I Thought I Had An Investment Plan...Now What?
By Richard M. Sandy
With all the turmoil in the financial markets is it any wonder that people are struggling over making changes in 
their investment portfolios and philosophies. For those nearing retirement, these decisions will have a lasting impact on when and what quality those retirement years will provide.
So what to do? First, don't panic! In terms of down turns we've been here before and recovered.
Second, if you haven't really taken the time to co-ordinate your investment goals, short and long term, this is the time. Putting some dollars in your company's retirement plan, perhaps some more in an IRA and perhaps a bit more in a general investment account without much sense or priorities amongst those choices or the necessary benefit they really need to provide down the road is not an approach that encourages success.
Third, if there ever was a time for professional assistance this is it. Develop a real relationship with your financial adviser. For many that adviser is simply a name that appears somewhere on their quarterly statement and perhaps someone they may occasionally speak to on the phone. You really want to take advantage of the insight and background that a good financial adviser can provide. That means scheduling a meeting and coming prepared with all your financial information and laying out your goals and objectives. That's going to give your adviser the maximum amount of information he needs to assist you. If during that meeting you find that there just isn't a match between you and your adviser, he doesn't speak your language, or the chemistry just isn't right then its time for you to take hold of the process. Start looking for someone who is really interested in working with you. Not on a transaction basis but one who makes recommendations as part of an overall plan that you've developed together. The best place to start is family, friends and neighbors. You might also want to ask for referrals from your accountant or tax preparer, as well as your attorney.
Fourth, I would suggest rethinking some of the old “tried and true methods” of investing. Chief amongst them is the theory of buy and hold. The concept being that since we can't time the market's ups and downs, we need to stay invested in whatever asset allocation we've chosen and at the end of the day our portfolio should experience more of the up periods and less of the down. During bull markets, and we've just come out of one of the longest in our history, that approach worked pretty well. However, when we enter a deep and, many predict, a protracted bear market we all know what the results can be. Real returns were wiped out going back to 1997. The good news is that we have more than one choice. There are many different approaches that we can take. Next month, I'll review some of those choices.
Richard M. Sandy
Registered Representative
Genworth Financial Securities Corp
Ins Lisc # E078647
Investment Adviser Representative
Genworth Financial Advisers Corp
704 SW 3rd Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
352-867-5005
richard.sandy@genworthrr.com
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
Investment and insurance products distributed by Genworth Financial Securities Corp., member FINRA/SIPC and a licensed insurance agency (dba Genworth Financial Securities and Insurance Services in CA); investment advisory services are offered through Genworth Financial Advisers Corp., an SEC Registered Investment Adviser.
Home offices at 200 N. Martingale Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60173 Phone 888-528-2987
