Lessons from Les
- Travis Tsukayama, CFP® CFA
- Oct 3
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 6
Les Andrews (1946 - 2022)
As many of you know, Les Andrews was a founding member of Andrews Advisory Associates, LLC and the company carries his name and legacy. His 45+ year career allowed him to be the financial guide for some amazing people. Since Christina and I took full ownership of Andrews Advisory Associates, LLC in 2022, we have prioritized continuing to deliver a first-class experience for our clients and their families. The trust they first placed in Les and now in us to guide them on their financial journey is sacred. We consider it our north star to serve our clients well.
In the past 3 years, our company has grown significantly. We continue to work with more families each year who have holistic financial planning needs that demand professional expertise. The team has grown in number to accommodate the scope of wealth management firm we want to become. This creates a delicate balance of growing at a sensible pace while staying true to the values the company was founded on.
Last Sunday would have been Les’ 79th birthday. Although we miss him dearly, our paths as leaders have been eternally shaped by the lessons we learned from him. Les was soft-spoken but always willing to share his wisdom with us. I treasure the seven years he served as my mentor in this business. Here are a few lessons we learned from Les that deal specifically with investing that continue to guide our work today. Happy Birthday Les!
The Lessons
Investing: Keep It Simple
The investment industry is complex. There are confusing ratios and mathematical formulas. A never-ending list of investment options offered by different companies that all claim to be the best. Financial jargon is the language of choice for industry professionals. It’s used to explain products to the general public and is usually met with puzzled looks.
The problem, of course, is that all the technicality is exhausting. Present a person with too many options and watch as decision paralysis takes hold. The only time a myriad of choices hasn’t bothered me is when I’m ordering lunch at Shiro’s Saimin Haven (#55 The Ron Mizutani Special every time).
Image Credit | Kyo46 | Adobe Stock
The most effective way to communicate complex topics is simplifying them. It’s no easy feat to illustrate the basics of investing in a simple way. Les achieved this when he created the Keep It Simple Strategy (KISS). It shows the trade-off between investment returns and expected volatility in an easily digestible way. He had used the KISS chart in meetings throughout his career and it helped introduce so many people to his investment philosophy. We still use it in our practice and it is a cornerstone of every investing conversation we have with our clients.
You don’t need complex products to succeed financially. You don’t need to be a whiz at timing the stock market. The core principles of establishing clear goals, implementing an appropriate asset allocation, managing risk tolerance, rebalancing, and minimizing cost are enough to be successful. The KISS approach is the investing framework that goes seamlessly with the core principles.
For those interested in seeing a copy of the Keep It Simple Strategy chart we use to build investment portfolios for our clients, send me a message [https://www.andrewsllc.com/contact].
The Bottom of the Stock Market is the Point of Maximum Pain
Image Credit | Carl Richards
I was reminded of this “Les-ism” after speaking with a client the other day. The client recalled Les predicting that the stock market had reached its bottom after a period of volatility based on how many phone calls he received from nervous investors in one day. These callers were not usually deterred from sticking with their long-term investing plan – in fact, they had held on through most of the downturn. But a stock market in prolonged decline can discourage even the most stalwart investor and drive them to sell their investments and flee to the safety of cash.
Les had lived through many market drawdowns and understood that the bottom of the stock market was the point of maximum pain for investors. It’s when the client picks up the phone to call their financial advisor and asks for the stock market rollercoaster to end.
Les said that if he received three phone calls in one day from concerned investors looking to liquidate their portfolios, he believed that to be the bottom of the current drawdown. That’s not scientific and you won’t see it in a financial planning textbook, but it does highlight an important fact about people and their relationship with money. Managing one’s own finances is an emotional experience. We feel triumphant when we see gains but despair when there are losses.
A good advisor will help their clients through these moments to avoid the financial catastrophe of selling out of their portfolio after its value has dropped. Some advisors try to help nervous clients make smart decisions by showing charts of how the stock market has recovered from downturns in the past. Some advisors will show economic and earnings data to prove things will get better.
Les’ approach was different. Although he had all the historical financial data memorized and charts galore, he led all these interactions with empathy. He understood that people need a calm and compelling steersman to guide them through rough seas. As financial author Nick Murray often says, “The Messenger is the Message”. He approached people as individuals and led them to financial success with simple language and warmth – and in turn, received their trust.
More Information is Better When Making Investing Decisions
Image Credit | Pcess609 | Adobe Stock
“Measure twice, cut once.”
Before making an investment decision, Les consumed as much information as he could about the fine-print details, current events, and companies involved. He watched CNBC religiously in the morning and subscribed to numerous newsletters on investing and financial planning (which he passed around the office for weekend reading). Learning about the financial markets was not work for him – it was his passion. The attention to detail was useful in comparing investment options, understanding the difference between performance, fees, and management style.
There are moments when economic events and shifts in monetary or fiscal policy make the path forward uncertain. When the news reports positive events that suggest the stock market may rise, the natural tendency is to hastily buy more shares. The opposite is true of news with a negative tilt. The reality is that the stock market is completely unpredictable in the short-term. News that is bad (but not as bad as expected) can sometimes pull the stock market higher. Good news that is not as good as expected can still draw the market lower. Les’ investment philosophy was to have a plan and stick with it. His reaction upon watching the daily news was to simply incorporate what he learned into a larger pool of data. No knee-jerk reactions, no panic trading. Tomorrow is a new day that brings more information to help us make better decisions.
In summary:
In investing, Keep It Simple: avoid complex products that are usually accompanied by high fees. The Keep It Simple Strategy chart Les created illustrates the basics of investing in a simple way.
The bottom of the stock market is the point of maximum pain: investing is an emotional endeavor. Les taught us to lead with empathy and guide our clients through turbulent times with warmth and confidence.
More information is better when making investment decisions: instead of reacting immediately to daily news, use it as a data point in a larger set before making investment decisions.
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