Submitted by nsscadmin on
During financial literacy month we’re shining the spotlight on choosing a financial adviser with a short two-part blog series. The first part will look at reasons why someone may need an adviser to help them manage their investments and financial goals.
So, why might you need an investment adviser? Working with an adviser will allow you to go through a step-by-step process to determine your financial and investment goals and make a plan to get there. This can include:
- Analyzing your financial position and setting investment goals
- Designing an investment plan tailored to your financial position
- Designing a portfolio that fits your financial position and goals
- Choosing suitable investments that match your financial position and goals
- Tracking your progress to ensure you’re on the right path
- Helping you adjust as necessary to stay on track
Investors that work with an adviser to follow this path typically do so for a combination of three reasons. They are:
- Lack of knowledge:
How much do you really know about investing? Do you know the differences between various types of investments? What investments are more beneficial for meeting your short-term and long-term goals? Do you understand the relationship between risk and returns? There’s plenty of information out there for someone who wants to tackle investing on their own, but learning on the fly with your money at risk is not always the best option.
- Lack of time:
Managing your investment portfolio isn’t a one-off thing. Truly managing a diverse portfolio of investments takes time. Your investments need to be monitored on an on-going basis and reviewed during major life changes, such as getting married, having children, or changing jobs, as well as when there are changes in the market.
- Lack of interest:
Everyone should be interested in how their money is working for them. However, taking an interest in your retirement or other savings and being fully involved in the process are two very different things.
Now that you know why you might need an adviser, next week in the second part of our short two-part series will look at some of the questions you should ask when looking for an adviser and expectations you should and should not have when working with an adviser.