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A Lesson On Perceived Value

Dec. 02, 2018 11:31 AM ET1 Comment
Ronald Surz profile picture
Ronald Surz
2.04K Followers

Summary

  • Payless shoes ran on experiment on perceived value, and it worked.
  • People will pay high prices for inexpensive product if it’s packaged right.
  • Investment consulting is a fungible credence good that sells mostly on perception.

Payless shoes recently pranked shoppers into paying luxury prices for discount shoes. Opening a store called Palessi, they charged hundreds of dollars for shoes that normally cost $20, and they got it. Why? Because shoppers can’t tell the difference and they trust salespeople.

Such is the case with investment consulting. Consulting is a fungible credence good. The lesson for investment consultants is not new. Differentiation is difficult but critical. Incompetent competitors can prank investors into buying their services.

I wrote “What Investors Really Want From Their Financial Advisors” as a sort of guide for advisors. I hope you find it useful.

This article was written by

Ronald Surz profile picture
2.04K Followers
I'm president of  Target Date Solutions, developer of the patented Safe Landing Glide Path , Soteria personalized target date accounts, and Age Sage do-it-yourself investing. I;m also co-host of the Baby Boomer Investing Show.   My passion is helping his fellow baby boomers at this critical time in their lives when they are relying on their lifetime savings to support a retirement with dignity, so he wrote a book Baby Boomer Investing in the Perilous 2020s and he provides a financial educational curriculum I'm author of 3 books: Baby Boomer investing in the Perilous Decade of the 2020s, & 2 books on target date funds I’m smart with 2 Masters degrees and 55 years in financial consulting. I’m semi-retired, and prefer helping my fellow baby boomers rather than playing golf. I’m worried that our country, & most others, is playing with fire in its money printing. I’m here to help – that’s my legacy space.I help investors deal with life’s investment challenges, with the objective of enjoying a comfortable long retirement. I’m passionate about questioning and improving upon entrenched stale practices like jamming everyone into cookie cutter model portfolios. That's why I produce the Baby Boomer Investing Show live on Youtube and Facebook every other Tuesday at 10:00 PST. Watch live or replay by searching for "Age Sage Robo" on Facebook or Youtube. Please watch and support our Boomer Investing Show on Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35204315&fan_landing=true ) and visit our SA Blog at https://seekingalpha.com/account/authorboard/instablog . As president of Age Sage Robo (please Google), and CEO of GlidePath Wealth Management, I’m responsible for model development using my patented process . I have more than 50 years of financial service experience and hold a U.S. Patent for a time-tested glide path investment process that helps investors navigate the complicated financial decisions they face as they accumulate and preserve assets for their retirement years. Age Sage & GlidePath use this process to build Target Date, Special Purpose, and Life Span Portfolios that are tailored to the specific requirements of clients. My extensive financial career began at A.G. Becker Pension Consultants where I advised on the investment policies of several trillion dollars of retirement plan assets. After Becker I started my own consulting firms that developed innovative services for investors and the financial advisors who serve them. I’ve earned a BS and MS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Illinois and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. I am author of the book "The Remarkable Metamorphosis of Target Date Funds" and co-author of "The Fiduciary Handbook for Understanding and Selecting Target Date Funds"Please visit https://babyboomerinvesting.show

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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