Handling your own investments can be far more effective when you have a financial advisor to guide you and make informed decisions on your behalf. Using their knowledge and expertise, they can help you grow and strengthen your portfolio.
Let’s take a closer look at the role of a financial advisor when it comes to investment management.
Getting to Know You
If your financial advisor is going to be in charge of handling your investments, then it is important that they get to know you. You will meet to discuss your thoughts and interest in investing — things you have tried, those you don’t like, and others you may be interested in. Your financial advisor will want to get a sense of your investing style.
Gaining an awareness of your investment goals and your overall financial goals will help them to understand how to meet your needs. And, finally, you will discuss the level of risk you are comfortable with. Do you prefer to be more conservative with your investments or do you like to take big risks in hopes of big payouts?
All of these things are important for your financial advisor to know in order to effectively manage your investment portfolio. And they are formally drawn up in an Investment Policy Statement (IPS).
Choosing the Right Investments
A financial advisor will need to choose the right investments for your investment portfolio. They will select those that align with your IPS to ensure that your preferences and risk level are adhered to.
Through much discussion, your financial goals are made clear so every step your advisor takes will have those in mind while also researching the best current investment opportunities.
Monitoring the Investments
An experienced financial advisor knows that effective investment management requires a lot more than just investing. Monitoring the investments is just as important. Not only do they need to make sure that the investment remains in alignment with the IPS, but that it is performing well, too.
Since the market fluctuates, monitoring the investments allows for steps to be taken when necessary to protect your interest – and the health of your portfolio.
Routine Meetings and Reporting
Even though your financial advisor may be handling the decisions when it comes to your investments, it is still your assets that are being used. So, you will want to stay on top of them and have an idea of what is going on with your portfolio.
Reporting will be done on your investment portfolio in a clear, concise manner. You may not even fully understand the specific details of the investment decisions, but these routine meetings are important nonetheless as they make sure that you and your financial advisor are still both on the same page.
A Financial Advisor’s Role
The role of a financial advisor in investment management is crucial to your financial success now and years down the road. They provide a level of expertise that will help you assess your short-term and long-term financial goals – and take action to create a strategy.
When it comes to effective investment management, too much is at stake to not have a financial advisor by your side every step of the way.
The Investment Counsel Company is ranked as one of the Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors, offering wealth management services to those with $1,000,000 or more in investable assets.
