Three Things You Should Know About Investment Management

As you may already know, investing your hard-earned money can be daunting. No matter what stage of life you are in, putting your money in someone else’s hands is never a comfortable decision. However, working with a credentialed professional who provides advising and investment management may not be nearly as risky as handling your own investments.

Before signing the paperwork, there are a few things you should know:

Do Your Research on Investment Professionals

If you are worried about the possibility of putting your money in the hands of the wrong person, you should make sure your investor is constantly continuing his or her education. There are many, many rules involved with investment management and you should be easy to find out if your advisor has gone above and beyond what’s needed in order to stay current.

Additionally, you can also research an investor’s qualifications and history by going to http://www.investor.gov or www.brokercheck.org. These databases provide employment and disciplinary history about financial advisors, as well as their certifications and licenses. One thing you may not know is that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission prohibits online reviews of investment managers, considering them to be “testimonial” in nature. This is the reason you can’t find reviews for investment managers. Even if you feel you’ve found the right investment management team after your first meeting, you should still take the time to do your homework in order to reduce your risk and provide you and your family peace of mind.

Be Skeptical of Overly Optimistic Investment Managers

While it may seem obvious, you should always be skeptical of professionals who make overly optimistic promises about the returns you can expect with your investments. Choosing someone who displays honesty and is straightforward with conversation right from the beginning is what you want to look for. Again, do your homework here. Take the time to check out the company website and look for ethical cues, such as giving back to their community. You can also dig around a little to find out how long team members tend to stick with the firm.

Long-term Investing is the Key

If you know anything about investing, you are probably aware that many investors out there talk about staying in the game for the long haul, and even investment legend Warren Buffett is a major advocate of this strategy. With all this in mind, working with a professional that has an investment management philosophy that aligns with you may just be what helps you reach your goals.

Managing Investments in Houston

What Do Lower Oil Prices Mean for You? presented by Sharon Duncan

Since mid-2014, crude oil prices have been on the decline, causing gas and other oil-product prices to drop quite a bit.

“Although the long-term effect of falling oil prices remains to be seen, this dramatic price change is affecting Americans’ everyday lives in a number of ways,” says Sharon Duncan, a Houston-based investment manager.

Big savings at the pump

You’ve most likely noticed that it costs a lot less to fill your car’s tank these days, with the average gas price in the U.S. hovering just below $2.30 per gallon. According to Gluskin Sheff & Associates, Americans stand to save about $1.5 billion for every penny that the price of gas falls.

Thanks to this extra cash in our pockets, personal spending jumped 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, up from 3.2 percent in the third quarter. In January 2015, consumer confidence was at its highest level in more than seven years.

So what are Americans doing with all this cash and confidence? Spending has increased in two key areas:

·         Buying new cars: Auto sales climbed in January (typically a slow month), and the National Automobile Dealers Association Chief Economist, Steven Szakely, predicts U.S. auto sales for 2016 will set a new record high.

·         Traveling internationally: Combined with the strong dollar, lower international airfares have many people taking trips abroad.

“Of course, buying a new car or finally taking that long-awaited trip oversees is a lot more glamorous,” says Duncan, “but investing some of this extra income in your kids’ college savings or putting away a little extra for retirement will give you the real added benefit.”

Just consider how much more fun your retirement will be when you have enough money for the lifestyle you really want, adds Duncan.

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Sharon Duncan, CFP^®, AIF^®, MBA, is a financial advisor Selah Financial Services, located at 1550 W. Bay Area Blvd., Ste. 101, Friendswood, TX 77546 and One Sugar Creek Center Blvd., Ste. 150, Sugar Land, TX 77478. She offers securities and advisory services as an Investment Advisor Representative of Commonwealth Financial Network^®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. She can be reached at 281.990.7100 or at advisors@selahfs.com.