My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Wealth managers are fundamentally used car salesmen whose job is selling financial products, not understanding markets or generating returns
The Reasoning
Wealth managers profit from fees and commissions, creating incentive misalignment where they benefit from churning assets rather than optimizing returns
What Needs to Be True
- Fee structures reward asset sales over performance
- Wealth managers lack genuine market expertise
- Simple index investing outperforms managed strategies
- Clients can self-manage with basic knowledge
Counterargument
Professional wealth managers provide valuable diversification, risk management, and behavioral coaching that individuals cannot replicate
What Would Change This View
Finding wealth managers who consistently beat simple index strategies after fees and provide genuine value-add services
Implications for Builders
Self-manage investments using simple strategies
Avoid complex financial products pushed by advisors
Focus on low-cost index funds and treasuries
Educate yourself rather than relying on intermediaries
Example Application
“High net worth individual manages $50M portfolio using Google Sheets with simple allocation: treasuries, index funds, and direct investments rather than paying wealth management fees.”