5 Smartest Moves That Investors Can Make

Investing allows you to grow your money. When the economy is growing, you may see good returns on your investments. This growth inspires confidence that your money is invested well and you may seek out even more investment opportunities.

Investing can also result in losses. When the economy is shrinking, you may see your investment values diminish and wonder if you made sound choices. Here are the top five smartest moves you can make as an investor to help ensure your investment strategy is strong:

1. Educate Yourself

The first step to a healthy investment portfolio is education. There are many books and articles on investing that can help you to understand how best to handle your investments. You may also want to consider working with a financial planner who can help guide you through the process of creating a strong investment portfolio.

Seek referrals for a financial planner from trusted sources like colleagues, friends, and family members. You can also consult organizations such as the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors or the Financial Planning Association for reputable financial planners in your region.

2. Diversify

When investing, it is smart to diversify--areas of gain can help offset areas of loss. Balance your portfolio with a mix of investments that may include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, businesses, precious metals, and even other interests like art or wine.

A financial planner or stockbroker can help you determine the right diversification strategy for you. As you get older and your financial situation changes, your strategy may change as well. You may likely be more aggressive or take greater risks with your investments when you are younger. As you age and retire from working, you may need greater access to cash, so your strategy could be less risky and include more liquid assets, or ones that can be converted to cash quickly.

3. Plan for Retirement

Smart investors know they need to plan for retirement. When you stop working, you will need to rely on your savings and investments to pay for your living expenses. In order to ensure a high quality of life during retirement, you will need to start saving at a young age. Seek out opportunities to grow your wealth, including building an investment portfolio, as soon as you start earning money.

One of the simplest ways of saving for retirement is investing in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k). Once you sign up for your company’s 401(k) plan, you can allocate a portion of your pre-tax salary to go into the plan’s investment options, such as a mutual fund. Many companies will even match the funds you invest in your 401(k) up to a certain percentage.

4. Practice Regular Maintenance of Investments

Your financial goals can change over time, and the economy can also experience growth or decline. Investors should review and adjust their portfolios according to changes in goals and fluctuations in the economy. It is recommended that investors review and make any subsequent changes to their investment strategy each year or upon a major life change.

5. Think Long-Term

Since the economy can fluctuate over time, it is wise to think long-term about your investments. You may see your stocks and bonds lose value in a down market, but when the market bounces back, your stocks and bonds will most likely bounce back too. If you sell your investments every time the market goes down, you are constantly attaining a loss.

Too much activity, such as constantly buying and selling, or not enough activity, such as letting your money sit untouched in accounts that are no longer performing, can lead to more loss than gain over time. Take the time to regularly evaluate your investments and give them time to perform.