By: Jeremy Skoglund, VP Trust Officer
I would consider myself a “do-it-yourselfer,” but then I’m a North Dakotan and aren’t we all like that in some way? We’ll mow our lawn, paint rooms, and do our own vacation planning. We don’t like to ask for help and are certainly not going to pay someone for something that we can do ourselves. When it comes to our money, though, there are a few good reasons to let someone else manage your investments.
1. Take the Emotion out of Investing
Our money is very personal to us, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. It’s great when we focus on spending our money wisely. The downside is that we tend to let our emotions drive our spending and investing. We have a bad day and believe a shopping spree will help our mood. We have a great day and decide to splurge on that item we were saving for but don’t quite have enough money for. It can be even worse with how we invest our money. When the markets are heading down, investors get worried and start selling. When the markets are heading up, investors don’t want to miss out on the gains, and they start buying. These investors forgot the age-old strategy of “Buy Low, Sell High.”
Having someone to help manage your investments can help you make investment decisions based on your long-term goals and not your short-term emotions.
2. Peace of Mind
When my wife and I decide to take a vacation, I spend several hours planning everything, from the transportation to the hotel to the food to the sites we’ll see. I put together an itinerary and have gone as far as calling hotels to find out when their breakfast starts in the morning to make sure we can get breakfast and to our destination on time. I know there are people out there that can do this for me, but again, I’m a North Dakotan.
When it comes to our investing, having a professional who spends their day monitoring the market and understanding when changes need to be made to your portfolio can be a great benefit. Like those people that never have to worry about their grass getting too long because they hire someone to mow, hiring someone to manage your investments can give you that peace of mind that your portfolio will be taken care of.
3. Adding to your Bottom Line
There have been many studies that have shown that working with an advisor adds anywhere between 1.5 – 3.0% to your portfolio per year and that is after any fee the advisor charges. That may sound like a small amount, but when you talk about a long-term investment plan, this small amount will grow considerably with the power of compounding. I should point out that the 1.5 – 3.0% increase is not a steady, year-over-year increase, but the average over several years because markets are always going up and down and are never linear.
If you’re an emotional wreck when it comes to investing, would like some peace of mind and see your portfolio do a little better, give us a call to learn how we can help you manage your investments: (701) 857-7150.