VALAD PLUS® Investment Advisors (VPIA®) - Administrative Rules

1. One of our primary rules in business is to avoid business associates who are unpleasant. Charlie Munger had a similar rule using a less flattering description of those to avoid.

2. Money moves slower than you expect, slower than it should, and always slower than you want or need it to.

3. Opening Accounts and filling out Forms takes longer than moving Money.

4. If the opening of an Account or filling out a Form is a process that you want to make slower, involve your Investment Advisor instead of our experienced In-House Administrative Staff.

5. ACH/Wire Transfers never work the first time.

6. Anyone claiming to be an Expert who can precisely predict the future is telling you two stories: I. They are not Experts. II. They cannot predict the future. True Experts know that predicting the results of a Complex Adaptive System is a Probability Calculation, not a parlor trick with a precise outcome.

7. Nothing is as expensive as free or bundled Professional Services (e.g., Investment, Legal, Medical, Accounting, etc.).

8. The Current Money Laundering Laws have made opening financial accounts and moving money between financial accounts uncertain, time consuming, and at times chaotic processes. In short, the financial system is currently less effective than in the past in which the Pony Express was used to transfer money.

9. If an Investment Advisor manages enough Assets, it is extremely difficult for them to beat a Market Benchmark over any extended time frame.

10. If a Professional Investor or a Politician is making public (or even private) statements, no matter how genuine their concerns sound, they are “talking their book”.

11. At VPIA®, the principals make the Investment Decisions in your Account and are available to discuss your Investment Questions/Concerns. At any large Institutional Investment Firm, the person who sells you the Investment Services and/or who is available to discuss your Investment Questions/Concerns may make no or very few Investment Decisions with respect to your Account.  


All references to past results do not guarantee future performance. All returns discussed herein are total returns where dividends and interest are reinvested. Please note that the preceding “Rules” are not viewed as absolute truths by VPIA®, but as foundational concepts for VPIA® investment decisions.

1  https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/
2  https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/agg/performance