I’ve been serving families at Ballast for over a decade, but this is the first time it’s my turn to write an update on May 4th. If you are high on the nerdiness scale like me, you will know that today is the unofficial holiday to celebrate the Star Wars universe, a play on “may the force be with you.” With tax season behind us and in a relative geopolitical lull this week, let’s have some fun and think about what we can learn from Star Wars and apply to investing and planning.
Yoda is the original value investor. Nobody knows how old he is, but it’s clear he’s been in the game for a long time, and he runs a consistent playbook. If you watched him training Luke in the swamp, you know he is focused on fundamentals. He sticks to what has served him well, and at times when the Empire looks ready to take the lead for good, a correction happens, and Yoda is there to benefit.
The Dark Side is the antithesis of Yoda’s Jedi way. Darth Vader is an emotional investor. Portfolios fear his presence because there’s no telling when he will wake up and put his thoughtful allocation in a force choke or mow down undervalued positions. He rides the waves to points of great success but is always susceptible to an epic downfall.
The Ewoks are the cute little bear people on Endor, and they are like international and emerging market investments. Many investors ignore them most of the time and don’t understand what they are saying, but periodically (and recently), they save the day, and those who overlook them look like fools.
The Death Star is debt. It’s an evil tool that looms over the galaxy, ready to destroy entire civilizations. It sits on your balance sheet so heavily that it has its own gravitational pull. But true Jedi families know that deep within the debt Death Star has a fatal weakness- families who buckle down and live on less than they make, no matter their level of income.
I can’t not cast myself! A good advisor is like Obi-Wan Kenobi. He gives wise counsel, and even when he is not physically with you, his teachings might still ring in your ears, urging you to stay on the path you laid out together.
And finally, Baby Yoda is Bitcoin. He hasn’t been around long, and lots of people are obsessed with the cute little guy. But when I try to dig in and figure out what is really going on and where this story will take us, I am met with unproven theories and can only wait to watch the next episode.
In 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, handing over the keys to Star Wars and Indiana Jones for $4 Billion. We can’t make billionaires out of all the families we serve.
But if you make a plan, reduce debt, and avoid emotional investing, you will find yourself well off enough to retire and watch all 25 hours of Star Wars movies.