The “I’ve Seen This Before” Trap, LFG Daily - February 10, 2026

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The Most Expensive Asset on Your Balance Sheet Is Ego

If financial planning were just math, wealthy people wouldn’t make dumb mistakes.

But they do. All the time.

In fact, the higher someone’s income, intelligence, or success, the more dangerous their blind spots become. Not because they don’t know enough—but because they’re convinced they already do.

That invisible line item? The one never shown on a statement, never discussed in meetings, never stress-tested in a plan?

That’s ego.

And it’s often the most expensive asset you’ll ever own.

Ego Is an Asset… Until It Isn’t

Ego gets a bad rap, but let’s be fair—it’s useful.

Ego is what pushes people to start businesses, take calculated risks, bet on themselves, and keep going when others quit. Every entrepreneur, executive, and high performer needed a healthy dose of it to get where they are.

But ego has a shelf life.

At a certain point, the trait that helped you accumulate wealth becomes the same one that puts it at risk.

Why?

Because ego hates friction. It resists second opinions. It avoids uncomfortable conversations. And it mistakes past success for permanent immunity.

The “I’ve Seen This Before” Trap

One of the most common phrases heard from successful investors is:

“I’ve been through this before.”

Sometimes that’s wisdom. Other times, it’s arrogance dressed up as experience.

Markets change. Tax rules change. Life changes.

What worked when you were building wealth often fails when you’re protecting it.

Ego convinces people that:

• This cycle is different for them

• Concentration risk isn’t risk if you “know the business”

• Liquidity is overrated… until it isn’t

• Planning can wait because “I’ll deal with it later”

  
  

Later is expensive.

Where Ego Shows Up in Financial Planning

Ego doesn’t usually announce itself loudly. It shows up quietly, disguised as confidence.

It sounds like:

• “I don’t need insurance—I can self-insure.”

• “Why would I diversify? This is how I made my money.”

• “I’ll just sell when the time is right.”

• “I don’t need help with taxes—I’ve got a guy.”

  
  

Ego avoids coordination.It hates redundancy.It resists accountability.

And that’s how small inefficiencies turn into seven-figure mistakes.

The Cost of Being Right

One of the most dangerous goals in finance is being right.

Being right feels good.But being flexible is what keeps people wealthy.

The investors who survive decades aren’t the smartest in the room. They’re the ones willing to say:

• “I might be wrong.”

• “What am I missing?”

• “How does this break?”

  
  

Ego doesn’t ask those questions.

It assumes resilience without testing it.

Ego vs. Optionality

Real wealth isn’t about maximizing returns—it’s about maximizing options.

Options require:

• Liquidity

• Diversification

• Redundancy

• Planning for outcomes you don’t like

  
  

Ego narrows options.

It ties identity to outcomes. It creates emotional attachment to assets. It turns financial decisions into personal statements.

And once money becomes personal, objectivity disappears.

The Quiet Advantage of Humility

• Invite challenge

• Separate identity from net worth

• Treat planning as an ongoing process, not a one-time event

• Understand that markets don’t care who you are

  
  

Humility doesn’t mean playing small. It means playing long.

The Real Balance Sheet

Your real balance sheet doesn’t just include assets and liabilities.

It includes:

• Your ability to adapt

• Your willingness to be coached

• Your tolerance for being uncomfortable

• Your discipline when things are going well

  
  

Ego inflates confidence. Humility compounds wealth.

The most expensive asset on your balance sheet isn’t your business, your real estate, or your portfolio.

It’s the belief that you don’t need a plan because you’ve been successful without one.

And that belief is costly.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

Colin Symons, CIO Lloyd Financial Group

We had a second day of a rally, focused on tech. However, tech is the worst-performing sector of the year, as investors worry about valuation and spending plans. Are you better off with leading YTD sectors like Basic Materials and Energy or should you stick with the old stalwart of tech?

Of course, I don’t really know, and nor does anyone else. Broadly, though, I’d say why not both. We have decent economic growth that should be getting supported by fiscal and monetary policy, inflation is OK, and liquidity is good and likely to get better. That’s a great environment for cyclical stocks.

At the same time, tech stocks remain the place for strong growth. The AI capex boom is roughly equivalent to 2% of GDP, similar to the railway boom of the 1850s in scope. Yes, eventually the Return On Investment (ROI) of all this spending will become a question, but first we will see the spending boost numbers.

People attack these questions differently. Some people like to wait for a trend to start, then follow it. For instance, you could have bought energy (XLE) when it crossed the 200-day moving average (200DMA) and sell then it falls back below. You certainly won’t pick the bottom, but in a decent uptrend you’re likely to make money using this system, though who knows how long your holding period is.

For my part, I like to look at the conditions, see what tends to work, and find relatively pressured names that should improve. That’s higher risk, but higher reward. Thus, my latest buys have been more in the tech spectrum, as that’s what’s stressed but still likely to do well. Still, having a diversified portfolio of names is always a good idea.

To me, the bigger sin is to not participate. Yes, we could get news of an Iranian attack tonight and the market will go down tomorrow. That’s a risk but it’s also a risk that’s been going on for weeks. The market may not always go up but I don’t see much fundamental risk until we see more solid weakening. Even if we got that news, a dip like that is usually buyable.

We just had a carry-trade unwind. Bad things can still happen and there’s likely to be some amount of selling pressure out there. Nonetheless, forced selling tends to create relatively good prices. That’s something you probably want to take advantage of.

Broadly, the market seems to still be hunting for growth. If you’re hoping for big gains, that’s likely what you want to be searching for. Will it come from cyclicals due to running the economy hot or tech with the AI boom? That’s a million-dollar question but as we beat against 7,000 in SPX I still think eventually something will get us over that big round number.

NFIB Small Business Optimism was 99.3 vs. exp. 99.5, with real sales volume up but uncertainty also up. A decent report.

Hassett said a lower jobs number shouldn’t trigger panic, so now everyone’s convinced we’ll see a terrible NFP on Wednesday.

The dollar got hit hard yesterday, perhaps due to fears of China selling Treasuries helping put a bid in risk assets.

GOOG had a bond sale that was 7x oversubscribed. I think that also helped ORCL also get a bid, as apparently bond markets aren’t all that scared of AI debt, though I’m sure an upgrade also helped.

Credo Technology (CRDO) was up 16% after the AI infrastructure name raised revenue guidance.

Data center construction is to get tariff carve-outs, according to the Trump administration, so they don’t have to pay tariffs on things like TSM chips. This would be tied to investment commitments from Taiwan Semi.

Retail Sales and ADP Employment, today.

What does it all mean? The AI trade came back, yesterday. Can that continue?

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

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