Where Are You Going and How Are You Getting There?

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, CEA

We were recently traveling in our camper van for a weekend adventure and were passed on the highway by a truck that was sensationally well over the speed limit. I have no way of knowing why the driver of this truck was in such a hurry or where they were headed. I am sure they knew quite well what their destination was, and  was obviously willing to break the law in getting there fast. Why take such a risk to get there so fast? Just to shave off a few minutes? It kind of reminds me of investing and investor behaviour. 

When we are about to travel, we generally consider four things: destination, method, cost and time. Of course safety is a concern, but it is truly embedded in each of these basic things. Different destinations and time requirements require different methods. For the grocery store, probably the car or walk. Now for Cuba- most likely a plane, as the alternatives of driving or walking come with some ultimate problems. I’ll put it another way- have  you ever wanted to travel with no ultimate destination in mind, no method of travel determined, and therefore no estimates of time? The answer is likely no.

Where am I going with this? Proper investing - like travel- requires a planned destination,  a method of travel, and a desired time frame. Investing without these three attributes leads to many undesired outcomes. Of course you will get where you are going (whenever that may be), but it will not likely be where and when you wanted to arrive.

When we plan our finite lives, we determine where we want to go with respect to common goals of education, career, marriage, first home, children, and retirement. We also plan when we would like to arrive at each of these milestones. Financial planning is the broad view of where, when and how in our financial lives. Investment planning is a component of this overall broad financial planning road map. It is the process of discerning the method of travel or the investment vehicle.

There are many vehicles available. The history of human travel has evolved as technology has changed. Walking gave way to horse. Horse gave way to Trains. Trains gave way to automobiles. Today’s travel options have retained everything from walking to flight, and everything in between.

Each of these travel methods come with there own risks and benefits. Many travel adventures require not one method but several. We drive to the airport. We fly to the exotic island. We bus to the resort and we finally walk to the beach. Investment planning is the same as we most often utilize several different investment vehicles as the need arises. Which will get us there the quickest, the cheapest, and the safest. This my dear reader, is where we can go wrong, as safe isn’t always safe and cheap is too often expensive. In the next blog, I will discuss the Risk of Changing Lanes.

Last edit August 13, 2025