Is Your 2024 Investment Strategy Still Aligned With Your Goals?

Today’s virtual world moves quickly, so staying ahead of market trends is crucial. So far, in 2024, we’ve experienced persistent inflation and continued interest rate fluctuations. And, the biggest uncertainty is a presidential election that will reshape the entire tax landscape in 2025. 

Based on recent market volatility, you may ask yourself if your investment strategy is still aligned with your goals, especially if you will retire in the next few years.

As retirement planning specialists in New Haven, we help successful individuals and couples create actionable, regularly updated retirement plans. You need a financial advocate like Heritage Capital in your corner to produce a sophisticated plan that considers all the variables (controllable and uncontrollable).

In today’s blog, we’ll examine why it may be time to reevaluate your investment strategy.

Why Consider Active over Passive Investment Management?

Active investment management involves a hands-on approach. Financial planners in New Haven can make investment recommendations based on in-depth research and your unique risk tolerance and goals.

During periods of increased volatility, such as those we’re experiencing now, the benefits of active management become even more clear:

• Active investment managers seek to quickly adjust portfolios to respond to sudden market changes. This flexibility can potentially help shield investments from significant future downturns.

• Unlike passive investment strategies, which use a set-it-and-forget-it strategy in the form of cookie-cutter solutions, active management provides personalized strategies that align with your risk tolerance, timelines, and retirement goals.

• During volatile market phases, active managers always seek ways to adjust portfolios to enhance future portfolio returns.

Heritage Capital Insights: When you invest your hard-earned money with a professional, it is important to know if they invest their money the same way. We think so. That’s why we invest our assets the same way we manage our clients’ assets.

Watch a short video on the most common questions we receive from prospective clients. 

Don’t Let Market Volatility Derail Your Retirement Dreams!

At Heritage Capital, we believe active management is the best way to manage our clients’ assets in unpredictable markets.

This is how active investment management works during periods of market volatility:

1. Stay Flexible and Adaptable: Markets go up and down, so one investment strategy will not always work. In fact, the strategy used in falling markets can be very different from the strategy used in rising markets. Active investment management allows you to make timely adjustments based on current conditions and future outlooks. By regularly reviewing and tweaking your portfolio, you can take advantage of buying opportunities that will impact your future results. This flexibility is key to staying on track, even when markets are rocky. 
2. Diversify Your Investments: Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea, especially regarding retirement savings. Active investment management involves allocating your investments across several asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash equivalents), economic sectors, and geographies (domestic and foreign). A well-thought-out diversification strategy helps reduce risk and provide more consistent returns. The key is to put your eggs in several baskets to reduce the risk of large losses (due to concentrations). 
3. Focus on Quality and Fundamentals: In times of significant market volatility, investing in high-quality assets with strong fundamentals is crucial. Active managers constantly analyze potential investment opportunities that will be your source of future performance. Staying focused on high-quality investments can help protect your retirement savings from significant losses and keep the pursuit of your long-term goals within reach.

Heritage Insights: Located in the heart of New Haven, CT, we serve clients across the United States. We specialize in retirement planning and optimizing Social Security benefits, focusing on pursuing your financial goals.

Watch our founder, Paul Schatz, discuss inflation vs. high prices. 

Warning Signs Your Investment Strategy May Need Updates

There are several red flags that you should be aware of:

• If your investments consistently underperform common investment benchmarks, it may be time to consider a different strategy. While short-term dips are normal, a prolonged period of underperformance is a major red flag.

• Rolling CDs is no longer a viable, long-term retirement strategy that may last 30 years or more. Most of the return that is produced by CDs is eroded by inflation. If your current investment strategy no longer aligns with your current objectives, it’s a clear signal you need a new strategy.

• Feeling constantly worried or stressed about your investments may indicate your assets are exposed to excessive risk. You should feel confident that your current investment strategy is consistent with your risk tolerance.

Heritage Capital Insights: Too many current and future retirees are losing sleep over the performance of their portfolios, but it shouldn’t be that way. While no advisor can predict the future, there are ways to manage potential risks and avoid major losses.

Most advisors are too focused on growth to justify the fees they charge their clients. However, protecting your assets from excessive amounts of risk is equally important. 

At Heritage Capital, we use defensive strategies to protect your assets during periods of excessive volatility. Your assets must produce income for decades, so don’t settle for less.

How Heritage Capital Can Help

You’ve worked hard to build your net worth, so you don’t want your money to be part of a financial advisor’s learning curve. Unfortunately, on Wall Street, there are few requirements for someone to use the title “Financial Advisor” or “Wealth Manager.” They might be an experienced professional or someone who just passed an easy exam and has never managed money for others.

Heritage Tip: It takes years of experience to provide the advice and services that help investors accumulate, preserve, and distribute their assets. 

At Heritage Capital, you’ll only deal with professionals with decades of meaningful experience. Our Chief Investment Officer, Paul Schatz, is a recognized expert who frequently appears on Fox Business, CNBC, and other business television programs. 

We also don’t believe the person managing your life’s savings should be paid with commissions. This means the self-purported investment professional is a salesperson. This is why Heritage Capital is a fee-only firm. Plus, we are held to the highest ethical standards in the financial service industry.

We also act as your financial fiduciary advisor, which means we are always required to prioritize your financial interests.Ready to learn more about our defensive retirement planning strategies? Connect with us.