The September quarter was a case of back to the future for weary investors. The US S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all suffered their worst quarter performance since the same period last year. In Australia, the ASX 200 has returned to its March lows.
The changed economic and investing conditions have provided cause for many advisers to re-examine their investment philosophy.
The purpose of any advice business is to help its clients to achieve what they want to achieve. So, why is talking about goals-based advice seen as being 'different' from what financial planners have always done?
Most strategies in the market are too ‘cookie cutter’ and are not resilient enough to survive a downturn or an end of an investment cycle. What’s more, these strategies do not seem to adequately compensate the investor for the actual risk being taken. Are we really doing our best interest duty with the investment strategies that we are dispensing?
Looking at the current state of things, we have observed three investment ‘wrongs’ many financial planners are guilty of:
Many of the world's leading investors will tell you that nothing is more critical to long-term investment success than a clear investment philosophy.
