Financial Information

I’m always amused by people who will spend a lot of time and effort becoming educated on topics such as the best type of big screen TV to buy, yet completely ignore their financial education and are surprised if their retirement savings don’t work out as they thought they should.

Sometimes the excuse is that they don’t understand, and they simply rely on their investment advisor to take care of their savings for them. Certainly if you go to Ken Himmler (www.kenhimmler.com) for his services or use Integrated Asset Management (www.iamllc.biz) for your portfolio you have every reason to believe that your money will be put in the best investments.

That shouldn’t mean that you do not take an interest in your money, and study the options that are available – far from it. It is the most critical aspect of your retirement planning and you need to understand what is being talked about when you discuss investment advice.

Everyone is different in terms of their expectations for their money, and how they feel about risk, and generally for the higher returns you need to take a higher risk, which means that your investment is more likely to fluctuate and might not perform as well as you hope.

The best advisors will take time with you and learn what your personal financial goals and risk profile are, so they can suggest a portfolio to suit you. There is no “one size fits all” solution, and your investments should reflect your personality. The best investments for one person may be wrong for another.

Generally you will be advised to have diversified investments, as no-one can guarantee any particular performance. So that you can understand what is involved with each type of fund or security, there are many sources of free investment research which you can check online. For instance, you can look up mutual fund performance on www.morningstar.com. It’s your money, and you owe it to yourself to get a basic investment education so that you can be sure your investments match your aspirations.

Authored by Kenneth Himmler, Sr.

If you enjoy being actively involved in your retirement planning, it can be a bit of a challenge to give up the control of your savings and investments to a registered investment advisor.  Yet many future retirees don’t realize that there are plenty of opportunities out there to become a vital part of the overall retirement planning process: investment education!  Here’s the best part: depending on the investment firm that you choose to use, courses are not only offered online; they usually are offered for free!

Investment education is just the latest advancement in the online investment world, as more and more investment firms are realizing the value of not only providing exceptional investment advice to their clients, but getting them involved in the overall process as well.  The move is proving to be quite popular amongst baby boomers, since more retirees want to stay involved with their retirement planning despite having a registered investment advisor. 

There are several online universities that offer investment education courses, with the option to complete the classes via email or real time in the classroom.  These investment education courses are great for those retirees with busy schedules but still want to stay on top of their retirement planning.

Want to find the right online investment courses?  Just Google the term “online investment education” and browse through all of the listings that appear.  However, before you sign up for a course, make sure that it’s being offered from a reputable source with a great reputation.  Check out http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-courses/investment-education.htm for an extensive listing of investment education courses that are available either through email or virtual classroom.

Online investment education can provide you a great opportunity to not only study up on your financial know-how, but it can also give you the chance to become more actively involved in your overall retirement planning.  Ask your investment advisor or investment firm if investment education courses are offered online or near you!

For more information on smart retirement planning, visit www.kenhimmler.com, the IRA and 401K experts!

Authored by Kenneth Himmler, Sr.