My work as an Investment Advisor is primarily focused on helping people who are either close to retirement, or in retirement along with helping their families.
Our retirement planning process helps clients be confident that they have strategies in place that prepare for the four big risks of retirement:
- Longevity. Out-living their money.
- Inflation. This is a bigger risk than ever before. It is impossible to forecast how bad inflation can get far out in time, so there needs to be a built in safety cushion;
- A falling stock market early in retirement. Experiencing sequential negative returns for a few years in the early stages is a major risk to long term investing outcomes.
- Unsustainable withdrawal rates. This figure should be regularly reviewed and adjusted to ensure the portfolio's sustainability through life.
I work hard to ensure my clients are prepared for all four risks. This is accomplished with two goals always at the top of mind:
Risk management first. Improved returns second. Or put another way: Capital preservation first. Capital growth second.
Nearly all the portfolios that I review of people who are not yet clients are invested in just two asset categories – stocks and bonds. It is my belief that portfolios that can protect capital while generating positive returns must be diversified across more than just stocks and bonds, in order to properly mitigate risk, and improve returns.
