t’s always great to start off
the new year with a good
head of steam and once you
get into a new year the following tips need to be part of your conversation with your advisor to get the financial steam engine off to a great start.
The most basic question typically surrounds investment strategy. Specifically, “Is my investment strategy still aligned with my financial goals?” Great question to ask someone like me, but let’s back up just a bit, because you need to answer other important questions first. Remember to look at the budget and then ask these following questions:
I
1)
For example, did you buy or sell a property? Change your retirement plans? Add a new addition to your home? Want a new addition to your home? (Yeah, you can admit it). Things inevitably change for all of us and that’s OK. Just make sure to give the update to your money partner so that your investment strategy takes all your goals into consideration.
2)
This is especially important if you have assets at different financial institutions. It can make rebalancing tricky and you don’t want to accidentally find yourself too concentrated in any one asset class or individual investment. Do you have more than 10% of your net worth in a single stock position? Are you holding too much cash? If so, how much should you keep in cash, and how much should you invest? Ideally, you and your financial advisor are taking an annual inventory (meeting) of all your investments across retirement and non-retirement accounts: your 401(k)s, IRAs, taxable accounts, real estate, and direct investments in alternatives.
Photo Credit Matt Jones