As we will be on the threshold of Spring in the second half of this month, a time when new seeds are sown we thought a look at the importance of discipline in how we sow the financial seeds for our future could be of interest and possibly help some of our investors.

There have been many famous quotes about the great rewards of sowing financial seeds to reap the benefits in the years to come, not the least of these being Warren Buffet’s ‘’Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’’ The real lesson to this is not just that it took foresight to plant the tree, but that it took the discipline of someone who planted it to do the right thing at the time.

A seed that is just thrown onto the wrong surface will yield nothing and in wealth creation, as in farming, sowing financial seeds should be ordered not scattered!

Discipline determines the outcome.

Discipline needs to accompany foresight to ensure that what we sow today will yield good fruit in days to come. One of the great Investors of our time, the late Sir John Templeton, according to one historic observer ‘’was a pioneer in the use of globally diversified mutual funds. In 1992 his investment business was acquired by Franklin, to form what is known today as Franklin Templeton, a global investment firm with a reported $1.5 trillion in assets under management.’’

Templeton was a great believer in discipline, and he abided by 16 hard and fast rules of investment discipline. We don’t need to list each one, but they can be broken into a few broad categories…

What to invest – Templeton said that it is ok to remain flexible and open-minded about the types of investments you make but don’t just trade or speculate – invest for maximum total real return.

How to buy – Be disciplined here too. It’s fine to diversify because there is safety in numbers, but always buy low and buy value, not based on market trends or the economic outlook. When buying stocks, search for bargains among quality stocks.

Seek financial help! – A man after our own hearts, Templeton was a believer in doing your homework but hiring Financial experts to help you to do it. Then, together aggressively monitor your investments and don’t panic in tough times – just learn from your mistakes. Oh, and in his words, it also helps to ‘begin with a prayer!’’

Words of wisdom – A few ‘pearls of wisdom’ which have been attributed to this great Investor are…

• ‘’Outperforming the market is a difficult task.’’
• ‘’An investor who has all the answers doesn’t even understand all the questions.’’
• ‘’There’s no free lunch.’’
• ‘’Do not be too fearful – or negative too often.’’

A group that bears testament to discipline and determination

The Hereford Group can proudly say that it took a huge amount of discipline and determination for us to reach the pinnacle of success that we have within just 35 short years.

We have never been in the business of just selling policies, so from the outset, we began sowing seeds that we knew would create a financial institution that could serve the needs of every individual and business. We recognise that people are all different and all have unique financial needs and attributes.

If you share Templeton’s faith in Financial expertise and agree that sowing financial seeds should be ordered not scattered, then talk to one of our highly trained and skilled Financial Advisors – we’d love to start assisting you to plant your financial future today!