How Logic Wins Out Over Emotion for Frankie When Investing #InvestingTruths

As the founder of a public speaking and debate school, and a debate pro himself, Frankie¹ relies heavily on logic to help him make decisions and overcome fears – including when it comes to investing.

“Through and through, logic is a huge part of my DNA as a debater and math lover. For me, logic will always win," the 30-year-old entrepreneur and TV personality says. With investing, part of that logical process for Frankie has been educating himself and talking to people he trusts.

“I'm a huge risk taker. I love adventure. I love pushing myself, and ultimately with investing, it wasn't fear, it was just the lack of knowledge," he says about getting started. “I have a business degree, but I still didn't feel like financial literacy in this area was ever discussed in my courses."

When we last spoke to Frankie, he was just beginning to explore investing. We caught up with him recently to see where his journey has taken him so far, what he's learned along the way and what he thinks everyone should know about investing. Here's some of what he shared.

Frankie's new investing reality

“I'm no longer just having conversations about investing, I'm actually investing," Frankie says. After starting with a practice account to gain an understanding of how the RBC Direct Investing site works, Frankie says he and his partner “actually felt confident quite quickly to open a real account." Now, they work together to invest, and have learned they feel most comfortable managing a portion of their investments directly, while having additional investments managed for them.

“We use this account (at Direct Investing) more for some of our slightly more 'fun' and 'interesting' types of investments," he says, adding they've been exploring exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and “some stocks that speak to us" to see how they do. For example, Frankie loves to travel and is hopeful the industry will start to pick up again as the pandemic eases. He says they also look at how well an investment has done historically to help guide their decisions.

Talking the talk

Taking time to have conversations about investing and learning more about it overall also gave Frankie the confidence to dive in. “I'm getting much better, but I know I'm not an investing expert, which is why I love just chatting with people about all of this now."

First and foremost, Frankie says he has conversations with his partner, who largely takes on the task of initially researching investment ideas. Frankie says he also benefited from early information he received from an advisor, which has helped him when making decisions now. Plus, he finds the topic of investing comes up more often now with family and friends. “I think it's a bit of a 30-year-old thing," he jokes.

Why logic rules

When it comes to logic or emotion, Frankie says logic wins every time for him. “I'm a very logical person so when I can listen to logic and read and understand something, that can sway me far more than fear or anxiety," he says.

When he sees a big drop in markets, for example, taking a step back and looking at his portfolio with a big-picture lens has helped him keep things in perspective. “I can say to myself, OK, this specific investment went down 50 per cent, but it only represents a small percentage of my overall portfolio. That logic has been very helpful for me."

A secret worth sharing

Frankie says he almost feels like investing is a well-kept secret. “It's still mind-boggling that investing can be part of my future: my future savings, my future home, my future life. I mean, there's never a guarantee, but hopefully it's going to come to fruition."

Timeless lesson

Frankie's most significant takeaway about investing hasn't changed since the last time we spoke. “My biggest regret is not starting earlier." While he admits that even five years ago his financial situation wouldn't have allowed him to invest the same way he does today, “you want to start learning about investing as soon as you can. And even if it's a super small amount that you can invest, the multiplier effect, or compounding, is so, so powerful."

¹Frankie is an RBC Direct Investing client. He has been compensated for sharing his story.