Financial Health

Investing in the Time of COVID-19

It has been a wild ride since the start of the pandemic, and it’s not over yet. We have had some of the most drastic market volatility ever, and the uncertainty is still incredibly high. It is extremely important during these times that the level of risk in your portfolio is aligned with both your tolerance for the risk and need for return. Seek fiduciary advice to help you determine if the level of risk in your current portfolio is needed to achieve the level of return to meet your future goals. Speaking to a fiduciary can help alleviate the fear of the unknown. They can show you what would happen if your portfolio dropped significantly in the next 3 months and how this might affect your financial future. Knowing that you are in the proper portfolio for your personal risk tolerance and future needs can alleviate some of your stress during these uncertain times.

If You Have Concerns About Your Portfolio’s Investments Whether you have been with your broker for your entire life or you have taught yourself to build a simple diversified portfolio out of index funds, it is understandable that you may be concerned about your investments. For those who are investing themselves, it might be impossible to keep track of all of the volatility and know what your next move should be. Many people sold out and never bought back in, some people bought bargains at the bottom but are starting to fear for their recent investments, and others are holding on to investments with significant losses, still waiting for a turn around.

However, now is not the time to invest with firms who are not required to have your best interest at heart and sell you products that have high commissions or expenses. A fee-only, fiduciary advisor can help you evaluate your current portfolio and recommend a more diversified, less costly approach based on your needs. Diversification will help maximize return while lowering risk over time, helping you weather future volatility. Efficient investments with low costs and without hidden fees will keep more money in your pocket long term. An advisor can objectively analyze your specific investments and determine which you might want to keep, and which should be sold and used to diversify. Knowing that you have an efficient, welldiversified portfolio will help quell concerns regarding your specific investments.

If You Are Overwhelmed By Keeping Up With Your Investments You might have enjoyed managing your own money before, but at this point it would be understandable if you are finding it difficult to maintain your portfolio. Many people have different accounts with different strategies at many locations; it can be a lot to juggle. Maintaining an organized portfolio in particularly volatile times requires discipline, expertise, and often expensive software just to keep track of everything. Trying to do it yourself or spreading out investments between multiple institutions means you might miss out on valuable tax-saving opportunities that having a single strategy with a consistent vision allows.

Fiduciary advisors can help you build location optimization into your portfolio, quickly exercise tax loss harvesting opportunities, and regularly rebalance your portfolio, which can help you buy low and sell high during volatile times. Delegating to a fiduciary advisor allows you not only to remove your emotions from the equation, so you don’t make any costly mistakes, but ensures every opportunity is being captured.

If You Are Sitting On Cash But Are Nervous About Investing It At This Moment Regardless of how you found yourself in the position of sitting on cash, you might be anxious about your next move. With the markets edging towards all-time highs and COVID burning through the U.S. faster than ever, there is a renewed fear of another significant decline. Once again, the best thing you can do is work with a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor to formulate an investment plan tailored to your comfort level.

Hiring a fiduciary can help with the reservations you are feeling about your current investment situation. They can help you align your portfolio with your risk tolerance, choose investments that are diversified and efficient, manage your assets cohesively, and help you invest any new assets strategically.