Retirement in Motion
Tips and resources that everyone can use
Knowledge is retirement power
It’s important to review your tolerance for investment risk on a regular basis, especially given the current market volatility. If you find yourself constantly stressing over your investments, it may make you feel better to reassess your appetite for risk. Your plan recordkeeper will likely have online education materials or questionnaires to help you determine your comfort level with risk and how it can help inform your asset allocation strategy going forward. Representatives at the recordkeeper’s call center can also likely help you locate these materials.
Q&A
Should I suspend contributions to my retirement plan during market downturns?
Unless you are experiencing an unusual financial hardship, it’s important to continue making contributions to your retirement account, even during market downturns. Downturns present an opportunity to purchase fund shares at lower prices. If you have many years until retirement, the money you invest now has a longer time to potentially grow, and on a tax-deferred basis.
Quarterly reminder
Midyear is a good time for an insurance checkup. And not just to make sure you’re getting the most competitive rates. Pull copies of your policy documents to ensure you have adequate coverage, or conduct a review with your insurance agent via teleconference — especially for property-casualty policies, like renter’s or homeowner’s insurance, or auto coverage.
Tools & techniques
As we have all seen recently, investments rise and fall over time. And asset classes do not always rise and fall together, which could put your asset allocation strategy out of whack. Let’s say that due to current market volatility, your original desired investment allocation of 70% in stock funds has now dropped to 60%. Meanwhile, your intended allocation to bond and money market funds is now too high. The current overall portfolio allocation no longer matches your wishes, but has become more conservative. It’s time to rebalance your portfolio. In our example, that means going into your account and selling off a percentage of your bond/money market fund investments and reallocating those funds back into your stock investments so that they are aligned again with your original strategy. Representatives at your recordkeeper’s call center can likely help you do this. In addition, if your recordkeeper offers an automatic rebalancing service, consider using it.
Corner on the market
Basic financial terms to know
Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) – An index that measures the performance of 500 large-company U.S. stocks that account for about 80% of the total market value of all stocks traded in the United States.
We are here to help, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions at joe@printers401k.com.
Disclosure: This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal or investment advice.Investment Advice and 3(38) Investment Fiduciary services offered through Diversified Financial Advisors, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor. 3(16) Administrative Fiduciary Services provided by PISTL Service Corporation. Discretionary Trustee services provided by Printing Industries 401k Trustees.
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