By Neerja Caprihan
Together is better
Almost 15 years ago, the Belgian transport company De Lijn promoted group travel with a series of ingenious advertisements1. More than anything, these charming yet clever ads involving penguins, ants and fireflies were absolutely brilliant in showing the power of teamwork. There are a plethora of motivational books on the subject of teamwork and collaboration. Equally, there are several sets of frameworks and rulebooks that deconstruct the different strategies for effective teamwork. Social media too offers a great deal of inspirational material on this subject. The importance of team-work remains timeless across miscellaneous spheres, be it sports, industries, communities, or geographies.
What made us reflect on this age-old theme? A recent company-wide circular by Interactive Brokers’ CEO was a cogent reminder of the best practices of teamwork. Instead of relying only on the usual keywords, it had been articulated in terms of behavioral outcomes, making it remarkably effective. As we grow in size and work on multiple projects at break-neck speed, the message was a welcome refresher on this key attribute for continued organizational success.
But why are we talking about it here? We believe that by virtue of becoming your trusted partners in your investing journeys, we in turn form our own little teams with our clients and managers. And hence we would like to share with you some of the ideas from this gem of a communique that we feel will allow you to know us better, and subsequently help us deliver the best robo-advisory services to you.
- Focus on empowerment, not control. We give you control over your account, and all the required information at your fingertips to enable you to make informed decisions. Our low-fee structures and flexible investing features are geared towards providing you with a freedom of choice that is bound neither by time nor financial penalties.
- Do not be afraid to request help and ask questions. While we try to address any questions you might have, in a proactive manner through our FAQs and periodic updates of site content, we encourage you to reach out to us in case you seek more details or clarity on different aspects of your dashboard. The diverse range of portfolios we offer are designed to inspire both – the confident investor wanting to plough ahead with minimal intrusion from us, and the novice investor who needs investment suggestions and occasional hand-holding.
- Be transparent and honest. Once you open an account with us, you are greeted with the risk tolerance questionnaire before being given the ability to make investments. The success of our advisory functions, as performed through algorithms as well as human advisors, depends largely on how forthright you are in answering these questions. On the same note, be sure to inform us of any change in your circumstances so that we can also help you make any necessary adjustments to your portfolio in a timely way.
- Do not look only at short-term or long-term. When planning your investments, plan your portfolio basket keeping in mind both your short-term and long-term, and in terms of both incomes and expenditures. A careful and sustainable approach is key to the success of any endeavor, and investing is no different. This is also something our Goal Tracker can help you with.
- Be open to what’s new or different. Comfort zones are cozy places to be in. However, for anything new to emerge, one has to think afresh and be willing to take the odd chance. It is perfectly understandable to do things the way they have always worked for us, but let’s not discount other ways of doing things. Or other people doing things in other ways. By providing you access to a large variety of portfolios led by experts on a single platform, we offer you the opportunity to see what others are doing (and doing well) and take a leaf from their best-sellers. On our part, we always look forward to your feedback so that we can assess what we need to do differently to elevate your investing experience with us.
The spirit of collaboration is the very essence of Interactive Advisors, considering that Covestor was the name with which we started our investing journey as a robo-advisor. Our teams at all levels have helped us break ground. But there are always new frontiers. We need you to help us in helping you.
PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Asfia
Via SHUTTERSTOCK
Footnotes:
1 https://www.luerzersarchive.com/work/de-lijn/
DISCLOSURES:
Interactive Advisor is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. SEC. Registration does not imply a level of skill or training. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, nor is it indicative of future performance. All investments in financial markets involve risk, including the risk of loss, such as a loss of principal and reduction in earnings.
The content of this page is offered for informational purposes only, does not constitute investment advice, and is not an offer to buy or sell any security or invest in any of our portfolios.
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