Simplify your investments

Take a moment to consider when you first started investing. If you’re like most people, you probably began with Guaranteed Investment Certificates and you typically bought them from your neighbourhood bank. Then, a little later, you possibly opened an Retirement Savings Plan account at a different financial institution and periodically, you may have added a mutual fund investment. In other words, you did your best by doing what you thought was best.

There is nothing wrong with any of this. Your investment decisions were smart and you were always thinking ahead. Putting together investments like this seems natural.

While natural, this approach can result in a waste of your time and potentially even a loss of your hard earned money. Here’s why.

Having your investments with different financial institutions and handled by more than one investment professional can lead to unnecessary complications. For example, receiving and having to inspect several statements each quarter is time consuming and potentially confusing. It’s a lot of paperwork to review, assess and draw any sensible conclusions.

And if you hold more than a few investments, it is sometimes tricky to identify possible areas of overlap. Different funds can hold similar investments. This makes it difficult to see the bigger picture. And that’s not good.

The answer? Consider pulling your investments together into a single plan, managed by a financial planner who you trust. By working with a single financial planner, he or she is able to ensure that your portfolio is carefully balanced and is managed with your risk tolerance and long-term goals in mind, avoiding portfolio conflicts that may arise when dealing with multiple advisors.

If you consolidate your accounts, you will receive a single report setting out all of your investments. This makes it easier to monitor your portfolio and to ensure that your investment objectives are being met. It’s so much simpler to find out how your investments are performing. And, when you have only one plan to consider, you’ll be able to track the growth of your portfolio with a single glance.

Frequent conversations between you and your financial planner will help ensure that you remain informed and comfortable with the management of your investments. Your portfolio would be reviewed regularly to ensure that you are on track, both now and as your situation changes.

Take a good look at your investment portfolio and think about the advantages of simplifying it. And while you’re doing that, think about talking with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) about your long-term financial goals. Why? Because now is the time to allow an investment professional to assess your entire financial picture and to become familiar with all aspects of your financial circumstances.

Overall, the move to simplify your investment portfolio into a single plan should lead you to develop a serious long-term investment strategy, if you don’t already have one in place. Investment portfolio simplification is about much more than just time and money saving. It could become a key step in helping you reach your longterm investing goals. The way to do that is to start a conversation with a (CFP) and get some professional help. It’s never too soon to put a personal financial strategy in place.

For a further discussion around your investment and estate planning issues, contact Neil Mardian, M.Sc. (Mgmt) CFP at 403-504-3026 or neil.mardian@td.com