How do you make decisions about your stocks? While doing your own research and coming up with your own ideas as to how to grow your money is admirable, you shouldn’t leave the fate of your portfolio to your knowledge alone. Ideally, you will have someone who is knowledgeable about the stock market and can help you when you have questions or aren’t sure what to do next.
Find Someone Who Has Experience
You want a financial adviser who has experience investing in both good markets and bad. As the market is cyclical, you can expect to encounter times of market growth as well as times of pullback in the value of your portfolio. Although it is natural for your investments to gain and lose value on a daily basis, it may be difficult for some to resist the urge to buy when stocks go up and sell when stocks go down each day. Therefore, having someone who can help you see the big picture can help you stay on track when it comes to your investment goals.
Use Someone Who Leaves the Final Decisions for You to Make
Regardless of how much knowledge and experience your financial adviser has, it is your money and your financial future that is on the line. If you are going to enlist the help of a financial adviser, make sure that you use someone who lets you make the final decision without judging you. In some cases, the person who you are seeking guidance from is giving you advice that helps the adviser make money or helps promote his or her agenda instead of yours.
Keep Fees to a Minimum
One of the benefits to making your own trades and other decisions related to your portfolio is that it saves you a lot of money. If you have a broker making your trades and managing your money for you, you could pay up to 2 percent of your portfolio’s value per year in fees. Over time, that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars that you won’t have available to you in retirement. For those who are seeking a financial adviser, it is important to make sure that price that they pay for that advice is reasonable. Fortunately, you can take a look at the prices that a particular broker or online trading site charges before you decide to use a particular broker or financial service.
Is Your Money Manager Ethical?
The person who is managing your money should have a strong sense of ethics. This helps to ensure that you don’t lose your money on bad investments or have your money invested in companies that may engage in immoral or illegal activity. Using money managers such as John Studzinski helps to ensure that your money is safe and is being invested wisely.
It is almost impossible to retire unless you have a strong portfolio. This means that you need to find someone who can help you grow your money without necessarily making your decisions for you. When you find someone who you feel comfortable with, you should retain this person’s services and never look back.
