MONEY MATTERS - STIFEL

You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your

financial advisor

You’ve probably heard the saying “you can’t choose your family,” but you may not have heard that I recently chose Stifel. Life provides us with the opportunity to make many decisions, and although you can’t choose your family, you do have the opportunity to choose who provides you with investment guidance.

Selecting your investments to provide the best opportunity possible to address your needs and expectations should be based on your objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance. It doesn’t have to be complex, but your strategy should require a few key components: Discipline, Philosophy, and Research.

The first component of your strategy is to clearly define your investing discipline. This provides the rules and standards that will be applied to your investment choices. These guidelines outline the basis of developing a proper philosophy, classifying appropriate investments and allocations, detailing research sources and how they will be applied, and specifying targets in the buying and selling of your selections. Your objectives and risk tolerance will be supported by these guidelines.

An investment philosophy outlines your strategy and expectations. An “investment strategy” employs technical and fundamental processes that require at least a three-to-five-year time horizon, risk aversion, an unbiased and unemotional approach, and a hold strategy in a diversified portfolio. A “trading strategy” may involve higher risk and volatility, a short time horizon, and a non-diversified portfolio consisting of only a few stocks. Your philosophy defines your strategy, explains why you own an investment, and defines what to expect.

The third component of your strategy is research. This is an ongoing process that happens before and after you make your investment selections. It involves an in-depth and complete understanding of your investment choices and can influence your buying and selling decisions. Research provides the knowledge to clearly understand the values and reasons your investments are appropriate for you. Choosing your investments and creating a proper strategy takes time, resources, and experience. Individuals who manage their investments themselves often find they don’t have the time or resources needed to develop, maintain, and continually review their portfolio, although they may have experience. It’s also human nature, especially during times of market volatility, for individuals to let emotions influence their investment decisions. Uncertainty in the markets due to economic volatility and national or global political concerns often clouds investors’ judgement, causing many investors to pull out of the market entirely.

Although no one can predict the future and, even with employing sound practices of diversification and asset allocation, investing does not assure a profit or protect against loss, many investors choose to seek help from a professional financial advisor to determine which investments will best suit their financial goals and needs.

At Stifel, I provide a choice for investors with professional wealth management. Backed by Stifel’s nationally recognized research and a full suite of resources from an investment firm of 130 years, we can create an investment strategy based on your objectives and needs with the discipline and philosophy tailored to you.

You can’t choose your family, but like me, you can choose Stifel for all of your investment needs.

Stifel does not provide legal or tax advice. You should consult with your legal and tax advisors regarding your particular situation. Article provided by:

Robert H. (Bob) Langdale Associate Vice President/Investments

(229) 259-2114 langdaler@stifel.com

3555 North Crossing Circle | Valdosta, Georgia 31602 Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | Member SIPC & NYSE | www.stifel.com