Which is True About Investments and Risk

Financial Navigating in the Electric current Economy: Ten Things to Consider Earlier You Make Investing Decisions

Invest Wisely: An Introduction to Common Funds.
This publication explains the basics of mutual fund investing, how common funds work, what factors to consider before investing, and how to avoid mutual pitfalls.
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Fiscal Navigating in the Current Economy: Ten Things to Consider Before You Make Investing Decisions

Given contempo market events, you may be wondering whether y’all should make changes to your investment portfolio.  The SEC’s Function of Investor Educational activity and Advocacy is concerned that some investors, including bargain hunters and mattress stuffers, are making rapid investment decisions without because their long-term financial goals.  While nosotros can’t tell you how to manage your investment portfolio during a volatile marketplace, we are issuing this Investor Alert to give you the tools to make an informed conclusion.  Before you make any decision, consider these areas of importance:

1.         Draw a personal financial roadmap.

Before you make any investing decision, sit down and take an honest look at your entire fiscal situation — peculiarly if you’ve never made a financial program before.

The commencement step to successful investing is figuring out your goals and run a risk tolerance – either on your own or with the help of a financial professional.  There is no guarantee that you’ll make money from your investments. But if you get the facts well-nigh saving and investing and follow through with an intelligent plan, you should be able to gain fiscal security over the years and bask the benefits of managing your coin.

two.         Evaluate your comfort zone in taking on gamble.

All investments involve some caste of risk. If you intend to buy securities – such equally stocks, bonds, or mutual funds – it’southward important that you lot understand before you invest that you could lose some or all of your money.  Unlike deposits at FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions, the money you invest in securities typically is not federally insured.  You could lose your principal, which is the amount yous’ve invested.  That’s truthful fifty-fifty if you buy your investments through a bank.

The reward for taking on risk is the potential for a greater investment return. If you lot accept a financial goal with a long time horizon, you are likely to brand more money past carefully investing in asset categories with greater risk, similar stocks or bonds, rather than restricting your investments to avails with less chance, like cash equivalents. On the other hand, investing solely in cash investments may be advisable for short-term fiscal goals.  The principal business concern for individuals investing in cash equivalents is inflation gamble, which is the risk that aggrandizement will outpace and erode returns over fourth dimension.

Federally Insured Deposits at Banks and Credit Unions —

If you’re non sure if your deposits are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.Due south. authorities, it’s easy to detect out.  For bank accounts, go to www.myfdicinsurance.gov.  For credit union accounts, get to http://webapps.ncua.gov/Ins/.

3.         Consider an appropriate mix of investments.

By including nugget categories with investment returns that motility up and down under unlike marketplace conditions within a portfolio, an investor tin can aid
protect against significant losses.  Historically, the returns of the 3 major asset categories – stocks, bonds, and cash – have not moved upwards and down at the same fourth dimension.  Market place weather that cause ane asset category to do well often cause another asset category to have average or poor returns.  Past investing in more than than one asset category, y’all’ll reduce the risk that you’ll lose money and your portfolio’s overall investment returns volition take a smoother ride.  If i asset category’s investment return falls, y’all’ll be in a position to counteract your losses in that nugget category with better investment returns in some other asset category.

In addition, asset resource allotment is important because it has major affect on whether yous will meet your financial goal.  If you don’t include enough risk in your portfolio, your investments may not earn a large enough render to run into your goal.  For example, if you are saving for a long-term goal, such every bit retirement or college, nearly fiscal experts agree that yous will likely need to include at to the lowest degree some stock or stock common funds in your portfolio.

Lifecycle Funds —


To accommodate investors who prefer to use one investment to salve for a particular investment goal, such as retirement, some mutual fund companies have begun offer a product known as a “lifecycle fund.” A lifecycle fund is a diversified mutual fund that automatically shifts towards a more than bourgeois mix of investments every bit it approaches a detail year in the time to come, known as its “target date.” A lifecycle fund investor picks a fund with the right target date based on his or her item investment goal. The managers of the fund and so make all decisions about asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing. It’south easy to identify a lifecycle fund because its name will probable refer to its target date. For example, you might meet lifecycle funds with names like “Portfolio 2015,” “Retirement Fund 2030,” or “Target 2045.”

4.         Be careful if investing heavily in shares of employer’s stock or any private stock.

One of the well-nigh of import means to lessen the risks of investing is to diversify your investments. It’s common sense: don’t put all your eggs in ane basket.  By picking the right group of investments inside an asset category, you may exist able to limit your losses and reduce the fluctuations of investment returns without sacrificing also much potential gain.

Y’all’ll be exposed to pregnant investment risk if you invest heavily in shares of your employer’southward stock or whatever individual stock.  If that stock does poorly or the company goes bankrupt, you’ll probably lose a lot of money (and peradventure your job).

v.         Create and maintain an emergency fund.

Most smart investors put enough coin in a savings product to encompass an emergency, similar sudden unemployment.  Some make sure they take upward to half dozen months of their income in savings then that they know it will absolutely be there for them when they need it.

6.         Pay off loftier interest credit card debt.

There is no investment strategy anywhere that pays off as well as, or with less risk than, merely paying off all loftier interest debt y’all may have. If y’all owe money on high interest credit cards, the wisest thing you can do nether any market conditions is to pay off the residue in total as quickly as possible.

7.         Consider dollar price averaging.

Through the investment strategy known as “dollar cost averaging,” you tin protect yourself from the risk of investing all of your money at the incorrect fourth dimension by following a consistent design of calculation new money to your investment over a long period of time.  Past making regular investments with the aforementioned corporeality of money each time, you will purchase more of an investment when its price is low and less of the investment when its price is high.  Individuals that typically make a lump-sum contribution to an individual retirement account either at the end of the calendar yr or in early on April may want to consider “dollar cost averaging” equally an investment strategy, especially in a volatile market.

8.


      Accept advantage of “free coin” from employer.

In many employer-sponsored retirement plans, the employer volition match some or all of your contributions.  If your employer offers a retirement programme and you do not contribute plenty to get your employer’s maximum lucifer, you lot are passing upwardly “complimentary money” for your retirement savings.

Continue Your Coin Working —

In virtually cases, a workplace plan is the nearly constructive fashion to save for retirement.  Consider your options advisedly earlier borrowing from your retirement plan.  In particular, avert using a 401(k) debit card, except as a last resort.  Money you borrow at present will reduce the savings vailable to grow over the years and ultimately what you lot have when you retire.  Also, if you lot don’t repay the loan, you may pay federal income taxes and penalties.

ix.         Consider rebalancing portfolio occasionally.

Rebalancing is bringing your portfolio back to your original asset allocation mix.  Past rebalancing, you’ll ensure that your portfolio does not overemphasize one or more than nugget categories, and yous’ll return your portfolio to a comfy level of adventure.

Stick with Your Plan: Purchase Depression, Sell High


— Shifting coin away from an asset category when information technology is doing well in favor an asset category that is doing poorly may non be like shooting fish in a barrel, but information technology can exist a wise motility.  By cutting back on the current “winners” and adding more of the current and so-called “losers,” rebalancing forces you lot to buy depression and sell high.

You tin can rebalance your portfolio based either on the calendar or on your investments.  Many financial experts recommend that investors rebalance their portfolios on a regular fourth dimension interval, such every bit every 6 or twelve months.  The reward of this method is that the calendar is a reminder of when you should consider rebalancing.  Others recommend rebalancing but when the relative weight of an nugget class increases or decreases more than a certain percentage that y’all’ve identified in advance.  The advantage of this method is that your investments tell you when to rebalance.  In either example, rebalancing tends to work best when washed on a relatively exceptional basis.

x.       Avoid circumstances that can atomic number 82 to fraud.

Scam artists read the headlines, also.  Often, they’ll use a highly publicized news particular to lure potential investors and make their “opportunity” sound more legitimate.  The SEC recommends that you lot ask questions and cheque out the answers with an unbiased source before you invest.  E’er take your fourth dimension and talk to trusted friends and family members before investing.

* * *

For more detailed information almost topics discussed in this Investor Alert, please check out the following materials:

• Ask Questions

• Beginners’ Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing

• Get the Facts on Saving and Investing

• Invest Wisely: An Introduction to Common Funds

• 401(g) Debit Cards: What You Might Not Know

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/tenthingstoconsider.htm