Tune Out the Financial Static, Turn On to the 2016 Investor Guide

Making investment decisions, however, is difficult in this time of complex investment products, heavily promoted “surefire” strategies, and media commentaries that can make investing feel like a frenetic game.

• Investing for growth – although investing always carries risk, it’s hard to achieve your financial goals otherwise;
• The basics of mutual funds, including target date funds, and how to invest in them;
• Asset classes such as stocks, bonds, CDs, real estate, and cash, and how they generally differ in risk and performance;
• The balance between risk and return and strategies to minimize – not eliminate – risk;
• Understanding and controlling the cost of investments;
• Putting together the pieces of a secure retirement, including IRAs, 401(k)s, and knowing the strategies of claiming Social Security benefits;
• Avoiding scams and high-risk investments, complete with ripped-from-our case-files examples of fraud; and
• Increasing the odds of finding a financial professional you can trust.