Investing and Inflation – What You Need to Consider – Kevin MacWilliams

As we all know, the markets and the economy have been one heck of a roller-coaster ride in the last 18 months. We’ve experienced a flood of emotion and concern about where we are as an economy and what is ahead for us in the future. This a major question and one our clients have been asking us for quite a while. However, this isn’t the only concern we’ve heard. I’d like to share with you some other concerns and answers we got from our clients in a recent survey.

In our survey, we asked the question, “What is the most important challenge facing you in the coming years?”
The most popular answer with a 72 percent response was “sustaining my current lifestyle.”

The next question we asked was, “What is your greatest concern in retirement?” and out of all of the responses to choose from, “outliving our money” was by far the overwhelming choice.

These two questions sum up what the majority of people are concerned about, and that is inflation and its effect on their investments and lifestyle in retirement. The question is, “What are you doing to prepare for whichever market comes our way, and what inflation rate we might see in years to come?”

The answer to all of these questions is uniquely different for most everyone, but it shares one commonality and that is to take action and take it now! That action might encompass reallocating your funds, saving more, spending less, and choosing products and investments that can help solve the problem. While there is no easy answer, a good financial adviser can help guide you through these tough decisions and provide a level of accountability that most everyone needs.

See financial adviser to prevent problems

 So, you might ask yourself, “What do I need to do right now?” For starters, do not wait for the problem to sneak up on you. You should talk with your adviser to see if you’re prepared for inflation going forward. You also should speak with him or her about an investment strategy for your assets if you’ve been affected by the recent downturn in the market.

Remember, you don’t need a cheerleader for your investments; you need an adviser, someone who will guide you and work for your best interest in good markets and bad.