All too often Seeking Alpha

I occasionally visit Seeking Alpha, which is more or less a social media platform for the investment community. A broad range of people chime in their, for the most part focusing on the investment prospects of this, that or the other security or asset class, and the probability that it will do well in the future. It is a wonderful source of information, lots of super-smart people contribute.

For the most part, from the perspective of doing my job for my clients, it is a time suck. Even worse, it is an illusion, as it fosters the impression that Alpha -- the ability to outperform the market -- is something we can reasonably aspire to do on a consistent basis. More often I can help my clients do other things. Right now:

• One client wants an exit strategy for a business
• Another needs to work with a relative to figure out how to buy the latter out of his share in a vacation home
• Another, an entrepreneur, has had a couple of awesome years and is absolutely getting crushed by Obamacare and also tuition to a private university -- despite the crazy variability of his income. For this client I need to look into PEOs (professional employment organizations) to figure out a way for his/her healthcare burden to be shared across a large pool. 
• One is out of work and needs help finding a next situation
• One needs clients for a management consulting practice
• Two want strategies for downshifting to work less over the next decade
• 70% need to save more
• Several need estate planning 
• 3 need life insurance
• And so on

These are all higher value-add things for me to be doing with my time. Sort of.

But the markets are so interesting, so compelling, so dynamic...  And paying attention to them is necessary. And there are so many lessons to be learned, so much wisdom to be gleaned.

It is not unlike the difference between running and ball sports. It would be more rational in some sense to just run and to cross-fit kinda stuff. But tennis, soccer, and even basketball engage the soul.

And it is also true that, it is not reasonable for most of us -- even those of us who spend a lot of time immersed in the markets -- to beat them, it is reasonable for us to continually ask which of them we should be in.

Right now, however, it is time to go swimming before the lake gets too hot.