A journalist recently asked me this question in an interview. To be honest, I might as well have been asked what the causes were of the Civil War. From the perspective of a trained financial planner and the Chief Investment Officer of a private wealth management firm, the question is, well….difficult. The writer was writing for the Wall Street Journal, and he was looking for some sound investment advice for folks who have been buy and hold, strategic investors for their entire investing life. Now they are faced with the rapidly changing paradigm in the investment community that buying and holding is actually a high risk strategy in expensive markets. As you may have guessed, I flunked the test. My answer wandered all over the place, and I didn’t make it into the article. However, I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then, so let me try again.
Mr. or Mrs. 60-Year Old, don’t spend too much. Americans are used to a certain lifestyle which is apparent in the size of our homes, the amount of traveling we do, our taste in home electronics, our…everything. Spend the money to work with a legitimate financial planner (a Certified Financial Planner, CFP®) and find out what lifestyle you can afford and learn to live within your means. Next, actively manage your portfolio. You can’t afford to buy and hold if the financial markets are going to deliver less than average returns for the next five to ten years. No one can accurately predict the future, but smart people are worried about the amount of debt in the world, and you had better plan for a low return world early in your retirement. Low returns won’t last for the rest of your life, but the portfolio returns you earn early in retirement are disproportionately important to you, so be prepared. Active management can add two or three percent (or more) per year to your returns over time if executed successfully, which could be critical to your success.
If you’ve invested your own money for years and that’s why you’re reading the Wall Street Journal (or fill in the blank financial periodical), you have to invest the time and treasure to become a different kind of investment expert. You can’t be a successful active manager of your money by reading the morning paper and watching CNBC when you come home from work. If you can’t see yourself doing the work, then hire someone to do it for you. Find a professional wealth manager that specializes in building globally diversified, actively managed portfolios. You may have always been a “do it yourselfer” when it comes to investing, but beware. The market is not likely to provide a tailwind to your investment mistakes going forward. You have to know what you are doing in the tough market environment ahead. Good luck.
