We know it now, we may have felt it… so what did we do about it? If you had asked me about the market in the beginning of the year I would have said, “If your not out — get out!” If you had an investment that you couldn’t get out of, had an advisor that didn’t really manage your investments or a penalty that made it too painful… then you’re just part of the ‘road kill’. All markets move, every now and then, and in a way that makes sense to make some changes to your portfolio! A ‘trading out’ fee is no big deal and sometimes free, so what’s that cost compared to the cost of ‘staying in’? If you love your funds, great, you can always buy them back! Let’s get real for a just minute! Money is like air you can’t see it or taste it and you can’t live without it. If the air you breathe started to smell bad you’d probably find better air! So, why don’t we do that with our investments?
After managing other people’s money for over 30 years I’ve gotten pretty good at it! As history recalls, pulling out of a declining equities market in 2000 and moving to bonds made pretty good sense. We moved our clients back into equities in 2003 and pulled down record returns for the year! Some clients claimed they had over 40 percent in gains that year. They were impressed and so was I. No one has a crystal ball or can tell the future! But, letting my clients know they will have to pay some Capital Gains Tax in 2009 beats the heck out of trying to explain why they lost so much money.
I treat every client as if they were family, leveraging and guarding their nest eggs just as if they were my own. If you’re interested in asking a few questions, having your investment portfolio reviewed or getting serious about your future, call me, or contact a competent ‘fee based’ financial advisory. Why ‘fee based’ and not ‘commission’ based? I don’t know. I just don’t like tipping the waiter until I’ve been served. Until my next article, make it a great month!
For more information call Tim Shaner, MBA,ChFC,CLU,CFP, president of Capital Consultants a Wealth Management Group at 661- 259-1644. Visit our website www.capitalconsultants.org or email me at tjshaner@capitalconsultants.org .