Investment Planning
Investing Is About You
No matter what your age, you can expect to live much longer than the generations before you. For example, the typical 65-year-old couple today has a 30-year joint life expectancy, meaning there is a high probability that at least one of them will live to age 95.
Consequently, if you’re living longer, your money needs to last as long as you do! Therefore, a key goal of any retirement plan should be to avoid outliving your money. People aren’t just living longer, they are healthier and more active than previous generations. Many retirees participate in recreational activities, get involved in volunteering, or even enjoy a second or third career.
Most retirees will need to make regular withdrawals from their portfolios to sustain their lifestyle. That is why it is critical that your investment strategy will be able to sustain regular withdrawals throughout your retirement.
How you choose to invest your money for the long term could have major implications for your overall success.
A Portfolio for the Long Term
When you are investing for up to a 30-year time horizon with a goal of not outliving your money, your investment strategy and how you implement it can be very important. Whatever happens in the economy and in markets over that time - including recessions, recoveries, bear or bull markets – your portfolio has to be able to provide you with income.
So, how do you put the odds in your favor?
Decades of academic research in finance show how you may be able to increase your probability for long-term success:
- Find the right portfolio allocation between stocks and bonds
- Diversify among international and U.S. stocks to help manage the volatility of your returns over time
- Potentially increase your returns by investing in riskier companies, including small and value companies
The Value of Having the Right Investment Plan
When it comes down to it, we think there are two numbers that matter above all else: 1 and 30. You may only have 1 chance to put together an investment plan that will last you 30 or more years in retirement.
You need an approach that you can believe in and understand., one based on research, analysis, and evidence – not luck or prognostication.
