Make a Wish

Remember the Make a Wish Foundation? This was a foundation that provided a dream come true for a deserving person who faced a terrible disease etc....There is a difference between "Make a Wish" and investment....And that difference is important it seems to me. When one is young, one thinks as a child, but then later, when one is an adult, one learns. And a child relies on "Daddy" or "Mommy" to make the decisions, or in business matters, an "investment professional." One assumes that the professional knows best, as in the tv show "Father Knows Best." However...the current ethical requirements for investment professionals requires that they not be guilty of negligence, and not that they in fact have followed the objectives specifically or have acted in the best interest of the client...Thus...eventually, the investor comes to the realization that knowledge is important, and that each person, man and woman, young and old investor alike, must become knowledgeable about investing. Objectives must be thrashed out, and the investments must be made that match these goals, and when a firm is used to make the investments, one must make sure that each transaction is done correctly. As a young man, my mom and dad were bond investors, and I remember on the kitchen refrig was a list of the bonds, and when the dividends paid, and what the amount was. My mom used to check off the dividend checks as they were received..and I also remember the effort that she made when a check was not received..letters etc...she made sure..Nobody made sure for her. And so, some fifty years later, i also am checking off the dividend checks, even if they are electronically deposited...and I think of how my mom's checklist showed me the way..thanks, mom.