At the time of writing (5th Jan 2018) the FTSE100 has just reached a new intraday high of 7727.73 having also ended 2017 on a high. The Dow Jones index has also breached the 25,000 level.
Who would have thought that with all the Brexit issues and Trump concerns stockmarkets would have finished the year so well?
Yet more reasons for having a well thought out and monitored medium/long term investment strategy and ignoring short term “noise”.
My regular readers will know that I am a great believer in regularly banking profits when markets are going up and avoiding being in the position of having, or choosing, to sell when markets are declining.
Neither I or anyone else has a crystal ball and can tell you what will happen next so just be satisfied with the year’s progress and think whether you should be banking some profits.
If you are not satisfied with the level of your cash holdings or have some major expenditure coming up you should certainly be thinking of taking action.
If, like me, you are retired or semi-retired and are drawing from your pension fund now is the time to do some cash flow calculations to make sure your fund holds enough cash to meet the next three or so year’s planned withdrawals. Otherwise you could finish up having to sell funds at the time of a market decline, the start of a slippery slope which could have disastrous consequences.
Taking profits in the hope of being able to reinvest at lower levels is another thing altogether. Unless you are a risk taker who watches markets closely and is happy to make bold decisions it probably isn’t for you.
None of this is easy if you don’t have a good handle on how your investments are doing. I use the Hargreaves Lansdown on line platform which I find to be very user friendly and cost effective. Their online valuations and half yearly reports will give you all the information you need to make sound, well thought out decisions.
The Investment and Retirement Coach programme was put together to make my 30 years + experience as a financial adviser available to provide education, help, support and guidance to those clients who preferred the low cost online services to the traditional financial adviser relationship.
It has certainly worked with clients using the service for over £15 million of investment and pension funds. If you think it might work for you let’s have a “no obligation” phone discussion. Just text me on 07770 575122 and I will get back to you.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This document and our on going services are not personal advice. We'll give you all the help and guidance you need to make your investment and retirement decisions, but we can't advise you. If you're not sure whether you need regulated financial advice we can put you in touch with a suitably qualified and experienced regulated adviser. Because we are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service in respect of any complaints. If you use one of the "no advice" on line services to handle investment transactions they will be Regulated and you will have access to the Ombudsman and The Financial Compensation Scheme in respect of their services. The value of investments/pension plans can fall or rise depending on market performance. The Retirement Team and The Investment and Retirement Coach are trading names of Capture Success Ltd Reg No 01825075 Tel 07770575122
