Client Obsession is the only way to build a long term business
It is no coincidence that some of the most successful companies in the world obsess over their clients or customers. There is a strong correlation between customer success and shareholder success.
In this short clip, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs—two of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation—discuss what client obsession means. I encourage you to watch these videos to see their perspectives:
Obsessing over clients is a strategic advantage for building a family office
This approach involves prioritizing, understanding, anticipating, and exceeding customer needs and expectations when designing products and services. Unfortunately, many financial services businesses focus on competitors and vanity metrics like Assets Under Management (AUM).
They mistakenly believe that a large AUM is a proxy for customer trust or advisor expertise.
In reality, AUM does not reflect how a business treats its clients or the quality of its investment performance.
Having experienced this firsthand—both as a client of a large investment management firm and as an affiliate with a Broker Dealer (BD) in our early days—I can attest to the challenges of this model. A large AUM often means a large number of sales personnel are pushing financial products, disguised as advisors. These firms frequently deliver poor performance, with returns lagging behind market indices like the S&P 500.
Most financial products are engineered to benefit their creators rather than their users. For instance, around 90% of mutual funds fail to outperform their index after fees and expenses. Similarly, many bundled insurance and annuity products focus more on business economics than on meeting customer needs.
So, where does this leave us?
Personal finance is inherently simple but not necessarily easy. The progress we’ve made in technology and complex financial products doesn’t always translate to better financial outcomes for individuals.
Mastery of risk and the evolving landscape of finance highlight a disconnect: while financial industry sophistication has grown, many people still struggle with basic financial questions like retirement planning or affording education for kids.
This dichotomy reflects a broader suspicion that the financial industry often extracts more value from its participants than it creates. At Finomenon Investments, we challenge this notion by integrating education, simplicity, and transparency into our practice.
We aim to restore basic values to finance, making it an exciting and powerful tool for building wealth and achieving freedom for our Clients.
As an independent registered investment advisory firm, we have a fiduciary responsibility to act in your best interests. We are fee-only advisors, meaning we have no affiliations with banks, broker-dealers, or family funds.
Our focus is solely on your needs, with no hidden agendas
- Intentions don’t matter, actions do: Compounding affects every aspect of life—reputation, experience, capital, skills, and relationships. This fundamental insight underscores the importance of consistent, thoughtful actions.
- Own YOUR craft; time is an investment: Managing finances should be a passion, not a distraction. Invest your time wisely.
- Break the bias: An unbiased financial advisor provides a valuable perspective, free from conflicts of interest.
- Personal Finance is not a spreadsheet: It’s about having a plan that makes your money work as hard as you do.
- Play the long-term game with long-term people: Success in finance often involves thinking beyond the short term and competing with fewer people over extended periods.
Why You Would Love Us?
- Fee-Only Advisor: We only collect fees for the advice we provide or the assets we manage. We have no hidden commissions or referral income and act as your true fiduciary 100% of the time.
- Founder Mentality: Our founder’s experience with customer obsession at Amazon shapes our approach, from onboarding to plan communication. He will always be the Principal advisor of the firm.
- We Eat Our Own Dog Food: If we wouldn’t recommend something to our family or friends, we won’t recommend it to you.
- Skeptics First, Optimists Later: We rigorously question and test investment products, relying on objective data for a meaningful period.
- We Hate Transaction Costs: We prefer simple, long-term investments that minimize unnecessary transaction costs.
Interested in learning more about how we deliver a truly customer-obsessed Family Office experience? Book a call today!
Disclaimer: Nothing here should be considered investment advice. All investments carry risks, including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value. Finomenon Investments LLC cannot guarantee future financial results.
