Aligning the Planets, Moons and Stars

September 2018

Jupiter and IO; Image credit: NASA/JPL

An Exploration of Jupiter

Jupiter and its Great Red Eye has been a source of inspiration and a catalyst of dreams since antiquity.

The 5th largest planet was named after the Roman god, Jupiter, who was their god of kings as well as sky and thunder.  Growing up, our teachers taught that Jupiter had four Galilean moons. This was a fact, verified by science, dating back to 1610 with Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius receiving credit for their simultaneous discovery. In 1892, another moon was added to the list and over the centuries, multiple moons were discovered. For two decades in the 1980’s until the late 1990’s, there was a lull and then an additional 51 moons were added up until 2016.

On Jun 30, 2016, NASA’s space probe, Juno, entered the orbit of Jupiter to explore the giant planet for 20 months. Juno was the Roman goddess of finance, protectress of marriage, women and the queen of heavens. The month of June was named for her. Juno's research was to help NASA better understand the origins and evolutions of the largest planet in the solar system and its impact on the development of life on Earth. The vivid pictures and discoveries made by Juno have already set the astronomical community on its head. 

Fast forward to July 17, 2018 when the scientific community announced that they have discovered 12 additional moons for Jupiter, bringing the total to 79, including an oddball moon, that orbits against the flow. This tiny moon, only a kilometer across, is called Valetudo for the Roman goddess associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health.

The Evolution of Financial Planning

Financial planning was formalized in December 1969 when Loren Dunton and 13 other men met near the Chicago O’Hare Airport and established the Society for Financial Counselling Ethics. In the 49 years that have followed, the industry has ably served its clients in creating a path toward financial security, most often focused on retirement planning. 

The discipline is tried and true, but something happened along its evolutionary path. More and more financial planners became enamored with investment management, a component of financial planning. 

A successful plan was defined by how close to a “magic number” did the advisor get the client through a combination of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETF’s and other investment vehicles by a specific date. Planning fees evolved into an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee that purported to place the advisor on the same side of the table - “If you do well, [the advisor] does well.” 

The most frequently voiced concern of clients is “Will I Be Okay?”TM.  Unfortunately, investing toward a speculative number cannot alone solve this question. Additionally, this focus did not allow much latitude for clients who had fewer investable assets or preferred a more conservative strategy. It was off-putting to many females, who have achieved substantial economic clout, but too often have been ignored by many advisors. 

Most importantly, the focus on investable assets did not leave nearly enough room for real life events, like job layoffs, personal healthcare challenges and caring for elderly parents. 

In 2016, an age-old battle between fee-only planners and those who also received commissions came to a head when the Department of Labor proposed a fiduciary standard that put retirement products in its crosshairs. While this Federal legislation has since been tamped down, the public was awakened to the cracks in the industry and the quality of advice they were receiving. 

However, the longest Bull market run in history has masked how deep the fissures are today. Clients are looking for significant advisor value beyond the market recommendations that are being increasingly commoditized. As a result, many financial planners are battling mightily for the attention of only a small fraction of the market, leaving many women, minority and next-generation clients adrift. 

Aligning the skies

Jupiter has ruled the skies from Roman times, yet continues to surprise the scientific community with new entities that redefine the solar system. Large enough to have given the Sun a run, Jupiter's constant change keeps the scientists up at night. 

A comprehensive financial plan is also king, but here, surprises are less well received if it alters the original trajectory for both clients and their planners. 

In our research, over 26 different areas were identified as missing from a truly comprehensive financial plan. Any of these critical factors has the potential to derail a successful retirement if not properly addressed. 

Juno, the goddess of finance, partners with Jupiter. Female-founded, Evozen has launched Plan (D)reamTM, a proprietary platform that partners with the financial planning community, expanding its reach among their clients. This platform supports the growth of both client and financial advisors who have been historically underrepresented. All parties who desire this new paradigm can now connect via Plan (D)reamTM. 

While income, net worth and investable assets are important metrics for most financial planners, they are not the immediate focus with Evozen. Rather, Evozen takes the time to truly understand a client’s most important priorities before creating an actionable plan. 

Through our extensive network of specialists or “moons", Jupiter’s impressive Great Red Eye integrates all the activity needed to support these priorities. Even little Valetudo plays a role, most especially in the continuation of good health critical to successful aging and longevity.  Much like the scientific community, we continue to add specialists as our clients’ needs continue to evolve. Our active, consistent and continual involvement sustains the momentum that we create, while also infusing the flexibility to address real life needs as they arise. 

The planets, moons and stars align. 

With Plan (D)reamTM, sleeping well at night never felt so good.