Frictions

Frictions can be thought of as anything standing between an investor and their returns. Some frictions we are in control of and others we are not. Taxes, costs, and inflation all come to mind as possible frictions, but perhaps one we face as investors is the deluge of distractions that can cause us to trip over our own two feet. 

My friend Rubin Miller pens a new and impressive blog, appropriately titled Fortunes & Frictions. In his own words:

I feel strongly that great investment experiences aren't hard to achieve with foundational financial literacy. The premise of my writings is simple: Investors should define what fortune means to them (and it shouldn't be just $)​...and then reduce various frictions to achieving it.

I've known Rubin for several years now, first from his days at Dimensional Fund Advisors and now in his role as Chief Investment Officer at Perspective Wealth Partners. Rubin's creativity and natural writing talent led me to proclaim that he would be everyone's favorite new investment blogger of 2022. Thus far, he has proven me prescient in that assertion. 

To commemorate the 3-month anniversary of his blog going live, Rubin asked me (and twelve others) to provide answers to two critical questions facing investors:

• For the average person, what's the biggest friction to achieving a successful, long-term investment experience?
• What’s one action that investors can take to overcome that friction?

Our only constraint was that our responses had to be ten words or less.

My answers were as follows:

BIGGEST FRICTION

The inability to distinguish between the interesting and the actionable.

OVERCOMING IT

Find trusted filters.