He will tell you that the long term matters, fluctuations in the market, though worrying at the time can actually work to your benefit. The time horizon may be as long as ten years, but this will depend on what the individuals aims are.
Diversification is key to investment management, looking to offset risks in different areas of the market to allow for checks and balances to your portfolio.
It’s well known that Markets react to sentiment, so stocks can fall if a company reports worse than expected results, or sometimes the whole market can fall at once on negative economic news. Trading stocks and shares also costs money, so moving in and out of positions quickly will seriously eat into your returns over time.
The use of a Financial Adviser is important as most DIY investors tend to stumble from one idea to the next with no clear strategy. As long as you trust the manager and what they are trying to achieve, you will make your initial choices very carefully, advised by them and then stick with those investments for the long term.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. With $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt. Their bankruptcy filing was the largest in history and prompted an immediate fall in the FTSE 100 of 4%. It was the beginning of a slump that by Christmas of 2008 had resulted in 23% being wiped off the value of Britain’s top 100 companies. As a stock market crash, it ranks alongside the dotcom bubble and the shock of 1987. However, while living standards have flat-lined since that date, the stock market revival has been spectacular. Many investors were, however, spooked by the financial crisis of 2008 and liquidated their investment portfolios. Unfortunately as shown below – they lost out on the bull run of the next 10 years.