Thanks to the internet, we have nearly immediate access to answers for practically any topic we want to learn about. Unfortunately, this also means if someone understands how to market, they can make anything seem like “The one thing you need to know before you do this.”

Maybe it’s just the nature of how/what I do and noticing it more, but personal finance is a topic where I see “advice” being pushed out rampantly at a high, unspecified, level. Some of the most well-known financial pundits provide advice at such a high level, it makes me cringe. And now, those who are unlicensed have the ability to plaster social media with broad topics that barely scratch the surface, but often fall into that same heading of “why everyone should do X.” Sometimes this is great if they find a catchy way to break down an otherwise monotonous topic, but it often ends up leaving out important information because they tried to cram it into a 30-second video.

Me posting these thoughts is specifically fueled by a social media post I recently saw from one of these so-called experts who stated you should only invest in Mutual Funds and Real Estate (paid in cash, only) – to be clear, again, this is not my perspective, but theirs. They didn’t even bother to say “most people” or “usually this is the right fit”. They went on to say you should never invest in…well, anything else, regardless of where on the risk spectrum it falls. In no way can you blanket that advice and say it’s right for everyone. Yes, I will tell a specific client that one investment type may be wrong for them, but to say it’s wrong for everyone is far from the truth.

Even writing that all out is scary to me. Each person, family, and business has different goals and capacities for risk. I have a fiduciary duty to be doing what’s in the best interest of my clients, and I can’t do that by giving them a one-size-fits-all solution that many non-fiduciary advisors do. But, this is why I’ve put in the time to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, so we can get granular with their specific situation, and only then can we determine what solutions and investments do or do not make sense for them.

There are too many areas of variability regarding finances to tell someone they need to do this or that without knowing their backstory. We need to validate together that there isn’t something more efficient or more effective for their needs before making the decision to, or not to, invest in something.

You can read more about what goes into building a comprehensive financial plan over here.