Success can be a curse - for some.

Success sometimes makes people cocky and over-confident. Many get there and remain hermetically sealed, detached from reality.

There is a curious side effect of Success we financial advisors often see. Success in one field is attributed to their intelligence & smartness, which is assumed to carry over to every endeavour they ever undertake.

This results in serious mishaps in their life -

A hotshot corporate manager thinks that he is where he is because he is super smart. He walkswith a swagger, has an expert opinion on everything (even far removed from their domainspecialisation), has an exaggerated sense of his abilities...

The same happens to those out of certain purported marquee institutions and certain degrees/qualifications, which have a sheen atleast in their mind! This is true of many businesspersons whohave tasted any degree of success.

This happens a lot with those in Financial Services; since they are from the sector, they think theyare seasoned campaigners when it comes to anything to do with finances!

Such people are loath to take advice, as they already know!

When these people come to a financial advisor (if ever), they come with a chip on their shoulder and may want to test them out first and if satisfied get a validation of their ideas and thought process

The advisor's counsel is not what they want -

we have had many of them giving us advice before they move on! Had they stayed on our practice would be 10X of what it is today!

But these people are exactly the target for product sellers, who play them like a fiddle. People who have an exaggerated sense of self and their capabilities are more prone to fall prey to the machinations of product sellers who will play up their sense of importance and grandeur.

They ego-massage such people and pitch products that are "exclusive" and meant for thediscerning few! -

These Salespeople arrange for an "exclusive meeting" with their founder/Product manager, who do not otherwise hobnob with the aam-janata! This thrills them no end and gives them further bragging rights for meeting the who-is-who and name dropping!

That sets the stage for selling products which are high on costs ( and hence juicy commissions toproduct sellers ), very high on risk, supposedly high on returns, may be illiquid, with high commitment and long holding tenure.

Many such products have very low credit quality underlying assets, unlisted equity, low-liquidityassets, seed capital & venture funding, complex real estate plays, exotic investments etc.

See this -

https://x.com/Panks_Arora/status/1936700192243544121?t=WtbHrj5qgWrhw64kEk0UrQ&s=35

They clearly dissuade their quarry from ETFs/ MFs which they point out are for the proletariat!

Our experience as Financial Advisors shows that the post-tax, post-charge, risk adjusted returnsfrom these products are many times lower than basic indices like Nifty 50/ Nifty 500.

Ironically, the most successful individuals are often the most vulnerable to poor financial decisions - due to over-confidence and hubris.

Surrounded by fawning admirers who treat them like superheroes in underwear-over-tights andcapes, they begin to believe in their own legend and their larger-than-life persona.

That is a dangerous haze - and beyond it, they lose sight of reality... and money.

This, unfortunately, is the hidden curse of success - one we see successful people trip over,time and again.