Recently on an episode[1] of the “Orange Pill Addicts” podcast, I was talking to a financial advisor and asked the question, “What did the role of a financial planner look like pre-1971?” Using the history of markets, legislation and financial advising, here I examine how over the last 100 years, governments caused monetary disorder while also creating a market for financial planners. I also suggest what the role of a financial planner will look like in a sound money environment.
To understand the history of financial advising, we must start with a brief history of markets as we know them. There were some early markets that popped up in Europe starting with Antwerp in the 1400s[2]. The port of Antwerp found itself between the Germans, who traded furs and rye, and the Italians who brought gems from the Far East. Innkeepers in the city would provide shelter, while also helping travelers exchange goods with one another. Over time, they began to create exchange rates and by the 16th century, they were trading more in promissory notes rather than exchanging goods. Then, in Amsterdam in 1602, The Dutch East Trading Company became the first publicly traded company[3] by offering an IPO to “all residents of these lands” inviting all Dutchmen the ability to invest.
In 1792, stockbrokers met on Wall Street to create the Buttonwood Agreement for the selling of stocks and bonds, which would eventually become the New York Stock Exchange[4]. Charles Dow created the Dow Jones Industrial Average[5] in 1896. Then in 1923, Henry Barnum Poor released the pre-version of the S&P[6] (it became Standard & Poor’s post-merger with Standard Statistics in 1941), followed by MFS Massachusetts Investors Trust[7]
