Accumulation planning addresses your investment needs, asset allocation, and which types of securities best serve your goals and risk tolerance.
Some needs and desires are common, pretty much across the board. An easy example is maintaining an emergency fund, so you don’t have to dip into savings intended for other goals. Another is holding insurance to protect your ability to earn and accumulate wealth. We’re here to help you learn about your options and figure out which are right for you.
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is used to distribute your investable assets among a variety of investment categories. The benefits of this process include:
- Reducing overall investment risk
- Creating more reliable investment forecasts
- Improving the risk/return tradeoff of your portfolio
You probably understand that as risk increases, the return potential also increases. But there is a point for every investor where the level of risk is not worth the potential return. The goal of asset allocation is to provide you with the risk/return scenario that is most comfortable for you.
Securities
Accumulation planning also involves choosing securities for your investment portfolio. Basic securities are stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. We’ll also explore options like separately managed accounts, option strategies, short-term assets, and annuities to optimize your portfolio.
Alternative investments may also be an option for the right investor. One of the premier features of alternative investments is diversification, resulting from the inclusion of investments that tend to react differently to the markets than more traditional investments. Managed futures, hedge funds, oil and gas, tax shelters, and real estate are all examples of alternative investments. These products generally involve substantial risk and limited liquidity.
Some situations require different expertise than typical stock and bond portfolio implementation. These usually pertain to employer-related retirement plans and stock options, margin strategies, and real estate exchanges.