The Role of Investments in a Financial Plan
There are, literally, tens of thousands of investment products in the financial marketplace, from individual stocks and bonds to mutual funds and plans with names like 401(k) and IRA.
But nearly all investments have as their goal the building of wealth for specific purposes, like:
- Funding retirement
- Funding an education
- Funding a major purchase like a home, or a significant life event like a daughter’s wedding
- Funding a career transition or new business venture
- Funding philanthropic gifts, like gifts to educational or charitable institutions, or passing wealth on to heirs
And that — meeting your needs for wealth accumulation and management — is the role of investments in a financial plan.
Now, investing doesn’t have to be complicated. And we think there are benefits to keeping it simple. So we’ve built our investment philosophy on some very basic, yet very effective, principles:
- If you don’t save, you can’t invest.
- Time and compounding can be powerful allies of any investor.
- Investing a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals, while providing no assurance of profit nor protection from loss, can help remove emotion from investing.
These principles aren’t novel. But time and again, this kind of disciplined investor behavior, combined with prudent investment selection, has proved effective in helping First Command client families pursue their financial goals.
A First Command Financial Advisor is ready to help you, too — by identifying your values, defining financial goals, making specific investment recommendations, and providing the ongoing advice and reassurance you need to move ever closer to your objectives. To learn more, contact a trusted First Command Financial Advisor today.