dividend Yield and Future Stock Performance
Note: Between 1926 and the end of 2005, 41% of the S&P 500’s total return was due to the dividends
being paid out. An investment of just $10,000 in 1926, held until 2005 without dividends, would have
made $1,013,000; with dividends (reinvested) it would have netted $24,113,000!
S&P 500 Yield 6 Months 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
Below 3% -1% -5% -10% -1%
3 to 4% 1% 4% 9% 12%
4 to 5% 7% 14% 21% 26%
5 to 6% 4% 11% 33% 56%
6 to 7% 6% 12% 32% 45%
Above 7% 8% 29% 42% 63%
44. Stock Market Math
It is all about the present value of future cash flow. If people want
higher compensation for taking the risk of investing in stocks, then
stocks go down in price; when they feel more optimistic, they demand
less future returns.
Stocks’ Total
Return
Capital
Appreciation
Cash Dividend Yield
P/E
Expansion/Divide
nd Yield
Expectations
Earnings &
Dividends
Growth
Earnings
Yield
Cash
Dividend
Payout
TODAYFUTURE
45. Starting P/E Matter: Inflation and
Stocks*
*Inflation has a dramatic effect on all asset class returns: stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities. Many do not realize how
rising and high inflation is especially detrimental to stock prices. Many advisers actually say stocks are a good inflation hedge.
They certainly are not in light of this chart. The bottom line: Favor stocks or any asset when prices are low and at bargain levels.
The possible peak P/E to trough P/E loss on Standard and Poor’s is given to illustrate the loss possible and does not include
dividends that would reduce the total loss somewhat. P/E indicated the price you pay for earning. Low P/E equals low price. P/E is
often substituted for earnings yield, which is the actual yield that can be compared with bonds, certificates of deposit, etc. A P/E of
6.7 equals a 15% earnings yield and a P/E of 46.5 equals an earnings yield of 2.15% or a speculative valuation extreme. Price
matters with investing. This table shows by ranges of inflation the corresponding average historical P/E ration, peak P/E ration and
trough P/E ration for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index companies. P/Es are based on trailing 12-month earnings. This table is
one input to the investment decision process. P/E equals price/earnings.
Inflation Average P/E Peak P/E (Mania
Overpopulation)
Trough P/E
(Mania
Undervaluation)
Possible Peak
P/E to Trough
P/E Loss on Standard and Poor’s
<2% 21.4 46.5 13.1 -72%
2-3% 20.3 36.8 12.5 -67%
3-4% 18.4 33.3 11.0 -66%
4-5% 14.8 20.3 9.4 -54%
5-6% 14.4 19.2 8.9 54%
6-7% 11.4 15.9 7.7 52%
>7% 8.8 12.0 6.7 44%
46. Be Early: Bear Markets
Average Annual Return Following Bear Market
12-Month
Period
21-Month
Period
36-Month
Period
If fully Invested after bear ends 47% 28% 20%
1 month of cash after bear
ends
33% 22% 17%
3 months of cash after bear
ends
18% 16% 12%
6 months of cash after bear
ends
11% 13% 10%
Note: This table illustrates the importance of ―being there‖ when stocks (or other assets) are bargain-priced. The key is to
start buying when stocks are cheap, using price/earnings, dividend yields, price/earnings to expected growth, price/earnings
to inflation and other valuation techniques; and to be well invested when the bear market ends. Whether you achieve this, of
course, is only known after it does end, so you must buy as the investments become bargains over time. The term ―fully
invested‖ is represented by total monthly returns of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index, January 1926 through December
2002. Cash is represented by total returns of the 30-day Treasury bill. The 14 bear markets analyzed are defined as periods
with cumulative declines greater than 10% and a duration of at least six months and do not include the current market. Past
performance is no indication of future results. This table is one input to the investment process.
47. Investing: a Picture is Worth a 1000
Words
Asset Price at Peak 2 Years Later Percent
Change
Period
Beginning
Gold 666.75 397.00 -40.5% 9/30/1980
Oil 39.60 21.71 -45.2% 9/28/1990
Commodities 291.90 220.80 -24.4% 3/30/1984
Dollar 117.64 91.11 -22.6% 5/30/1986
Large Stocks 1,517.68 916.70 -39.6% 8/31/2000
Internet
Stocks
628.34 110.41 -82.4% 2/29/2000
NASDAQ 4,696.69 1,731.49 -63.1% 2/29/2000
Peaks
Down
Note: Month-end values for all indexes. Large stocks represented by Standard and Poor’s 500.
Internet stocks represented by IIX Index. This table is one input in the investment management
process.
48. Investing: a Picture is Worth a 1000
Words
Bottoms
Up
Note: Month-end values for all indexes. Large stocks represented by Standard and Poor’s 500.
Internet stocks represented by IIX Index. This table is one input in the investment management
process.
Asset Price at Peak 2 Years Later Percent
Change
Period
Beginning
Gold 287.75 405.85 41.0% 2/28/1985
Oil 11.26 33.82 200.4% 11/30/1998
Commodities 213.30 306.02 43.5% 8/29/1986
Dollar 81.57 99.55 22.0% 7/31/1995
Large Stocks 815.28 1,114.58 36.7% 9/30/2002
Internet
Stocks
62.74 146.40 133.3% 9/30/2002
NASDAQ 1,172.06 1,896.84 61.8% 9/30/2002
49. The Problem with No Plan
Average Returns From 1989-2008
Source: Dalbar
50. Investing Without Borders
• Invest without arbitrary restrictions
o Asset classes
o Country bias
o Market Cap
• Investment process should be
robust
Simple is not
always best.
Simplistic Investment
Approaches Restrict
Opportunity
51. Money Must Be Managed
• Passive asset allocation does not
capture excess returns
• S&P 500 is an index- not
management
• World is dynamic, so is investing
• Busts and panics provide
opportunity
52. Risk Management
• Looking at each investment
objectively and actively reduces
risk
• Situation and price matters
• Diversification and asset
allocation by itself gives a
false sense of reduced risk
• Avoid the 5 poisons +
• Realize the need for patience
53. The Hard Part
is Balance
Living With A Goal
Living Without a Goal
Personal Time Professional
Time
Today Future
55. Financial Savings
• Raise
deductibles
• Reduce
insurance and
self insurance
• Buy time
• Sleep well
So you can say yes to vacations, college,
retirement, time off, career change, family,
charities, slowing down, hobbies and exercise
We trade money for
time
Time Money
Adequate + Abundance
Resources+ Attitude =
Freedom
We trade time for
money
56. Wealth=Security
• If wealth is managed and part of a life plan
• Money’s job is to support us in the life we
want
• In England they call the rich ―100,000
pounders‖ not millionaires because bottom
line is we live
off income.
57.
58. Eat Healthy and Exercise More
• Cookbooks and diet books are #1 and #2
best selling categories
• Diet Dejour
• Investing Dejour
59. 25 Years of Success
• Not one year or four years of success
• Why?
• John Templeton
• Chuck Royce
• Benjamin Graham
• Charles Mackey
• Warren Buffett
• Peter Lynch
• Andrew Carnegie
• Napoleon Hill
• Wayne Dyer
• Learning more and
more importantly
applying their best
practices
61. Volatility is a Reality
• Seasons
o Winter/Spring
o Spring/Summer
o Summer/Fall
• Boom/Busts
o A best practice system sees
opportunity in the cycle.
o Long-term investors fail because
they fail to realize volatility is their
friend and they panic at the wrong
times.
62. Why Patience is Important
Average Returns From 1989-2008
Source: Dalbar
Volatility is a
side effect of
long term
investing
63. Risk Management
• It is risky to try and time the
markets.
• It is a waste of time and effort to
time the markets
• You sell because
o You find an investment you like
better
o It reaches its price targets
o Or no longer compensates you for
holding it
• You buy because the price is right
64. FIM Group Process
• Monetary Policy
• Interest Rate
• Yield Curve
• Trends
• Risk/Return Analysis
• Capital Flow Analysis
• Stability Analysis
• Government Economic
Policy
• Social/Cultural Analysis
National, International, Country, Regional Economic
Analysis
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
65. FIM Group Process
• Growth Prospects
• Barriers to Entry
• Competitive Forces
• Sustainability
Industry Analysis
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
66. FIM Group Process
• Financial Condition
• Capital Structure
• Comparative Analysis
• Balance Sheet
• Income Analysis
• Business Plan
• Franchise Value
Individual Security Analysis
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
67. FIM Group Process
• Investor Behavior
• Extreme Optimism
• Rising Relative
Strength
• Extreme Pessimism
• Capital Flows
Technical Analysis
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
68. FIM Group Process
• Client
• Goals/Constraints
• Balance Risk
• Control Costs
• Diversification
• Tax Sensitivity
Portfolio Construction
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
69. FIM Group Process
• Monitor Each Position
• Monitor Economic and
Global Trends
• Adjust and Manage
• Control Costs
Portfolio Management
• Management
• Judgment
• Discipline/Research
• Question Everything
• Over Analysis of Risk, to Sleep
Well
70. FIM GroupPhilosophy
• All markets are cyclical
• Successful investors avoid overhauled assets
and buy undervalued assets
• Price matters
• Avoiding significant capital losses is as
important to long term total returns as
achieving capital gains, interest and dividend
income.
Our approach is characterized by flexibility,
comprehensive analysis and discipline
71. Safety
• Accounts should be held by
SEC/NYSE regulated institution
• Accounts should have independent
insurance to account value
• Accounts should be in your name
• Investment adviser should only
have rights to make buy, sell, hold
decisions, monitor account, authorize
disbursement only to you, draw their
fees from the account and manage
the portfolio as needed
• Investment Adviser should be audited
annually by independent firm
• Investment Adviser should be 100%
all the time fee-only fiduciaries
• Investment Adviser employees should
be 100% fee-only fiduciaries
• Company should have at least 10
years
in business and reportable
performance
• Investment Adviser goal should be
aligned with clients
• Transparency about portfolio
construction would be 100% all the
time available
72. Investment Philosophies
• Index (and don’t manage)
• Have a core portfolio of index funds and
explore a few return-enhancing options; often
called ―core and explore.‖
• Asset allocate as the ―Way‖ to invest.
• Buy and hold
• Sector rotate
• Large-cap stocks
• Balanced indexing
• Top-down
• Bottom up
• Do the ―hokey-pokey‖
76. We suffer because we grasp and
obsess;
We can do something about suffering;
We can live a spiritual life.
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or,
lo there! for, behold, the kingdom
of God is within you. Luke 17:21
―Peace comes from Within;
DO not seek it without.‖ Buddha
Suffering Exists
77.
78.
79.
80. If you look at the Peacemakers that we
know from history and today; Joan of Arc,
David, Gandhi, Dalai lama, Mother Theresa,
M. L. King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Desmond
Tutu,
St. Francis, FethullahGulen,
MalalaYousafzai, they were willing to risk
their lives,
their social comforts and acceptance
to pursue virtue-infused ideals.
81.
82. 7 Social Sins
Wealth without Work
Pleasure without Conscience
Knowledge without Character
Commerce without Morality
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
Politics without Principle
– Mahatma Gandhi
8th sin added by Arun Gandhi, his
grandson:
Rights without Responsibilities
83.
84. I grew up among the Sages.
All my life I listened to their words.
Yet I have found nothing better than silence.
Study is not the goal, doing is.
Do not mistake “talk” for “action.”
Pity fills no stomach.
Compassion builds no house.
Understanding is not yet justice.
Whoever multiplies words causes confusion.
The truth that can be spoken
Is not the Ultimate Truth.
Ultimate Truth is wordless,
the silence within the silence.
More than the absence of speech,
More than the absence of words,
Ultimate Truth is the seamless being-in-place
that comes with attending to Reality.
—Shimon benGamliel