Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amir Monsefi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amir, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

At AIRE Advisors, our mission is to help individuals and families achieve financial well-being and peace of mind through holistic, fee-only wealth management. We are dedicated to removing conflicts of interest, providing comprehensive financial advice across all aspects of our clients’ lives, and fostering a culture of education to promote long-term investing success.

Story Behind the Mission:

The story behind our mission begins in November 2020, when we founded AIRE Advisors with a clear vision in mind. We were driven by three core principles that we believed were essential for building a truly client-centric wealth management advisory firm.

First, we recognized the inherent conflicts of interest that can arise from commission-based models. We firmly believed that to act in the best interests of our clients, we needed to eliminate these conflicts, so we made the conscious decision to establish AIRE Advisors as a fee-only firm. By doing so, we ensured that our clients’ financial goals would be at the forefront of our recommendations, free from any bias towards products or services that could compromise their interests.

Second, we were passionate about providing comprehensive guidance that extended far beyond traditional investment advice (i.e. stocks and bonds). We understood that true financial well-being encompasses various facets of our clients’ lives, including real estate, retirement accounts, liabilities, and more. To address this, we committed ourselves to advising on all aspects of our clients’ financial journeys. Our aim was to provide a holistic approach that integrated all components of their financial lives, enabling them to make informed decisions that aligned with their goals.

Third, we strongly believed that education was the key to fostering successful long-term investing habits. We recognized that financial literacy was not only empowering but also instrumental in enabling our clients to confidently navigate their financial futures. Therefore, alongside our advisory services, we set out to create valuable educational content. By sharing our expertise and insights, we sought to equip our clients with the knowledge and tools they needed to make informed financial decisions independently.

Our mission is meaningful to us because it aligns with our core values and reflects our genuine commitment to our clients’ peace of mind and financial well-being. We are driven by the satisfaction of witnessing their success and knowing that we have made a positive impact on their lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started in the business 30 years ago after cold calling all the major firms in the Los Angeles area and landing a job as a trainee at Shearson Lehman Brothers in downtown LA. At that time, most of us were called “stockbrokers” because the business was primarily about trying to choose winning stocks for clients. It did not take long for me to realize that picking stocks really wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, and that most analysts were really not particularly great at it.

While attending business school at The Anderson School at UCLA, I started to embrace the idea that public markets are quite efficient and have factored in virtually all information and predictions. The Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) basically states that picking stocks or timing markets are not helpful activities, as markets instantly price in all news and information. Over time, although I have consistently remained open to any data to the contrary, I have only become a bigger believer in EMH. Therefore, I believe that successful investing is more about managing risk, planning and creating a customized asset allocation model for each client, rather than about predicting or listening to the latest hot news stories.

After receiving my MBA in 2002, I immediately went into management, and since then have always had a dual role as a manager and a financial advisor. Throughout this time, I have made it a priority to coach and educate both clients and financial advisors on these ideas and on best practices in general.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Throughout my 30 years in the business, most of what is taught about investing – from text books to the media – is about how to pick stocks and time markets properly. Most financial advisors get this type indoctrination early on in the business, and they tend to get more and more immersed in it over time.

However, the overwhelming amount of statistics and data show that stock pickers and market timers mostly underperform markets by substantial amounts. For many financial advisors, this may be a difficult reality to stomach, as many believe that their role is to do just that.

Fortunately, for me, it was a lesson that I “unlearned” relatively early on in my practice. The resulting changes I made and processes I implemented have really helped both me and my clients achieve much greater peace of mind and viewpoint about markets.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The two most valuable books I have read on markets and investing are:

“A Random Walk Down Wall Street” by Burton Malkiel
“Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk” by Roger Gibson

These are two books that had a significant impact on how we manage money and think about investing.

As far as entrepreneurship and management, there has been no single educational moment for me that was more valuable than Professor Bill Cockrum’s Entrepreneurship course at business school in UCLA. Not only did I learn valuable lessons on running a company, but I also learned from him how to teach in a way that leads to substantially better retention.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aireadvisors.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aireadvisors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aireadvisors/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aireadvisors/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aireadvisors