Investing

What is the most important thing to do when it comes to investing? START! Often when you are looking at making an investment, it can seem like a daunting task so taking that first leap is the most essential. Once you have taken that crucial first step, it does not have to be a confusing road to making smart investment decisions. It can be as simple as looking at your life (and investments) in five year increments.

The concept of five year buckets is so simple but it is a great way to look at your investments and deciding when to put your money in the market. The principle is this: if you are going to need the money within the next five years, it should not be attached to any investment. This is important because you cannot risk losing the money in the short term because you simply will not have enough time to recover it before you need it. That can put you at the risk of incurring debt when you could have paid for the expense in cash.

If you are looking into the future and decide you will not need the money within the next five years, you should definitely tie it to some sort of investment vehicle, that suits your risk tolerance, or else you will face the next obstacle of inflation. Make sure your money is working for you to at least outpace inflation.

Investing is as simple as deciding to start and then figuring out when you will need the money. If you need it in the short term, now is not the best time to put it in the market. But if you can put the money away for longer than five years, investing is the way to go. There is always a risk associated with investing and the short term can be particularly volatile but, if you make wise decisions, starting to invest will be a decision you will not regret.  

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The stock market has been experiencing crazy swings since the start of 2016. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 10% since the start of the year.

This can cause a lot of alarm for investors. Particularly those who are very close to retirement or who have already retired.

What should a person do in this situation? Sell it all? Buy a bunch of gold and silver? Do nothing at all?

I determine my approach by asking several questions:

1. When do I really need the money I’ve invested?  This is a great question each investor should ask. Since I have no need for my invested money at this time (it’s for my children’s college and retirement), I’m able to wait out a downturn.
2. Do I have the ability to “time” the market?  Not really. I can anticipate some changes, but I have no control of global macro economics. With the market being flooded by oil and other commodities, various hostilities between strong nations, credit markets being squeezed, and natural economic cycles, there are definitely pressures on commercial growth.  But I can’t time the market. I suspect you are also challenged to do so.

Then I remind myself of various statements of wisdom that have informed my investing during my life. Here are a few:

• “October: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain
• “Emotional people buy high and sell low. Smart investors buy low and sell high.” – Unknown
• “You never truly lose until you sell.” – Unknown

So what have I done during this challenging time? The same thing I did in 2008 – continue the course. I continued to invest in stocks (they were on sale!) and other assets (like businesses and real estate) to diversify my portfolio.

This approach has worked well for me for 20 years.

What is your approach?

Locating a Mutual Fund can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to look. In this post, I’m showing you the three-part approach I use.

Once I have determined the category of mutual funds that meets my criteria, it is time for me to review actual mutual funds. Here’s the three-part approach:

1. Mutual Fund Screens – I really like CNN’s Mutual Fund Screener and Morningstar’s Mutual Fund Screener.  For example, I used the CNN screener to select Small Growth Diversified Funds that have delivered an average of 10% annual return OR LARGER for the past 10 years.  It delivered 36 mutual funds that met that criteria!  This really helps me narrow down the search!
2. Review Retirement Plan Mutual Funds – If your employer has a retirement plan such as a 401(k), 403(b), Simple IRA, or TSP then be sure to review the options available.  My employer has a Simple IRA with American Fund investment options.  Usually an employer helps absorb some of the fees or the fees are reduced by the plan administrator.  This can really help preserve financial gains!
3. Seek Professional Guidance – I meet with a financial advisor about once a year.  This professional advice helps me look at my investments with more clarity.

Once I have found funds to look at, I look at the following characteristics of each fund:

• Age of the Mutual Fund  I like mutual funds that are older than me!
• Investment Growth  I look at the 1, 5, 10, and Lifetime track records.
• $ Needed To Start  This is really important for beginning investors.
• The Fund’s Objective  This helps me understand the direction of the fund.

I use the CNN Money Snapshot feature to analyze funds. I also like to compare mutual funds to each other using the “Advanced Charts” feature on CNN money.

So that’s just a glimpse into how I choose mutual funds. Many times I end up with a dead end, and I go back to the starting point again to get more mutual funds to compare!