Most business owners can feel the pulse of their business. If you own a coffee shop for instance, you can go to the location, see and interact with your employees, touch your inventory, and keep your customers happily caffeinated. You can smell the aroma of your business. You can feel it. What if you had that same feeling as a shareholder of a public company?

With the advent of technology, real financial advice will be a huge differentiator in the financial services industry. Anyone can create a portfolio, asset allocation or investment strategy. We are even told robots can do this with this concept called “Robo-Advisor”. What most people actually need is advice about how their investments fit into their overall financial plan, and more importantly their life. Believe me – robots cannot do this, nor do investment products do this. It takes an experienced, skilled, listening Advisor. Both investment management and financial advice are necessary components for long-term success, but it’s important to understand the differences. So let's compare and contrast the two.

I am an optimist by nature. I feel this optimism is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, but rather a view to the future that is based on a sound historical tract record and the economic progress we see across the globe. Because of this optimistic view toward our economy, I am also an optimist regarding our capital markets.