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FINANCIALLY Speaking Keeping Your Balance s my clients get closer to retirement A take a downturn, so that you don’t have to we begin to explore strategies to sell investments at a low. You do not want minimize risk in their portfolio so a temporary reduction in portfolio value to that we can help protect them from losses. become an actual loss because you had to The solution is to have enough cash on sell at a bad time. hand to cover expenses when the market is temporarily down. The big questions are: How PLAN FOR UNKNOWNS: much is enough? How much cash is too much? Often people fail to build in a reserve for When the time comes for you to start with- unplanned costs, like replacing a car earlier drawing money from your retirement savings, than expected, or an adult child who suddenly having enough liquidity is essential, but having needs your help. too much of your portfolio in cash (earning In addition to a two to three year spending essentially 0%) can be a big problem. If your account, keep a three to six months rainy savings are expected to support you for 20 day fund in cash, or something that can be to 30 years or more, can you afford to have a liquidated easily and that is not too affected by large amount earning nothing for over decade? market conditions. It can also help to have an What if, in an effort to protect against loss, your emergency plan to cut spending if necessary. money didn’t grow enough to even keep up with inflation, let alone work to help provide MAKE WELL INFORMED DECISIONS: for a successful retirement? It is important to review your investments You will need to strike a balance between regularly and certainly no less than annually. growth and safety. To do this, focus on your To illustrate an overall strategy in retirement, I retirement goals and not on current market have often said that a retiree should think about conditions. having their money in ‘now’, ‘later’ and ‘maybe never’ buckets. An annual review with your Jeffrey M. Orth is a Chartered Financial Consultant, a Certified Advisor in Senior Living, and an Investment Advisor Representative, with over 15 years of experience as a business and personal planning, insurance, and wealth management specialist. Jeff is available for group lectures and private consultations. Visit ifitfinancial.com or call 408.842.2716. 1638978RM-Nov18 PROTECT YOUR INCOME: financial advisor can help insure that you have If you are receiving money from a pension, enough invested in the right buckets. an immediate annuity and/or Social security It’s all about balance. It’s about having enough and that income is covering your basic living to live now and building wealth for the future expenses, you probably do not need a large so that you don’t run out of money before you cash reserve. What you do need to do, is run out of life. protect the money you are counting on for income. Try to keep just enough cash avail- able to cover expenses should the market Informational only -- not meant as specific invest- ment advice. All investing involves risk, including the potential for losses.” Registered Representative of, and Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc. (HTK). Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC, 16845 Von Karman Ave, Ste. 225 Irvine, CA 92606 (949)754-1700. IFIT is independent of HTK. CA Lic #0C49291 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 gmhtoday.com 41