JimUk1 wrote:I can not help but think it may have avoid or, educated certain people as to the true source of their woes!
Quote: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
Sadly, you can't teach someone who is unwilling to learn - or, in my humble opinion, who is not willing to take responsibility for themselves: both of which are core factors that hit OPCA types.
On the financial front, I've had personal experiences along the lines:
Person: I don't need to know anything about investing... I just hand my money over to an investing manager (IM) and they invest my money for me*!
Any attempt I made to help them understand that unless they are heavily and actively involved - that manager is investing for them "as a crap shoot" at best. Different people have different goals for their investing. A person who wants to retire on double the income they're used to living on needs a more aggressive investing strategy then one who wants to retire on a matching income. But... try to explain this point (let alone all the other factors involved) and....
Person: I don't need to know that... I don't have time for it.
So the individual expects the IM to do what's best for the individual when the IM has many, many clients - some of whom are actually taking an interest in their investments and strategies.... yup..... good luck. I guess the individual believes the IM can read minds and "just know" what the client wants.
All the education for the OPCA woes is readily available. But:
1) They don't want responsibility for their choices
2) They feel they're owed something by society which is not owed
3) They feel they can just take it
Granted - there are those looking for help because they ended up in a very stressful situation and they end up panicking - but I feel they're the smaller percentage of the OPCA crowd. The ones that tend to start down the path, quickly realize how disastrous to themselves it really is and get out of it.
* To add: yes, an IM has a fiscal responsibility - but only to the extent of the knowledge the customer provides. If the customer says "I'm only comfortable with investing vehicles that are as secure as GICs" (guaranteed investment certificate) then do not be surprised if the IM only ever invests the money given in GICs and the growth rate simply isn't anywhere near expected. That responsibility is with the caveats and limitations of how much info is shared between the client and the IM - and a lot of people are uncomfortable sharing all financial info with anyone, even their IM. Not a surprise given the more info you provide a single individual, the easier it is for a corrupt person in position to walk away with your money. And all it takes is 1 corrupt IM to make it harder on everyone involved including from a trust factor.