I can't tell you how sick I am of the financial industry jargon.

Recently I was invited to a conference with a ton of highly "successful" money managers.  They discussed a multitude of interesting topics...At least I assume they did.

See, I got up and left after the second breakout session!

If there's one thing I hate, it's being in a room full of people more focused on how to make a sale than making sure they are doing whats right for their clients.

Hopefully that last sentence doesn't surprise you. 

The truth is most people in the financial services industry are really bad at their jobs. In 10 years I've met maybe 10 other people in this industry that I would wholeheartedly trust with my money. Call me jaded.

So what got me so fired up that I left?

Investment RISK!

The first breakout session was devoted to setting expectations on gaining and losing money. I'm sure you have heard it before...

"The market goes up and the market goes down...the important thing is to ride it out and not panic."

"By trying to time the market you will inevitably miss the upswing"

"This is a buy and hold portfolio"

YUCK. It all sucks.

Here's the truth: we can quantify Investment Risk.

It doesn't have to be abstract.

That is what is so great about having efficient markets. We can mathematically tell you (with 95% probability) your window of returns for any given 6 month period.

Why is this important? 

If you know where you SHOULD be in any 6 month window, you will know when something truly is out of balance by simply comparing.

If your current money manager has you believing a "buy and hold" strategy. Or if your current adviser doesn't have frank specific conversations about what your investment risk actually looks like, then it's time to start looking elsewhere.