Whatever your financial or lifestyle goals, our smart investment tips can help transform your finances and reach your goals sooner.
Create a plan
There is a well-known quote that says, “If you aim for nothing, you will hit it every time.”
The same can be said for your investments; if you don’t have a plan, and you don’t implement and stick to it, you are unlikely to achieve your goal.
While creating a financial plan might seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. Your Hennelly Finance expert advisor can walk you through the process so you have complete clarity about how you will achieve your investment and savings goals.
The best place to start is to clearly identify your goals. Are they short term or long term? Keep the outcome you want in mind and work backwards to create a strong financial plan that shows you how to build a strong and diversified investment portfolio that will help you achieve your goals.
Save more of your income
There are no specific rules for how much you should save, but the general rule of thumb is to consider your income, your age, when you want to retire and how much income you want during retirement.
If you plan to retire early, the percentage income you should save will differ to someone who is planning to retire later. That is also true for someone who wants to enjoy a higher standard of living in retirement.
While costs are on the rise, you might think it difficult to save more of your income.
In the first instance, it can pay to review those little lifestyle costs that can add up quickly, such as subscriptions, take-away meals and gadgets.
You should also review the benefits your employer offers and whether you can take advantage of them to direct more of your income towards your savings.
Diversify your portfolio
Diversification is one of the most important factors of any investment portfolio because it spreads out your risk across a number of different investments.
A diverse portfolio sees money invested across multiple different stocks, bonds, cash and depending on your preference, alternative assets.
Diversification helps to manage investment risk by providing a degree of stability amidst volatile markets, giving you peace-of-mind that in the long-term your investments will help you reach your financial goals.
Know how comfortable you are with risk
Understanding your level of comfort with risk is an important factor with investing because all investment strategies come with risk.
Even government bonds can be at risk of failing to keep up with inflation and erode the value of your investment.
However, there are plenty of strategies that can limit your risk exposure, such as the diversification of your investment portfolio.
Your risk profile can also help guide the types of investments you make. For example, if you don’t feel comfortable with risk, highly speculative investments such as cryptocurrencies may not be for you.
Your qualified Hennelly Finance advisor can discuss the types of investments that would complement your risk profile.
Keep calm amidst volatility
Markets are constantly changing and responding to a variety of different economic, environmental and social factors.
The war in Ukraine is a prime example of the impact international relations can have on markets, as we see the price of fuel, food and other goods soaring.
What we can learn from history however is that while markets can experience volatility that they do bounce back in the long term.
Your investment account will reflect market changes as they happen, so it isn’t a good idea to check your account too regularly because it may provide you with a distorted view of the investment’s long-term performance and subsequent value.
Ideally, you only need to check your investment accounts once a quarter.
At your annual financial review, your financial advisor will provide a summary view of the investment’s performance and help you decide whether you need to make any adjustments to ensure your investments continue to be aligned with your financial goals.
