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risk

Volatility is a Two-Way Street

In many cases, whenever we think of volatility we think negatively. Try it yourself. Think of the word volatility and say it out loud. What thoughts, words, or images pop into your head? Bad news? Market losses? Losing money? The color red? The point is that we tend to give volatility a bad rap – and rightfully so. Generally, the word is thrown at us during periods of when the market, and our investments, lose value. Volatility, however, works both ways. It’s also present when the market and our investments are doing well. We just don’t call it volatility. We call it returns, gains, appreciation, a bull market, etc. The point is to expect volatility – good or bad. It’s part of investing in capital markets. We need to understand that just because our portfolios are doing well – doesn’t mean volatility is absent. Volatility is what helps produce long-term […]

A Message about Risk in Investing

The following is a story that was related to me by another financial planner. The message is quite remarkable – and important for all of us to understand. A dentist, age 53, had sold his practice and partially retired. When we reviewed his portfolio, which amounted to approximately two million dollars, it became apparent that he had strong feelings regarding protection of capital. The entire two million dollars was invested in a combination of CD’s, money market funds, and short-term US government bonds.