In Life & In Investing, Knowledge is Not Experience

 Some people are very smart; they have many designations and/or degrees.  They are well-read in the big topics of life. But that does not mean they are experienced in all areas.  The luxury of working with fantastic entrepreneurs, scientist, doctors, lawyers and accountants is a daily way of life at the Center.  These fabulously smart people in their area of expertise delegate the area of their life that they don’t have the time or interest that is necessary to become an expert.

When the financial meltdown was fully in gear between September of 2008 and March of 2009 and when GM and other large companies were going bankrupt, many in our industry and even more outside of the industry were losing their heads (believing that the world might actually come to an end). Internally we were discussing much more productive things. We believed that it was not the end of the world. In fact, we believed that the investments we maintained for clients were real and people would be using the products and services generated by these companies for generations to come.

A doctor told me once that an expert knows more and more about less and less.  He performed one type of surgery every day for over 10 years.   He went to medical school and spent over 12 years in total with his education, much of the last 4 years focused on one area.  He went on to tell me that education is one necessary ingredient – it’s the foundation for wisdom -- but without repetition, you don’t have experience.  At the Center we pride ourselves on the foundation of knowledge but leverage our many years of experience to help clients reach their goals.

Matthew E. Chope, CFP ® is a Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Matt has been quoted in various investment professional newspapers and magazines. He is active in the community and his profession and helps local corporations and nonprofits in the areas of strategic planning and money and business management decisions. In 2012 and 2013, Matt was named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine.


Five Star Award is based on advisor being credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney, including education and professional designations, actively employed in the industry for five years, favorable regulatory and complaint history review, fulfillment of firm review based on internal firm standards, accepting new clients, one- and five-year client retention rates, non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered, number of client households served.

The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material.  This information is not intended as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security referred to herein.  Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc., and not necessarily of RJFS or Raymond James.