The Investment Scientist

Recently, I had a Review and Discovery meeting with a physician in her late 50s. When I first saw her, she looked  burnt out and stressed. Who can blame her? She has been dealt a very bad hand in life.

• One of her children suffers from down syndrome and requires lifelong care.
• Her husband, also a physician, passed away several years ago, leaving behind a financial mess
• The financial professionals who were supposed to help her, led her to make disastrous investments. She lost her house and had to declare personal bankruptcy.
• Her father recently passed away, also leaving behind a financial mess.
• Her mother is so dependent on her now that she cannot continue her medical practice.

She told me she almost wanted to pull her hair out when thinking about her responsibility to her patients, her children, her mother and yet she can’t even sort out her own personal finances.

I did not mince words in telling her how dire her financial situation is. When I told her how much she needs to retire, she almost fell off her chair.

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