Jargon, Big Words, and Wasting Your Time

“We are going to allocate your portfolio in such a way to minimize your downside risk while still maintaining strong cash inflows with the potential for capital appreciation.”

Did you get all of that?  I’m the one who wrote it, and I’m still not convinced!

Now, let’s try again.

“Our goal is to give you a plan to provide you with income and growth, while trying to minimize the risk that comes along with any investment.”

Better?

It is very easy for financial advisors to fall back on jargon and big words that we think make us sound smarter in front of our clients.  Truth is it does nothing except confuse and even intimidate.

When I worked at 13WHAM, my goal was to always “say it simple.”  Instead of talking about the Buffalo Bills lack of an edge rusher and lack of size in a 3-4 defensive front, isn’t it easier to just say the Bills defense can’t sack the quarterback enough?  Wit and wisdom are wonderful things, but when nobody understands what you’re saying, their time was just wasted.

The goal is the same as a Financial Advisor.  Whether you are planning for retirement, your child’s education, or starting a new life with your husband or wife.  To help you understand how to best achieve your goals in order to give you peace of mind and confidence that you’re on the right track.  That way, when we walk out the door, you’re excited to get started, not scratching your head wondering, “what did he just say?”

Chuck Wade

(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp.  The author’s opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).

Women Need Financial Planning

Time for some startling statistics…

According to research by Wells Fargo, affluent women are significantly less confident about retirement than men. The least confident of all are single women, and the most confident are married men.

About 700,000 women will lose their husbands this year.  The median age when a woman is widowed is 59.

So…women are less confident than men, they are often widowed at a young age, they live on average longer than men and they control more and more of our nation’s wealth. 

What to do?  Women must take charge of their own financial lives.  This means-

1. Selecting a competent Financial Advisor who is willing to take the time to explain investing and insurance concepts and options to you, with patience and in terms that you can understand.  They should also be able to concisely explain to you the ways in which they are compensated by fees and / or commissions.
2. Doing a budget and understanding your spending and cash flow needs.
3. Where possible, spending less and saving more.  You really cannot save enough money for retirement.  Social Security might not be around in its current format for younger people, most of us no longer have pensions, we have to worry about historical inflation of 3-4%/year, we are living longer / being kept alive longer and the costs of college, healthcare and long term care are all skyrocketing. 
4. Defining your important financial goals, both short and long-term.
5. Gathering up your financial account statements and making folders or a binder for them, so you have records of all of your accounts and know where to find them.
6. Taking the time to work with your trusted advisor to develop a living, comprehensive financial plan that (minimally) addresses retirement, survivor and estate planning.

If you would like assistance with determining what your important financial goals are and how to achieve them, please feel free to contact me at (585) 340-2229.  Thank you.

Susie L. Light
Financial Advisor

(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp.  The author’s opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).

Gift of Time

Have you ever thought about time as an investment?  Recently I came across an article where the author wrote about the best financial advice he had ever received: “invest your time, don’t spend it.”

This led me to a similar article which also discussed the idea of spending vs. investing time.

In the end, both articles provide examples of activities where we “spend time” and examples where we “invest our time.”  I often say “it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you save” that will determine how successful you’ll be in accumulating wealth, and the same could be true for time.  Replace the word Money with the word Time and see how interchangeable they are!

This got me thinking about how many of my clients rely on me to oversee their investments because they don’t have the time; or prefer investing their time with their family, their faith, or friends.  Think of someone that you think is “very successful.”  Ask them what they do with their time and see if they’re “spending” it or “investing” it.

Call or stop by our office anytime, to meet with me personally, and give yourself the “gift of time.”

 

Joe Boyd
Financial Advisor
Brighton Securities

(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp.  The author’s opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities)