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Updated February 7, 2016.

It will be interesting to see how Manning does in today’s Super Bowl 50 and whether he retires if Denver wins.

I attended the Envestnet Advisor Summit at the Chicago Hilton in 2014. Excellent conference, Envestnet offers a robust platform for financial advisors. A colleague urged me to attend and I’m glad I did.

The highlight of the conference was Peyton Manning’s keynote address on Friday morning. Regular readers here know that I am diehard fan of the Green Bay Packers, but I think all football fans have to respect Manning’s skill and his character. His address was about leadership and being a game changer. I felt that several of his remarks and comments have a direct correlation to being a successful investor.

Thrive on discomfort

Manning made this reference in terms of it being a key trait of game changers. I think this is a key trait of successful investors as well.

The investing landscape has certainly undergone change and disruption since the beginning of this century. We’ve experienced the bursting of the Dot Com Bubble, the financial crisis of 2008-09, the Flash Crash and many other disruptions.

Successful investors adapt to change and embrace it to their advantage. In some cases this means knowing when to change their investing style, in others it means knowing when to stay the course. It also means knowing how and when to use new investing tools like ETFs and others.

Ask questions

Manning mentioned this as a key trait of leaders in business and something that he does constantly in an effort to guide his team to even greater levels of success.

Investors should always ask questions. Some key questions include:

Would I buy this particular investment today?

Is there a better place for my money?

What are your conflicts of interest in terms of advising me to make this investment?

How does this investment fit into my overall portfolio?

It’s over move on after a bad play

Manning cited the uncanny ability of 49ers great Joe Montana to lead his team to a touchdown on the series immediately following his having thrown an interception.

This is a key trait for successful investors to adopt. I can’t tell you how many investors I’ve spoken to who want to hold a losing position until it breaks even. The ability to accept an investment loss is critical. Sometimes it is better to realize a loss and reinvest the proceeds elsewhere. Even the best investors make bad investing bets. The successful ones are capable of admitting this and moving on.

Invest in a coach to keep you growing

Manning hired the current Duke Head Football Coach as his offseason coach to help him improve his quarterback skills. This individual was his offensive coordinator in college at Tennessee. This is Peyton Manning, 5 time MVP and Super Bowl champion hiring a coach to help him improve his game!

Many investors do a great job of accumulating wealth and managing their investments. At some point even the most successful ones realize that they might need some outside expertise to take things to the next level.

Perhaps this realization comes as their career and family obligations limit the time they can spend on their investments. Often this realization comes as retirement approaches.

Hiring a financial advisor is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign that you realize the limits of your expertise and the best uses of your time. If you are at this point here is a guide to choosing a financial advisor that might help you.

Peyton Manning spoke about leadership and did a great job of tying in his experiences as a leader in sports to what financial advisors need to do to lead clients to the successful outcomes they are seeking. As I listened to him speak I couldn’t help but see the relevance of his message to what I believe it takes to be a successful investor in today’s dynamic investing world.

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