As 2012 approaches, if you are like most investors, you are considering where you should focus your efforts to achieve your investment goals.  Every investor is at a unique stage in achieving their goals. Regardless of your stage of investment analysis and planning, we’ve put together our best advice and tips below to help you make 2012 the best year for financial success.

Finding Investment Guidance

Many investors want to take control of their financial futures themselves.  But for some, working with an investment advisor can give them the extra guidance they need to ensure they choose the right track and stay on it.  Whether you go it alone or work with an advisor, consider these tips:

Decide whether you need an investment advisor.

Understand the fees and fiduciary responsibilities of financial advisors

Or

Set an action plan to do it yourself

Building Your Investment Portfolio

Investors have so many options to consider when making investment decisions.  To achieve financial success, investors should align those decisions with their goals.  Below are some steps to help you make the best decisions for your unique financial situation and the goals you want to achieve:

Determine your risk tolerance

Build a low risk portfolio

Don’t overlook the importance of dividends

Understand how to select funds

Recognize in what ways past performance is a reliable indicator, and in what ways it is not

Make sure you know what the prospectus is saying

Managing Your Investment Portfolio

A long term investment strategy takes patience, persistence, and diligence.  Along the path to achieving your goals, there’s volatility to stomach and fees that can potentially dilute returns.

Here are some tips to monitor and optimize your portfolio:

Stick with the plan, even when times get rough  

Beware of the cost of panicking

Stay on top of what your fund managers are doing

Find ways to trim the fat

Let Us Guide You through the Year Ahead

The mission of The Better Investor Blog is to provide you with the insights and resources you need to make the best investment decisions to help you reach your goals.  Each post is written to address your needs, questions, and concerns as it relates to your investment goals.  With that said, we’d like to hear from you.

What are the investment concerns you are facing?  What are the questions for which you are seeking answers?  What information are you seeking that you are having a hard time finding?

Let us know and we will create content to meet your needs.  You can leave your feedback in the comments section below or email us privately at marketing@jemstep.com.

For a free, easy way and objective way to find the best investments for you, visit Jemstep.com.

TAGS: asset allocation, diversification, financial advisors, financial planning, long term investing, portfolio management