Making Safer Investment Decisions in 2009

It’s hard to say what 2009 will look like. While there are still several concerns (the housing market, rising unemployment, etc.), there will also be considerable government intervention to help improve the economy this year, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

So what should you do in 2009 to make your portfolio and overall financial picture better? Here are some general ideas to employ as markets and economies hopefully stabilize in the New Year:

Start with a plan (or review an old one): If you’ve worked with a financial planner in the past, now is a good time to review your plan to make sure you are still on track to meet your goals. If you haven’t worked with a financial planner before, or if you haven’t prepared a financial plan before, it might be time to meet with a Certified Financial Planner™ to create a plan. Much of the riskiest investing, overbuying and panic selling during the late 1990s and early 2000s could have been avoided if individual investors had sought advice for achieving long-term specific goals such as retirement or a college education.

Continue Reading Making Safer Investment Decisions in 2009

Should You Move to “Safer” Investments?

After watching their 401K balances shrink up to 40% in 2008, many people are wondering if they should change their allocation to include more “safe” investments, or if they should move completely to “safe” investments then move back into the market later.

Here’s what Walter Updegrave with Money Magazine has to say about this:

But as understandable as the urge may be to transfer all your money into the investments that seem safest – stable value funds, capital preservation funds, money market funds and the like – that would be a mistake.

Continue Reading Should You Move to “Safer” Investments?