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We’ve all heard the same old story from time immemorial: build up your wealth slowly with low-risk investments, and put it somewhere safe until you’re old enough to retire comfortably. For such a tame concept, it certainly has a lot of pull. Just look at all the people throughout the United States who pour their money into mutual funds and 401ks every year. All of them are looking forward to cashing in on the compound interest years down the road, and enjoying a giant nest egg once they find themselves in a lower tax bracket. It’s a pleasant, reassuring idea, except for one small detail: it doesn’t work. At least, it certainly doesn’t work as often as most people are led to believe it will, which is an increasingly nasty shock depending on how much time you’ve sunk into it before that epiphany strikes.

Of course, Wall Street has been pushing the myth on people for ages, and, why shouldn’t they? After all, it makes them oodles of money. To be honest, I find it surprising that so many people seem willing to trust big banks for financial advice. It’s a bit like asking a professional cat burglar to give you tips on home security. If that sounds a bit hyperbolic to you, think back a few years to the beginning of the new millennium. Remember how many people lost their investments when Enron tanked? That’s to say nothing of those who lost pensions or retirement plans. Yet, even while chief executives of the company were rushing to sell their shares, they continued to disseminate information telling investors to keep buying—in effect, to remain on board a sinking ship while the crew were busy reserving spots on the lifeboats.

Finding Stable and Trustworthy Investments

I don’t believe in putting money into something when there’s such an apparent conflict of interest involved. What I’m more interested in is finding transparent and secure investment opportunities.

The problem with most conventional investment options is that you are left out of the loop by people who may or may not have your best interests at heart. There’s certainly nothing wrong with investing your money, but you shouldn’t have to remove yourself from the process. In fact, the closer you can be to the company where your capital resides, the better you’ll be able to judge how much value the investment has. To put it another way: truly valuable investment opportunities should be able to leave you with control of your money.

That’s the philosophy that led me to a less traditional form of financial advising, and I’ve stuck to it ever since. My career has spanned more than 30 years and added hundreds of jobs to the Colorado Springs area. In that time, I’ve learned that the key word in “wealth creation” isn’t “wealth”. You need to take a creative approach if you want to be truly successful.