What kind of role can a financial professional play for an investor? The answer: a very important one. While the value of such a relationship is hard to quantify, the intangible benefits may be significant and long lasting.
A good financial professional can help an investor interpret today’s financial climate, determine objectives, and assess progress toward those goals. Alone, an investor may be challenged to effectively accomplish any of these responsibilities. Moreover, an uncounseled investor may make self-defeating decisions.
Some investors never turn to a financial professional. They concede that there might be some value in maintaining such a relationship, yet ultimately decide to go it alone. That decision can often be a critical mistake.
“The way of a foolish person seems right to him. But a wise person listens to advice.” Proverbs 12:15
No investor is infallible. Investors can feel they’re unbeatable during a great market year, when every decision seems to work out well, and in long bull markets, investors risk becoming overconfident. The big-picture narrative of Wall Street can be forgotten, along with the reality that the market has occasio ...
