“What Are You Doing with Your Investments?”

By Rising Monk @ Adobe Stock

“What are you doing with your investments?” asks everyone. They ask it of their relatives. They ask it of their friends.

If you’re a regular at Your Survival Guy, you know what I’m doing. You know how much I write to you about risk tolerance: it’s usually lower than investors think. It’s like a food allergy, often discovered after the fact.

“Your phone must be ringing off the hook,” says everyone to their broker or advisor. “What should ‘we’ do,” they ask. Since when did this become a “we” story? You know my favorite three letters are y-o-u. Because it’s you who did without. It was you who saved ‘til it hurt. And it was you who listened to me about investing with risk in mind. My phone has been quiet other than me picking it up to make regular calls to clients.

“Stocks always come back,” says everyone. Do they? Maybe. Maybe not. And not necessarily on your schedule. My time is spent thinking about wealthy retirees and those soon to be retired. Those with enough money to retire comfortably. I’m not looking for the “next” big thing without considering risk first and understanding time is a rare commodity later in life.

When you invest with a counterbalanced approach, you automatically focus on the margin of safety. You understand risk. And once you dial that in, you can sit back and remember these wise words from the late Jack Bogle: “Don’t just do something, stand there.” Those are words not always followed by everyone and the concept is certainly hard for most to do.

Action Line: When you want to talk about your investments, let’s talk. But only if you’re serious. Email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.