Fortune Paradigm Is Now Griggs Capital Strategies
Ryan Griggs’ non-traditional financial practice is now Griggs Capital Strategies — the result of over a year of research and investigation into financial strategy in general and Austrian Capital Theory in particular.
I became an Authorized Infinite Banking Concept Practitioner, certified through the Nelson Nash Institute, in October 2017. I took Nelson’s admonishment to heart: “it’s all about how you think.” Consequently, I envisioned my own (non-traditional) financial practice to be about shifting paradigms along the lines of Thomas Khun’s path-breaking The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
What would I call my practice? I settled on Fortune Paradigm because I believed that that’s what a life led according to the Infinite Banking Concept is at a conceptual level. It’s a paradigm of fortune — of prosperity, of peace, of success. I still believe that.
But let’s be real. That’s a little “meta.” You might even say over-the-top. I get it, it isn’t the first time I’ve been accused of being too cerebral. I don’t mind it at all, because I do understand. But I also believe there is space to raise the bar. Maybe we need to get more sophisticated in our thinking — especially when it comes to articulating the proper approach to financial strategy.
That wasn’t what lead me to “rebrand.” In fact, I think of this less as a marketing change (if you know me, you know I don’t even think in those terms); instead, it’s more about the consequences of developments in my own thinking about the IBC and about what I do for people who want to get in on the IBC action.
On Wednesday, February 6, I gave a talk from the main stage of the Nelson Nash Institute’s annual Think Tank Symposium. The title was Why Nelson is an Heir to Menger — Reviving Austrian Capital Theory. I give an extended synopsis of what I said here (it was recorded, and I’ll post it when it’s available). Basically, since I first became a Practitioner back in 2017, I continued my study of Austrian Capital Theory. In particular, I discovered the work of Professor Braun in Germany who points out that the founder of the Austrian School of Economics — Carl Menger — would most likely reject what currently passes for capital in modern Austrian Capital Theory. That, in combination with other developments (like reentering a PhD program, this time in Austrian Economics), lead me to some unique conclusions.
First, the subject of capital is extremely neglected by the financial advisory community. The definition itself is unclear. It’s no wonder it’s never discussed, much less rigorously targetted as an objective for financial strategy by the conventional financial planners. Second, there’s a lot of fuzziness in the IBC Practitioner community around just what the IBC is. As I explored in my NNI talk, I think the reason for that is we lack a generalized financial and economic theory. Without a theoretical superstructure, it’s hard, if not impossible, to articulate what the IBC is relative to other stuff in the financial and economic universe. Of course, we haven’t developed a generalized financial theory, because we can’t even settle on what capital is. Third, if we fix the definition of capital, or more accurately if we just acknowledge what it is specifically, then maybe we can draw some important conclusions for the subject of financial strategy.
In fleshing out these considerations, it hit me like a bolt of lightning that the IBC is simply the best way to build and deploy capital. Sure, there are a host of other benefits — no question — but this is the source. And the reason is dividend-paying whole life insurance is the only financial asset, the value of which can be collateralized and borrowed against from a lender who also guarantees the value of said collateral. This virtually eliminates the risk of non-repayment to the lender. Consequently, the burdensome costs (monetary and non-monetary) associated with dependency on conventional lending disappears. The result is unparalleled financial peace, greater control over greater financial value, and optimized positioning for seizing entrepreneurial and investment opportunity.
For instance, imagine if your mortgage lender guaranteed the value of your home. Imagine how that would change the mortgage borrowing process (you have to use your imagination because this obviously doesn’t [and couldn’t] exist). But that’s what happens in the tragically neglected, virtually unknown financial transaction called the “policy loan.”
In other words, if capital is its own distinct thing (i.e. different than investment), which it is; and if capital should be targetted as an objective of financial strategy, which it should; and if the right question to ask is “how do I optimally build and deploy capital,” which it is; then the IBC really matters. But what the Practitioner does for the client isn’t just to build a specifically designed policy through which the client can implement the IBC. That is what I do, but that’s not the essence of it.
I offer the tools necessary — the education and the correct financial asset — for optimal financial strategy. Yes, this is about changing how we think about finance — shifting paradigms. But it’s also about optimal capital accumulation and use. The fortune paradigm is legitimate, but my business isn’t exactly about it, it’s about giving you the tools you need to live it. It’s about capital strategy.
And so, Griggs Capital Strategies was born.
I am still working out some kinks on the website, though much of the infrastructure is in place, and I’m sufficiently satisfied to go live (“perfection is the enemy of the good”). Check it out, subscribe to my monthly newsletter (launching March 1) The Capitalist where you can receive free Lara-Murphy Report articles and original content from me, try out the Contact forms at the bottom (the one on the left will be most relevant), buy a book or DVD, and check out some of the blogs. Much more content is to come.
By the way, www.fortuneparadigm.com still works. It just redirects to GCS. My old email ryan@fortuneparadigm.com still works too. It just forwards to ryan@griggscapitalstrategies.com. Some of you have found info on the IBC on this blog and have been contacting me to ask questions (thank you) either through email or my web contact forms. You’re still welcome to do that, and they will still reach me.
Happy Saturday!
