Many people find it a bit challenging to get interested and engaged with investing and the planning and strategy that comes with it. After all, there is a lot to learn and understand. If you do have experience with investing, chances are you consider yourself to be in one of the following categories:
“I prefer to figure it all out myself.”
“I just need a little guidance and I’m good.”
“Please, can someone just take care of this for me?”
Over time, the way you approach investing can change. No matter where you are at, your LPL Financial Services Professional can help. We’ll talk more about that a little later.
This brochure is intended to give you some of the basic investing concepts you need to know, along with common best practices. But most of all, it’s intended to get you to take action with your financial future through investing. The confidence and sense of empowerment that comes with having a formal investment strategy for your financial goals can be very powerful.
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Investing may seem like an intimidating process, but the sooner you start the easier it will be to begin building a nest egg for your future. Since investing always includes some risk, it’s important to have a solid financial foundation before you begin. Here are some key things to make sure you have covered to make sure you’re ready to invest:
KNOWLEDGE IS INVESTING POWER
Becoming an investor means making a commitment to increase your knowledge by subscribing to daily financial news reports such as the Wall Street Journal app (www.wsj.com), among many others available. You can also ask your LPL Financial Services Professional to sign you up to receive the LPL Research Weekly Insights report.
TALKING THE TALK
To jumpstart your investing knowledge, here are a couple of major investing benchmarks you may be familiar with but need to know more about.
The DOW
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is the oldest and best known of the American stock market indexes. The index began in 1896 and currently consists of 30 blue chip stocks. The stocks are selected by the editors of the Wall Street Journal (which, not so coincidentally, is owned by the parent company Dow Jones & Co.). The companies represented in the index are actually quite diverse, representing all the major business sectors. You would recognize most if not all of the companies represented, including Johnson & Johnson, Coca Cola and McDonalds.
The criteria for a company to get on the Dow is that the companies are leaders in their industry and very large. It takes a significant change in a company for it to be removed from the index. Thus, the DJIA is considered an important and consistent benchmark in evaluating how the stock market in general is performing.
NASDAQ
Most investors are familiar with the New York Stock Exchange, the major marketplace where people go to buy and sell stocks. Perhaps less familiar is another marketplace known as the NASDAQ Exchange. NASDAQ stands for “National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations System”, although in conversation people just go by the phonetic pronunciation (“naz-dack”). In the last quarter century, NASDAQ has emerged as one of the largest and most popular stock exchanges and was the first exchange to offer online trading.
Stocks that are traded on the NASDAQ Exchange tend to be tech companies, like Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google. However, companies on the NASDAQ don’t have to be as huge as those icons. Smaller companies like Angie’s List (the website that offers peer-to-peer reviews of home-repair contractors) and 1-800-Flowers are also listed on the Nasdaq Exchange.
While NASDAQ generally tends to include many tech companies, it also trades some banking companies, airline companies (like Spirit Airlines), and even a few non-tech businesses like Starbucks and shoe company Steve Madden. Amazon is also traded on the NASDAQ.
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1. LEARN WHICH INVESTMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS
Whether it’s saving for retirement, buying a new home, funding a college education, or any other financial goal, here’s a quick look at the key types of investments available to help you.
Stocks
A stock (also known as “shares” or “equity”) is a type of security that signifies proportionate ownership in the issuing corporation. This entitles the stockholder to that proportion of the corporation’s assets and earnings.
Stocks are bought and sold predominantly on stock exchanges and are the foundation of nearly every portfolio. Stocks (and stock mutual funds) have a high return potential, but the potential risk with stocks is also high. For the average investor, they are typically considered as part of a long term investment strategy (such as a 401(k) or Individual Retirement Account) where you have much more time on your side and can afford to be more aggressive and take on more risk. They may not make sense for a short term investment goal where safety and stability are more of a priority.
Bonds
Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states, and sovereign governments to finance projects and operations. Owners of bonds are debtholders, or creditors, of the issuer. Bond details include the end date when the principal of the loan is due to be paid to the bond owner and usually includes the terms for interest payments made by the borrower.
Historically, bonds (and bond mutual funds) are known for their potential to generate consistent, moderate returns, which may work best in a medium term investment goal (such as a college fund) where you can take on some risk, but not a lot. In addition, as you get closer to retirement (within 10 years in general), bonds and bond funds may also become a bigger part of your retirement account portfolio if you are looking to go less heavy on stocks but still want some growth potential.
Cash Equivalents
Cash equivalent investments are typically money market funds1 and can include U.S Treasury Bills as well. They’re known for consistent, lower returns (but with much lower risk), which may make more sense for a shorter term investment goal (such as saving for a down payment on a house). As you get closer to retirement (within 5-10 years in general), cash equivalents may also become a bigger part of your retirement account portfolio if you are seeking minimal risk at this life stage.
KEEPING A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
History reminds us that the greater the risk, the greater the potential reward. Here’s a quick look at historical returns of key asset classes from 1985-2022.
ASSET TYPE
ANNUALIZED RETURN,
1985-2022
Stocks2
Government Bonds3
Treasury Bills4
Inflation5
Source: Callan, LLC 2023 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
1An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.
2The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a capitalization weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
3Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index) includes U.S. government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities with maturities of at least one year.
490-day T-bill is a short-term debt obligation backed by the Treasury Department of the U.S. government.
5U.S. Labor Department reports.
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2. EMBRACE DIVERSIFICATION
Putting your money into a number of different types of investment options that include different types of asset classes can help manage risk. Generally speaking, if your dollars are invested in materially different types of investments, and market conditions cause one of your investments to not do well, all of your money shouldn’t be affected as negatively. There is perhaps no better way to illustrate this than to look to the story of Life Savers candy.
Clarence Crane invented Life Savers in 1912. He manufactured only one flavor of Life Savers: Pep-O-Mint. In 1913, Crane was approached by Edward J. Noble. Noble suggested that offering different flavors of Life Savers would attract more customers. Crane wasn’t interested in the concept but agreed to sell the Life Savers business to Noble for $2,900. In his lifetime, Noble went on to develop a billion dollar business manufacturing different flavored Life Savers. By diversifying his product, he appealed to more people and protected his business from the risk of one flavor losing popularity.
Diversification can help with investments, too. Spread the risk to help manage your potential rewards! Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
3. UNDERSTAND HOW THE ECONOMY AFFECTS YOUR PORTFOLIO
The state of the economy (how a country uses money and resources to produce goods and services) greatly affects stock market activity. Whether the economy is growing, shrinking, or standing still, it influences stock performance. To understand the impact of the economy on your portfolio, it helps to see how a few different economic factors affect stock prices.
With a BULL MARKET, investor confidence is high and stock prices rise, as most stock holdings will increase in value. With a BEAR MARKET, investors are nervous, stock prices decrease, and many stocks are undervalued. This can also be an opportunity to buy a stake in good companies at a discount in their stock price if appropriate for your situation.
When there is INFLATION, prices are rising and purchasing power is falling ($1 buys less than it used to). But when inflation spikes too high, people can’t afford to buy as much as they could before, and corporations may start to lose sales, causing stock prices to drop. This can create a drop in investment values. When there is LOW INFLATION, this can indicate a healthy economy, which can be good for the stock market and stock prices.
When INTEREST RATES increase, stock prices tend to decrease; when interest rates drop, stock prices usually rise. In 2019, the Federal Reserve (aka “The Fed”, the government entity with the responsibility for implementing interest rate strategies to support the economy) decreased interest rates on three separate occasions in an attempt to help offset a potential recession and avoid an economic downturn.
4. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IF YOU NEED IT
While this brochure gives you some basics to help you in your investment planning, you should know that professional help is available if and when you need it. LPL Financial Services Professionals can give you hands-on personal guidance and advice to help you determine your retirement goals and how you can work toward them. Here’s how they can help:
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Creating an investment mix is how you decide to allocate, or divide, your assets or investment dollars. This guide introduces you to three basic ingredients of any investment mix, helps you understand your feelings about risk, and enables you to review a sample investment mix based on your personal investor profile.
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Important Disclosures
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.
Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.
All indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
Investing in stock includes numerous specific risks including: the fluctuation of dividend, loss of principal and potential illiquidity of the investment in a falling market.
Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity. Bond values will decline as interest rates rise and bonds are subject to availability and change in price.
All company names noted herein are for educational purposes only and not an indication of trading intent or a solicitation of their products or services. LPL Financial doesn’t provide research on individual equities.
This material was prepared by LPL Financial, LLC.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial (LPL), a registered investment advisor and broker-dealer (member FINRA/SIPC). Insurance products are offered through LPL or its licensed affiliates. To the extent you are receiving investment advice from a separately registered independent investment advisor that is not anLPL Financial affiliate, please note LPL Financial makes no representation with respect to such entity.
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Office of James Rockwell & Zach Carothers
106 West Main Street, Suite 2,
Grangeville, ID 83530
(208) 983-3027