Episode 57: The Future of Everything
Segment 1:
HELLO Lower Alabama! Hello Gulf Coast! Welcome in. Welcome to Coasting in Retirement! That’s. Right. Thanks for joining us today, Josh Null here, Michelle is off this week, in here place we have a very special guest, he’s both my first-born son and the producer of this radio show, Payton Null. How you doing son? We are back in Coastal College’s recording studio, beautiful downtown Fairhope, ready to put together another great show for those of you tuning in!
Listeners: Payton and I are here to discuss financial topics relevant to those of you in or near retirement, living your best life along our part of the gulf coast. Here’s what we’ve got in store for you today: First segment – deep dive on our topic of the day. 2nd segment - at about 30 minutes past the hour - “Headlines of the Week”. Then at roughly 50 minutes past the hour, stick around for our 3rd segment, we call it” Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth”. So buckle up, we’ve got a lot to get to!
Quick background on me for those new to the show. Again, my name is Josh Null, I am a fee-based financial advisor, I hold my FINRA Series 65 securities license, and I am the owner of Gulf Coast Financial Advisors, that’s a 100% locally owned, 100% independent investment management and financial planning firm with offices in Fairhope, Orange Beach, and Mobile! You can find more information on me and the team at Gulf Coast Financial Advisors by visiting our website gulfcoastfa.com, or feel free to give us a call at 251-327-2124. If you missed that contact info, get a pen and pad ready because we will repeat our contact info several times throughout the show!
Before we get to our main topic, we have a huge favor to ask of our listeners. For the 2nd year in a row, this show Coasting in Retirement is up for what’s called a “Nappie” Award, that is a series of awards across many diverse businesses, put on by our beloved local weekly Lagnaippe. We are one of 6 finalists in the “Best Radio Lifestyle Show or Segment” category, and we are trying to win, baby, win this year, so we need your help! Please visit votenappies.com, go to the “Media” section, then look for us under the Radio Lifestyle segment. I am proud of the fact that I think we are the only financial show nominated, not just in our category but best I can tell across all radio categories, and while we have been on the air for 2 ½ years, we are still the baby of the competition, so that tells me we must be something right. Whatever the reason you listen, we would really appreciate your vote, you can vote once per day, per email!
So Payton, do you pay much attention to generations? So I am a part of Generation X, and I believe you’re a little young to be considered part of the next generation after mine called “Millennials”, correct? Google search tells me that you are part of Gen Z. There’s obviously a significant gap in years but I think you know enough about my upbringing in Wappapello, MO to agree that there is a significant gap in how you and I grew up, from technology, to transportation, communication, central heat and air, clothing, do you wear shoes or not, etc. While I know for a fact that listeners of all ages listen to our show, I think it’s safe to say that the majority of our listeners are probably in my generation, Gen X, and the proceeding generation, the Baby Boomers. So with that as a foundation, I wanted to take the opportunity of having someone so young on this show, of such a different generation than me and most of our listeners, and get your opinion on some of the various topics that we discuss often on the show. I’m calling this episode, “The Future of Everything”.
I’m going to list the topic then get your feedback, and what I am looking for is your own personal opinion, then maybe what you think the overall opinion would be of your peers. Ready?
First, we have been openly critical of cryptocurrency on this show, at least around certain parts of the “industry”, namely memecoins and NFTs. This industry is dominated by young, opinionated men, and I believe they prey on what is called “FOMO”, or fear of missing out by investors. I also coined a term called FOLO, or fear of looking old, for investments like these because people my age or older sometimes question ourselves around new tech and our adaptability. What say you?
We are most malleable generation when it comes to the internet. We were raised by it and I think therefore more trusting of it.
Ok, next: when I say the word “annuity”, what comes to mind?
Another hot topic is AI. I don’t want to discuss AI’s impact across everything, I want to get your opinion on AI’s impact on higher education and service-related jobs such as a financial advisor.
Tech in education and work. So you’re a declared Finance major. I was an Economics major. Back in my day, we had to do everything on paper. I learned how to type on typewriter – have you ever seen one of those? – and didn’t have regular access to what is now called the internet until I went to college in 1993. We even had to get permission to use a calculator in most of our classes. What’s tech use like now in your classes? How to do you see this impacting your generation in the workplace moving forward, i.e., will any of you actually know how to prove your work?
Michelle is deeply skeptical of the validity of social security in the future. I am much more optimistic b/c social security has done more to reduce poverty in our elder population than anything in the history of mankind. What do you think about social security?
Is your generation more or less susceptible to influencers found on social media compared to my generation or older?
Every generation since the turn of the 1900’s has expected to have more opportunities and live a healthier and more affluent lifestyle than the previous. Does your generation share this view?
Listeners, if you’ve liked what you’ve heard so far and want to start the conversation about your own personal investing and retirement goals and dreams, we encourage you to reach out to us. You can call us at 251-327-2124, or find us on our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a meeting on my calendar. We have several meeting choices for your convenience – it can be as simple as a 15-minute introductory phone call, all the way to an in-person meeting at any of our 3 office locations. You can find GCFA offices in downtown Fairhope, or Orange Beach just down the road from the Wharf, or in Mobile off Dauphin St and I-65. Reach out to us - we would love to meet you!
Alright folks, coming up next - There’s always a lot going on in the world! Particularly the world of finance, investments and money. Every week we scour the internet for financial articles related to our topic of the day, especially articles that pertain to those in or near retirement. Join us after the break to hear Payton and I discuss this week’s relevant headlines in our “Headlines of the Week” segment. Stay tuned!
Segment 2 - News of the Week:
“Welcome back to Coasting in Retirement, your host Josh Null here! As we discussed before the break, every week we scour the internet for financial articles related to our topic of the day, especially articles that pertain to those of you in or near retirement. Our job, or at least we tell ourselves it is, is to help you all understand how these headlines impact you, especially when it comes to your money! Note – if you want to read our referenced articles yourself, we also include the links in our show transcript, which you can find on our website gulfcoastfa.com under the podcast tab. Now without further adieu, here’s Payton with the Headlines of the Week!
1. Alright Dad let’s keep with our Future of Everything theme and start with an article from well-known financial blogger Michael Kitces (KIT – ces’s) site, the Nerd’s Eye View. The article is titled “The Future of Financial Advice: How Tech and Approaches in 2030 Will Differ From Today”. So for those listeners not familiar with Kitces’s blog site, it’s what’s called industry facing, so it does get a little jargony, but you’ve referenced their articles before because it gives savvy investors a great peak behind the curtain to the financial services industry. Back to the article, the authors claim that financial advice is now in it’s 3.0 era, where financial advisors have to be able to use multiple tech tools to provide value far above and beyond the traditional comprehensive financial plan. How does tech play a role in financial planning at Gulf Coast Financial Advisors, and do you agree with this article’s projections about how things will change over the next 5 years?
https://www.kitces.com/blog/future-of-financial-advice-technology-trends-value-service-engagement-attia/
2. Next up, a recent article from Forbes titled “The Future of AI in Financial Services”. This article took a mostly optimistic view about something that we discussed in the our first segment, of how AI will affect our business, financial planning and investment management, but if you read between the lines, it does appear that AI is already taking a prominent role in customer service for the financial services branches of several large banks, which I would think means it’s replacing some humans in these jobs. The article also discusses how AI is already successfully accumulating and sorting data, and helping create hyper-personalized experiences for the bank’s customers. I would guess that for most people it feels that AI just came on the scene very recently, yet all these changes are happening quickly. What do you make of it?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidparker/2024/10/03/the-future-of-ai-in-financial-services/
3. So I figured since I am in college, and probably a lot of our listeners have kids either in college about to attend, we should talk about the pros and cons of getting a college degree. I decided to pick 2 articles that argue different sides of the college degree debate. The first article is from CNBC and is titled “Should you still push kids to get a degree? Yes, experts say: There’s not a better substitute for college”. On the other side of the coin is an article from Inc Magazine simply titled “Don’t Send Your Kids to College”. The Inc articles is relevant to our AI discussion because it argues that most service related jobs will be lost to AI and that kids these days should learn how to build stuff. Before I get your opinion, let me give you mine (Payton – your opinion here).
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/07/is-college-still-worth-it-how-to-discuss-the-question-with-your-kids.html
https://www.inc.com/howard-tullman/dont-send-your-kids-to-college/90988581
4. So for our last headline, I wanted to circle back to our opening discussion about cryptocurrency. For those of you that are interested in crypto, we encourage you to do your research before putting your dollars at risk. One of Dad’s friend’s Scott Tindle has an information show on FM Talk 106.5 called “Beyond the Blockchain” that, while critical at times, is generally supportive of the crypto industry. For stories about what can go wrong with investing in crypto, there’s a site called web3isgoinggreat that is pretty eye opening. The site was created by a software engineer named Molly White, and didn’t necessarily see her career heading in this direction but has chronicled the billions of dollars lost to crypto scams over the past several years. The site itself is intentionally designed to look like something out of the 80’s, but the stories are never ending and sadly, document a new crypto scam almost every day. So Dad what’s your final word on folks interested in investing in crypto, even with all of this bad news out there?
Talk about fundamentals, greater fool theory of investing, how both things can be true – both life changing tech AND a complete waste of investor’s time, or worse, the single greatest ponzi scheme in the history of mankind.
https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/
https://spectrum.ieee.org/web3
Listeners, I hope you learned something from our discussion around these recent financial headlines, all of this matters to your money! Speaking of money, if you would like to start the conversation with us about your investments and retirement planning, you can call us at 251-327-2124, or find us through our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a meeting on my calendar. We have several meeting choices for your convenience – it can be as simple as a 15-minute introductory phone call, all the way to an in-person meeting at any of our 3 office locations. You can find GCFA offices in downtown Fairhope, or Orange Beach off Canal Road, or in Mobile off Dauphin St and I-65. Reach out to us - we would love to meet you!
Alright folks, coming up next: Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth. What have been some of my predictions? Have I been right? Was I ever wrong? How wrong? What do I think is going to affect investors in the near future, or maybe the distant future? We talk about all of these things and poke a little fun at my big mouth. Stay tuned!
Segment 3 – Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth:
Welcome back! Your host Josh Null here, alongside co-host Payton Null. So, I am opinionated, I have strong opinions at times, I would say a radio show host that isn’t probably wouldn’t be very interesting to listen to. And I am paid in my profession to offer professional guidance and opinions to my clients, otherwise what use am I? Just replace me with AI. I like making predictions, and while I usually proved right, there are times I swing and I miss. Want to hear me eat a little crow? Then let’s get at with Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth.
Dad, you’ve stated years ago that private equity’s involvement in retail and restaurants would be devastating for those businesses, which typically involve long term expansion plans, with low margins and a constant need for capital, whereas private equity typically looks to quickly boost margins and sell their stake a profit in a relatively short time period. Some examples of private equity’s involvement leading to a business failing include Toys R Us, Joann Fabric, Payless Shoes, J Crew, Sears, or recently, Red Lobster. I would guess that most of our listeners are NOT familiar with the role that private equity plays in the financial services space, particularly with what is referred to as an “aggregator or roll-up RIA”. There seems to be a common theme with the failures of private equity’s involvement in retail and restaurants, and that is the amount of debt used by the private equity companies to finance the purchase of the business, which often leads to unsustainable debt servicing. Do you think private equity’s involvement in the financial services business will eventually lead to a similar result?
Well, listeners, I hope you enjoyed a little peek into how we form our opinions and make predictions. We invite you one last time, if you would like to have a no-pressure, no-obligation conversation about your investing goals and retirement dreams, you can call us at 251-327-2124, or find us through our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a meeting on my calendar. We have several meeting choices for your convenience – it can be as simple as a 15-minute introductory phone call, all the way to an in-person meeting at any of our 3 office locations. You can find GCFA offices in downtown Fairhope, or Orange Beach off Canal Road, or in Mobile off Dauphin St and I-65. Reach out to us - we would love to meet you!
That’s our show for this week! I want to give a huge thank you to my lovely co-host, Michelle Lee Melton, thank you to our show sponsor, Providence Partners and Jay Stubbs, thank you to our two awesome radio stations, FM Talk 106.5 out of Mobile and WHEP 92.5 FM & 1310 AM out of Foley, many thanks to the provider of our show music, local band Sloth Racer, huge thank to the show producer, my son Payton Null, and as always my sincere appreciation for all of your out there that have been listening and joining us on this journey. We would love to be a part of your journey as well! Remember – votenappies.com! Until we talk again, have a wonderful and productive week. This has been Coasting in Retirement with Josh Null!
GCFA Disclosure:
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