Investment Planning

Do you have a plan?

It is old saying: If you do not know where you want to go every route will take you.

If we're going to talk about personal investing, we need to get a little personal. Because it all starts with you. Your goals. Your habits. Your financial personality.

Once you’ve taken an honest look at your situation and your preferences, you can begin to answer other questions which will help you craft an approach to investing that’s right for you.

This is where your advisor comes in. At Advantage Group of Finance Inc. we offer "a qualified approach to wealth creation", this means that we will:

• Listen to you and understand your needs.
• After a thorough understanding of your Investment Goals, we will develop a personalized strategy taking into account your age, time horizon, risk comfort level, and investment suitability.
• We will then present our strategy to you, and together we will construct and implement your investment portfolio.
• Once implemented, your investment portfolio will be monitored regularly and adjustments (if needed) will be communicated to you and authorized by you to ensure that you are on track and on schedule to meet your goals.

What will you risk?

It's an investing rule of thumb: the greater return you seek, the greater your exposure to risk. Most of us know that a junk bond is more volatile than a savings bond. And we understand the difference between aggressive and conservative funds.

But in investing, risk comes in many shapes and sizes. Here are a few less obvious risks that some investors overlook.

• The risk of not investing
• The risk of playing it too safe
• The risk of extremes
• The risk of solid investments

The Risk of Not Investing

Believe it or not, the biggest risk to your financial security is to do nothing. It's the same with your body; while exercise has the potential to hurt you, sitting still just isn't a healthy alternative.

The Risk of Playing it too Safe

Another odd one. But it's possible that investors who refuse to assume some level of risk can lose in the long run. If, for example, you saved money diligently all your working years but insisted on investing in term deposits, your savings may not have grown enough to surpass inflation and meet your needs.

The Risk of Extremes

Investors who refuse to diversify are taking a gamble, regardless of what basket they're putting their eggs in. It's a careful balance, however, because too much diversification can also be risky. When investors chase varying products from year to year, their investment portfolios become a crazy quilt of holdings with no particular pattern. The risk here is usually underperformance, though most anything is possible.

The Risk of Solid Investment

Solid investments are good, but if they're not liquid, you might end up in hot water. If you put your all money in conservative investments such as term deposits and you suddenly need or want your cash back, you may trade your gains for prepayment penalties.