An Expanded View of Investing

In our combined decades of work as investment advisors, we have had the privilege of sitting down and talking in depth with hundreds of clients about what matters most to them. One thing that kept coming up in these conversations is that, although they liked our “invest with your values” approach, they did not like thinking about investing very much. We, on the other hand, think that investing is really cool, a focal activity where people make decisions that change their lives and the world. Are we just geeks, or do we see something that others don’t?

Eventually, we realized that most people have a rather narrow image in their minds about what “investing” really means. Do an image search on the word investing, and you will see lots of coins and dollar bills, graphs and charts, bullion bars and Wall Street suits. What generally comes to mind is that investing is done by those who have extra money, to turn it into even more money, using the methods promoted by Wall Street. While most of us are interested in becoming more prosperous, this concept of investing leaves many people out of the game; and even for those who do invest in this way, it is a cold and abstract prescription that fails to touch on what gives deeper meaning to our lives.

We say that it's time for a new approach. Rather than wrinkling up one's nose and doing “investing” the way we have been taught, we are asking people to take a step back and really think about what a powerful and creative role this activity could play in their lives. This begins with expanding our notion about what investing truly is, so try this on for size: investing is something that we all do by directing our time, attention, energy, or money in ways that move us toward our future dreams, using a diverse range of strategies.

Let's start with dismissing the popular notion that investing is an activity that is available only to those with discretionary capital to play with. The fact is, neither the investment nor the return must necessarily be in the form of money. Financial investments are just one side of the coin; on the flip side is time—our most precious resource. We can and should bring this to the investing table by being thoughtful about the ways we focus our attention and channel our energy. Throughout this book we look at ways that the choices you make with your time, attention, and energy are as central to your long-term investments as the ways you manage your money.

Next we rethink the purpose of investing. As the Beatles so joyously pointed out, money can’t buy us love. Still, the single-minded pursuit of most investors is to increase our financial “net worth,” though our real goals in life are much broader than that. Resilient investing recognizes that we are actually interested in cultivating several types of assets:

● personal—relationships, community, learning, health, and spiritual growth;

● tangible—home, efficient energy systems, local food supplies, and a healthy local ecosystem; and

● financial—stocks, bonds, and savings.

By including all of these valued objectives in our resilient investment plan, we have the opportunity to shape virtually all aspects of our lives.

Finally, it is important to rethink how we pursue those goals. Are the recommendations proffered by traditional investment books, magazines, and financial services firms the one and only valid methodology? Are there other strategies that you can use to diversify and seek out new opportunities that are largely ignored by Wall Street? And in this VUCA world, might it be wise to consider the possibility that strict adherence to traditional buy-and-hold-on-to-your-hats dogma may leave us vulnerable to systemic risks that threaten to send our economy reeling?

We refer to this notion of spreading our wings into more spacious skies as “weaning off Wall Street.” It opens our minds to exploring strategies beyond the one that rules today's herd, with its all too familiar mantra of “show me the money.” As you are about to see, resilient investing provides three novel approaches to mix and match: close to home, sustainable global economy, and evolutionary investing (see chapter 3).

Now, with our expanded resources (money and time) in hand, we are pleased to show you our map. SEE FIGURE 1 What you will see immediately is that it covers much more terrain than that old familiar basket of market-based financial investments. There are nine distinct zones of investment choices that form the Resilient Investing Map (RIM).

The north-south axis of the map reminds you to grow your personal and tangible assets, not just your financial ones. Moving east to west, you will be engaging with three distinct investment strategies in ways that connect with both your interests and your outlook for the future.

Figure 1 The Resilient Investing Map (RIM)

You could think of each of the nine investment zones as baskets in which you can distribute the eggs (time and money) that you have to invest. By doing this you will achieve far more diversification than could be imagined from the limited perspective that most people are accustomed to using.

We will elaborate on this expanded approach to investing in chapters 1 through 4, and in chapters 5 through 8 we will guide you toward using the map to create your own resilient investing plan. Because this is a living landscape, we’ll be fleshing out the map's many highways and byways, along with its connective rivers and verdant prairies, in a continually evolving online supplement to the book. In chapters 9 and 10, we’ll share our own experiences of working with the Resilient Investing Map and envision a future in which each of the three strategies becomes widely adopted.

This book is an invitation to embark on a journey of exploration in service of a most concrete purpose: preparing your life for whatever may come. We will help you cultivate a deeper clarity about how to work toward your hopes and dreams for the future while accounting for the uncertainties inherent in looking beyond our visible horizons. The way forward is likely to be dangerous, exhilarating, and challenging; it can also be rewarding, nourishing, and joyful. We may not know which future awaits us around the bend—but the way there is clear: we’ll just need to bend!