My guest contributor this week is James Shoquist.  James is a wealth advisor with Northwest Wealth Management.

In this blog post, James addresses some tough questions investors have posed to him and his colleagues.

Strong market performances have sparked questions like "Should I be investing now or should I wait for a correction?" and "Should we be getting more conservative?" These are reasonable questions, and maybe you have some of the same thoughts. Answering tough questions is where I believe we add tremendous value for our clients.

It's an important point to discuss, individuals have easy access to low-cost investment solutions, insurance calculators are free, cash flow analysis tools are available on mobile apps –these tools are simple to use and cheap. Folks who do-it-themselves have never had it so good. It's also easy to find peer-reviewed academic studies showing significant value comes from the qualitative work we do: behavioral coaching, education, continuous reminders of why we are doing what we are doing, etc.

Quality advice is more than good investment recommendations. I define wealth management as an all-encompassing, ever-ongoing plan for every financial decision to obtain the most return, retain the most wealth and avoid as much risk based on our own personal values and goals.  And, I mean every financial decision. A well-intended plan is as good as the gears turning the plan. The more information input; the more reliable the outcome. Knowing our clients cash-flows, spending habits, banking costs, insurance costs, investment costs, tax liabilities and any other spot you can fill on a balance sheet is important to a true wealth management plan.

Back to the questions at hand; should I be putting money in the market or taking it out? My answer is to check your plan. If your plan was built to obtain the most return, retain the most wealth and avoid as much risk based on your own personal goals; your action steps will be very clear. If not, we are ready to help.

Resource of the Week

I recommend this article in Forbes, by Tim Maurer.  It provides valuable insights on the amount of risk you should take with your investments.

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