Juggling Dynamite

A deficit in the executive function of the brain or ‘attention deficit disorder’ is a challenge in varying degrees for many people.  Some can achieve their goals and training notwithstanding, others drop out of education and give up on dreams because they are not able to meet requirements, or are told they’re not trying hard enough or not cut out for school.  Lost productivity can be a life-long consequence.

New studies find that adults with ADHD tend to have more health problems and shorter life-expectancy.  Many struggle with addiction, relationship problems and frustration throughout their life.  It’s an affliction that can run in families and something which I have witnessed up close in my own. There is a lot of stigma and ignorance around this condition, including in the medical profession.  Worse, many parents that go undiagnosed or untreated are then unable or unaware of how to help their children when they present similar symptoms.  Early diagnosis is best, but it’s never too late to seek help.  On the upside, studies show that some tasks can benefit from The Creativity of ADHD.

The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti: How adult ADHD can ‘ravage’ adult life https://t.co/1eo76gIZJb

— Danielle Park (@kdaniellepark) March 1, 2019

Recent studies also show that cardiovascular exercise gives a boost to the brain’s executive function, and the improvements were particularly noted in men, see Exercise gives older men a better brain boost:

This pattern of connectivity was more robust in the women and has been positively associated with executive function, which are skills that contribute to being able to focus, pay attention and manage time. Fitness levels, however, were more strongly associated with improving this brain efficiency pattern for men than women.

The US Labor Department’s rule requiring a fiduciary standard of care from advisors giving retirement advice was quashed last summer, and no federal efforts on this critical front have since materialized.  The industry-friendly SEC meanwhile put forward a watered-down Reg BI ‘Best Interest’ standard that allows conflicts of interest to remain largely intact.  Not surprisingly, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has commented in favour of the SEC proposal, while the Investment Adviser Association, representing federally registered advisors who are already subject to a fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisers Act, have pointed out that the BI standard will allow the conflicted advice broker/dealers provide to continue.

In response, states like Maryland, New Jersey and Nevada are advancing proposals for a state level fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and financial advisors, and industry associations are working hard to push back.  See Nevada, Maryland and New Jersey push fiduciary proposal.

The insistence on a fiduciary standard in financial advising is not going way.  Two decades of allowing the sales force to put their profits ahead of the best interests of their clients have undermined the strength and stability of families, companies and governments alike. We all continue to pay the price for undersaved populations engaged in speculative products and activities ending in losses they cannot afford.

Many clients and financial sales representatives remain blind to the difference here, for more see What makes a financial advisor a “true” fiduciary:

“Ultimately, a fiduciary operates without conflict and with one driving force: the clients’ best interests. As this sentiment amongst advisors grows, it will continue to serve as one of the most significant catalysts for migration to the independent space…

When we look at those who are breaking away and forming their own firms, we recognize that they’re making a fundamental change from being an employee to being a business owner, from being a broker to being a fiduciary advisor and from being a product advocate to being a client advocate.”

The ability to prioritize the clients’ best interests without limitation was the reason that my partner and I left a bank-owned broker/dealer in 2003 to found Venable Park Investment Counsel Inc.

As in 2000-03 and 2007-09, the next bear market will once more highlight the contrast between fiduciary advisors/managers and the salesforce.  Once losses hit, sales firms are always the first to point out they’re not fiduciaries, and that clients bear responsibility for their own capital losses.

Buying at irrational levels on the belief that prices can only go up is the definition of speculation, not investing, and financial pain in speculation are the norm not the exception.  There are familiar themes in this story for Canada today, as well as the 2006-2012 US and Ireland housing busts.

For years now the real estate discussion has been all about rising house prices in Sydney and Melbourne and how hard it is to buy a house or find an affordable rental. But not any more.  Here is a direct video link.

Housing and banking expert Martin North North has criticised developers and the housing industry for “throwing up” high-rise buildings at such alarmingly fast rates. He warned viewers that significant defects and safety concerns are imminent.  Here is a direct video link.