Set it and leave it
As you’re reading this, I’m pretending it’s summer, in a warmer part of the country—some of you will know where this “tennis paradise” is! To make the magic happen, I wrote this before I left, and automated it to be sent out today. As I was scheduling it, I realized my planned topic of investment management is not all that different in approach.
Set it and leave it!
It’s important in most cases to set it and leave it when it comes to your long-term investment savings. Periodic rebalancing is important, but other than that, you want to avoid overreacting to a downturn in the market and selling out of fear; or buying when stocks are inflated, with the fear of missing out. You can’t time the market. On another level, some of you may think you’d like to actively trade (day trade, swing trade, position trade, etc.). It’s possible you would beat the market (for a short time), but over the long-haul, improbable—and you will probably do much worse (sorry). I’ve tried it—fun, but hard and a lot of work!
Feeling good now?
Maybe you’re wagging your tail now if you have a set and leave it approach. Great, but not so fast! Let me challenge you—do you know what you’re “leaving it” in? Do you know what your 401k, IRA’s, etc. are invested in? Not the investment brokerage, but the actual mutual funds, or stocks/bonds? And do you know what your asset allocation is? Knowing these things and making conscious decisions about how you’re investing is important, to make your financial freedom a reality!
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