We can’t control what our investments will do. But we can control what we do with the money that has been entrusted to us. When you’re in your 30s & 40s, how much you contribute to investments will likely have a larger impact on your progress than what your investment returns are.

Some investors focus on “more” without really considering what the end goal is. We are focused on getting you closer to your goals. We will align your actions with your goals, position your investments accordingly, and let the investments take care of themselves.

We figure out when you’re going to need the money and invest accordingly. If you need it soon (i.e. major purchase, emergency fund), we keep it somewhere where it is unlikely to go down in value. If you don’t need it for a long time (i.e. retirement) we want to give it a chance to grow!

Sometimes, the investments that give us the best chance to grow our money don’t always go up. Since we know we would only invest for growth for long-term goals, we don’t have to worry when things go down in the short term.

Did you know that there can be internal costs to the investments you choose? It is not uncommon for mutual funds or ETFs to charge an internal fee (this is how they get paid for their service). Some fees are much higher than others and don’t always perform as well. We believe keeping costs low helps you achieve a better investment outcome.

It is important to have a mix of different types of investments. This allows you to make progress toward your goals while keeping your eggs in different baskets. One investment might go down, but they aren’t all likely to go down! As Carl Richards says, “Never make a killing, but never get killed.”

Some people will tell you they think the market will do this or that. We all have some thoughts, but no one really knows. Trying to “time the market” by predicting future outcomes leads to mistakes and worse performance over time.

Headlines are there to get your attention. They primarily try to do this by scaring you. Recent news about market ups and downs really don’t speak to you or your financial plan. Remember, we are thinking in terms of decades….not days.

We think that there will always be innovation and growth and that companies are getting better at providing value and are worth investing in. If you don’t think that is the case, it is probably not a good idea to be investing.