Blueprinting Your Financial Goals
We can each prepare a blueprint for our financial goals based on our unique investment policy. To help design your custom blueprint, ask your financial advisor these six critical questions:
1. Is my retirement savings plan still on track to achieve my goals?
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- If your plan was derailed by the recent market downturn, you might need to rethink your time horizon.
2. What can I do now to shore up my financial plan?
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- Your advisor should be able to quickly lay out for you anything you should be considering or doing right now.
3. What is my current risk tolerance?
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- Your advisor can tell you what has been done to mitigate risks during an event like the one we’re experiencing now with the Coronavirus.
4. What trades or moves have you made over the past 30-60-90 days within my portfolio?
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- If your advisor has made any moves or trades within the past 90 days, they should be able to tell you what they did and, more importantly, why.
5. How have you positioned me differently, if at all, to take advantage of current market conditions?
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- Again, your advisor should be able to easily tell you what they’ve done within your portfolio to optimize it for the rebound.
6. What is your investment approach during this period of extreme volatility?
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- Your advisor will have their own investment “philosophy” which they should be able to share and help you understand how it might impact your portfolio.
Planning Your Finances
I love talking with people about their finances and their dreams. That’s why I’m sharing these questions with you and giving you some other things to think about.
For instance, to
protect your gains or to take losses, talk with your financial advisor about any tax moves you might want to take right now. Also, if you are a good candidate for a Roth IRA conversion, you should convert while assets are down. That way, as they recover, the growth will be in a tax-free Roth.
Think About Your Current Investment Mix
Diversification is critical to a healthy portfolio, not only with equity exposure, but also through usage of bonds in an overall portfolio structure. You’ll want to make sure the diversity of your portfolio is still in line with your goals and tolerance level.
Your advisor should also be able to tell you if you should be doing anything differently to
take advantage of current market conditions. And they’ll let you know if you should consider rebalancing or adjusting your investment strategy.
Is Your Portfolio Still on Plan?
It’s time to make some moves (or at least double-check to make sure your portfolio is still on-plan), so you will be ready to benefit from the anticipated market rebound later this year and in 2021.
If you don’t have an advisor who is actively engaged in your portfolio strategy, I’d love to help you make the best investment moves as new opportunities arrive.
For now, we’re all in this together. Let’s take care of each other and do our part to keep our world safe.
Michael Bradley, CEO & President of Bradley Wealth
Michael Bradley’s greatest passion in life is to help others experience true wealth and live their life by their own design. With his friendly, proactive, and caring approach, Michael pledges to provide the finest wealth management service experience anyone has ever had. And if you aren’t a client, no problem; Michael pledges to be a warm and caring friend who reminds you to experience the utter joy in life, and to turn that joy into memories, which make up our true wealth. ]]>
