Villains in the movies are usually pretty easy to identify, thanks to their all-black outfits, masks, or the evil flying monkeys that work for them. But villains in the financial world aren’t always so easy to identify.

On this episode of The Retirement Huddle podcast, Mark Howard explains where you might see some famous film villains pop up in your financial life.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

In the movie, he mastered the use of the “Force” but used it for evil instead of good and was defeated by Luke Skywalker who used the Force for good.

Where do we see Darth Vader in the financial realm? In other words, forces that can be good or bad, depending on how you’re using them:

Rising interest rates: Good if you like keeping money in the bank, bad if you own bond funds

“Right now there’s a lot of savers, conservative savers that would love to see interest rates go up,” said Mark. “Interest rates, when they’re high, they’re good if you like keeping your money in the bank.”

Volatile stock market: Good if you’re putting money into the market regularly and have time to do dollar cost averaging and ride out the bumps and inevitable downturns. Bad if you’re taking money out of that volatile place.

Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz)

In the movie, the witch was obsessed with getting her hands on the ruby slippers and was willing to go to any lengths, including killing Dorothy, to get them.

Where do we see the Wicked Witch in the financial world? Wall Street has gotten people fixated on certain issues, such as maximizing returns.

“The fact is there’s no one single goal that should ever supersede a strong overall plan that meets all of the needs and all of the goals,” said Mark.

Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)

In the movie, he was essentially built in a lab using cutting-edge technology and techniques, but he was cold and uncaring.

Where do we see Drago in the financial world?

“There’s some huge financial planning companies where clients are just a number,” said Mark. “There’s no question about it.”

Another example would be robo advisors that rely on algorithms but don’t take human emotions and nuances into account.

Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.

Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.

Today’s Rundown:

[1:24] – Darth Vader

[3:10] – Wicked Witch of the West

[4:43] – Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)

[7:13] – How to prepare for meeting with financial coach